We have obtained P-wave and S-wave receiver functions for 10 broadband seismograph stations in the Baikal rift zone (BRZ) and inverted them for seismic velocity models of the crust and upper mantle. The thinnest crust (30–35 km) is found in the Baikal basin, the thickest in the East Sayan uplift (45–50 km). Intermediate values (40 km) are found in the BRZ at distances around 100 km from Lake Baikal. A high (at least 1.8) Vp/Vs ratio is observed in the middle and lower crust. It exceeds 2.0 at some stations. In our opinion, the highest Vp/Vs ratios are due to fluid-filled porosity with a high pore pressure. The seismic lithosphere – asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is manifested by a shear velocity drop from 4.5 km/s to 4.0–4.2 km/s. Beneath the Baikal basin, the LAB is located at a depth not more than 50 km, and the S velocity drop is maximal (10 %). A similar structure is found outside the basin, underneath a segment of the East Sayan uplift. At other locations in the BRZ, a typical depth of the LAB varies from 80 to 90 km. Having considered changes in the depth of the 410 km seismic discontinuity, we cannot find any evidence of an elevated temperature of a hypothetical thermal plume beneath the BRZ.

This paper describes the technique used to create and maintain the Active Faults of Eurasia Database (AFED) based on the uniform format that ensures integrating the materials accumulated by many researchers, inclu­ding the authors of the AFED. The AFED includes the data on more than 20 thousand objects: faults, fault zones and associated structural forms that show the signs of latest displacements in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The geographical coordinates are given for each object. The AFED scale is 1:500000; the demonstration scale is 1:1000000. For each object, the AFED shows two kinds of characteristics: justification attributes, and estimated attributes. The justification attributes inform the AFED user about an object: the object’s name; morphology; kinematics; the amplitudes of displacement for different periods of time; displacement rates estimated from the amplitudes; the age of the latest recorded signs of activity, seismicity and paleoseismicity; the relationship of the given objects with the parameters of crustal earthquakes; etc. The sources of information are listed in the AFED appendix. The estimated attributes are represented by the system of indices reflecting the fault kinematics according to the classification of the faults by types, as accepted in structural geology, and includes three ranks of the Late Quaternary movements and four degrees of reliability of identifying the structures as active ones. With reference to the indices, the objects can be compared with each other, considering any of the attributes, or with any other digitized information. The comparison can be performed by any GIS software. The AFED is an efficient tool for obtaining the information on the faults and solving general problems, such as thematic mapping, determining the parameters of modern geodynamic processes, estima­ting seismic and other geodynamic hazards, identifying the tectonic development trends in the Pliocene–Quaternary stage of the Earth's development, etc. The Active Faults of Eurasia Database is created in the format providing for inputs of new information, as well the database updating and revision.

Based on the analysis of changes in the stress-strain state of the crust at the boundary of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, we develop a dynamic model of the main seismogenerating structures inNortheast Asia. We have established a regularity in changes of geodynamic regimes within the interplate boundary between the Kolyma-Chukotka crustal plate and the Eurasian, North American and Pacific tectonic plates: spreading in the Gakkel Ridge area; rifting in the Laptev Sea shelf; a mixture of tectonic stress types in the Kharaulakh segment; transpression in the Chersky seismotectonic zone, in the segment from the Komandor to the Aleutian Islands, and in the Koryak segment; and crustal stretching in the Chukotka segment.

This article presents the first map showing the vertical amplitudes of modern disjunctive dislocations inNorthern Atlantic, based on the estimated phase shifts of reflected waves recorded by high-frequency seismic acoustic surveys. The amplitude distribution pattern is mosaic with alternating areas of compression and extension in the flanks of the Knipovich rift system. The modern structure of the Knipovich Ridge, including two strike-slip faults, represents a local rift in the pull-apart setting. The asymmetry of stresses and the presence of compression in the ridge flanks is evidenced by the distribution of the focal mechanisms of strong earthquakes related to reverse faults. In the southeastern Knipovich Ridge, tectonic activity is marked by the asymmetric pattern of the epicenters of small earthquakes.

