Coseismic Surface Deformation Caused by the 23 March 2012 Mw 5.4 Ernabella (Pukatja) Earthquake, Central Australia: Implications for Fault Scaling Relations in Cratonic Settings

Abstract

Research Article| November 19, 2013 Coseismic Surface Deformation Caused by the 23 March 2012 Mw 5.4 Ernabella (Pukatja) Earthquake, Central Australia: Implications for Fault Scaling Relations in Cratonic Settings D. Clark; D. Clark Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. McPherson; A. McPherson Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T. Allen; T. Allen Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar M. De Kool M. De Kool Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information D. Clark Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia A. McPherson Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia T. Allen Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia M. De Kool Minerals and Natural Hazards Division, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-3573 Print ISSN: 0037-1106 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (2014) 104 (1): 24–39. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120361 Article history First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation D. Clark, A. McPherson, T. Allen, M. De Kool; Coseismic Surface Deformation Caused by the 23 March 2012 Mw 5.4 Ernabella (Pukatja) Earthquake, Central Australia: Implications for Fault Scaling Relations in Cratonic Settings. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 2013;; 104 (1): 24–39. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120361 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyBulletin of the Seismological Society of America Search Advanced Search Abstract On 23 March 2012, at 09:25 UTC, an Mw 5.4 earthquake occurred in the eastern Musgrave Ranges of north‐central South Australia, near the community of Ernabella (Pukatja). Several small communities in this remote part of central Australia reported the tremor, but there were no reports of injury or significant damage. This was the largest earthquake recorded on mainland Australia in the past 15 years and resulted in the formation of a 1.6 km long surface deformation zone that included reverse‐fault scarps with a maximum vertical displacement of more than 0.5 m, extensive ground cracking, and numerous rock falls. The earthquake occurred in nonextended stable continental region (SCR) cratonic crust, more than 1900 km from the nearest plate boundary. Surface deformation from the Ernabella earthquake provides additional constraint on relations of surface‐rupture length to earthquake magnitude. Such relations aid in interpreting Australia's rich record of prehistoric seismicity and contribute to improved estimates of SCR seismic hazard worldwide. Based upon an analysis of new and reinterpretation of existing surface‐rupture length data, faults in nonextended stable cratonic Australia appear to produce longer surface ruptures (for earthquakes larger than Mw∼6.5) than rupture lengths estimated using existing moment‐to‐rupture length scaling relations. The implication is that the estimated maximum, or characteristic, magnitude of paleoearthquakes in such settings may be overestimated where the estimate is based only on the length of the prehistoric fault scarp. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.