FIGURE 4- - uploaded by Kuo-Wan Lin
Content may be subject to copyright.
Strongest New Mexico earthquakes during time period 1869-1998 with moment magnitudes of 4.5 or greater. The number in parenthesis indicates multiple events at that location.
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... places a lower limit of about moment magnitude 4.5 on the list of strongest earthquakes. Locations of the 30 earthquakes equaling or exceeding mag- nitude 4.5 from 1869 through 1998 are mapped in Figure 4. ...
Context 2
... 30 largest earthquakes for the period 1869-1998 ( Fig. 4) appear more concentrated along the rift than the weaker shocks (Figs. 1-3). However, because of the very low popu- lation density over most of the region east and west of the rift, there is a good possibility that events with maximum intensities of VI-VII (Modified Mercalli-Revised 1931, Richter 1958) may have gone unreported in the ...
Similar publications
Raman spectroscopy has been employed to investigate possible compositional effects on the high-pressure phase transition of Mg-rich orthoenstatite to a newly discovered P21/c phase. Three natural orthoenstatite (OEN) samples were used in this study: near end-member Mg orthoenstatite (Zabargad Island, Egypt), Al-free, Fe-bearing orthoenstatite (Moro...
The Early Permian (early Leonardian) Robledo Mountains Formation of the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument (PTNM) near Las Cruces, south-central New Mexico, contains one of the most abundant and most extensively discussed assemblages of Paleozoic tetrapod footprints in the world. More than 700 specimens with tetrapod footprints from this place...
Citations
... Therefore, it is not surprising that magnetic intensity and gravity anomaly are dominant attributes. This area has thin crustal thickness (Elston et al. 1970;Nakai et al. 2017;Olson, 1979;Sanford et al., 2002), which indicates that the land surface in this area is also closer to the mantle heat source. Depth to the basement is the greatest depth in the study area and may facilitate deep groundwater circulation. ...
... Fault intersection density, Quaternary fault density, seismicity, and state map fault density suggest that this signature represents tectonic features with significant secondary permeability. The locations associated with this Signature D went through extensional tectonic events (Nakai et al., 2017;Olson, 1979;Sanford, 2002). Frequent tectonic events increase fault intersection density, which increases appreciable secondary permeability. ...
... Vesselinov et al. through Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic episodes, but the northern volcanic field experienced more frequent volcanic events than the Rio Grande rift zone (Cather, 1990;Chapin et al., 2004;McIntosh et al., 1992;Pepin, 2019;Ratte and Grotbo, 1979;). Also, the northern volcanic field was tectonically more active than the Rio Grande rift zone (Elston et al. 1970;Nakai et al. 2017;Olson, 1979;Sanford, 2002). However, a tectonic extensional feature that is present between the western and eastern portions of the Rio Grande rift zone but absent in the northern volcanic field (Nakai et al., 2017;Sanford, 2002) may cause the observed differentiation between the two hidden geothermal signatures. ...
