Electrical Conductivity and Fluid Distribution in the Koryak–Kamchatka Region

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The three-dimensional (3D) interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) data in the Koryak–Kamchatka region with interactive fitting of 3D...     

S-Wave Velocities of the Lithosphere–Asthenosphere System in the Caribbean Region

An overview of the S-wave velocity (V _s) structural model of the Caribbean with a resolution of 2°?×?2° is presented. New tomographic maps of Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion at periods ranging from 10 to 40?s were obtained as a result of the frequency time analysis of seismic signals of more than 400 ray-paths in the region. For each cell of 2°?×?2°, group velocity dispersion curves were determined and extended to 150?s by adding data from a larger scale tomographic study (Vdovin et al., Geophys. J. Int 136:324–340, 1999). Using, as independent a priori information, the available geological and geophysical data of the region, each dispersion curve has been inverted by the “hedgehog” non-linear procedure (Valyus, Determining seismic profiles from a set of observations (in Russian), Vychislitielnaya Seismologiya 4, 3–14. English translation: Computational Seismology (V.I. Keylis-Borok, ed.) 4:114–118, 1968), in order to compute a set of V _s versus depth models up to 300?km of depth. Because of the non-uniqueness of the solutions for each cell, a local smoothness optimization has been applied to the whole region in order to choose a three-dimensional model of V _s, satisfying this way the Occam's razor concept. Several known and some new main features of the Caribbean lithosphere and asthenosphere are shown on these models such as: the west directed subduction zone of the eastern Caribbean region with a clear mantle wedge between the Caribbean lithosphere and the subducted slab; the complex and asymmetric behavior of the crustal and lithospheric thickness in the Cayman ridge; the predominant oceanic crust in the region; the presence of continental type crust in Central America, and the South and North America plates; as well as the fact that the bottom of the upper asthenosphere gets shallower going from west to east.     

Features of isostatic gravity anomaly and seismic activity in the Central Asian region

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Seismic Activity and Structures of the Crust and Upper Mantle in the Areas of Source Zones of the Largest Earthquakes in the Altai–Sayan Region

The results of studies of the shear wave attenuation field in source zones of the 2003 Chuya, 1970 Ureg-Nur, 1991 Busingol, 2011 Sayan, and 2011–2012 Tuva earthquakes are presented. Attenuation fields in these source zones include blocks with a high Q-factor and linear weakened zones. The surface ruptures from the mainshocks of the 2003 Chuya and 2011–2012 Tuva earthquakes are located in the zones of strong attenuation. Epicenters of the mainshocks are located where the maximum contrast in attenuation is observed. In the source zones of large earthquakes in the Altai–Sayan region or near them, the zones similar to so-called seimogenic bodies described in the literature are found. These objects tend to linear zones with high attenuation and are characterized by an increased density of deepened earthquakes and also by deformations of near-vertical elongation. The obtained data suggest that the fluid factor could play certain role in the occurrence of large earthquakes in the Altai–Sayan region.     

Focal Depths of Earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea Region

The problem of determining focal depths of earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region is considered. Based on the results of interannual studies, it is found that the focal depths of Crimean earthquakes are mainly crustal, with maximum values of up to 60 km. Some recent publications, however, have described deep-focus earthquakes with depths of up to 300 km which were “revealed” in the Crimean region. In this respect, there arose the need to study such a large difference in estimated focal depths. Convincing examples show that the sensational “revelation” of deep earthquakes in Crimea was caused by incorrect processing of the experimental data, in particular, due to (1) a sharp distortion in the recorded arrival times of body waves, (2) exclusion of data from stations nearest to a source, (3) unreasonable arbitrary selection of data from seismic stations, and (4) dropping of data from the worldwide seismological network, including those on deep seismic phases. Thus, the conclusions about the presence of deep mantle earthquakes in Crimea are erroneous. We have redetermined the parameters of hypocenters and verified that the focal depths of earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region are no more than 60 km. Based on these data, we analyze the features of the spatial distribution of focal depths to show that earthquake sources are grouped along conduits that dip southeastward, from the continental part of Crimea toward the Black Sea Basin, in the case of grouping of sources in the Alushta–Yalta and Sevastopol areas. The seismic focal layer of the Kerch–Anapa area dips northeastward, from the Black Sea beneath the North Caucasus.     

Space–Time Analysis of Hydrochemical Composition and Pollution of Water in the Northern Dvina Basin

Water Resources - Water quality dynamics along the Northern Dvina River is analyzed under the conditions of anthropogenic impact. Overall, river water is classified as very polluted. The cases of...     