This paper describes the influence of modern crustal movements and the recently activated Precambrian structural plan on the relief of theLakeLadogaregion. It presents the results of comprehensive studies, including processing of the regional geological and geomorphological data by the modern methods, as the major novelty of our work. The solutions of earthquake focal mechanisms suggest the current subhorizontal NW compression in the study area. Based on the computer simulation by the Roxar software, we have identified areas wherein new fractures are most likely to occur, determined the dominant directions of such fractures, and revealed the areas of intense vertical movements in the given stress state. The input database included a digital model of the relief and the spatial patterns of ancient faults represented by large-size inhomogeneities influencing the stress field. Strain values were estimated from the horizontal displacements recorded by the International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS) and the GPS networks in theRepublicofKareliaand the southeastern regions ofFinland. Using the LESSA software, we have estima­ted the relief orientation characteristics: the density of lineaments, and elongation lines, which are indicative of the changes in the dominant directions of the strike of the lineaments (‘hatches’) in the study area. By interpreting the satellite images and the topographic maps (scale 1:20000), we reveal a number of geological structures, such as gra­nite-gneiss domes and large-size faults, which are directly reflected in the relief. The study results give grounds to establish an indirect relationship between the relief and the modern field of deformation: the areas with high strain values correspond to the areas with steep slopes. The computer simulation data show a NE-trending linear zone with the increased amplitudes of vertical movements. This zone occupies the region along the NW shoreLakeLadoga. In the block divisibility scheme based on the relief analysis, this region is comprised of blocks that are small in area: the Pearson correlation coefficient between the density of the block boundaries and the vertical displacements amounts to 65 %. In addition, this zone is distinguished by an increased permeability of the crust, which was estimated from the helium survey data. Most of the seismic events occurred in the areas characterized by either high or medium probability of new fracturing in case of NW compression. This gives an argument in support of the conclusion that compression takes place in theLadoga Lakeregion at the present stage. According to estimations by the LESSA software, the maximum densities of the linear relief elements correlate with the spatial patterns of the Precambrian faults. A number of faults and granite-gneiss domes are directly manifested in the relief, reflecting the inherited nature of the development of the latter.

The Bishkek geodynamic polygon (BGP, 41.5–43.5° N – 73–77° E) is located within the central segment of the North Tien Shan seismic zone, in the junction zone of the Tien Shanorogene and the Turan plate (Fig. 1). In the entire modern structure of Tien Shan lengthwise zones of shearing (with both right- and left-lateral strike-slip faults) are observed, thus Tien Shancan be considered as a transpression zone. Our study aimed at comparing deformation values estimated for the BGP territory from the seismic and GPS data. The modern stress-strain state of the study area was determined from the focal mechanisms of 1287 earthquakes that occurred in the period from 1994 to 2015. The study area was divided into cells with a radius of 0.2° (~20 km). The cell centers were in the nodes of the grid with a spacing of 0.1° (~10 km). A tensor of a seismotectonic deformation (STD) rate within a cell was calculated as a sum of seismic moment tensors normalized for time, volume and shear modulus, assuming that STD is similar at different scale levels. The STD field is shown in Figure 4 at the background given by the deformation intensity pattern. Figure 6 shows the scatter of the sums of the strain rate tensor’s horizontal components estimated from the seismic data. The modern crustal movements were estimated from the geodetic measurements performed on the Central Asian GPS Network. Using the crustal movement velocities for 90 sites in the study area, the deformation processes in the crust were modeled based on the linear part of the Taylorexpansion of the point's-velocity-versus-its-radius-vector function. Then the velocity gradient tensors were estimated for the grid nodes with a spacing of 8.3 km. To estimate tensor's value in every single grid node a system of linear algebraic equations was solved by the weighted least-squares method. The weight of an observation point decreased with an increasing distance to such point, so that the inhomogeneity of the deformation field could be taken into account. From the velocity gradient tensors we calculate the strain rate tensors (Fig. 5) and then the rate of changes of the area (meterage)  (Fig. 7). A comparison of Figures 4 and 5 shows a general coincidence between the directions of compression/shortening axes estimated from the seismic and GPS data. On average, the STD intensity is by two to three orders lower than the deformation intensity assessed from the GPS data. It can be explained by the fact that the horizontal components of the total deformation amounts visible in the GPS data are actually the sums of aseismic and coseismic components, and the deviator part of coseismic component was considered as STD. Comparing the fields of the sums of the strain rate tensor’s horizontal components from the seismic data (Fig. 6) and the GPS data (Fig. 7) reveals an inconsistency for the Suusamyr depression: the GPS data shows a considerable crustal shortening in the horizontal plane, while the seismic data is indicative of a shear deformation. In the central part of the junction zone of the Chu basin and the Kyrgyz ridge, the crustal shortening rate exceeds –50·10^–9 per year, and it is likely that the stress is released by seismicity of a low magnitude, which can be induced by the operations of an electromagnetic prospecting generator in this territory.

