The paper presents a petrographic, geochemical, and Sm-Nd isotopic data on the gneisses from different tectonic zones of the Olkhon terrane of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, as well as the composition of garnets and the age of zircons in these metaterrigenous rocks. The garnet-biotite gneisses of the Anga-Sakhurta zone, as well as the garnet-bearing and garnet-free gneisses (granulites) of the Chernorud zone may result from metamorphism of immature terrigenous rocks of polymictic or greywacke compositions similar in geochemical characteristics to rocks of continental arcs. At the same time, the gneisses of these zones show both similarities and some differences in geochemical and isotopic characteristics, including variations in ɛNd(T) values from –0.2 to –9.0, which may indicate different proportions of one or another source in their protoliths. The age of most detrital zircons in the gneisses of the Chernorud and Anga-Sakhurta zones corresponds to 530–1000 Ma, and the youngest detrital zircons have an age of 522–537 Ma. The geochemical and geochronological data on the gneisses of the Chernorud and Anga-Sakhyurta zones suggests that the protoliths of these gneisses could be formed from the same sources of predominantly Neoproterozoic age. We assumed that gneiss protoliths could initially be sediments of the continental slope of Neoproterozoic composite terrane assembled to the Siberian Platform at 600‒610 Ma. The transport of clastic material being gneiss protoliths from this composite terrane, took place towards the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The youngest zircons with an age of about 530 Ma could be generated from igneous complexes intruding the Neoproterozoic composite superterrane. The garnet-biotite gneisses of the Krestovskaya zone are similar in chemical composition to immature graywacke sandstones, The ɛNd(T) value in these gneisses is –3.7. Detrital zircons in the gneisses of the Krestovskaya zone form age peaks at 780–820 and 498–515 Ma. Based on geochemical and geochronological data we assume that these gneisses could be formed in an intracontinental basin formed at the orogenic stage during accretionary-collisional events at the amalgamation the Orso block and the Birkhin island arc into the Krestovskaya zone.
All terrigenous rocks being gneiss protoliths were metamorphosed at 460–510 Ma under granulite or amphibolite facies associated with accretionary and collisional events, which led to the formation of the Early Paleozoic Olkhon composite terrane.

Detailed studies of the deeply metamorphosed Early Precambrian rocks of the Northern Ladoga region allowed us to distinguish three deformation stages of the Svecofennian tectogenesis during which there occurred significant structural and compositional transformations of the "cover (Paleoproterozoic) – basement (Archean)" system. In addition to the structural-paragenetic analysis, which allowed to allocate transversal structural paragenesis in both floors, there are some other opportunities in the recognition of their-hosted granitoid veined bodies with a positive Eu anomaly. The rock varieties with this anomaly are always high in barium and do not show a direct correlation between the Eu anomaly and (La/Yb)_n, Ca and Sr. This is contrary to the ideas about the occurrence of a positive Eu anomaly due to the substitution of divalent strontium by Eu⁺⁺ and suggests that the formation of such rocks took place under the influence of deep reduced fluids. It was found that granitoids with a positive Eu anomaly were formed during the first and last stages of the structure evolution, with a predominance of brittle deformations and a deep-reduced fluid breakthrough. At the second stage, with the dominant manifestation of plastic deformations, when such fluids could be "blocked" within the system, there was a formation of granitoids with low barium concentrations and a negative Eu anomaly.

