Some time ago I said that if the New Madrid fault zone were to ever rise again, it would have to extend to Dyersburg and beyond. I'm starting to see a faint trace of that, but the fault is turning, which is weird.
The blue shows the old zone. It is a classic rock mechanics, testing machine failure, with a thrust zone in the middle and two shear wings. All of the new mechanisms take this form, usually starting with one shear wing. Yet the NMZ continues to be fed with water, and should do something. The only question is whether it is confined by geometry and cannot grow.
I'm rooting for more growth! As with the other zones, we'll only be able to confirm a mechanism with an M4 or greater. That starts to be the size where there is enough deformation to open up more water channels.
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