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Regional assessment of prehistoric earthquake magnitudes in the South Carolina Coastal Plain

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Abstract

The magnitudes of prehistoric earthquakes that created liquefaction features (i.e., sandblows) in the South Carolina Coastal Plain (SCCP) are not exactly known. In this study, in situ geotechnical data, including cone penetration test (CPT) data with pore water pressure measurements, in the vicinity of discovered sandblows at Hollywood, Sampit, Gapway, and Fort Dorchester sites located in the SCCP were used with the cyclic stress method and Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) to back-calculate the minimum earthquake magnitude (M) and peak ground acceleration (amax) to form a regional assessment of minimum amax-M in the Charleston area. Results indicate that the minimum earthquake magnitude of the prehistoric earthquakes associated with the Charleston Source ranges from 6.6 to 7.2 for the earthquake that occurred about 546 ± 17 years before present (B.P.) and from 6.2 to 6.7 for the earthquake that occurred about 5038 ± 166 years B.P. Results also show that the minimum earthquake magnitude for the prehistoric earthquakes with a source inferred to the Sawmill Branch fault and occurred at least 3500 years ago, ranges from 5.1 to 5.7.

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Funding

This research was financially supported by the National Science Foundation, under grant number CMS-0556006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Emad Gheibi & Sarah Gassman

  2. Keller (Hayward Baker), Odenton, MD, 21113, USA

    Emad Gheibi

  3. South Carolina Department of Transportation, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

    Emad Gheibi

  4. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Pradeep Talwani

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  1. Emad Gheibi
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  2. Sarah Gassman
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  3. Pradeep Talwani
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Correspondence to Emad Gheibi.

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Gheibi, E., Gassman, S. & Talwani, P. Regional assessment of prehistoric earthquake magnitudes in the South Carolina Coastal Plain. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79, 1413–1427 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01627-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01627-7

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