Search

On September 27, 2003, the destructive Chuya (Altai) earthquake (magnitude 7.3), the strongest earthquake among those recorded in 1991–2022 in continental Russia, occurred near the southwestern border of the Chuya and Kurai basins in southeastern Altai. We have analyzed the seismic activity of this area and compiled the scheme of neotectonic stresses of the Chuya–Kurai Basin and adjacent structures. The modern and neotectonic stresses of southeastern Altai have been compared. The neotectonic stresses are retrieved using the structural-geomorphological method of shear stress reconstruction. It has been found that the orientation of the subhorizontal compression axis of the first rank changes from meridional to NNE and NE. The earthquake occurred in the region within which the largest faults of rank I (Kurai and Shapshal), SSW part of the prerecent Charysh–Terekta fault (we combine it at the neotectonic stage with the fault bounding the Chagan–Uzun block from the southeast in a common regional fault of rank I) were activated at the neotectonic stage in an setting of additional compression. A larger-scale stress field has been also reconstructed for the Chagan–Uzun rigid block that delineates the Chuya and Kurai basins. The neotectonic fault of the NW strike bounding the Chuya and Kurai basins from the southwest has been identified. The fault, we notionally called Bezymyannyi, is divided by smaller faults of SE orientation into three segments and is included in the large South Chuya fault zone. According to the data on strong earthquake focal mechanisms in the investigated region, a stable subhorizontal position of the compression axis has been established (as well as at the neotectonic stage). It is accepted that strong earthquakes occur in a compression setting. The mechanisms of earthquakes (mostly, aftershocks) related to the Chuya event indicate the concentration of thrust mechanisms within the Chagan–Uzun elevated block. This may be due to the ongoing uplift of the Chagan–Uzun block at the current stage. Along the Bezymyannyi fault, the earthquake focal mechanisms are mostly shear-type. This is the result of formation of a shear field under the shear displacement along the fault during the earthquake. Major seismic events occur mainly in a compression setting. Thus, the Chuya earthquake is caused by a subhorizontal compression setting (both regional and local), which is determined by comparing the neotectonic and modern stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Studying the tectonic features of the structure of the earth’s crust of Kryvyi Rih-Kremenchuk suture zone to clarify the nature of the origin of seismic events in the Kryvbas. Methodology. To analyze and generalize the data on the Kryvbas seismicity with reference to large-scale geological and tectonic maps of exploration work. To study its tectonic structure based on geological, geophysical studies and drilling of Kryvyi Rih superdeep well. Findings. In the period 2011–2021, about 1,200 seismic events were recorded on the territory of Kryvbas, the majority of which had a minor magnitude ≥ 2.0. Among them there were identified 13 powerful industrial explosions from mb = 2.7–3.5 and 20 earthquakes of tectonic origin with mb = 2.1–4.5. Powerful explosions in mines predominantly induce earthquakes. In recent years, local earthquakes began to occur in tectonic fault zones outside the ore mining area, which indicates a change in the elastic-deformation state of the geological environment. The analysis of the attributes of local earthquakes and their locations suggests that Kryvyi Rih tectonic system and the entire eastern flank of the earth’s crust of the West Inhulets-Kryvyi Rih-Kremenchuk suture zone are geodynamically active structures, where the processes of thrust and shear tectonics are also observed on a recent geological time scale. Originality. A detailed analysis of the earthquakes shows that some of them occur at significant depths in the zones of tectonic faults outside of Kryvbas. At the same time, faults in separate directions are activated, where brittle deformations and viscousplastic formations are manifested in the past geological time. The location of local earthquakes made it possible to single out two sections and five linear zones of seismic activity in the region. Practical value. Based on the results from this research it is possible to create an applied model of the tectonic section of the earth’s crust to solve the problems of evolution and geodynamics of the lithosphere of the Ukrainian shield, mountain geology and to optimize mining. The identified faults of active inherited development are important in determining the development paths for quarries and mines in Kryvbas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of tectonophysical methods has been applied to reconstruct the neotectonic stresses of the southeastern Altai Mountains within the Chuya–Kurai depression and its framing structures. It is suggested that at the neotectonic stage, the