Levels of Po and Pb in mussel and sediments in Candarlı Gulf and the related dose assessment to the coastal population

²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and sediment samples collected at Candarl? Gulf during the period of 2010–2012 are presented and discussed. The activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb were measured by means of alpha spectrometry. Activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in mussels are in the ranged of 332 ± 17–776 ± 23 Bq kg⁻¹ dw and 14 ± 1–40 ± 5 Bq kg⁻¹ dw, for sediments the ranges for 52 ± 5–109 ± 8 Bq kg⁻¹ dw and 38 ± 5–92 ± 9 Bq kg⁻¹ dw, respectively. The estimated consequent annual effective ingestion dose due to ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb from mussel consumption in Candarl? Gulf coastal region were calculated. The highest dose due to ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Po were calculated to be 4232 ± 126 μSv and 126 ± 16 μSv, respectively.     

Seasonal Variations in the b-Value of the Reservoir-Triggered Seismicity in the Koyna–Warna Region,Western India

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The analysis of the local earthquake catalog revealed fine features in the behavior of seasonal components of induced seismicity in the...     

Study of the intensity attenuation law in the East China Plain and the northwest of China

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On the Problem of Deep Earthquakes in Crimea–Black Sea Region

It is a common opinion that only crustal earthquakes can occur in the Crimea–Black Sea region. Since the existence of deep earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region is extremely important for the construction of a geodynamic model for this region, an attempt is made to verify the validity of this widespread view. To do this, the coordinates of all earthquakes recorded by the stations of the Crimean seismological network are reinterpreted with an algorithm developed by one of the authors. The data published in the seismological catalogs and bulletins of the Crimea–Black Sea region for 1970–2012 are used for the analysis. To refine the coordinates of hypocenters of earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region, in addition to the data from stations of the Crimean seismological network, information from seismic stations located around the Black Sea coast are used. In total, the data from 61 seismic stations were used to determine the hypocenter coordinates. The used earthquake catalogs for 1970–2012 contain information on ~2140 events with magnitudes from–1.5 to 5.5. The bulletins provide information on the arrival times of P- and S-waves at seismic stations for 1988 events recorded by three or more stations. The principal innovation of this study is the use of the original author’s hypocenter determination algorithm, which minimizes the functional of distances between the points (X, Y, H) and (x, y, h) corresponding to the theoretical and observed seismic wave travel times from the earthquake source to the recording stations. The determination of the coordinates of earthquake hypocenters is much more stable in this case than the usual minimization of the residual functional for the arrival time of an earthquake wave at a station (the difference between the theoretical and observed values). Since determination of the hypocenter coordinates can be influenced by the chosen velocity column beneath each station, special attention is focused on collecting information on velocity profiles. To evaluate the influence of the upper mantle on the results of calculating the velocity model, two different low-velocity and high-velocity models are used; the results are compared with each other. Both velocity models are set to a depth of 640 km, which is fundamentally important in determining hypocenters for deep earthquakes. Studies of the Crimea–Black Sea region have revealed more than 70 earthquakes with a source depth of more than 60 km. The adequacy of the obtained depth values is confirmed by the results of comparing the initial experimental data from the bulletins with the theoretical travel-time curves for earthquake sources with depths of 50 and 200 km. The sources of deep earthquakes found in the Crimea–Black Sea region significantly change our understanding of the structure and geotectonics of this region.     

Relocation of the Ms≥2.0 Earthquakes in the Northern Tianshan Region, Xinjiang, Using the Double-Difference Earthquake Relocation Algorithm

We applied the double-difference earthquake relocation algorithm to 1348 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0 that occurred in the northern Tianshan region, Xinjiang, from April 1988 to June 2003, using a total of 28701 P- and S-wave arrival times recorded by 32 seismic stations in Xinjiang. Aiming to obtain most of these M_S≥2.0 earthquakes relocations, and considering the requirements of the DD method and the condition of data, we added the travel time data of another 437 earthquakes with 1.5≤M_S<2.0. Finally, we obtained the relocation results for 1253 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0, which account for 93% of all the 1348 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0 and includes all the M_S≥3.0 earthquakes. The reason for not relocating the 95 earthquakes with 2.0≤M_S<3.0 is analyzed in the paper. After relocation, the RMS residual decreased from 0.83s to 0.14s, the average error is 0.993 km in E-W direction, 1.10 km in N-S direction, and 1.33 km in vertical direction. The hypocenter depths are more convergent than before and distributed from 5 km to 35 km, with 94% being from 5km to 35 km, 68.2% from 10 km to 25 km. The average hypocenter depth is 19 km.     

