Seismicityof the Novaya Zemlya archipelago: relocated event catalog from 1974 to 2014

We have relocated seismic events registered in the area of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, which are not identified as nuclear explosions but are probably of tectonic nature. For the relocation, we collected all available seismic bulletins and waveform data. The location was performed by applying a modified method of generalized beamforming. Verification of the modified method and selection of the travel time model were performed using data on two Novaya Zemlya nuclear explosions that occurred on 02.11.1974 and 24.10.1990. The modified method and the BARENTS travel time model provide sufficient accuracy for event location in the region. The relocation procedure was applied for 9 seismic events registered in the area of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. As a result, the new coordinates of the five events turned out to be significantly different from those that were defined previously.     

The travel times of regional P and S for spreading ridges in the European Arctic

The methodology of P-receiver functions was used to determine the crustal and upper mantle structure for two areas in the Euro-Arctic region, namely, the Svalbard archipelago and Franz Josef Land. This made it possible to derive two travel-time tables for regional seismic P and S waves (NOES and Sval). The accuracy of these tables was tested by comparing them with the IASPEI91, BARENTS, and BARENTS3D tables to show that NOES is the optimal choice for earthquake location in the area of spreading ridges in the European Arctic.     

Seismicity of the North of the Russian Plate: Relocation of Recent Earthquakese

The hypocenters of the earthquakes recorded in the north of the Russian Plate from 1982 to 2013 are relocated. The relocation of the hypocenters is based on the common velocity section, common methodology, and the entire set of the initial data and bulletins available from the Russian and foreign seismic stations. The efficiency of the algorithm for calculating the hypocentral parameters and the velocity section is demonstrated by the example of two nonmilitary nuclear explosions in July 18, 1985 and September 6, 1988 in the northern part of the European Russia. For the first time, two earthquakes of July 19, 1982 and October 7, 2012, which have not been previously reported in the catalogs for the north of the Russian plate, are included in the seismic catalog.     

The instrumental seismicity of the Barents and Kara sea region: relocated event catalog from early twentieth century to 1989

We have relocated seismic events registered within the Barents and Kara sea region from early twentieth century to 1989 with a view to creating a relocated catalog. For the relocation, we collected all available seismic bulletins from the global network using data from the ISC Bulletin (International Seismological Centre), ISC-GEM project (International Seismological Centre–Global Earthquake Model), EuroSeismos project, and by Soviet seismic stations from Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The location was performed by applying a modified method of generalized beamforming. We have considered several travel time models and selected one with the best location accuracy for ground truth events. Verification of the modified method and selection of the travel time model were performed using data on four nuclear explosions that occurred in the area of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago and in the north of the European part of Russia. The modified method and the Barents travel time model provide sufficient accuracy for event location in the region. The relocation procedure was applied to 31 of 36 seismic events registered within the Barents and Kara sea region.     

Seismicity in the far Arctic areas: Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr Peninsula

Journal of Seismology - A permanent seismic station was for the first time installed on Severnaya Zemlya in the Russian Arctic. This made it possible to record low-magnitude earthquakes occurring...     

Tectonic earthquakes of October 22, 2005 and March 28, 2013 in the north of the Russian plate

The data from seismic stations of the Arkhangelsk network and the networks in the neighboring territories are analyzed for refining the focal parameters of the tectonic earthquakes recorded in the north of the Russian plate on October 22, 2005 (M = 2.9) and March 28, 2013 (M = 3.4). The epicenters of the earthquakes are confined to the large NW–SE striking faults which border the Arkhangelsk bulge starting from the Kara–Pinega rift in the northeast and Onega–Kandalaksha paleorift in the southwest. The calculated focal mechanism of the earthquake of March 28, 2013 agrees with the distribution of neotectonic stresses characteristic of the north of the Russian plate, and specifically, with the submeridional compression and sublatitudinal extension.     

Seismicity of the northern Barents Sea in area of the Franz Victoria and Orla troughs

The results of seismic monitoring in the area of the Franz Victoria and Orla trenches in 2011–2013 are discussed in the paper. A seismic catalog of recorded earthquakes with calculated source parameters is given, and the spatial distribution of these earthquakes is characterized. The results of monitoring are compared with the data on historical earthquakes. A cumulative graph of recurrence has been constructed.