tectonic structures of the Altai Mountains underwent a transformation of geodynamic conditions—a situation of sublatitudinal horizontal compression with predominant reverse-fault and transpressional movements along faults that existed up to the Neogene was replaced by horizontal shear conditions with a NNE and NE subhorizontal compression axis and WNW and NW extension axis. With such a stress field, the dominant NW-trending faults in this territory are mainly characterized by dextral strike-slip displacements, and NE-trending faults, by sinistral. Submeridionally trending faults that formed at the neotectonic stage show clear signs of extensional structures. A feature of the faults of the Chuya–Kurai depression according to these studies is a fairly small number of megafractures (indicators of shear displacements) in shear zones. This indicates dominant reverse-fault and transpressional movements over large disjunctive structures in the region in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic versus neotectonic shear movements. The results of the research are of practical importance in studying the regional seismicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-period magnetotelluric soundings were carried out in the eastern part of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline in central Europe to determine the deep geoelectrical structure. It is an important area in the contact zone of the Palaeozoic terranes of Western Europe and the Proterozoic East European Craton. The research area includes the Dolsk fault zone and the Odra fault zone, which are essential geological boundaries of a regional nature separating crustal blocks of various origins. There were conducted 51 soundings on the quasi-regular mesh 150 km in SE and 225 km in NE. The research region is highly urbanized, and hence some of the data were strongly disturbed. Careful processing of data was required, and sometimes measurements had to be repeated at other locations. The collected data allow constructing 3-D models of the electrical conductivity distribution. A parallel version of the ModEM 3-D inversion code was used for modelling. The information contained in each used transfer function was also examined by performing a separate inversion of these functions. The obtained resistivity distribution models confirm the Dolsk and Odra faults' location as postulated previously by geologists. They also show that these very deep faults are reaching the lower crust. However, they do not clearly state how far the contemporary lowering of the Baltica reaches under cover of younger Palaeozoic sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with spatial relationships between seismic zones in the eastern Priamurye region (М ≥ 5) on the one hand and, on the other, regional faults and zones of hidden faults as indicated by axes of gravity and magnetic anomalies. The seismoactive zones where М ≥ 5 earthquakes occurred are mostly confined to regional faults, while there are two cases where no such relationship has been detected. Seismic zones are observed both at intersections of regional faults and at intersections of regional faults with hidden faults of different rank. The seismic zones comprise inclined and subvertical deep-seated faults as identified by deep seismic sounding (DSS), the earthquake converted wave method (ECWM), and magnetotelluric sounding (MTS) surveys. The seismoactive zones were studied by geophysical techniques to identify indication of fluid saturation, as follows: the seismoactive faults frequently control low velocity and low resistivity inhomogeneities in the Earth's crust and upper mantle; some seismoactive faults have displaced the Moho interface; there are dome-shaped flexures of crustal interfaces and of the Moho interface; and the crust is found to contain numerous conversion interfaces. The deep occurrence of seismoactive faults and the indications of fluid saturation suggest that the seismoactive faults in the eastern Priamurye region provide supply of fluids from the mantle to the crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western part of the Bohemian Massif hosts an intersection of two regional fault zones, the SW-NE trending Ohře/Eger Graben and the NNW-SSE trending Mariánské Lázně Fault, which has been reactivated several times in the geological history and controlled the formation of the Tertiary Cheb Basin. The broader area of the Cheb Basin is also related to permanent seismic activity of ML 3+ earthquake swarms. The Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (northern segment of the Mariánské Lázně Fault) separates the basin sediments and underlying granites in the SW from the Krušné Hory/Erzgebirge Mts. crystalline unit in the NE. We describe a detailed geophysical survey targeted to locating the Eastern Marginal Fault and determining its geometry in the depth. The survey was conducted at the Kopanina site near the Nový Kostel focal zone, which shows the strongest seismic activity of the whole Western Bohemia