Late Quaternary Activity and Seismogenic Potential of the Gonave microplate: South Coast Fault Zone of Southern Jamaica

The South Coast fault zone (SCFZ) strikes east-west and forms a scarp as high as 600 m along the southern coast of Jamaica. It has been postulated that this fault acts as a left-lateral, strike-slip 'bypass' fault that truncates the large, right-stepping restraining bend formed between the Plantain Garden fault zone of southeastern Jamaica and the Duanvale-Walton fault zone of northwestern Jamaica. GPS measurements near the SCFZ show anomalously rotated vectors consistent with active left-lateral shear. Anomalous topography along the trace of the SCFZ includes two, doubly plunging anticlines: Kemp's Hill (119 m), an isolated high in the otherwise flat Vere Plain, and Round Hill (333 m), a larger high directly adjacent to the coast. Field work identified the most active trace of the SCFZ in a notch along the north flank of Round Hill; this trace can be extrapolated to the west along the coast and east that locally defines a low scarp in alluvium. Channel profiles constructed for six rivers and streams crossing the projected trace of the SCFZ show convex-upward morphologies, consistent with dominance of tectonic uplift over river downcutting. To better define the subsurface location of the SCFZ beneath the Vere Plain, a gravity survey network consisting of 327 stations and covering an areas of 500 km2 was performed using a Lacoste and Romberg G-meter. Differential GPS allowed centimeter-level elevation control for each station. Gravity corrections (elevation, latitude, instrument drift, and earth tides) were made using QC Tool software, and topographic and terrane corrections were made using both local topographic measurements and high-resolution SRTM data. An ~20 mgal negative gravity anomaly on the otherwise flat gravity field of the Vere Plain corresponds with the projected trace of the SCFZ across the Vere Plain and the locations of one river offset. We interpret that the SCFZ has down-to-the-south throw, which has led to thickening of Quaternary sediments south of the fault. Further work, including geodetic surveys and fault trenching, will better constrain the amount of late Quaternary motion on the SCFZ.