The isotopic data showed that there are two stages distinguished in the Cenozoic history of the Darkhad depression volcanic activity, the Late Oligocene initial stage (~28.0–26.6 Ma) and the final Late Miocene – Early Pliocene stage (~5.8–4.2 Ma). It has been stated that the rocks of the initial stage are only represented by trachybasalts; however, among the final-stage basaltoids there are series of shield-volcano hawaite-basanite-phonotephrite rocks and compex trachybasaltic "valley" lava flows, the formation of which is the last stage in the territorial volcanic evolution. It has been shown that the initial-stage trachybasaltic andesites are characterized by their enrichment of TiO₂, P₂O₅, Sr, Zn, Ga and low concentrations of Al₂O₃, MnO, CaO, Sc and HREE (La/Yb=27.2–30.2). Basaltoids of the final stage have a similar rare-element distribution and show an increase in the contents of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, P₂O₅, LILE, HFSE, Th, U and in the degree of fractionation of REE (La/Yb from 12.2 to 20.9) towards the rocks alkalinity enhancement. Modeling of eclogite, pyroxenite and peridotite melting processes in the La/Yb – Sm/Yb system shows that trachybasaltic andesite melts could be formed at ~7–8 % melting of eclogitic matter or at ~10–11 % melting of Grt-containing pyroxenites, with trachybasalt formed at ~3 % melting of Grt-containing peridotites. The composition distribution of rocks in coordinates (Mg# – Fe/Mn) indicates that the parental magmas are the initial-stage trachybasaltic andesite magmas as well as the Early Pliocene trachybasaltic "valley" lava flows. Sr, Nd, Pb isotope characteristics of the Darkhad depression basaltoids show significant shift of isotopic ratios in time towards the relatively enriched mantle as compared with the depleted MORB mantle. The initial formation of trachybasaltic andesite melts occurred in the Late Oligicene at the pre-rift stage of the territory development involving metasomatized mantle matter, with the pyroxenite or eclogite component contained in the magma formation source. The origin of trachybasalt magmas of the final stage is associated with the processes of decompression melting of peridotites in a weakly metasomatized lithospheric mantle at the rift stage of the Darkhad structure development.

Based on the isotope-geochronological (zircons, U-Pb method), petrogeochemical, and structural and petrologic data, the following paper provides a detailed description of the characteristics of the Late Paleozoic basic and granitoid magmatism in the eastern part of the Kaakhem magmatic area (Eastern Tuva). During the formation of the Shivey alkaline-granitoid and Chadal gabbroid massifs in the period of 292–283 Ma, there were revealed two stages of contrasting magmatism. The early stage is characterized by the formation of plutonic mingling structures and intermediate rocks. Deformation structures, widespread in the early-mingling rocks, are superimposed and formed in extensional regime. At a later stage, there occurred a sequential intrusion of salic and mafic magmas into the zones of local extension in the early-mingling host rocks. A similar petrogeochemical composition of basic rocks of the early and late mingling indicates that they all formed from enriched magma. Granosyenites and granites are derived from melting of tonalities and metasedimentary rocks with a significant contribution of the mantle component. The simultaneous formation of the Chadal gabbroid and Shivei granitoid massifs took place at the intraplate stage of the development of geological structures of Eastern Tuva in the Late Paleozoic.

In the Western Sangilen (Tuva–Mongolia microcontinent, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Russia) rare mineral ferrohögbomite-2S2N, for the first time, was found in a deep-seated contact aureole of the early Paleozoic Bayan-Kol gabbro-monzodiorite intrusion. The rocks are diatexites of roof pendant, where metamorphics contact gabbronorite. Diatexites formed as a result of strong melting and desilication of quartz-bearing kyanite-staurolite schists (M1) during progressive thermal metamorphism (M2) near the Bayan-Kol intrusion with peak at 950 °C, 7–8 kbars. Ferrohögbomite-2S2N grains up to 50 μm in size found in ilmenite-corundum-magnetite-hercynite pseudomorphs. The later formed during progressive stage of thermal metamorphism M2 after regional staurolite M1 and are in cordierite-gedrite-plagioclase restite blocks of diatexites. Ferrohögbomite also appeared as thin (1–5 μm) rims around individual grains of hercynite, corundum and magnetite in a rock matrix. According to microtextural features ferrohögbomite grains formed during post-peak metamorphic stage after minerals of pseudomorphs. A univariant mineral reaction of ferrohögbomite-2S2N formation calculated quantitatively in Fe-Al-Ti-Zn-H₂O system with program Mathematic 9.0 using electron microprobe chemical composition of minerals of pseudomorphs. The reaction is 0.96Spl+0.194Ilm+0.116Mag+0.036Crn+0.163H₂O=0.163Hgb. A local equilibrium value during formation of ferrohögbomite was probably correlated with pseudomorphs size and thus do not transcend 1 mm³. Thermobarometry yields metamorphic temperature and pressure of ferrohögbomite formation as T=665 °C, P=5.8 kbar, which correspond to late retrograde stage of thermal metamorphism of diatexites. To present day in Russia, högbomite group mineral was known only on South Urals and Aldan Shield in Eastern Siberia.

Deformation features of the subducting Pacific lithospheric plate are considered according to the data on earthquake focal mechanisms. The territory includes the convergent boundaries between the Pacific Plate and the North American (in the Aleutian arc region), the Okhotsk, the Eurasian and the Philippine plates.

