Earthquakes in Stable Continental Crust

Abstract

Earthquakes can strike even in stable crust, well away from the familiar earthquake zones at the edges of tectonic plates, but their mere occurrence is both a source of concern in planning critical facilities such as nuclear power plants. The authors sought answers to two major questions: Just how much seismic activity does take place within the stable parts of continents And are there specific geologic features that make some areas of stable crust particularly susceptible to earthquakes They began by studying North America alone, but it soon became clear that the fairly short record of these rare events on a single continent would not provide enough data for reliable analysis. Hence, they decided to substitute space for time--to survey earthquake frequency and distribution in stable continental areas worldwide. This paper discusses their findings.