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Paleoseismological studies in the Charleston, South Carolina Region
Talwani, Pradeep ; University of South Carolina. Department of Geological Sciences
Talwani, Pradeep
University of South Carolina. Department of Geological Sciences
Issue Date
2008-10-29
Type
Text
Keywords
Paleoseismology--South Carolina--Charleston Region, Neotectonics--South Carolina--Charleston Region, Faults (Geology)--South Carolina--Charleston Region, Geological surveys--South Carolina--Charleston Region
Abstract
The project was aimed at digging long, shallow trenches across anticipated near
surface manifestations of earthquake prone faults in the Charleston region with the
anticipation of studying them. Before the trench locations are decided, geophysical
surveys were carried out to determine the optimum locations for digging. In the Colonial
Fort Dorchester State Park in Summerville, S.C. a shallow trench was dug across a line
joining the crack which displaced the north and south walls of a historic fort. In this
trench a prehistoric seismically induced sand blow was discovered attesting to the
occurrence of prehistoric earthquakes on this fault.
In Magnolia Plantation, a family tomb was cracked during the 1886 Charleston
earthquake. The crack on opposite side of the tomb walls suggested that the associated
Ashley River fault trended NW-SE. This fault was detected on two suitable located
resistivity profiles, suggesting that ARF is oriented N55°W-S55°E along the Ashley
River between Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place. The exercise also revealed that
it may be possible to detect the location of seismogenic faults by shallow geophysical
techniques.
Rights
Copyright status determined to be in the public domain on April 27, 2020 by United States Supreme Court ruling (Georgia et al., Petitioners v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. : 590 U.S.__(2020))