Australian Crustal Stress Measurements from Earthquakes and Boreholes, 1967-1979

Eight earthquake focal mechanisms and in-situ stress measurements from mines, tunnels, and quarry floors across Australia indicate substantial horizontal compression in the continent's crust. Measurements from a 200 km north-south traverse near the 1968 Meckering and 1970 Calingiri earthquakes show a high regional compressive stress oriented about 77°E of N, with values ranging from 4 MPa to 23 MPa. The dataset, sourced from the Australian Ocean Data Network, includes results from sites tested in 1978-1979 in New South Wales, showing varying principal stress orientations across different regions.

Use Cases

• Model regional crustal stress fields based on earthquake focal mechanism data.
• Validate plate tectonic stress models against in-situ stress measurements mentioned in the description.
• Analyze spatial variation in horizontal compressive stress directions across different Australian regions.
• Correlate surface deformation evidence with subsurface stress measurements from mines and tunnels.

Strengths

• Includes data from eight distinct earthquake events since 1967.
• Reports specific stress magnitude values, such as 23 MPa and 4 MPa, from a 200 km traverse.
• Contains measurements from multiple site types: mines, tunnels, quarry floors, and rock outcrops.
• Covers a temporal range from 1967 to 1979 across several parts of Australia.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compiled from earthquake focal mechanism determinations and in-situ stress measurements using over-coring techniques.

Time Range

1967 to 1979

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 06:29:50.584506; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, including specific sites in Western Australia and New South Wales