Observation of Shear-Wave Splitting in Quaternary Sediments of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (Central USA) – An Indicator of In-Situ Stress Conditions?

C001 OBSERVATION OF SHEAR-WAVE SPLITTING IN QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS OF THE NEW MADRID SEISMIC ZONE (CENTRAL USA): AN INDICATOR OF IN-SITU STRESS CONDITIONS? 1 Introduction Investigating the relationship between seismicity and geologic deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) the most active earthquake zone east of the Rocky Mountains is one of the most essential areas of earthquake hazards research in the central United States. Evaluating the near-surface continuation of basement faults in the region is limited by the inability of the unconsolidated Quaternary sediments to propagate large coherent fractures making evaluation of the near-surface stress field and associated structural