NEOTECTONIC FEATURES IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF POP-UP STRUCTURES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SEISMIC RISK
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Intraplate tectonics is generally not well documented and understood, despite its significance for seismic hazards in areas such as southeastern Canada. Neotectonics is even less well understood in these regions. This study focuses on providing an in-depth analysis of potential neotectonic pop-up structures in southern Ontario, Canada, leading to a comprehensive definition of what pop-up structures are, to constrain the processes involved in neotectonism, and to determine the extent to which neotectonism impacts the region. Previous literature has hypothesized that neotectonic structures have a likely potential to be linked to reactivated structures within the Precambrian Basement rocks of the Canadian Shield. In addition to documenting new potential neotectonic structures, this work provides a brief overview of tectonics in southern Ontario, and how previously measured lineaments in the Precambrian Basement may align with observable, potentially neotectonic surface structures. Three locations in southern Ontario were documented using a combination of ground and drone-based structural analysis: 1) Fletcher Creek Ecological Preserve, 2) Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area, and 3) multiple sites on Manitoulin Island. These sites were chosen where previous studies had documented neotectonic activity, and/or where initial geomorphic analyses indicated the possibility of a pop-up structure. All sites are located within the Silurian to Devonian cover rocks of the Niagara Escarpment. Fracture patterns at each site were analyzed using ground-based measurements using FieldClino and/or drone-based photogrammetry (DJI Phantom 4 V2 and Phantom 4 Pro acquisition followed by analysis in Pix4D and Drone2Map), where applicable. Where access permitted, ground-based measurements iv were obtained on structures, in addition to RTK-DGPS (Real Time Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System) profiles over potential pop-up structures. Analysis revealed that pop-up structures exhibit a distinct geomorphic expression, manifesting as a near-linear elevated ridge, where stress relief features have variable geomorphic expressions, such as domes. In southern Ontario, the presence of these pop-ups and stress relief features demonstrates that the region is tectonically active, despite often being characterized as a stable continental interior. This study adds to a growing body of work documenting neotectonics in southern Ontario, with several stress-related structures documented for the first time in this study, showing their prevalence over a wide area. The results of this study were used to create an updated tectonic hazard map of Ontario.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.004 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".