Abstract
Loud, shallow microearthquakes (M < 3.0), occurring in the vicinity of granitic plutons represent a different category of seismicity compared to other recognized seismic sources in South Carolina. We demonstrate this difference by comparing the locations of microearthquakes in the vicinity of three granitic plutons in South Carolina, with the results of two‐dimensional numerical modeling and analytical studies. The less rigid plutons, embedded in more rigid country rock, were loaded by applying ambient tectonic plate stresses along the direction of maximum horizontal compression. The results of modeling showed that regions of computed high stresses lie on the periphery of the plutons, and coincide with both the observed locations of seismicity and with lobes of elevated stresses obtained by analytical calculations for a weak pluton subjected to a homogenous stress field. The amplitude of the modeled stresses appears to be a function of the shape and size of the pluton.
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