It has been shown that the angle of subducting Pacific Plate in the Aleutian subduction zone affects the focal mechanisms of earthquakes that occurred in the upper, 35 km part of the oceanic plate in the zone of its bending. There occur normal-fault earthquakes at a steep-angle subduction and rare thrust earthquakes at a shallow-angle subduction. The azimuthal orientation of P-axes of the focal mechanism solutions in the upper (1–70 km) contact zone corresponds to the Pacific Plate displacement vector when the plate fragments are subducting west-northwestwards. There occurs a change in azimuthal orientation of the compression axes in the subducting plate at a depth of more than 70 km: the axes occupy different azimuthal sectors showing difference in the orientation of their slope, with the orientations of the T-axes become multidirectional.

The calculation of seismotectonic deformations was carried out based on the data on focal mechanisms of 7768 earthquakes. It was revealed that the Exx and Ezz deformation fields are the most homogeneous at depths of 1–70 km. The pattern of seismotectonic deformations changes abruptly for deep parts of the subducting plate (105–200, 200–400, and 400–700 km), there are observed heterogeneous deformation fields Exx, Eyy and Еzz with alternating episodes of extension and shortening.

There has been proposed the author’s scheme of the influence of the upper mantle convection structure on the geometry of the subducting plate (slab) as a potential catalyst for the processes responsible for the separation of seismic activity zones and the change of earthquake types with depth and in different parts of the extended subduction zone.

Some characteristics of the earthquake catalog and seismic process are considered. The catalog is obtained according to the KNET network (KN-code in FSDN, International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks, that is operated by Research Station of RAS, RS RAS) and contains more than 10000 earthquake parameters from 1994 to 2020. The catalog and seismicity characteristics were determined the whole catalog as well as the catalog that is limited by the coordinates of the Bishkek geodynamic polygon (BGP). Statistical analysis of arrival times of direct P- and S-waves registered at KNET network stations was carried out. The maximum P- and S-waves were registered at AAK station, the minimum – at ULHL station. The territory of the BGP is covered by great P-traces density. We analyzed earthquake localization errors, i.e. the difference between the observed and calculated arrival times of P-and S-wave fronts (RMS), horizontal error (ERH, epicenter) and vertical error (ERZ, depth). Occurred on the BGP territory earthquakes have minimum values of the considered errors. The representative sample is defined: for the whole catalog it includes K≥7.2 earthquakes and for the limited by BGP coordinates catalog – K≥6.7. Statistical characteristics of the representative part of the catalog in terms of time and depth are determined. The temporal distribution of earthquakes by energy classes is constructed and the absence of positive or negative trends in the number of events is noted. Spatial distribution of earthquakes by depth – 0–5, 5–10, 10–15 and more than 15 km is constructed. The smallest errors of earthquake depth determination have the events that occurred on the BGP territory. During the study 46 moderate earthquakes with K≥12 occurred. The most part of these events happened in the North Tien Shan seismgenic zone. 22 events were determined with K≥10 followed by aftershock sequences and give some aftershock characteristics. The most events with aftershocks occurred in the eastern part of the Kyrgyz ridge. The distribution of earthquake numbers and STD intensity is constructed. Zones of seismic activity and maximum intense Earth’s crust deformation are identified. The Gutenberg – Richter law and provisions of nonextensive statistical physics were used to describe the energy distribution function of earthquakes.

An intraplate tsunamigenic earthquake with М_W=7.5 occurred on March 25, 2020 southeast of the Paramushir Island (Kuril Islands) beneath the outer slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. Since 1900, this earthquake has been the largest event for an 800-km long oceanic slope and a 300-km long segment of the Kuril seismofocal zone located near the epicenter. Sub-horizontal compression stresses generated in the earthquake source region were oriented across the seismofocal zone. A type of motion is represented by reverse faulting along the both nodal planes.

The compressive stress state in which there occurred the Paramushir earthquake reflects the present-day geodynamics in the subduction zone near the hypocenter. The paper shows that the earthquake occurrence is due to a strong mechanical contact surface between the Pacific and North American lithospheric plates in the subduction zone. The analysis of coseismic displacement of the nearest Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station served as confirmation of the determination of fault plane solution of the earthquake. A seismogenerating motion occurred along the plane oriented to the southwest and dipping towards the trench. For Finite fault source models, there were calculated the increments of the Coulomb stress in the subduction zone. For the main fault plane, the increment of the Coulomb stress in the interpolate contact area propagates to a depth of ~30 km and reaches 1 bar.

