CENTRAL AND EASTERN UNITED STATES PALEOLIQUEFACTION DATABASE AND TECHNICAL REPORT

The first, national-level paleoliquefaction database and accompanying technical report have been developed for the Central and Eastern U.S. Seismic Source Characterization (CEUS SSC) project, whose goal is to provide up-to-date, consistent, and stable input for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). Building on a regional database developed for the New Madrid seismic zone and surrounding region, the new CEUS paleoliquefaction database was designed to capture pertinent information for seismic source characterization. The database is searchable, expandable, and includes all large regional datasets of paleoliquefaction features, including those collected in the vicinity of the Charleston seismic zone in eastern South Carolina; the New Madrid seismic zone in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, and western Kentucky; the Wabash Valley seismic zone in southern Illinois and Indiana; and the Charlevoix seismic zone in southeastern Quebec. The technical report includes an explanation of the database structure and criteria used in vetting data entered into the database. For each regional dataset, there is an overview of paleoliquefaction studies, descriptions of feature types and age estimates, illustrative maps, and recommendations for future research. The report also includes discussions of uncertainties associated with the collection and interpretation of paleoliquefaction data as well as guidance on the use of paleoliquefaction data in seismic source characterization. The paleoliquefaction database and report were used in the CEUS SSC project to identify sources of repeated large-magnitude earthquakes and to estimate earthquake magnitudes and recurrence rates for those sources, critical parameters for seismic source characterization and PSHA. The CEUS paleoliquefaction database and report are expected to inform paleoearthquake research as well as to aid earthquake hazard assessment for years to come and will be published by the end of 2010 as part of the CEUS SSC project report.