Intra-plate faults like the New Madrid fault are caused by ancient crustal weaknesses
Intraplate faults and earthquakes, such as those in the New Madrid seismic zone, are widely supported by geological and seismological evidence to be driven by the reactivation of ancient crustal weaknesses and inherited tectonic structures under far-field stresses.
The retrieved literature robustly supports the claim that intraplate faults and seismicity (including the New Madrid fault, as well as examples in Japan, Norway, Uruguay, and West Africa) are localized along ancient crustal weaknesses, pre-existing rift systems, or inherited lithospheric scars. Numerous studies consistently point to these ancient structural boundaries as the underlying control for modern intraplate deformation.
Lanbo Liu, Mark D. Zoback. Lithospheric strength and intraplate seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone. 1997. https://doi.org/10.1029/97tc01467
Paper 0 notes that lower crust and upper mantle weakness allows plate-driving forces to deform intraplate areas like the New Madrid seismic zone.
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Jeffrey P. Grana, Randall M. Richardson. Tectonic stress within the New Madrid seismic zone. 1996. https://doi.org/10.1029/95jb03255
Paper 1 demonstrates that localized stresses from ancient rift pillows play a continuing role in the modern deformation of the New Madrid seismic zone.
Aitaro Kato, Eiji Kurashimo, Toshihiro Igarashi, Shinichi Sakai, Takashi Iidaka, Masanao Shinohara, Toshihiko Kanazawa, Tomoaki Yamada, Naoshi Hirata, Takaya Iwasaki. Reactivation of ancient rift systems triggers devastating intraplate earthquakes. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008gl036450
Paper 2 finds that aftershocks of intraplate earthquakes align with pre-existing weaknesses associated with buried rift systems.
Qie Zhang, Eric Sandvol, Mian Liu. Lithospheric velocity structure of the New Madrid Seismic Zone: A joint teleseismic and local P tomographic study. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009gl037687
Paper 3 links the enigmatic seismicity of the New Madrid Seismic Zone to a lithospheric weak zone near rheological boundaries.
Heron PJ, Pysklywec RN, Stephenson R. Lasting mantle scars lead to perennial plate tectonics.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11834
Paper 6 establishes through numerical experiments that structures frozen into the lithosphere from past plate tectonics act as reactivated weak zones.
Angélique Marck, L. Ottemöller, S. Rondenay, Haakon Fossen. Intraplate seismicity in southwestern Norway: Enhanced catalogue highlights diffusive earthquake occurrence linked to inherited weakness zones. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggaf018
Paper 7 shows that intraplate seismicity in Norway is localized around major pre-existing crustal shear zones.
M. Haag, L. Schoenbohm, Rossano Dalla Lana Michel, C. M. dos Santos Scherer, G. Veroslavsky, Josefina Marmisolle. Morphometric Evidence for Cenozoic Intraplate Reactivation in NW Uruguay. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025TC009070
Paper 8 demonstrates that recent intraplate deformation in Uruguay is localized by the reactivation of ancient basement fault zones.
Sarah Derouin. Ancient Crustal Weaknesses Contribute to Modern Earthquakes in West Africa. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024eo240244
Paper 11 explicitly highlights how ancient crustal weaknesses contribute to modern earthquakes in the interior of the continent.
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