Coseismic stress increment in the subduction zone at the northern flank of the Kuril island arc, which has a high seismic potential at the present stage of the tectonic cycle, increases the likelihood of the largest interplate earthquake occurrence therein.

A spatial distribution of methane dissolved in sea water is a critical but poorly understood factor in the context of seismic activity. Based on the results of the RV AKADEMIK OPARIN integrated geological-geophysical expedition (September 21 – October 31, 2017), this paper deals with the regularities of methane concentration variability in the surface layer of the Sea of Japan: the average growth and the average growth period were 70 % and 10 h, respectively, after each earthquake whereas a decrease in methane concentration in the sea water was 10–30 % 2–4 h before a seismic event. A decrease in methane concentration occurs irrespectively of the depth of an earthquake. The results obtained show good agreement with the published data and gaseous-geochemical monitoring materials, thus making it possible to associate seismic-related gaseous-geochemical regime not only with gas-saturated sediments but also with the water column of the Japan Basin (Sea of Japan).

The relevance of the work is determined by the fact that no radiowave methods have ever been used to study the water areas of rivers and lakes and their geoelectric sections within the Baikal natural territory (BNT) in winter time. The purpose of the research is to determine the electrical and geometric characteristics of the layered medium "ice – water – bottom soil" and the ice cover of the Selenga River on the BNT in the VLF-LF and VHF radio wave bands according to the data of instrumental radiophysical measurements by GPR and radio impedance methods, including the determination of the structure of the ice crossings over the Selenga River. Using the Selenga River as an example, consideration has been given to the results of combining VLF-LF and VHF methods of electromagnetic diagnostics of a layered medium in a wide range of radio waves (from tens of kilohertz to units of gigahertz). Radio impedance profiling and sounding in the VLF-LF bands with the IPI-300 equipment made it possible to determine the sub-bottom structure of the soil from the change in impedance and geoelectric section. GPR in the VHF band made it possible to differentiate the fine structure of the Selenga River in winter by thickness of snow, ice and water. The sounding involved the use of georadar "Oko-2" with antenna units "Triton" (central frequency 50 MHz), AB-400 (central frequency 400 MHz), AB-700 (central frequency 700 MHz), and AB-1700 (central frequency 1700 MHz). The thickness of ice of the road crossing in the Mostovoy microdistrict of Ulan-Ude city was 0.5–1.2 m – 0.1–0.2 m thicker than that beyond the road crossing. It was found that the presence of snow cover beyond the road crossing prevents the ice mass from freezing. Calibration sounding of ice with borehole drilling yielded ice dielectric constant ε=3.17. The specific electrical resistance (SER) of water from boreholes is 71–74 Ohm·m at a temperature of 1 °C. The methods used complement each other and provide a quantitative description of the object of research. The integration of various methods of radio wave diagnostics provides more detailed information on the structure of the layered medium "ice – water – bottom soil". The obtained results and the developed methods of radio impedance and GPR sounding and profiling of an inhomogeneously layered underlying environment in winter time can be used in engineering and geological surveys in the eastern and northern regions of Russia.

In here, we present the results of the GPR study of the modern rupture zone discovered earlier in the periphery of the Rita River delta flowing into Lake Baikal. The research was aimed at subsurface imaging of dislocation geometry using the Logis-Geotech OKO-2 radar equipped with the ABDL Triton antenna. As a result, the characterizations have been obtained for six 73 to 197 m long profiles across the rupture zone. All disturbances visible on the aerial photography materials are highlighted on the radargrams by the oblique reflection event due to a decrease in the signal amplitude. The rupture zone has two large segments – northeastern and submeridional, – which differ in zone width, number of discontinuities, dip angles, and displacement amounts. The deformation features can be attributed to different amounts of a plastic loamy aggregate of coarse deposits in different parts of the Rita River delta that is indirectly confirmed by weaker signal amplitudes on the northeastern segment. Based on present and previous studies, we proposed that the M=5.2 earthquake occurred on August 13, 1962, in Lake Baikal initiated the gravitational sinking in the Rita river delta edge by subsidence along gently sloped rupture surfaces on one segment and along steeply sloped ones on the other. It is necessary to identify and monitor such phenomena to prevent the development of emergencies associated with the collapse of the coasts of large water reservoirs.

