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western quebec and southern ontario - Department of Geology

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esults from other similar studies, <strong>and</strong> analysed <strong>and</strong> compared with tectonic features <strong>of</strong>the study area.5.2 Focal DepthsDepth is one <strong>of</strong> the main parameters considered in the seismic hazard. It plays animportant role in determination <strong>of</strong> the seismogenic layer in earthquake zones. Figure 5.1shows the distribution <strong>of</strong> studied earthquakes with their focal depth. There is obviously adistinct geographic difference in the depths <strong>of</strong> the seismic events in <strong>western</strong> Quebec <strong>and</strong><strong>southern</strong> Ontario.The <strong>southern</strong> Ontario events <strong>and</strong> the events <strong>and</strong> south <strong>of</strong> Lake Erie occur at shallowdepths between 4 <strong>and</strong> 20 km (Figure 5.1) but most <strong>of</strong> them are with hypocentres around10 km. The depth range <strong>of</strong> these events is similar to the range <strong>of</strong> depths suggested byWhite et al. (2000) for the Grenville province in <strong>southern</strong> Ontario (possibly Grenvillerocks under Palaeozoic cover).The <strong>western</strong> Quebec events are generally deeper – between 12 to 30 km but most<strong>of</strong> them are around 18 - 20 km. The hypocentres around 18 km <strong>and</strong> deeper are restrictedmostly in the eastern part <strong>of</strong> Western Quebec Seismic Zone. Considering a felsiccomposition <strong>of</strong> rock types at depths lower than 18 km <strong>and</strong> the temperature in such depths(≥350ºC) (Mareschal et al., 2000) the state <strong>of</strong> the crust in this zone seems to be close tothe ductile/brittle transition. The depth interval for the hypocentres in <strong>western</strong> Quebecseems to be consistent with the depth <strong>of</strong> the Mesoproterozoic shear zone on theLlTHOPROBE seismic pr<strong>of</strong>ile (Figure 5.2a). Based on this correlation, it may beconcluded that the distribution <strong>of</strong> earthquakes in the WQSZ may be locally influenced by60

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