by Playfuls Staff |
13th December 2006
Geologists report drilling for the deepest seismic research borehole in the eastern United States has been [more] completed at Sassafras Ridge, Ky.
The four-inch diameter hole for the Central U.S. Seismic Observatory reached a depth of 1,948 feet, at which bedrock was encountered.
The location in western Kentucky is near the most active part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the source of at least three major earthquakes during the winter of 1811-12, before the region was heavily populated and developed.
Scientists say instruments lowered into the seismic hole will be used to gather the maximum amount of data from the region's earthquakes for study on their effects on bedrock and soil and the resulting ground motions.
"Now that the well has been completed, our focus will be on getting instruments installed and collecting data vital to the region," said Jim Cobb, state geologist and director of the Kentucky Geological Survey.
The partners in the project -- including the KGD, University of Kentucky, and several federal agencies -- will now determine the type and number of instruments to place in the shaft and at what depths to place them.
© 2006 UPI