Discovery of hidden geothermal resources is challenging. It requires the mining of large datasets with diverse data attributes representing subsurface hydrogeological and geothermal conditions. The commonly used play fairway analysis approach typically incorporates subject-matter expertise to analyze regional data to estimate geothermal characteristics and favorability. We demonstrate an alternative approach based on machine learning (ML) to process a geothermal dataset from southwest New Mexico (SWNM). The study region includes low- and medium-temperature hydrothermal systems. Several of these systems are not well characterized because of insufficient existing data and limited past explorative work. This study discovers hidden patterns and relations in the SWNM geothermal dataset to improve our understanding of the regional hydrothermal conditions and energy-production favorability. This understanding is obtained by applying an unsupervised ML algorithm based on non-negative matrix factorization coupled with customized k-means clustering (NMFk). NMFk can automatically identify (1) hidden signatures characterizing analyzed datasets, (2) the optimal number of these signatures, (3) the dominant data attributes associated with each signature, and (4) the spatial distribution of the extracted signatures. Here, NMFk is applied to analyze 18 geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, and geothermal attributes at 44 locations in SWNM. Using NMFk, we find data patterns and identify the spatial associations of hydrothermal signatures within two physiographic provinces (Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range) and two sub-regions of these provinces (the Mogollon-Datil volcanic field and the Rio Grande rift) in SWNM. The ML algorithm extracted five hydrothermal signatures in the SWNM datasets that differentiate between low (<90°C) and medium (90-150°C)-temperature hydrothermal systems. The algorithm also suggests that the Rio Grande rift and northern Mogollon-Datil volcanic field are the most favorable regions for future geothermal resource discovery. NMFk also identified critical attributes to identify medium-temperature hydrothermal systems in the study area. The resulting NMFk model can be applied to predict geothermal conditions and their uncertainties at new SWNM locations based on limited data from unexplored regions. The code to execute the performed analyses as well as the corresponding data can be found at https://github.com/SmartTensors/GeoThermalCloud.jl.
... Appendix A.7. Earthquake Density Following the procedure outlined by Pepin [9], we created a southwest New Mexico earthquake catalog by combining historical earthquake records for the years 1869-1998 [20], 1999-2004 [21], and 2005-2009 [22] with data pulled from the USGS earthquake catalog [23]. The final study area collection comprised 2539 unique events spanning 1962-2020. ...
Geothermal exploration has traditionally relied on geological, geochemical, or geophysical surveys for evidence of adequate enthalpy, fluids, and permeability in the subsurface prior to drilling. The recent adoption of play fairway analysis (PFA), a method used in oil and gas exploration, has progressed to include machine learning (ML) for predicting geothermal drill site favorability. This study introduces a novel approach that extends ML PFA predictions with uncertainty characterization. Four ML algorithms—logistic regression, a decision tree, a gradient-boosted forest, and a neural network—are used to evaluate the subsurface enthalpy resource potential for conventional or EGS prospecting. Normalized Shannon entropy is calculated to assess three spatially variable sources of uncertainty in the analysis: model representation, model parameterization, and feature interpolation. When applied to southwest New Mexico, this approach reveals consistent enthalpy trends embedded in a high-dimensional feature set and detected by multiple algorithms. The uncertainty analysis highlights spatial regions where ML models disagree, highly parameterized models are poorly constrained, and predictions show sensitivity to errors in important features. Rapid insights from this analysis enable exploration teams to optimize allocation decisions of limited financial and human resources during the early stages of a geothermal exploration campaign.
... seismicity (e.g., Sanford et al., 2002), leading to a moderate seismic hazard characterization for the region (e.g., Wong & Humphrey, 1989;Wong et al., 2007). ...
... Northern New Mexico has a lack of historical seismicity and few mapped Quaternary-active faults outside of the RGR. Earthquake activity in New Mexico has generally been sparse since 1869, and small-to moderate-sized earthquakes cannot be easily correlated with mapped Quaternary-active faults (Sanford et al., 2002). Instead, regions of higher seismicity appear to be more related to volcanism than tectonic faulting (Nakai et Sanford et al., 2002). ...
... Earthquake activity in New Mexico has generally been sparse since 1869, and small-to moderate-sized earthquakes cannot be easily correlated with mapped Quaternary-active faults (Sanford et al., 2002). Instead, regions of higher seismicity appear to be more related to volcanism than tectonic faulting (Nakai et Sanford et al., 2002). The largest earthquakes (M4-5) have generally occurred within the RGR (Sanford et al., 2002). ...