earthquake swarm region. Complex geophysical survey included gravimetry, electrical resistivity tomography, audiomagnetotellurics and seismic refraction. We found that the rocks within the Eastern Marginal Fault show low resistivity, low seismic velocity and density, which indicates their deep fracturing, weathering and higher water content. The dip of the fault in shallow depths is about 60° towards SW. At greater depths, the slope turns to subvertical with dip angle of about 80°. Results of geoelectrical methods show blocky fabric of the Cheb Basin and deep weathering of the granite bedrock, which is consistent with geologic models based on borehole surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodynamic activity in the area of West Bohemia is typified by the occurrence of earthquake swarms, Quaternary volcanism and high flux of mantle-derived CO. The highest swarm activity occurs beneath the eastern edge of the Cheb basin, which is delineated by the NW-SE trending morphologically pronounced Mariánské Lázně Fault (MLF) controlling the formation of the basin. The previous trenching survey across the MLF zone has identified several fault strands with possible Quaternary activity. In this paper we present the results of the geophysical survey focused to trace the faults signatures in geophysical sections and to build an image of near surface tectonics. The method of electric resistivity tomography (ERT) along two profiles parallel to the trench identified a strong resistivity contrast between the bodies of sandy gravels in the middle and conductive clayey sands to the west and weathered crystalline basement to the east. The 2-D ground penetration radar (GPR) sections show direct correlation of reflections with lithological boundaries identified in the trench. As expected, the GPR signal amplitudes increase with the resistivities found in the ERT sections. Two of the four faults identified in the trench are indicated in the resistivity and GPR sections. A 3-D GPR measurement has identified a spot of high amplitudes elongated parallel to the MLF trend, which coincides with the high resistivity body. To improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the time slices we stacked the GPR time slices within vertically homogeneous blocks. This provided a contrast image of the sand-gravel body including its boundaries in three dimensions. The detailed analysis of the 3-D GPR cube revealed additional fault that limits the highly reflective sands and appears to be offset by another younger fault. Our results suggest a complex fault pattern in the studied area, which deserves a further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the geological structure, geodynamics, and seismicity of the Tan Lu-Okhotsk rift system, which includes the Bohai Wan, Liaohe, Khanka, Middle Amur, and Lower Amur basins. The basins have common regularities typical of rift zones but differ in the deep structure and physical parameters of their crust, in particular, in the distribution of the strength properties, which also affect the seismicity level. It was established that the level and type of seismicity in the rift system is mainly determined by the local geodynamic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic anomaly data are presented from a new helicopter-borne high-resolution aeromagnetic survey in southern McMurdo Sound. Anomaly data have been acquired at a common 305 m elevation above the McMurdo and southern McMurdo ice shelves and draped over the volcanic islands that pin them. The resulting anomaly patterns provide a significant advance in the understanding of the rift related geology beneath the floating ice shelves. More extensive Erebus Volcanic Province (McMurdo Volcanic Group) rocks are indicated along with a significant blanket of glaci-volcaniclastic sediment on the seafloor between the volcanic islands in southern McMurdo Sound. These glaci-volcaniclastic sediments are inferred to originate from former grounding of the southern McMurdo Ice Shelf as a marine ice sheet. A strong N–S fabric is also observed in the anomaly data suggesting that the rift structure observed in the Victoria Land basin persists to the south beneath the McMurdo and southern McMurdo ice shelves. W–N–W transfer faults identified within the Transantarctic Mountain rift flank to the west are not obvious in the aeromagnetic data set, implying that the ‘Discovery Accommodation Zone’ may be restricted to the region between a southward extension of the range bounding fault that marks the limit of the Victoria Land Basin and the right lateral offset in the Transantarctic Mountain front in southern Victoria Land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here a detailed analysis of a seismic data set recorded by a dense seismological network installed over 6 months in the southeast of France. This experiment was set-up at the boundary between the Ligurian basin and the southern subalpine thrust belt (the Nice arc), which is a complex tectonic region that