Faulting along the Southeastern Margin of the Reelfoot Rift in Northwestern Tennessee Revealed in Deep Seismic-reflection Profiles

Abstract

Other| November 01, 2004 Faulting along the Southeastern Margin of the Reelfoot Rift in Northwestern Tennessee Revealed in Deep Seismic-reflection Profiles Shane Parrish; Shane Parrish Department of Earth Sciences University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152 rvonrsdl@memphis.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Roy Van Arsdale Roy Van Arsdale Department of Earth Sciences University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152 rvonrsdl@memphis.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Seismological Research Letters (2004) 75 (6): 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.75.6.784 Article history first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Shane Parrish, Roy Van Arsdale; Faulting along the Southeastern Margin of the Reelfoot Rift in Northwestern Tennessee Revealed in Deep Seismic-reflection Profiles. Seismological Research Letters 2004;; 75 (6): 784–793. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.75.6.784 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search Abstract Approximately 320 km of deep seismic-reflection profiles in northwestern Tennessee reveal the structure of a major portion of the southeastern margin of the Reelfoot Rift. This rift margin consists of at least two major down-to-the-west late Precambrian to Cambrian normal faults. Maximum fault displacement at one location is 3 km. These two faults strike N50°E, in their northern portions; over their southern extent they trend N30°E however.Numerous faults in these reflection lines displace Paleozoic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary reflectors. The dominantly reverse faulting, folding, and positive flower structures in the shallower section indicate Eocene or younger transpression. We believe the late Tertiary faulting is due to reactivation of the basement faults, because on some of the reflection lines basement normal faults can be traced into Tertiary reverse faults, the Tertiary faults parallel the basement faults, and the Tertiary faults overlie or are adjacent to the basement faults. Numerous faults displace the highest (youngest) reflectors and therefore we do not know how recently faulting has occurred. Previous studies have identified Quaternary faulting within the southeastern Reelfoot Rift margin of western Tennessee, however. Thus, we believe all of the late Tertiary faults identified in this research should be evaluated for possible Quaternary movement. You do not currently have access to this article.