This study focused on the state of stress in the aftershock areas of the strongest earthquakes registered in Tien Shanon 11 August 1974 (M_S=7.3), 24 March 1978 (M_S=7.1), 01 November 1978 (M_S=6.8), 19 August 1992 (M_S=7.3), and 05 October 2008 (M_S=6.9). These earthquakes occurred in similar geodynamic conditions in the zone of the nearly N–S oriented compression caused by the India-Eurasia collision. The parameters of the state of stress were determined by Yu.L. Rebetsky method of cataclastic analysis (MCA) of displacements on faults, based on the focal mechanisms of aftershocks. In the first stage of MCA, we determined the orientations of the principal stress axes, the Lode-Nadai coefficients, and the geodynamic types of the state of stress in the study area. The stress fields reconstructed from the aftershocks of different energy levels show that the principal deviatoric stress axes pattern becomes less orderly as the magnitude of seismic events decreases. A peculiar feature of the aftershock process is the misalignment of the axes of maximum compression in the mechanisms of the weakest aftershocks and the compression axis in the focal mechanism of the main seismic event. Most of the aftershocks were recorded west of the location of the main earthquake.

The total length of the seismic profiles in the northeastern regions ofRussiaand, accordingly, the area of the territories covered by the seismic data interpretations, remains insignificant in comparison with the total area of these regions. At the same time, the geological objects in the northeastern regions attract much attention in view of their prospects, including potential mineral resources. The challenge is to construct the regional models of the crust structure without deep seismic survey data, and to analyze the regional seismicity that depends on the features of the deep crust structure. We develop a density model of the crust structure using the new interpretational gravimetry method. The density modeling results show that the density changes in the crust can be used to estimate the position of a surface separating the lower (quasi-homogeneous) and upper (heterogeneous) parts of the crust, i.e. to assess the density boundary of stratification. This boundary is formed due to a complex of physical and chemical processes that facilitate the transition of the material in the lower part of the crust into the quasi-uniform (homogeneous) state. The study area is the junction zone of the Ayan-Yuryakh anticlinorium and Inyali-Debin synclinorium (62‒63°N, 148‒152° E). The initial interpretation of the deep seismic survey data on the reference geological-geophysical profile 3-DV was available, so the ambiguity of the density modeling was reduced. In turn, the density modeling results can provide additional information for geological-geophysical interpretation of the DSS results on the sites wherein the seismic profiles go along the fault zones. The relationship between seismic events and the relief of the density boundary of stratification in the crust was studied quantitatively on the basis of the data from the regional catalog of seismic events and the results of the earlier analysis of seismicity in the study area. The analysis shows that 74 % hypocenters are located above the density boundary of stratification. The earthquake hypocenters located at depths ranging from 20 to35 kmare usually confined to the systems of long-living regional crustal faults and occur below the density boundary of stratification. The energy class of such earthquakes does not exceed9. Inthe study area, the seismically active zones are mainly confined to the areas of subduction of the density boundary of stratification. Most of the earthquake epicenters (80 %) occur in the zones where the gradient of the relief change of the density boundary does not exceed 1. The number of recorded seismic events practically reduces to zero in the regions where the dip angle of the density boundary exceeds 65°.

