CHIRP Data from the Mississippi River acquired during R/V Strong survey MISSRIV08 (2008)

This 2008 cruise on the M/V Strong, a collaborative effort between the University of Memphis and University of Texas at Austin, collected high-resolution seismic reflection data and CHIRP data along the Mississippi River, from Helena, Arkansas, to Caruthersville, Missouri. It was followed by two more field seasons in 2010 and 2011. It has been proposed that the seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone is either 1) episodic; 2) very young (at least in its present incarnation); or 3) migrates throughout a broad region at the continental or regional scale. The purpose of the seismic acquisition was to illuminate the shallow section and provide images of the Mississippi river sediments and of the suspected faults concealed under the subdued topography, providing detailed information on the partitioning of the deformation among key structures beyond the limit of the New Madrid seismic zone that would enable the PIs to test the various hypotheses concerning the zone. Funded by NSF grant 0738855.