Australian Crustal Stress Measurements from Earthquakes and In-Situ Tests

Geoscience Australia Data provides evidence on horizontal compressive stress in the Australian continent. The dataset includes focal mechanism determinations from eight earthquakes since 1967 and in-situ stress measurements from mines, tunnels, and shallow over-coring tests. Measurements were taken along a 200 km north-south traverse and at several sites in New South Wales during 1978-1979.

Use Cases

• Model regional stress fields based on earthquake focal mechanism data.
• Validate plate tectonic models against in-situ stress measurements.
• Analyze spatial variation in principal stress orientation across different Australian regions.
• Correlate surface deformation observations with subsurface stress measurements.

Strengths

• Includes data from eight earthquakes with reliable focal mechanism determinations.
• Contains in-situ measurements from a 200 km north-south traverse and multiple NSW sites.
• Reports specific stress magnitudes, such as a high of 23 MPa and a low of about 4 MPa.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Combines evidence from earthquake focal mechanisms, in situ stress measurements in mines/tunnels, and shallow over-coring tests.

Time Range

Includes events since 1967, with specific measurement campaigns in 1978-1979.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:49:23.126228; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, with sites including Meckering, Calingiri, Broken Hill, Cobar, and several locations in New South Wales.