Paleoseismic history of the Meers fault, southwestern Oklahoma, and implications for evaluations of earthquake hazards in the central and eastern United States

The Meers fault lies within the northwest-trending Frontal Wichita fault zone, which forms the northeastern margin of the southern Oklahoma aulacogen. Detailed field studies indicate that two surface-rupture events having down-on-the-south, left-oblique slip occurred along the Meers fault during the late Holocene. These late Holocene events were preceded by a period of tectonic quiescence that lasted at least several tens- to hundreds-of-thousands of years. Temporal clustering of paleoseismic events along the historically aseismic Meers fault suggests that the historical record is too short to fully identify potentially hazardous seismic sources in the central and eastern United States. Geologic evidence of large paleoseismic events associated with the southern Oklahoma aulacogen supports the hypothesis that modern deformation is localized along pre-existing zones of crustal weakness. This study has potential implications for risk assessments for light water reactors in North America