Episodes of high correlation between annual rates of earthquakes: The Baikal Rift Zone

Correlation analysis techniques were used to study variations in the annual rates N of completely reported earthquakes with energy class K ≥ 8 that occurred from 1964 to 2001 in the Baikal Rift Zone (BRZ), in three subregions within that zone, and in six areas. This correlation analysis of samples of annual rates of earthquakes N with different observation periods revealed two statistically significant episodes of short-lived synchronization between the seismic processes in the BRZ, in the late 1960s and in the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The 1970–1980 episode stands out because of its duration and the highest correlation level; this makes it the dominant phenomenon in the Baikal Rift seismicity synchronization. The observed synchronization episodes between annual rates of earthquakes show that the seismic process was activated at about the same time in different subregions of the BRZ, thus producing short-lived coherent increases in seismicity rates.