In northern New Mexico, seismic hazard outside of the Rio Grande Rift (RGR) is generally considered low due to limited historical seismicity and few mapped Quaternary faults. Although the region has a complex tectonic history, nearly all known faults are considered inactive because of a lack of faulted Quaternary deposits. Analysis of lidar and existing geologic and geomorphic mapping permits identification and characterization of four faults on the Colorado Plateau/RGR margin. The Gallina, Willow Creek, and East and West Brazos Peak faults are normal or dextral‐normal faults that strike NW‐SE with lengths from 15 to 50 km. The Willow Creek fault has scarp heights <0.5–6.4 m on five Quaternary surfaces, with displacement increasing with relative surface age. An ∼5‐m‐high scarp on the ∼250 ka Brazos basalt yields an ∼0.02 mm/yr minimum dip‐slip rate. Oblique slip is recorded by dextral offset (∼40 m) of a middle Quaternary (?) terrace riser, a linear and en‐echelon stepping fault pattern, and a consistent down‐to‐the‐northeast fault expression. The West Brazos Peak fault displaces late Quaternary (?) surfaces by <4 m down‐to‐the‐southwest. We interpret these faults are Laramide‐aged faults reactivated as normal or dextral‐oblique faults in the Quaternary, consistent with regional stress and geodetic data. Although the faults have low slip rates (<0.1 mm/yr), the fault lengths suggest they may rupture in M6‐7 earthquakes and may pose a previously unrecognized seismic hazard to the region. Dextral transtension within the eastern Colorado Plateau is consistent with geodetic strain rates and earthquake focal mechanisms.
... The scientific target of the array was the SMB, located in the Rio Grande Rift in central New Mexico, U.S.A. (Fig. 1), and the overlying shallow uplifting crust and central rift structure. This region exhibits shallow deformation including slow and spatially vertical uplift (1-3 mm=yr) and concentrated seismicity (e.g., Sanford et al., 1973;Larsen et al., 1986;Fialko and Simons, 2001;Sanford et al., 2002;Finnegan and Pritchard, 2009). The SMB was discovered and mapped beginning in the 1960s in seismic reflection and earthquake studies (Sanford and Long, 1965;Sanford et al., 1973Sanford et al., , 1977Rinehart, 1979;Brown et al., 1980;Ake and Sanford, 1988). ...
... The SMB (Fig. 1) is associated with the Socorro seismic anomaly, an area of increased seismicity in central New Mexico around Socorro and the SMB. Roughly 23% of New Mexico's magnitude 2.0 or greater earthquakes over the past approximately 50 yrs have occurred within the Socorro seismic anomaly (e.g., Sanford et al., 2002). ...
... Socorro magma body (SMB) study area; (Inset) Study area location within central New Mexico. (a) Seismicity between 1962-2014 (blue circles) from published catalogs(Sanford et al., 2002(Sanford et al., , 2006Pursley et al., 2013) and the New Mexico Tech Seismological Observatory (NMTSO) recorded by the local short-period network (SC network code) (black stars). Yellow stars show SC stations operating during February 2015. ...
We describe the scientific motivation and deployment strategy for the 2015 Sevilleta Socorro magma body (SMB) mixedmode seismic experiment in central New Mexico, U.S.A. The array consisted of seven temporary broadband, 801 shortperiod geophones, and seven regional network seismic stations placed within the central Rio Grande rift and above the SMB, one of the largest known mid-crustal continental magma bodies globally. The array recorded teleseismic, regional, and local earthquakes as well as regional explosions. Current analysis efforts include earthquake detection and location, structural imaging, and velocity model refinement along the segment of the magma body region experiencing the highest uplift rates.
... (Machette et al., 1998;Personius et al., 1999; Table 1). Frequent small earthquakes (up to M 5 and occasionally M 6) have occurred across New Mexico (see Sanford et al., 2002, their figures 1 and 2), as represented by the historical seismic record, but these typically cannot be attributed to slip on mapped Rio Grande rift faults. However, known Quaternary fault scarps (Machette et al., 1998) clearly are associated with the Rio Grande rift. ...
