The effect of Yucca Fault on seismic wave propagation

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Abstract
Yucca Fault is a major structural feature of Yucca Flat, a well-known geological province of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The trace of the Fault extends north-south over a distance of about 32 km. The fault plane is nearly vertical and offsets Quaternary alluvium, Tertiary volcanic tuffs and pre-Cenozoic basement rocks (quartzites, shales and dolomites) with relative down displacement of several hundred feet on the east side of the fault. Data recorded from the CUP underground nuclear detonation in Yucca Flat typify the effect of the fault on near-zone (i.e., inside 10 km) seismic wave propagation. The effect of the fault is frequency dependent. It affects the frequency components (3.0, 5.0, 10.0 Hz) of the seismic waves which have characteristic wavelengths in the order of the geological discontinuity. Little or no effect is observed for low-frequency components (0.5, 1.0 Hz) which have wave-lengths exceeding the dimensions of the geological discontinuity. The effect of the fault does not represent a safety problem.

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