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The 1755 Cape Ann Earthquake Recorded in Lake Sediments of Eastern New England: An Interdisciplinary Paleoseismic Approach

2018; Seismological Society of America; Volume: 89; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1785/0220170220

1938-2057

Katrin Monecke, Francine G. McCarthy, J. Bradford Hubeny, John E. Ebel, Daniel J. Brabander, Shelley Kielb, Emma Howey, Greta Janigian, Justin T. Pentesco,

Geological formations and processes

Research Article| March 28, 2018 The 1755 Cape Ann Earthquake Recorded in Lake Sediments of Eastern New England: An Interdisciplinary Paleoseismic Approach Katrin Monecke; Katrin Monecke aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Francine G. McCarthy; Francine G. McCarthy bDepartment of Earth Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. Bradford Hubeny; J. Bradford Hubeny cDepartment of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts 01970 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar John E. Ebel; John E. Ebel dWeston Observatory, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts 02493 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Daniel J. Brabander; Daniel J. Brabander aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shelley Kielb; Shelley Kielb cDepartment of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts 01970 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Emma Howey; Emma Howey aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Greta Janigian; Greta Janigian aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A.eNow at Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Justin Pentesco Justin Pentesco bDepartment of Earth Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Katrin Monecke aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Francine G. McCarthy bDepartment of Earth Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 J. Bradford Hubeny cDepartment of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts 01970 U.S.A. John E. Ebel dWeston Observatory, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts 02493 U.S.A. Daniel J. Brabander aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Shelley Kielb cDepartment of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts 01970 U.S.A. Emma Howey aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A. Greta Janigian aDepartment of Geosciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 U.S.A.eNow at Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 U.S.A. Justin Pentesco bDepartment of Earth Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 28 Mar 2018 Online Issn: 1938-2057 Print Issn: 0895-0695 © Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2018) 89 (3): 1212–1222. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170220 Article history First Online: 28 Mar 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Katrin Monecke, Francine G. McCarthy, J. Bradford Hubeny, John E. Ebel, Daniel J. Brabander, Shelley Kielb, Emma Howey, Greta Janigian, Justin Pentesco; The 1755 Cape Ann Earthquake Recorded in Lake Sediments of Eastern New England: An Interdisciplinary Paleoseismic Approach. Seismological Research Letters 2018;; 89 (3): 1212–1222. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170220 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search ABSTRACT The 1755 Cape Ann earthquake, the most damaging historic earthquake in New England, caused strong ground motion of modified Mercalli intensities (MMIs) VI–VII in eastern Massachusetts, most likely affecting lake sediments in the area. We present multiproxy data of a well‐dated sedimentary record from Sluice Pond in Lynn, Massachusetts, that contains a mass wasting deposit of possible seismic origin. Sediment cores retrieved from the deepest basin in nearly 20 m water depth were interpreted using a combination of geophysical, sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological proxies. Age–depth relationships calculated using radioisotopes, onset of industrial contaminants, and pollen stratigraphy indicate that the upper 40 cm of the sedimentary record were deposited since ∼1600⁠. The lake sediments are composed of dark brown to black organic‐rich silts that appear homogeneous in the lower part but show some faint laminations above 29 cm core depth. A distinct light brown layer that occurs in 31–29 cm core depth is normally graded and composed of sediment and microfossils typically found in near‐shore aquatic environments. We interpret this unit, deposited between 1740 and 1810, as a turbidite generated by underwater mass wasting along the steep basin slopes during intense ground shaking in 1755. These results suggest that strong earthquakes in New England leave a record in the organic‐rich sediments of small ponds. Such lakes are abundant in this formerly glaciated terrain and can be used to establish paleoseismic records for a region where the recurrence interval of large, potentially damaging earthquakes is mostly unknown. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.