Journal article
Fluid-Enhanced Neotectonic Faulting in the Cratonic Lithosphere of the Nullarbor Plain in South-Central Australia
H Yang, S Sellmann, M Quigley
Geophysical Research Letters | AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION | Published : 2022
DOI: 10.1029/2022GL099155
Abstract
The Nullarbor Plain is underlain by thick cratonic lithospheric mantle that is almost devoid of contemporary seismicity. Analysis of high-resolution digital elevation models indicates neotectonic fault-propagation fold traces on the nearly flat karst landscape that locally extend to lengths of >100 km, suggesting potential for hosting large (>7.3–7.5) moment magnitude earthquakes. Along-strike maximum displacements are not proportional to neotectonic fold surface trace length but are spatially associated with crust-scale electrical conductors identified in magnetotelluric surveys. Two major conductors penetrate from the upper crust to the uppermost mantle (at depths < 60 km) along crustal sc..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Australian Research Council through Discovery Grant #DP170103350 to M. Quigley. The authors acknowledge the support of Dr. Stephan Thiel and Dr. Tom Wise from the Geological Survey of South Australia providing the processed MT data. H. Yang would like to thank Prof. Brian Kennett and Prof. Hans Thybo for the discussion on the seismic reflection profiles. Additional comments from Prof. Graham Heinson are appreciated. The petrophysical information of borehole samples from the Nullarbor Plain provided by Rapael Quentin de Gromard and his colleagues from the Geological Survey of Western Australia is also appreciated. H. Yang received the Melbourne Research Scholarship, the Baragwanath Travel Scholarship, and the Albert Shimmins Writing-Up Award from the University of Melbourne to assist in research development. Constructive comments from Prof. Richard Sibson, Prof. Martyn Unsworth, and the other two anonymous reviewers have improved this manuscript. Open access publishing facilitated by Australian National University, as part of the Wiley - Australian National University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.