Relocation of the Ms≥2.0 Earthquakes in the Northern Tianshan Region, Xinjiang, Using the Double-Difference Earthquake Relocation Algorithm

We applied the double-difference earthquake relocation algorithm to 1348 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0 that occurred in the northern Tianshan region, Xinjiang, from April 1988 to June 2003, using a total of 28701 P- and S-wave arrival times recorded by 32 seismic stations in Xinjiang. Aiming to obtain most of these M_S≥2.0 earthquakes relocations, and considering the requirements of the DD method and the condition of data, we added the travel time data of another 437 earthquakes with 1.5≤M_S<2.0. Finally, we obtained the relocation results for 1253 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0, which account for 93% of all the 1348 earthquakes with M_S≥2.0 and includes all the M_S≥3.0 earthquakes. The reason for not relocating the 95 earthquakes with 2.0≤M_S<3.0 is analyzed in the paper. After relocation, the RMS residual decreased from 0.83s to 0.14s, the average error is 0.993 km in E-W direction, 1.10 km in N-S direction, and 1.33 km in vertical direction. The hypocenter depths are more convergent than before and distributed from 5 km to 35 km, with 94% being from 5km to 35 km, 68.2% from 10 km to 25 km. The average hypocenter depth is 19 km.     

Seismotectonics of the Bitlis–Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt in Northern Iraq and Surrounding Regions from Moment Tensor Analysis

Northern Iraq represents part of the convergent plate boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The collision zone between these two plates is manifested by the Bitlis–Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. This belt is one of the most seismically active regions among the present active belts. This study intends to improve our knowledge on the seismotectonic activities in northern Iraq and the surrounding areas. To reach this goal, we used the waveform moment tensor inversion method to determine the focal depths, moment magnitudes, fault plane solutions, and directions of the principal stress axes of 25 events with magnitudes ≥3.5. The seismic data of these events were collected from 54 broadband stations which belong to the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, the Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology, and the Iraqi Seismological Network. Computer Programs in Seismology, version 3.30 (Herrmann and Ammon 2004), was used for analysis. The results show that the focal depth of these events ranged from 15 to 25 km in general. The fault plane solutions show that the strike-slip mechanism is the most dominant mechanism in the study area, usually with a reverse component. The stress regime shows three major directions; north–south, northeast-southwest, and east–west. These directions are comparable with the tectonic regime in the region.     

The Geomagnetic Field Intensity in the Russian Plain in V–III Millennia B.C.

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The archaeomagnetic study of ceramic material from Veksa III archaeological site (φ = 59°17′ N, λ = 40°10′ E)...     

Anomalies of Precursory Group and Grouped Strong Earthquakes in the Sichuan-Yunnan Region

Three methods of extracting the information of anomalies of a precursory group are put forward, i.e., the mathematical analyses of the synthetic information of earthquake precursors(S), the inhomogeneous degree of precursory groups ( ID ) and the values of short-term and impending anomaly in near-source area (NS). Using these methods, we calculate the observational data of deformation, underground fluid and hydrochemical constituents obtained from different seismic stations in the Sichuan-Yunnan region and conclude that the synthetic precursory anomalies of a single strong earthquake with Ms6.0 differ greatly from those of the grouped strong earthquakes, for the anomalous information of precursory groups are more abundant. The three methods of extracting the synthetic precursory anomaly and the related numerical results can be applied into the practice of prediction to the grouped strong earthquakes in the Sichuan-Yunnan region. Inhomogeneons degree (ID) of synthetic precursory anomaly can be identified automatically because it takes the threshold of distributive characteristics of the anomalies of precursory group as its criterion for anomaly.     

Research on Tectonic Features and Dynamics in the Northwestern Yunnan Extensional Region

The paper discusses the features of active tectonics,seismicity and neotectonic environment in the Northwestern Yunnan extensional region.The intensity of both tectonic activity and seismicity is strong near the south and north boundaries in the areas,but weak in the middle.The distribution of the strongest subsided areas,lacustrine terrace and Quaternary fold is characterized by the diagonal symmetry.Formation of extensional tectonics in the Northwestern Yunnan can be explained by passive model,experiencing the action of compressional force in the N-S direction and shear force in the SW-NE direction,and classified as a special pull-apart tectonics.The direction of the composite force is NNE,which is coincided with the results acquired by the methods of water-compressed rupture and physical modelling.     

Spatiotemporal Variations in Gutenberg–Richter b-Value Depending on the Depth and Lateral Position in the Earth’s Crust of the Garm Region,Tajikistan

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Spatiotemporal variations in the Gutenberg–Richter (GR) b-value and in the minimum magnitude of a predicted earthquake (MPE) are studied in detail...