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1 September 2006 The Conrad Discontinuity in the Midcontinent (USA)
D. F. Merriam
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Abstract

The Conrad discontinuity is identified in the U.S. Midcontinent Precambrian crust as a prominent seismic velocity change from about 6.1 to 6.7 km/sec at a depth of between 7.5 and 13.7 km (4.7 and 8.6 mi) in Kansas. There is some discussion, however, as to whether the discontinuity really exists, and if it does, what it represents. It is at this depth that numerous intermediate-depth microearthquakes occur suggesting that these quakes define the discontinuity. Mapping the depth of the microquakes gives a configuration of the discontinuity consistent with the relation of the fault-bounded Midcontinent Rift System to the overall Precambrian basement-rock pattern.

D. F. Merriam "The Conrad Discontinuity in the Midcontinent (USA)," Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 109(3), 125-130, (1 September 2006). https://doi.org/10.1660/0022-8443(2006)109[125:TCDITM]2.0.CO;2
Published: 1 September 2006
KEYWORDS
continental interior
microearthquakes
Midcontinent Rift System (MRS)
Precambrian crustal discontinuities
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