Tentative Intracontinental Seismic Activity in South Siberia and Russian Far East

Abstract

Overwhelming majority of minor, strong and major earthquakes in south Siberia and Russian Far East coincide with relatively narrow intracontinental zones on the boundaries of blocks and lithosphere plates. The geodynamic activity of these zones connects, besides the plate interaction, with deep lithosphere structure and anomalies of the different geophysical fields as well as with blocks’ kinematics. Authors’ located areas of the seismic centers origin and the possible manifestations of the high seismicity based on the distribution of the maximal volumes of releasing seismic energy. We established these areas, with certain care, in the northeast Altai and adjacent part of the west Sayany, in the west of the east Sayany, around the Baikal Lake and in northwest Transbaikalia, in the east of Transbaikalia between the Vitim River and upper stream of the Aldan River, and in the north of the Sakhalin Island. The majority of minor and strong, rarely major, earthquakes took place in these areas. Deep and near surface structural peculiarities influence on these areas’ geodynamics and allow establishing possible levels of seismic energy releasing. We draw areas of intensive seismic energy releasing with its calculating for each from investigated regions. They gravitate towards interblock zones, which separate crust blocks and the North Eurasian Lithosphere Plate. The fulfilled investigation allows establishing specific areas of the increased seismicity in south Siberia, Russian Far East and adjacent territories.