This paper describes the water level variations in wells YuZ-5 and E-1 inKamchatkaduring the Zhu­panovsky earthquake that occurred on January 30, 2016 (M_w=7.2, Н=180 km). The distances from the Zhupanovsky earthquake epicenter to wells E-1 and YuZ-5 were 70 and 80 km, respectively. In well YuZ-5, the water level raised by 9.4 cm during 45 minutes after the seismic wave arrival. This effect was caused by a combination of a co-seismic rise in the water level due to the volumetric compression of the water-bearing rocks during fracturing in the earthquake source and an impulse increase in the fluid pressure near the wellbore during the seismic shocks. We estimated the amplitude of the coseismic water level increase (Dh=7.3 cm) and the strain value resulting from the volumetric compression of the water-bearing rocks, which is consistent with the estimated value of the coseismic volumetric deformation in the area of the well at the depth of 500m: D₁ = –4.5×10^–8. This estimation was based on the model of the dislocation source in the homogeneous isotropic elastic half-space with the parameters of the Zhupanovsky earthquake focal mechanism. After the earthquake, the water level dropped for three months at an amplitude of about ~40 cm. In order to estimate the radius of the well sensitivity to the pressure drop source, we used the model of water level lowering that followed the pressure drop in the aquifer at a distance to the well as a result of the improved filtration properties of the water-bearing rocks after the seismic shocks. The estimated radius of the well sensitivity, R is 450 m. For 3.5 months before the Zhupanovsky earthquake, ~20 cm increase in the water level was observed, which is anomalous in comparison with the average seasonal variations of the water level, as shown by the long-term observations. In our opinion, such a rise in the water level occurred in the process of the earthquake preparation, and can thus be viewed as its precursor. In well E-1, a sequence of water level changes manifested a hydrogeodynamic precursor: the water level dropped at an increased rate for 21 days before the earthquake, and raised at an amplitude of 3.7 cm during one month after the earthquake. The hydrogeodynamic precursor detected in real time gave grounds for forecasting a highly probable strong earthquake at a distance of up to 350 km from wells E-1 within a month. This forecast was reported to the Kamchatka Branch of the Russian Expert Council (KB REC) on January 21, 2016. The Zhupanov­sky earthquake occurred on January 30, 2016, and its magnitude, time and location correlated with the prediction. The case of this earthquake shows that the Kamchatka Branch of the Federal Research Center ‘Geophysical Survey of RAS’ has the system of water level observations and data processing, which is capable of diagnosing (close to real time and retrospectively) different types of hydrogeoseismic variations in the water level in wells in case of strong seismic events, and detecting the hydrogeodynamic precursors of strong earthquakes.

This article describes the petroleum potential of the Mesozoic deposits in the western segment of the Yenisei-Khatanga regional trough, as assessed from the hydrogeological data. The study area includes the Krasnoyarskregion and neighbouring zones of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District (Fig. 1). In tectonic terms, it is confined to the Yenisei-Khatanga regional trough and separates the Taimyr system of tectonic dislocations from the Siberian Platform [Kontorovich, 2011; Pronkin et al., 2012]. The Meso-Cenozoic section (up to 6–12 km) [Dolmatova, Peshkova, 2001] is limited by the Malokhet-Rassokhin-Balakhnin deep fault and the same name system of mega-ramparts in the east. In the west, it opens up and merges with the structures of the West Siberian megabasin. The hydrogeological materials collected in the study area for almost 40 years, since 1977, remained unconsolidated, and our study did so for the first time. To date, more than 200 deep wells have been drilled in this area, and more than 25 hydrocarbon fields have been discovered.

Most geologists acknowledge the leading role of water in the processes of formation, migration, accumulation and degradation of hydrocarbons: water is a medium and an active participant in mass transfer. In this regard, the compositions of groundwater, water-soluble gas and organic matter are widely discussed as hydrogeological criteria that may suggest the presence of oil and gas. The hydrogeological criteria for petroleum prospecting have been classified, and it is now possible to take into account the origin and significance of each indicator, integrate their impacts and attempt at forecasting the regional, zonal and local oil and gas fields.

In the Mesozoic section, sodium chloride ground waters predominate. The inversion type of vertical hydrogeochemical zoning is dominant in the study area, and involves the entire complex of deposits: the mineralization decreases from 16–20 g/dm³ in the Apt-Alb-Senoman complex to 5–10 g/dm³ or less in the Jurassic aquifers (Fig. 4). The inversion is accompanied by a change in the ion-salt composition of groundwater. The concentration of HCO₃ ion increases with depth; the type of groundwater changes from predominantly sodium chloride (at a depth of ~2300 m) to chloride-hydrocarbonate sodium and hydrocarbonate-chloride sodium.

Using the hydrogeological data, we assessed the petroleum potential of the sedimentary cover in the western segment of the Yenisei-Khatanga regional trough. Based on the analysis of the set of criteria and their individual contributions to the overall assessment of the prospects, we have identified 16 highly promising and 20 medium-potential structures that can substantiate further oil-and-gas prospecting, which may discover skipped and new fields. Prospecting can prove highly effective in the Cretaceous reservoirs (Upper Sukhodudinka and Lower Kheta) located in the Nadadyan, Middle Yarov, Tokachin, Turkov, Yarov and other areas (Fig. 6). The Jurassic deposits are promising for small- and medium-sized oil-and-gas reservoirs, as suggested by the geological exploration of previous years, which discovered the Zima (1966) and Khabei (1982) fields. According to the proposed set of the hydrogeological criteria, the most promising among the Jurassic reservoirs is the Malyshev reservoir in the Deryabin, Pelyatkin, Middle Yarov, Tampei and Turkov areas. Promising to a lesser extent are the Sigov (Rassokhin and Sukhodudinka areas) and Nadoyakh (Sukhodudinka area) reservoirs.

