A new electronic map of active faults for southeastern Siberia

Abstract

One of the key problems concerning the assessment of seismic hazard and regularities in the seismotectonic process is connected with the unavailability ofelectron cartographic projects, which would integratevarious information sources at the level of advancedtechnologies. The purpose of this communicationconsists in gathering, organizing, and critical interpretation of geological–structural, geophysical, hydrogeological, paleoseismological, and seismological dataintegrated with field mapping, interpretation of topographic maps (1: 200000), digital models of the relief(SRTM90), and bathymetric maps [1, 2] selected forthe test area. Such studies in the area with coordinatesof 100°–114° E and 50°–57° N resulted in development of a new electronic map of faults that which wereactive during the Neogene–Quaternary, for southeastern Siberia and a corresponding database, which contains data on known parameters of faults and indicationsof their activity. The structure of the database was developed and published earlier [3]. It should be noted that weused in this work the original data on >900 points ofstructural–geological observations, the regional catalogof earthquakes compiled at the Baikal Branch of theGeophysical Survey (Siberian Branch, Russian Academyof Sciences) (http://www.seisbukl.ru), series of maps,and 48 publications with descriptions of faults and necessary corresponding information [4–15, and others].The electronic map includes 1218 faults consistingof 1808 segments. Among them, 765 fractures areproved and 1043 are hypothetical (Figs. 1, 2). Theirdistinct reflections in the surface topography in formof scarps, linear valley, or lineaments of the hydrographic network (a series of small similar elements)were accepted as a criterion for fault defining.The structures were considered as proved whenthey were confirmed by at least one of the followingdirect indications: fracture zones and/or well developed (principal) system of fissures of a certain strike incompact and/or poorly lithified (incoherent) rocks,seismogenic deformations, linear arrangement ofearthquake epicenters with