Geoscience Reference
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Table 2.1 Documented surface-rupturing earthquakes in Australia. Refer
to Figure 2.1 for locations
Magnitude
( M W )
Year
Location
Reference(s)
1968 Meckering, WA
6.6
Gordon and Lewis ( 1980 ) , Vogfj ord and
Langston ( 1987 ) , Johnston ( 1994 )
1970
Calingiri, WA
5.5
Gordon and Lewis ( 1980 ) , Johnston ( 1994 )
1979
Cadoux, WA
6.1
Lewis et al . ( 1981 ) , Fredrich et al . ( 1988 )
1986 Marryat Creek, SA
5.8
Fredrich et al .( 1988 ) , Machette et al .( 1993 )
1988
Tennant Creek, N T *
6.3-6.6
Bowman et al .( 1990 ) ; Chung et al .( 1992 ) ;
Crone et al . ( 1992 )
2008 Katanning, WA
4.7
Dawson et al .( 2008 )
2012
Ernabella, SA
5.4
Clark et al . ( 2013 )
* Tennant Creek involved a series of three consecutive events within one day.
that the events might reflect continuing crustal adjustment relating to the Cadoux rupture
(Dent, 2008 , 2009). However, many other swarm sequences are apparently unrelated to
larger events (Gibson et al ., 1994 ; Dent, 2008 ) .
On 27 December 1989 an M L 5.6 earthquake occurred near Newcastle, NSW ( Figure
2.1 - 5), resulting in 13 fatalities and significant damage. The event was one of the most
destructive and costly natural disasters to have occurred in Australia (McCue et al ., 1990 ;
Sinadinovski et al ., 2002 ) , but not the first event to affect a populated centre. The 1897
Beachport, 1902 Warooka, and 1954 Adelaide events (McCue, 1975 ; Greenhalgh and
Singh, 1988 ; Love, 1996 ) ( Figure 2.1 - 6, 7, 8) caused damage in South Australia; the
Warooka event also claimed two lives (McCue, 1975 ) . The 1968 Meckering, 1970 Calingiri
(Gordon and Lewis, 1980 ) , 1979 Cadoux (Lewis et al ., 1981 ) , and 2010 Kalgoorlie-Boulder
(Bathgate et al ., 2010 ) ( Figure 2.1 - 9, 10, 11, 12) events all caused damage in Western
Australia, as did the 1988 Tennant Creek sequence in the Northern Territory (Bowman,
1992 ) ( Figure 2.1 -2).
Several of the damaging earthquakes noted previously also ruptured the ground surface.
If the three 1988 Tennant Creek mainshocks (Bowman, 1988 ; Choy and Bowman, 1990 ;
Bowman, 1992 ; Crone et al ., 1992 ) are treated as a single scarp-forming event, then the
23 March 2012 M W 5.4 Ernabella earthquake (Clark et al ., 2013 ) ( Figure 2.1 - 13)
represents the seventh historic Australian event that can be unequivocally associated with
surface rupture ( Figure 2.1 ; Table 2.1 ) . All seven of these events ruptured non-extended
SCR cratonic crust ( Figure 2.1 ) and involved a dominant reverse component to motion
(Gordon and Lewis, 1980 ; Lewis et al ., 1981 ; Crone et al ., 1992 ; Machette et al ., 1993 ;
Dawson et al ., 2008 ) . As such, they are similar to the 1989 Ungava (Canada) (Adams
et al ., 1991 , 1992; Bent, 1994 ) and the 1993 Killari Latur (India) (Rajendran et al ., 1996 ,
2001; Seeber et al ., 1996 ; Rajendran, 2000 , ) earthquakes.
 
 
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