The practical aspects are discussed in the geodynamic studies of the massive vugular-fractured oil-and-gas reservoir in the Riphean carbonate rocks of the Yurubcheno-Tokhoma oil-gas-condensate field in the Baikit petroli­ferous district. This field is a part of the Yurubcheno-Tokhoma zone that includes the Kuyumba oil-and-gas field, Omorinsk gas-condensate field (a satellite field) and the promising Kamovsky, Vaividinsky, Shushuksky, Seismorazvedochny and Kordinsky areas [Kontorovich et al., 1988]. Potential recoverable resources are predicted to amount to two billion tonnes of fuel equivalent in this zone, which area exceeds 60000 km², also known as the Kuyumba-Yurub­cheno-Tokhoma oil-and-gas accumulation zone [Trofimuk, 1992; Trofimuk et al., 1989; Kharakhinov, Shlenkin, 2011]. A key factor for the economically effective development of the deposits in the Baikit petroliferous district is the feasibi­lity of efficient primary recovery of oil and gas by horizontal wells to be drilled to large depths to reach the complex fractured natural reservoirs in the Riphean carbonate rocks. This paper discusses one field as an example from the Baikit petroliferous district and summarizes the results of the detailed studies of the geodynamic and hydrodynamic conditions of the oil-gas-condensate reservoir in the Riphean rocks. The reported results are compared with the actual field data, including the annulus pressure sensor measurements [Vakhromeev et al., 2013, 2015, 2016]. The previous findings are confirmed and extended: when vertical fractures are penetrated by drilling, and the hydraulic pressure variations amount to 0.5–1.5 % of the formation pressure, the effect of alternating mud-loss / kicks occurs in the near-wellbore zone due to the high permeability of the reservoir and the lack of the skin-effect in the bottomhole zone [Sverkunov et al., 2016]. The allowable ranges of the variations in the dynamic bottomhole pressure are estimated and justified for primary penetration into the oil-saturated vugular-fractured strata. Within an allowable range of pressure rates, a horizontal well can be drilled with minimal complications caused by alternating adjustable mud-loss and kick effects. Based on our study results, prerequisites are determined for developing the new technology of penetrating into pay zones in carbonate vugular-fractured reservoirs with anomalously low formation pressure rates.

LakeBaikalis the only freshwater reservoir on Earth with gas-hydrate accumulations in its bottom sediments, partly due to the activity of mud volcanoes. This paper describes a group of mud volcanoes recently discovered on the slope of the Academician Ridge between the northern and central LakeBaikalbasins. Our analysis of diatom skeletons in the mud breccia sampled from the study area shows a high abundance of Cyclotella iris et var. These extinct species were also discovered in a core sample from BDP-98 borehole. Based on the biostratigraphic and seismostratigraphic correlations, the age of the mud breccia in the studied mud volcanoes ranges from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene (4.6 to 5.6 Ma). The correlations suggest that the material originated from a depth of less than310 m below the lake bottom.

Potential triggering of mudflows by geodynamic and seismotectonic factors was assessed for the NE flank of the Baikal rift system, specifically for the junction area of the SW segment of the Chara depression, the Kodar ridge and the Muya-Chara inter-basin zone. The debris flow hazard in the study area is high due to geodynamic and seismotectonic activity and the regional permafrost, hydrological and climatic conditions. In 2001, debris flow damaged the railway section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) on the northern shore of the Bolshoe Leprindo lake. To ensure stable railway operations, BAM must be protected from landslides and debris flows. Appropriate preventive actions need to be developed with respect to the correctly assessed current state of the local natural environment, which results from complex interactions between endogenous and exogenous processes. In our study, the Late Cenozoic geodynamics, faulting and seismicity are considered as the most important factors for the occurrence of landslides and mudflows on the southern slopes of the Kodar ridge. The relief in the study area develops in geodynamic conditions predetermined by active stretching of the crust, accompanied by uplifting of the rift shoulder with a large height gradient. The study area is a narrow segment of the zone of dynamic influence of the Baikal rift system. It has a dense network of faults activated in the Late Cenozoic and the fault segments active in Holocene, as deformation caused by the divergent movements of the Siberian and Transbaikalia lithospheric blocks concentrates in this narrow zone. We studied several fault systems, including those activated in the Late Cenozoic, which are related to abundant zones of high fracturing, fragmentation and disintegration of rocks to dust-size particles, accompanied by the most intensive physical weathering in such zones. In the Chara depression and the surrounding uplifts, modern seismicity and paleoseismicity are determined by differentiated movements along the active faults. In the modern and Holocene stages, during and after frequent seismic shocks (including strong ones) in the study area, loose debris materials are inten­sely displaced by gravity, accumulate in negative-relief forms, and provide an important source of solids for debris flows. The Stanovoi Plateau is currently experiencing a period of intensified tectonic and seismic activity, which contributes to favorable conditions for the occurrence of mudflows.