We use tectonic subsidence patterns from wells and stratigraphic sections to describe the mid-Miocene to present tectonic subsidence history of the Rio Grande rift. Tectonic subsidence and therefore rift opening were quite fast until ca. 8 Ma, with net subsidence rates (~25-65 mm/k.y.) comparable to those of the prerupture phase of rifted continental margins. The rapid subsidence was followed by a late Miocene-early Pliocene unconformity that developed mainly along the flanks of most rift basins. The age of its associated lacuna is spatially variable but falls within 8-3 Ma (mostly 7-5 Ma) and thus is synchronous with eastward tilting of the western Great Plains (ca. 6-4 Ma). Tectonic subsidence rates either remained similar or decreased after the Miocene-Pliocene unconformity. North of 35°N, our analysis of geoid-to-elevation ratios suggests that, at present, topography of the Rio Grande rift region is compensated by a component of mantle-driven dynamic uplift. Previous work has indicated that this dynamic uplift is caused by focused vertical flow in the upper mantle resulting from slab descent and fragmentation of the Farallon slab, and Rio Grande rift opening, which affected the Rio Grande rift area beginning in the late Miocene. The spatial distribution and timing of the unconformity, as well as eastward tilting of the western Great Plains, can be explained by this dynamic mantle uplift, with contributions from variations in rift opening tectonics and climate. The focused mantle upwelling is not associated with increased rift opening rates.
... The earliest event in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) is an M L 4.2 on 23 September 1973 near Valdez, CO (within the Raton Basin) (U.S. Geological Survey, 2017), and four other earthquakes were reported but not located instrumentally from 19 to 23 September 1973 (Coffmann et al., 1975;U.S. Geological Survey, 2017). The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology's seismic catalog from 1962 to 1998 contains four events >M d 1.3 in our study area ( Figure 1) (Sanford et al., 2002). Catalogs developed by Sanford et al. (2006) and Pursley, Bilek, and Ruhl (2013) for 1999 to 2008 (prior to the start of this catalog) contain 78 earthquakes in the study area. ...
The Raton Basin has the highest number of earthquakes in Colorado and New Mexico from 2008 to 2010. The rate of both wastewater injection and earthquakes in the Basin increased dramatically starting in 1999 and 2000, respectively. We compare seismicity (ML 0.0-4.3) in the Raton Basin from 2008 to 2010 with the location of modeled pore pressure increases, estimated from cumulative wastewater injection volume beginning at the onset of well injection to present for all 28 injection wells in the Basin. We find that modeled pore pressures in the New Mexico portion of the basin (above 0.08 MPa) reached that necessary to induce seismicity (0.01-0.1 MPa). We simulate a fault plane, 20 km long, inferred from seismicity in Vermejo Park (1355 of 1800 total earthquakes), in our model. We find that the relatively permeable fault allows pressures to migrate deeper into the basin at the onset of our study in 2008, providing an explanation for the observed seismicity in the basement. The Tercio lineament of earthquakes is similar to Vermejo Park fault in strike, but has fewer earthquakes (129) and is shorter in length (9 km). Seismicity in Vermejo Park occurs continuously, but earthquakes occur episodically in the remainder of the basin. The number of earthquakes we observe in seven seismic clusters increases as the cumulative injected volume from wells within 5 km increases. The modeled pore pressures, earthquake locations, and relationship between cumulative volume and number of earthquakes indicate that seismicity in the Raton Basin is likely induced.
... Our review of the earthquake history of the region relies on sources published in the scientific literature (Northrop and Sanford, 1972;Stover and Coffman, 1994;Kirkham and Rogers, 2000;Sanford et al., 2002) and annual summaries (see Data and Resources) of U.S. seismicity (U.S. earthquakes) published by the Department of Commerce and covering the years from 1928 through 1975. Studies of earthquakes in the preinstrumental period commonly rely heavily on newspapers and other written accounts. ...
