1838 Deep Carpathian Earthquake

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—Deep earthquakes occur in subduction zones—they play a key role in the global tectonic model. There are only a few places on the Earth...     

Media velocity model and macroseismic effect: The Spitak earthquake of December 7, 1988

Relationship between the intensity of seismic shaking on the surface and the velocity structure of the medium at large depth is studied. The Spitak earthquake of December 7, 1988 is chosen as an object of study. A method to correlate the intensity of shaking in the localities to the geophysical parameters specified in the nodes of regular spatial grid is proposed. Formalized definition of anomalous intensity is suggested; it takes into account the distribution of distances from the localities with given intensity degrees to the hypocenter or to the nearest segment of the surface fault. It is found that the seismic wave velocities at a depth of 1 km are higher (up to 0.2–0.6 km/s) under the localities with anomalously high intensity. No any certain regularity is found in deeper layers.     

Geological and macroseismic manifestations of the earthquake on October 16, 2011 in the Skovorodino region, Amur oblast

The epicentral zone and settlements that suffered from the M _S = 6.1 earthquake in the northwest Amur oblast are examined. Only secondary seismic dislocations were revealed and mapped in detail. The inspection of settlements and inhabitansts inquiry allowed estimation of the intensity of the macroseismic effect based on the MSK-64 scale. These forthwith primary factual data give an idea on the shaking intensity at the distant and nearest zones and precise location of the earthquake focus. The map of isoseists of the highest (7–8) intensity is drawn.     

The 1991 Racha earthquake, Caucasus: Multiple source model with compensative type of motion

The source of the 1991 Racha earthquake in the Greater Caucasus generally corresponds to thrusting, which is characteristic of the predominant regional compression stress field. A more adequate view of the rupture process is provided by a complex source model composed of three subsources. This model is reconstructed by the body-wave inversion and consistent with the spatial distribution of the aftershocks. In terms of the suggested model, at the last stage of the rupture process, the opposite slip type (normal faulting) is observed in the source, which seems to be objective. It compensates the rapid (probably short) local redistribution of stresses caused by the thrusts in the first two subsources. The surface deformations observed in the epicentral zones of strong earthquakes are probably the analogs of such a compensative mechanism. For example, in the rear parts of the thrusts associated with the surface ruptures, normal faults trending parallel to the strike of the thrust line occur. Another analog of the compensative motion is probably the peculiarities of the aftershock sources. It has long since been noted (Kuznetsova et al., 1976) that some fault plane solutions in the aftershock sequences of strong earthquakes are close to the main shock solution, while others are different. The explanation of this phenomenon is suggested in (Kuznetsova et al., 1976; Kostrov and Das, 1988). In (Kuznetsova et al., 1976), these events are referred to as the aftershocks due to the fracture growth and aftershocks of relaxation, respectively.     

Active Faults in the Kerch Peninsula: New Results

Doklady Earth Sciences - This paper reports recently obtained research data on active faults in the Kerch Peninsula. The compiled Map of Active Faults demonstrates foci of Late Holocene strong...     

A deep-focus earthquake with M w = 8.3 felt at a distance of 6500 km

A deep-focus (H = 609 km) earthquake with M _w = 8.3 occurred in the Sea of Okhotsk on May 24, 2013. This earthquake was felt in Moscow at a distance of about 6500 km from the epicenter but barely felt on the western coast of Kamchatka, which is located within 200 km of the source. In this paper, an attempt is made to discover the probable causes of this phenomenon in the instrumental records of the earthquake. It is most probable that the anomalously high amplitudes in the group of SSS phases, which are observed in the vertical component, appear as the result of their superimposition on the surface waves. Different mechanisms can be suggested to interpret the formation of the observed wave pattern.     

The Traces and Chronology of the Strong Historical Earthquakes on Cape Zyuk,East Crimea

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - The results of studying the geological and archaeological traces of the strong earthquakes on Cape Zyuk where the ancient settlement existed from the turn of...     

Structural heterogeneity of the media and macroseismic field formation: Racha,April 29, 1991 earthquake

The points with normal, anomalously low, and anomalously high shaking intensities are recognized in the spatial distribution of macroseismic effects from the 1991 Racha earthquake, Greater Caucasus. Distribution of these points in the epicentral area is not random. Comparison between this distribution and the results of local tomography reveals that seismic wave velocities do not increase in the upper layers (from 0 to 3 km) beneath the points with anomalously high intensity, while a sharp increase in velocity is observed in the depth interval from 6 to 9 km. An original method of b-value mapping is suggested. Application of the method demonstrates that anomalously low intensities correlate to high b-values. This likely reflects higher intensity attenuation associated with higher b-value.