This article discusses the distribution patterns of high-radon groundwater at the southwestern shore of LakeBaikal. This region is a flank of the South Baikalrift basin, characterized by high geodynamic activity and complex fault patterns, without any special geochemical conditions with regard to the content of uranium in the rocks. Based on our observations and measurements, we consolidated the first massive database on radon volume activity (Q) in a variety of local water sources. In the Kultuk–Vydrino area, the Q values vary from zero to 81.1 Bq/l, according to the analysis of the water samples from 93 springs, lakes, small streams, wells, and drilled holes. The highest concentrations of radon are discovered in the groundwater samples. Such values are unevenly scattered across the study area. The chain of the maximum Q values trends northwestwards along the LakeBaikalshore. This distribution pattern of radon, as well as the locations of individual water sources with Q>15 Bq/l are predetermined by the structural factor. The paragenetic analysis of faults and joints in the Kultuk–Vydrino area shows that this factor includes both the structure and stages in the development of the regional largest Main Sayan fault zone (the southwestern flank of the South Baikalbasin is a segment of this zone). The water sources with increased concentrations of radon are located in zones with a high density of the 2^nd order faults, especially on sites wherein the NW-striking faults cross the transverse faults that have experienced repeated activation. Temperature T is an additional factor influencing the degree of radioactivity in water. A relationship between T and Q is reverse. Water sources with Q>15 Bq/l associated with the 2^nd order fault zones may occur also due to a locally lower temperature of groundwater. Our study gives evidence that the southwestern coast ofLake Baikal is promising for finding high-radon water sources. Using such water in balneo­logy can become a valuable contribution to the tourism and recreational potential of the region. This prospect is especially important for the town ofBaikalsk that is now developing without its township-forming enterprise: the notorious pulp-and-paper mill has been completely shut down.

The Southern Iran territory, including the Zagros region and the margins of the Arabian and Eurasian plates, is a seismically active area with large industrial facilities of Iran. In this respect, studying modern geodynamics of this area is a top research task. This article presents a part of the studies conducted by the IPE RAS Seismological Expedition led by the Doctor of Physics and Mathematics S.S. Arefiev in 1999–2001. The research team studied the seismic setting on the construction site of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. The main results discussed in the present article are the focal mechanism solutions based on the data of the IPE RAS seismic network. The network was deployed in the junction area of the Fars and Dezful tectonic provinces (north of the Bushehr NPP) and covered an area of 100´100 km. A specific feature of the seismic network was that it comprised local networks, and each local station was focused, first of all, on determining the precise locations of earthquake epicenters in a particular section of the crust. However, the scarcity of stations in such local networks and the technologies available at that time did not allow us to determine the mechanisms of earthquake foci. This problem was solved by integrating the seismological and tectonophysical methods. In the analysis, we used the tectonophysical approach that is usually applied to reconstruct stresses from the data on slickensides. This approach is based on a specific algorithm of the kinematic method developed by O.I. Gushchenko, which is used in the absence of sliding direction signs. It became possible, in addition to a few signs from the first P-wave arrivals (1–2 confident signs), to use the data on the S-wave polarization direction. By applying the Gushchenko algorithm to such data, the areas of P and T axes were quite reliably localized on a single hemisphere for determining the focal mechanisms. The focal mechanisms computed for 72 earthquakes correspond to the Kazerooni-Borazdzhan shearing zone and, at the same time, are indicative of the presence of crust incision me­chanisms in the Bushehr Peninsula. The focal mechanisms computed in our study, as well as the mechanisms reported in the Global CMT Project Catalogue, show that the Bushehr Peninsula is located near the western boundary of the zone of strike-slip faults, which extends from the north (Zagros) to the south (the Persian Gulf) and widens as a horsetail-shape structure. In the crust of the Persian Gulf coast, the intensity of the strike-slip component in the earthquake focal mechanism is minimal. The earthquake mechanisms in this region are mainly related to thrusting, reverse faulting and even the crust incision.