undergoes low to moderate seismicity. We recorded more than 500 microearthquakes, among which 348 occurred exactly in the centre of the network during a very active seismic sequence that lasted mainly over 2 months. We performed an absolute location of all of the events and calculated the magnitudes. Then we applied a cross-correlation technique to gather similar events and to relocate relatively few of them. This method revealed a very clear alignment of 19 events in a direction N120° oblique to the N20° general trend of seismicity. Focal mechanisms were determined for the four largest events and composite solutions for 32 smaller ones. Both the alignments of the earthquakes and the focal solutions revealed that two oblique segments of the fault were activated during the crisis. The main segment (8 km long) that was oriented NNE with a left-lateral strike slip movement is called the Blausasc fault. Taking into account the tectonic evolution and the relationships between surface structures and the distribution of earthquakes, and through a paleaoreconstruction of the tectonic evolution, we propose that the Blausasc fault is the hidden root of the Peille-Laghet fault, which has a mapped length of at least 15 km. The smaller segment (0.6 km long) that was activated during the crisis could be interpreted as an antithetic Riedel fracture. The active Blausasc fault is located in a densely populated zone, at only 10 km from the crowded cities of Monaco and Nice. It is thus particularly interesting to analyse it for hazard assessment. In the last section, we present a simulation that is aimed at predicting what the ground motion in the city of Nice would be like if an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurs on this fault. For this, we used the recordings of the largest event of the seismic sequence ( Ml= 3.2) and an empirical Green's function summation scheme to simulate the ground motion at two stations situated in urban environments. The values obtained show that especially on soft soil sites, the effects of such an earthquake would be considerable in the city of Nice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The misfit angles between observed and theoretical slip directions are important in evaluating the reliability of the solution to a stress tensor inversion. The distance between stress tensors is also essential for evaluating the resolution of a method of separating stresses from heterogeneous fault-slip data. Here, we define ‘angular stress distance’ for this purpose. This new method has the attribute of improved distance measurements compared with existing methods. The value of angular stress distance is equivalent to a number of important properties. First, the distance between the correct and optimal stresses for a data set approximates the mean misfit angle. Secondly, when we evaluate the dispersion of reduced stress tensors obtained via a bootstrap or other resampling technique, the value of the dispersion evaluated with the mean distance of the tensors from the optimal solution is approximately equal to the noise level of the data. Thirdly, the distance is equal to the Lode angle difference of the stresses if they have common principal orientations. We demonstrate that stresses cannot share common principal axes if their distance is greater than a certain threshold value. The relationships among the distances that have been proposed for reduced stress tensors are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the expected elastic and inelastic strain accumulation and release across the transpressive Alpine Fault of New Zealand using a finite element model, which incorporates a frictional fault and material behaviour in the crust based on geophysical measurements and rock mechanics experiments. A zone of localized ductile creeping is predicted beneath the part of the fault that slips seismically. Localized creeping results from (a) thermal weakening along the fault ramp and (b) enhanced stresses due to interaction with the shallow, brittle fault above. The creeping zone controls the shorter-wavelength feature seen in the GPS-determined surface velocities. Using the model we show that: (1) seismic faulting loads the creeping shear zone elastically, transferring stress to the mid-crust, and enhancing creep localization in the lower crust; (2) seismic loading and additional thermal weakening, due to long-term advection and exhumation of rocks along the Alpine Fault, can explain the shallow depth and localization of creeping below the Alpine Fault several hundred years after an earthquake and (3) model surface velocities are in good agreement with present-day velocities determined from campaign GPS measurements. Model strain rates show a transient response after faulting that lasts for the first ca. 20 per cent of the interseismic period ( ca. 100 yr), with a gradual broadening in the surface velocity signal and almost constant strain rates thereafter until the next faulting event occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important