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IMAGE: Sensors for an active seismic source experiment are contained in a firehose as the researchers drive through downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. view more
Credit: Lee Liberty
A complex zone of folding and faulting that links two faults underneath downtown Salt Lake City could deform the ground during a large earthquake, according to a new study.
The findings, published in the open-access journal
The Seismic Record, suggest that earthquakes magnitude 5.0 and larger could cause ground displacement and liquefaction in Salt Lake City that increase the risk of earthquake-related building damage.
As part of the Wasatch Fault Zone, the region has a complex seismic history, with at least 24 large earthquakes occurring in the urbanized parts of the zone over the past 7000 years. Along with previous excavation, borehole and other geophysical studies, the new research also supports the possibility of through-going ruptures across multiple faults in the Wasatch Fau