Based on the results of a laboratory simulation of the seismic fault reactivation by “stick-slip” process, it was shown that the system of two blocks just before an impulse offset goes through the meta-instable dynamic state, with early and late stages of meta-instability [Ma et al., 2012]. In the first stage the offset begins in slow stationary mode with slow stresses relaxation on contact between blocks. In the second stage of the “accelerated synergies” strain rate increases and, subsequently, the deformation process through a process of self-organization came to dynamic impulse offset. The experimental results were used for interpretation of the results of spectral analysis of the deformation monitoring data. The data were held within the southern part ofLakeBaikal, where Kultuk earthquake (27.08.2008, Ms=6.1). took place. Its epicenter was located in the South end zone of the main Sayan fault. Monitoring of deformations of rocks was carried out from April to November2008 in tunnel, located at30 km from the epicenter of the earthquake. The time series data was divided into month periods and then the periods were processed by the method of spectral analysis. The results showed that before the earthquake has ordered view spectrogram, whereas in other time intervals, both before and after the earthquake such orderliness in spectrograms is missing. An ordered view spectrograms for deformation monitoring data can be interpreted as a consequence of the self-organiza­tion of deformation process in the transition of seismically active fault into meta-unstable before the Kultuk earthquake.

This article is focused on identifying geodynamic mechanisms leading to formation of large crustal blocks in nature. A specific feature of our study is statistical analysis of the data obtained by the methods of tectonophysics and structural geology. The analyzed material included 24  detailed structural sections (almost500 kmin total length) of Greater Caucasus. The Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary cover, that was intensely folded in the Oligocene and Early Miocene, is 10–15 km thick. A structure balanced in strain amounts and sediments volumes was reconstructed for three stages in the development of the studied area: 1 – pre-folded, 2 – post-folded, 3 – modern post-orogenic. The ‘geometry of folded domains’ method was used. For this purpose, 505 structural domains were identified in the detailed structural sections, the pre-fold state for every domain were reconstructed, and all the domains were aggregated into 78 structural cells. The reconstructions were based on structural indicators measurable in the folds forming the folded domains. Each structural cell was characterized by six parameters: an amount of shortening; depths of the basement top in the pre-folded, post-folded, and modern stages (i.e. stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively); a calculated position of the eroded top of the sedimentary cover (i.e. amplitude of orogenic uplifting); and a difference between the basement depths in stages 1 and 3. For 78 structural cells, shortening is about 50 % on average (from 2–10 % to 67 %). An average modern depth of the basement top is13 km(from 2.2 to31.7 km). The amplitudes of uplifting and of the erosion of top of the sedimentary cover for large blocks are in a range from 9 to19 km. Steady combinations of these values forming certain structures have been detected on the studied areas. It was found that the depth of the basement top in stage 3 (modern) has tendency to keep the value similar to the depth acquired in stage 1 (pre-folded) generally. This effect may be caused by an isostasy.. A number of estimated high values of the pair correlations have a genetic meaning. Using the factor analysis (as generalization of pairs correlations), we detected two factors related to the geodynamic mechanisms leading to formation of the structures larger than the cells – of the crust, and the upper mantle. Factor F1 (shortening, 60 % weight) depends on the amount of shortening and is responsible for amplitudes of uplifting. Factor F2 (isostasy, 27 % weight) is related to the initial thickness of the cover; it is responsible for the stability of the depth of the basement top. Isostasy assumes significant changes in the density of rocks in the crust and mantle, including the obtaining of mantle density volumes by the large volumes of the crust rocks. The factor “isostasy” in such kind was not taken into account in geodynamic models earlier.

This study aims to analyze the internal structure of earthquake sources under the modern concepts in physical mesomechanics, which consider the multilevel process of faulting in the geological medium, taking into account specific features of the subsurface and deep levels of the crust. This article includes two parts that present the study results and discuss the interdisciplinary information on the subject of this study. The first part describes the subsurface crustal level, wherein seismogenic faulting takes place. We present the seismogeological data on the structure and development of the sources of three catastrophic earthquakes (М≥8.0–8.5) that occurred inMongoliain the last century. We discuss the deep drilling (1.0–3.5 km) data on the seismodislocations formed after the recent strong and catastrophic earthquakes in the United States, Taiwan and Japan, including the zone of co-seismic fractures caused by the Tohoku-Oki earthquake (M=9.0, November 11, 2011). In the second part, jointly with specialists in petrology and geochemistry A.V. Travin and V.B. Savelieva, we will analyze the field data on the ages and the physical and chemical characteristics of geomechanical processes that took place at large depths in the fault zones, which are outcropped by the long-term denudation of the upper crustal layer in the study area. In the summary, we will describe our concepts of geomechanical and tribochemical processes taking place in the fault zones during the formation of the earthquake sources. The results of this comprehensive study give grounds to conclude that a multidisciplinary approach is needed to investigate the deep geological and geophysical processes of ‘stick-slip’ on the fault planes with diverse relief features in the zones wherein seismicity is generated. This conclusion is of paramount importance: it concerns the potentials of applying new approaches to forecasting, management and mitigation of seismic engineering risks arising from the hazardous effects of strong earthquakes.

