Abstract
Our comprehensive study of the Russian Arctic region aims to clarify the features and types of seismotectonic deformation of the crust in the Arctic–Asian Seismic Belt, specifically in the zones of strong earthquakes in the Laptev Sea Segment, the Kharaulakh Segment, and the Chersky Seismotectonic Zone. We have analyzed modern tectonic structures and active fault systems, as well as tectonic stress fields reconstructed by tectonophysical analysis of the Late Cenozoic faults and folds. The investigated neotectonic structures are ranked with respect to the regional classification principles. Changes in the crustal stress–strain state in the lithospheric plate boundaries between the Eurasian, North American, and Okhotsk Sea Plates are analyzed, and regularities of such changes are discovered. A set of models has been constructed for the studied segments of plate boundaries with account of the dynamics of the regional geological structures. The models can give a framework for the assessment of potential seismic risks of seismogenerating structures in the Russian Arctic region.
Highlights
The Russian Arctic region is covered by comprehensive studies combining geological, geophysical, and seismological methods that have identified the Arctic–Asian seismic belt, which includes the spreading Gakkel Ridge, the system of rift basins in the Laptev Sea shelf, and the seismogenerating structures of the continental crust in the Chersky Seismotectonic Zone [1]
Our research provides data for discovering the tectonic positions and the structural dynamic pattern of the main fields of earthquake epicenters in the study area and allows identifying the blocks that acts as tectonic stress concentrators
The Laptev Sea shelf is located at the northern margin of the Eurasian Plate (Figure 1)
Summary
The Russian Arctic region is covered by comprehensive studies combining geological, geophysical, and seismological methods that have identified the Arctic–Asian seismic belt, which includes the spreading Gakkel Ridge, the system of rift basins in the Laptev Sea shelf, and the seismogenerating structures of the continental crust in the Chersky Seismotectonic Zone [1]. This paper reviews published results regarding the Laptev Sea Segment, Kharaulakh Segment, and the Chersky Seismotectonic Zone [2,3], and presents new research results. It discusses the dynamics of the formation of neotectonic structures and the types of the crustal stress–strain state in the zones of strong earthquake epicenters in the Arctic–Asian seismic belt.
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