The methods developed by the world community to date to withstand strong natural and induced destructive earthquakes do not effectively reduce material losses and the number of victims. The authors propose for discussion an integrated approach to solving the problem of ensuring seismic safety, based on the use of new important information about the geological conditions for earthquake generation. This involved the use of results of numerical and physical modeling, as well as physical full-scale experiments in the natural fault areas. The paper analyzes the petrophysical conditions of deep-seated frictional processes in coseismic faults, revealed through detailed studies of the fragments of paleoearthquake centers that became accessible after their exhumation from seismic-focal depths of the Earth’s crust. The collected information allowed the authors to clarify with a high degree of certainty the origin and occurrence of seismic motions. This paper presents briefly the results of the medium-term forecast of earthquakes with M≥5.0 as applied to the seismodynamic regime of the Baikal rift zone. The forecast emphasizes the detection of places for 1–11-year earthquake generation cycles.

A comprehensive analysis of the collected information made it possible to substantiate the conclusion about an opportunity to prevent earthquake damage by using hydrodynamic damping of seismically hazardous fault segments. In the last section, consideration is being given to one of the most promising methods of such man-made impacts, which uses modern technological advances in drilling deep multil-branch and directionally inclined wells with horizontal deviation. The paper discusses the techniques that make it possible to prevent episodes of unexpected reactivation of fault segments in the form of excitation of earthquakes with M≥6.0. Attention is drawn to conducting tests at selected sites in order to improve the technology as part of the approach to earthquake damping.

The paper presents the results of detailed structural analysis of the Dzhankhot thrust zone which is a part of the system of overthrust nappe structures in the southern slope of the Northwestern Caucasus. The relevance of the research topic is found on the reason that despite the obvious importance of these overthrust nappes in the structure of the Greater Caucasus there is still lack of in-situ observational data on the detailed structure of thrust zones and on tectonic stress distribution pattern therein.

As a result of the structural and geological studies of small disjunctive and plicative forms in the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene sediment contact along the Dzhankhot thrust, there were identified the major structural and tectonic deformation patterns and the areal distribution of tectonic deformations depending on the distance to the thrust. There was determined the major type of stress in different parts of the thrust zone. There was shown the difference in the development of geological indicators of faults for different elements of the folded structures. In some cases, there was determined the sequence of deformations, from synsedimentary structures (clastic dikes in particular) to post-sedimentary brittle structures.

The orientation of principal stress axes determined from the reconstruction data by method of cataclastic analysis of faults confirms a thrust-type deformation within the studied area near the Dzhankhot thrust. Local stress-tensor determinations are in good agreement with the location of observation points in the regional tectonic structure. Trajectories of the maximum compression axes, most of which are submeridionally and NNW-trending, change orientation to the northwest in the immediate vicinity of the Dzhankhot thrust fault zone. The identified features of tectonic structure and stressed-strained state of the Dzhankhot thrust zone allow considering this area as a natural structural and tectonophysical testing ground for both tectonic-stress-reconstruction-improvement methodologies and a study on natural deformation structures of the Greater Caucasus.

The current study presents the integration between field observations and remotely sensed data for detection and extraction of geological structural features using Sentinel-2A and Aster DEM images. The area under investigation is represented by the Neoproterozoic East African Orogeny encompassing a part of the Arabian Nubian Shield. All the rock units studied belong to the Late Cryogenian-Ediacaran periods that are divided into two large terrains (continental arc terrain and oceanic arc terrain). The metagabbro and metavolcaniclastic rocks make up the oceanic terrain, while the gabbro, tonalite, granodiorite, dokhan volcanic, monzogranite and alkali feldspar granite comprise continental arc terrain. The Sentinel-2A remote sensing and ASTER DEM data have meaningful application in respect of geological interpretation. Lineament analysis is one of the most useful tools in geological mapping and mineral exploration. Several methods of processing and extracting lithological information and lineaments were applied to the Sentinel-2A and ASTER DEM data covering the present study. The methods include various image enhancements (FCC, MNF and PCA) and the application of directional filters (Sobel). The study results show that the area was subjected to stresses of various directions (WNW – ESE, NW-SE, NE-SW, N-S, NNE – SSW, and E-W). There occurred some important structure-related and mineralization events like migmatization (in granodiorites) and bearing mineralization (in gabbro), which are associated with major elements of evidence-based structural control of the area and with the proximity of the Quena Safaga shear zone-related mineralization.