In large igneous provinces (LIP) of fold areas, granitoid rocks are dominant, while mantle-derivated rocks play a subordinate role in rock formation. If magma emissions are impulsive, it may take 25–30 million years for a LIP to form and take shape. In this paper, we present the results of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic studies of Permian-Triassic grani­toids in the Altai region, Russia, and clarify the evolution of this region located at the periphery of the Siberian LIP. These granitoids are very diverse and differ not only in their rock set, but also in the composition features. In the study region, the granodiorite-granite and granite-leucogranite association with the characteristics of I- and S-types as well rare metal ore-bearing leucogranites are observed along with gabbro- and syenite-granite series, including mafic and intermediate rocks with the A2-type geochemical features. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data obtained in our study suggest that most of the studied granitoids intruded within a short period of time, 254–247 Ma. This timeline is closely related to the formation of granitoids in theKuznetsk basin and dolerite dikes in the Terekta complex (251–248 and 255±5 Ma, respectively), as well as intrusions of lamproite and lamprophyre dikes of the Chuya complex (245–242 and 237–235 Ma). Thus, we conclude that the Altai Permian-Triassic granitoids are varied mainly due to the evolution of mafic magmatism.

The paper provides a review of the published and new geological and geochronological data on the metamorphic rocks in the Kurai accretionary prism, considering the evolution of the Kuznetsk-Altai island-arc paleosubduction channel of the Siberian continent. The following two stages are distinguished by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U/Pb dating: (1) 636–619 Ma and earlier: sinking of ophiolites into the subduction zone; (2) 604–585 Ma: sinking of the large bo­dies of oceanic uplifts into the subduction zone. These processes led to the exhumation of the high-pressure rocks and the hot Chagan-Uzun peridotites. The dynamo-thermal effect of the latter on the basalts is reflected in the inverted metamorphic zoning and the occurrence of garnet amphibolites and plagiogranite migmatites. It is probable that the paleo-seamounts collided with the island arc during the Vendian–Early Cambrian. The data reviewed in this paper give evidence of an active margin of the West Pacific type in the western Altai-Sayan folded region in the Vendian–Cambrian.

The paper presents the results of deep seismic studies on Geophysical Reference Profile 1-SB (Sredneargunsk – Ust-Karenga – Taksimo – Vitim) in East Transbaikalia,Russia. The1200 kmlong profile crosses the major tectonic structures of the Central Asian fold belt: the Argun median massif, the Selenga-Stanovoy and Transbaikalia folded regions, and the Baikal rift zone. Its northwestern fragment extends into the Angara-Lena monocline of the Siberian platform. The southeastern (Transbaikalia) and northwestern (Baikal-Patom) fragments of the profile are based on the spot (differential) seismic sounding technique using explosions and 40-tonne vibrators. The south­eastern (Transbaikalia) fragment shows small crustal thickness values (~40 km), an almost horizontal position of the Moho, and high velocities of longitudinal waves (~8.4 km/sec) beneath the Moho. The analysis of parallelism graphs and the dynamic expression of the wave refracted from the Moho suggests a less than 5–10 km thick layer of high velocities and low gradients below Moho. The database on theterritoryofTransbaikaliaincludes ~200 wave arrival times from large earthquakes, which were refracted at the Moho at distances of ~200–1400 km. As part of the tomographic interpretation, using additional DSS data on the Moho, theterritoryofTransbaikaliahas been mapped to show the patterns of the threshold velocity values at the Moho. The seismic data was used to contour an area with high velocity values in the mantle in the central part of the Mongolia-Okhotsk orogenic belt and the neighboring fold structures of Transbaikalia. According to the analysis of the seismic and geologic data on the study area, the mantle layer with high velocity values in the Mongolian-Okhotsk orogenic belt may be represented by the eclogitic rock plates.