We investigate the ongoing seismicity in the Raton Basin and find that the deep injection of wastewater from the coal-bed methane field is responsible for inducing the majority of the seismicity since 2001. Many lines of evidence indicate that this earthquake sequence was induced by wastewater injection. First, there was a marked increase in seismicity shortly after major fluid injection began in the Raton Basin in 1999. From 1972 through July 2001, there was one M >= 4 earthquake in the Raton Basin, whereas 12 occurred between August 2001 and 2013. The statistical likelihood that such a rate change would occur if earthquakes behaved randomly in time is 3.0%. Moreover, this rate change is limited to the area of industrial activity. Earthquake rates remain low in the surrounding area. Second, the vast majority of the seismicity is within 5 km of active disposal wells and is shallow, ranging between 2 and 8 km depth. The two most carefully studied earthquake sequences in 2001 and 2011 have earthquakes within 2 km of high-volume, high-injection-rate wells. Third, injection wells in the area are commonly very high volume and high rate. Two wells adjacent to the August 2011 M 5.3 earthquake injected about 4.9 million cubic meters of wastewater before the earthquake, more than seven times the amount injected at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal well that caused damaging earthquakes near Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s. The August 2011 M 5.3 event is the second-largest earthquake to date for which there is clear evidence that the earthquake sequence was induced by fluid injection.
... Current seismic activity along the Rio Grande rift zone is low, with the exception of the Socorro magma body ( Fig. 9; Sanford et al., 2002). In the past 40 years, earthquakes have been small (M <4.5) and shallow (upper crust), and most were associated with the Socorro magma body (Fig. 8;Sanford et al., 2002). ...
... Current seismic activity along the Rio Grande rift zone is low, with the exception of the Socorro magma body ( Fig. 9; Sanford et al., 2002). In the past 40 years, earthquakes have been small (M <4.5) and shallow (upper crust), and most were associated with the Socorro magma body (Fig. 8;Sanford et al., 2002). Also, historically, earthquakes have been sparse. ...
The rifting cycle initiates with stress buildup, release as earthquakes and/or magma intrusions/eruptions, and visco-elastic rebound. Repeating cycles combine to produce the time-averaged rift zone architecture. Our aim is to quantify the time and length scales of faulting and magmatism in the cratonic East African rift system, which includes incipient rift basins and nascent seafloor spreading segments, and sectors with and without the surface expression of magmatism. A comparison of seismic and geodetic strain patterns, including discrete, intense rifting episodes in magmatic and amagmatic sectors of the East African rift zone, reveals distinct differences and emerging patterns. Admittedly, rifting cycle comparisons are biased by the short time scale of seismic and geodetic measurements in Africa, which span a small fraction of the 10^2-10^5 y rifting cycle. Rift zones lacking evidence of volcanism (Western, Southwestern rift) have deformation cycles dominated by large, commonly lower crustal earthquakes, consistent with half-graben architectures. In these weakly magmatic regions, high CO2 emissions and carbonatitic volcanism indicate that mantle metasomatism occurs during the initial rift stages, providing a mechanism to weaken cratonic lithosphere, and facilitate magma intrusion. Within rift sectors with upper crustal magma chambers beneath the central rift valley (e.g., Main Ethiopian, Afar, and Eastern, Kivu rifts) seismic energy release accounts for a small fraction of the deformation; most of the strain is accommodated by magma intrusion and slow-slip. Thus, the inter-seismic period in rift zones with crustal magma reservoirs is strongly dependent upon the magma replenishment cycle. This comparison also demonstrates that intense rifting events, both magmatic and amagmatic, produce the long-term fault displacements, and maintain the along-axis rift architecture through repeated episodes. The magma intrusion and post-seismic response accommodate centuries of inter-seismic strain, suggesting that geodetically determined plate velocities under-estimate time-averaged rates in magmatic rifts.
... Faults associated with present-day and ancient rifts correspond to a significant part of the world intraplate seismicity (Fisher and Horálek, 2003; Johnston, 1996; Rao et al., 2002; Seht et al., 2008; Stanford et al., 2002 Stanford et al., , 2006). There is mounting evidence that faults related to rifts have been repeatedly reactivated through time (Holdsworth et al., 1997; Ziegler, 1992). ...
