Descr: The purpose of this pilot project is to assess the potential crustal exploration uses and vibration impacts of industrial blasting in a very highly populated setting in the New York City area. The project has implications for both the scientific exploration of the New York and Newark Harbor areas and the seismo-environmental conditions underlying them. Because of the plan to continue these blasts for several years, they may provide a unique opportunity for both basic crustal research and earthquake-engineering safety zone mapping. The public works blasting project that is the focus of this pilot study is being conducted by the Port of Newark, NJ, and the Army Corp of Engineers, Manhattan District. The purpose of the blasts are to deepen the Kill Van Kull channel between Bayonne and Staten Island. At this location the channel is underlain by a thin section of Newark Basin sediments over the Pallisades diabase sill. The channel is being deepened by multiple-delay rock excavation blasts in the diabase. A total of 1-2 tons of high grade explosives are being detonated in each bast, with 1 to 3 blasts taking place over each day light interval, 7 days a week. The aim of our pilot project is to see if these large blasts can be used to detect scientifically seismic phases and socially useful site effects. Despite their complex source-time functions, it maybe that a combination of near-source strong motion measurements and offset wider angle recordings can be used to profile the local crustal structure. Also, given the earthquake potential of the Staten Island/Bayonne area, and the lack of direct measurements of site effects due to earthquake ground motions beneath critical structures, the blast could also be used to study local earthquake zonation. In this pilot project we seek to test the use of the blasts for these 2 purposes. A small subset of REFTEK recorders and Mark Product sensors are being requested from PASSCAL for this test