task of seismic hazard assessment consists of estimating the rate of seismic moment release which is correlated to the rate of tectonic deformation and the seismic coupling. However, the estimations of deformation depend on the type of information utilized (e.g. geodetic, geological, seismic) and include large uncertainties. We therefore estimate the deformation rate in the Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE), Germany, using an integrated approach where the uncertainties have been systematically incorporated. On the basis of a new homogeneous earthquake catalogue we initially determine the frequency–magnitude distribution by statistical methods. In particular, we focus on an adequate estimation of the upper bound of the Gutenberg–Richter relation and demonstrate the importance of additional palaeoseismological information. The integration of seismological and geological information yields a probability distribution of the upper bound magnitude. Using this distribution together with the distribution of Gutenberg–Richteraandbvalues, we perform Monte Carlo simulations to derive the seismic moment release as a function of the observation time. The seismic moment release estimated from synthetic earthquake catalogues with short catalogue length is found to systematically underestimate the long-term moment rate which can be analytically determined. The moment release recorded in the LRE over the last 250 yr is found to be in good agreement with the probability distribution resulting from the Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, the long-term distribution is within its uncertainties consistent with the moment rate derived by geological measurements, indicating an almost complete seismic coupling in this region. By means of Kostrov's formula, we additionally calculate the full deformation rate tensor using the distribution of known focal mechanisms in LRE. Finally, we use the same approach to calculate the seismic moment and the deformation rate for two subsets of the catalogue corresponding to the east- and west-dipping faults, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major bends of the San Andreas fault in California are associated with significant variations in the along-fault topography. The topography-induced perturbations in the intermediate principal stress may result in the rotation of the fault with respect to the maximum compression axis provided that the fault is non-vertical, and the slip is horizontal. The progressive fault rotation may produce additional topography via thrust faulting in the adjacent crust, resulting in a positive feedback. The observed rotation of the fault plane due to the along-fault variations in topography is used to infer the magnitude of the in situ differential stress. Our results suggest that the average differential stress in the upper crust around the San Andreas fault is of the order of 50 MPa, implying that the effective fault strength is about a factor of two lower than predictions based on Byerlee's law and the assumption of hydrostatic pore pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to estimate the averaged fault zone structure, i.e. the width, shear wave velocity andQs of the Mozumi-Sukenobu fault, central Japan, we analysed the Love-wave-type fault zone trapped waves recorded by a seismic array deployed in a subsurface survey gallery. We selected the typical Love-wave-type trapped waves based on the characteristics of dispersion, amplitude, apparent velocity and the polarization of wave trains following the direct shear wave. We selected nine events showing typical Love-wave-type trapped waves from 154 earthquakes. Epicentres of the events were located along the surface trace of the Mozumi-Sukenobu fault. The nine events showing trapped waves were found to be located in a plane dipping to the south at an angle of approximately 75° to 85°. The duration of the fault zone trapped waves increase non-linearly with the increase of hypocentral distance. This result implies an increase in shear wave velocity of the fault zone with depth and/or horizontal distance from the array. In order to obtain averaged fault zone structure from hypocentre to receiver, we assumed fault zone structure to be a 2-D uniform low-velocity waveguide, and modelled the dispersion curve and the waveform of trapped waves using an analytical solution. The width, shear wave velocity andQs of the fault zone were estimated to be 160 to 400 m, 2.9 to 3.1 km s−1 and 60 to 90, respectively. The width of the fault zone estimated in this analysis is consistent with the width of the extent of fault zone at the survey gallery. We also conducted 3-D finite difference simulation (3-D FDM) on fault zone trapped waves using depth-dependent structure models referred to the 2-D averaged structure, indicating the possible depth-dependent structures. The 2-D modelling is useful as an initial guide to the 3-D imaging of a fault zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]