Seismogenic fault reactivation of continental-scale structures has been
observed in a few intraplate areas, but its cause is still a matter of
debate. The objective of the present study is to analyze two seismic
swarms that occurred along the EW-trending Pernambuco ductile shear zone
and in a NE-trending branch, in 2007 and 2010 in São Caetano
County, Northeastern Brazil. We studied both epicentral areas using a
nine- and a seven-station network during 180 and 54 days, respectively.
The results indicate that the 2007 swarm correspond to a right-lateral,
strike-slip fault with a normal component of slip (strike 74°,
dip 60°, and rake - 145°) and the 2010 swarm corresponds
to a normal fault (strike 265°, dip 79°, and rake -
91°). The former reactivated a NE-trending branch, whereas the
latter reactivated the main E-W-trending mylonitic belt of the
Pernambuco shear zone. These results are consistent with seismogenic
reactivation of this major structure, generated by the present-day
EW-trending compression and NS-trending extension, as observed by
previous studies. This shear zone was reactivated as rift faults in the
Cretaceous during the South America-Africa breakup. However, our
study confirms that the basement fabric such as continental-scale
ductile shear zones, show evidence of crustal weakness outside areas of
previous rifting, and it reveals the potential for large earthquakes
along dormant rift segments associated with major basement shear belts.
... Current seismic activity along the Rio Grande rift zone is low, with the exception of the Socorro magma body ( Fig. 9; Sanford et al., 2002). In the past 40 years, earthquakes have been small (M <4.5) and shallow (upper crust), and most were associated with the Socorro magma body (Fig. 8;Sanford et al., 2002). ...
... Current seismic activity along the Rio Grande rift zone is low, with the exception of the Socorro magma body ( Fig. 9; Sanford et al., 2002). In the past 40 years, earthquakes have been small (M <4.5) and shallow (upper crust), and most were associated with the Socorro magma body (Fig. 8;Sanford et al., 2002). Also, historically, earthquakes have been sparse. ...
The rifting cycle initiates with stress buildup, release as earthquakes and/or magma intrusions/eruptions, and visco-elastic rebound, multiple episodes of which combine to produce the observed, time-averaged rift zone architecture. The aim of our synthesis of current research initiatives into continental rifting-to-rupture processes is to quantify the time and length scales of faulting and magmatism that produce the time-averaged rift structures imaged in active, failed rifts and passive margins worldwide. We compare and contrast seismic and geodetic strain patterns during discrete, intense rifting episodes in magmatic and amagmatic sectors of the East African rift zone that span early- to late-stage rifting. We also examine the longer term rifting cycle and its relation to changing far-field extension directions with examples from the Rio Grande rift zone and other cratonic rifts. Over time periods of millions of years, periods of rotating regional stress fields are marked by a lull in magmatic activity and a temporary halt to tectonic rift opening. Admittedly, rifting cycle comparisons are biased by the short time scale of global seismic and geodetic measurements, which span a small fraction of the 10 2-105 year rifting cycle. Within rift sectors with upper crustal magma chambers beneath the central rift valley (e.g., Main Ethiopian, Afar, and Eastern or Gregory rifts) seismic energy release accounts for a small fraction of the deformation; most of the strain is accommodated by magma intrusion and slowslip. Magma intrusion processes appear to decrease the time period between rifting episodes, effectively accelerating the rift to rupture process. Thus, the inter-seismic period in rift zones with crustal magma reservoirs is strongly dependent upon the magma replenishment cycle. This comparison also demonstrates that intense rifting events, both magmatic and amagmatic, produce the long-term fault displacements and maintain the along-axis rift architecture through repeated episodes. The magmatic events in particular accommodate centuries of inter-seismic strain, implying that inter-seismic-plate opening rates in late stage rifts should be extrapolated to the past with caution.
