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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Geophysics and Seismology

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University of Kentucky

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

2018

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Sh-Mode Seismic-Reflection Imaging Of Earthfill Dams, Edward W. Woolery Oct 2018

Sh-Mode Seismic-Reflection Imaging Of Earthfill Dams, Edward W. Woolery

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Assessing subsurface characteristics and imaging geologic features (e.g., faults, cavities, low-velocity layers, etc.) are typical problems in near-surface geophysics. These questions often have adverse geotechnical engineering implications, and can be especially acute when associated with high-hazard structures such as large earthen flood-control dams. Dam-related issues are becoming more frequent in the United States, because a large part of this major infrastructure was designed and constructed in the early- to mid-twentieth century; these dams are thus passing into the latter stages of their design life, where minute flaws that were overlooked or thought to be insignificant in design/construction are now …


Lithologic Controls On Focused Erosion And Intraplate Earthquakes In The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, Sean F. Gallen, J. Ryan Thigpen Sep 2018

Lithologic Controls On Focused Erosion And Intraplate Earthquakes In The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, Sean F. Gallen, J. Ryan Thigpen

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

We present a new geomorphic model for the intraplate eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ). Previous studies document that the Upper Tennessee drainage basin is in a transient state of adjustment to ~150 m of base level fall that occurred in the Late Miocene. Using quantitative geomorphology, we demonstrate that base level fall resulted in the erosion of ~3,500 km3 of highly erodibility rock in an ~70 km wide by ~350‐km‐long corridor in the Paleozoic fold‐thrust belt above the ETSZ. Models of modern incision rates show a NE‐SW trending swath of elevated erosion ~30 km southeast of the center of …