M. Yu. Stepanova

Microseismic field affected by local geological heterogeneities and microseismic sounding of the medium

Experiments and numerical model studies have shown that heterogeneities of the Earth’s crust distort the spectrum of the low frequency microseismic field, decreasing spectral amplitudes of a specific frequency f at the Earth’s surface over high velocity heterogeneities and increasing them above low velocity heterogeneities. The frequency f is connected with the depth of a heterogeneity H and the velocity of the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves VR(f) through the relation H = 0.5 VR(f)/f. The low frequency microseismic field is considered as the superposition of trains of Rayleigh fundamental modes with different frequency spectra. The paper proposes an experimentally tested technology enabling the determination of the deep structure of complex geological objects using data on the microseismic background field.

Statistical characteristics and stationarity properties of low-frequency seismic signals

Statistical properties of microseismic signals are studied in the frequency range 0.03–15 Hz at various points of the Earth near and far from sources of microseisms. It is found that various frequency ranges differ in the property of stationarity. The minimum interval of stationarity of microseisms in the range 0.12–1.1 Hz is estimated at 1–1.5 h. A conclusion is drawn that the measurement accuracy of the spectral density of microseisms cannot be improved above a certain limit by increasing the time of signal stacking.

Deep structure of the North Vent Area, Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption of 1975–1976, Kamchatka: Evidence from low-frequency microseismic sounding

Studies were conducted to improve our knowledge of the deep structure of the magmatic system and the plumbing system for the North Vent, Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption of 1975–1976 based on recordings of background microseismic emission by broadband digital instruments along two parallel lines running through eruptive centers of various ages across the main magma-conducting fault. The method of low-frequency microseismic sounding was used for constructing deep sections down to a depth of 20 km, showing the shear-velocity distributions along these lines. Elements of the magmatic system were revealed beneath both vents in the form of low-velocity anomalies. We identified regions of magma chambers at different depths together with the channelways that connect these. It was found that magma might come to shallow chambers from different deep-seated sources along spatially isolated magma conduits, which is one of the possible causes of the variation in the basalt composition during the eruptions. For the zone of areal volcanism we are the first to demonstrate a change in magma-conducting conduits in the transition from the crystalline basement to the volcanogenic sedimentary rock sequence, with subvertical channels being replaced by inclined forms. It was shown that the elements of the magmatic system beneath both eruptive centers studied here are similar. It is hypothesized that there is a regularity in the configuration of plumbing systems in the middle part of the Tolbachik regional zone of areal volcanism.

The structure and contemporary activity of the Intramoesian fault in northeastern Bulgaria obtained through a complex of new geological-geophysical methods

The structure of the Intramoesian fault is studied for the purpose of estimating its contemporary activity. The fault is known in the territory of Romania and Bulgaria, but it is insufficiently studied both from the geological point of view on the surface and from the geophysical point of view, from which the pattern of its deep structure can be inferred. The fault zone is the key structure for the solution of the problem of estimating the seismic hazard of the region, since the latest studies of this territory indicate the existence of traces of relatively young tectonic processes. According to some concepts the Intramoesian fault sets bounds to the tectonic plate, which is subducted under the Carpathian fold system in the region of the Vrancea Mountains. The paper under consideration presents the results of the field study of the southeastern, the Bulgarian, part of the fault with the application of a complex of geological-geomorphological and geophysical methods. On this basis, the structural segmentation of the fault is carried out and the specific features of its intersection with the disjunctives of another structural orientation are inferred. The data, which determine the degree of its geological and seismic activity, are also discussed.

Deep structure of the Moscow Aulacogene in the western part of Moscow

Geological and geomorphological studies of the Moscow Aulacogene in the western part of Moscow suburbs have been conducted. This deep structure has been studied by microseismic sounding. The resulting section presents the faults which frame the Teplostanskii Graben in the south (Ramenskii or Butovskii, expressed on the surface as a ledge in the relief) and in the north (Pavlovo-Posadskii, being traced on the surface as a series of lineaments and the valley of Setun’ River). The position of the surface Archean-Lower Proterozoic crystalline basement within the limits of the graben and within the limits of buried elevated blocks (Krasnogorskii and Tumsk-Shaturskii) frame it in the north and south, respectively. Additionally, another fault has been identified in the central part of the graben: the Solntsevskii fault, which has a north-western course and which separates the deflection of the basement in two blocks that are sunken in a slightly different degree. The low-velocity horizons of the Riphean-Vendian complex which make up the graben at depths of 2 to 4.5 km have been found. Down to depths of 15 km, as a component of the upper crust, the graben is underlain by a high-velocity material which also forms the upper part of the section of the crystalline basement in the neighboring elevated block. A low-velocity block of the lithosphere is located in the larger (northern) part of the graben deeper (down to 40 km) beneath the zones of Pavlovo-Posadskii and Solntsevskii faults; in the southern part there is a high-velocity block. In the fault zones framing the graben in the north and south, the surface layer and soil displays a flow of juvenile hydrogen and helium which exceeds several tenfold the background values. According to the collected data, the Teplostanskii Graben has roots traceable through the entire crust and penetrating into the upper mantle.

New data on the deep structure of the Northern Vent of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption (1975–1976)

In order to restore the deep structure in the region of the Northern Vent (NV) of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption (GTFE) (1975–1976), low-frequency microseismic sounding was applied. For this purpose accumulation of spectra of the microseismic field was performed in a wide frequency band in 29 points along a linear profile 14 km in length embedded transversely to the fissure eruption. A deep cross section of the Earth’s crust was constructed up to 20 km, reflecting the distribution of relative velocities of transverse seismic waves. The revealed structural heterogeneities were interpreted with consideration of previously known results of complex studies of the eruption. The existence of an abnormal structure at the depths of 2–3 and 7–8 km under the NV GTFE was confirmed, which could be low-depth magma chambers. Deep subvertical low-velocity structures were revealed and spatially registered, which probably feed the conduits of the eruption. It was demonstrated that the ways of possible magma supply to the peripheral chamber at the depth of 2–3 km could be various. For the first time for the zone of areal volcanism, variation of the character of magmatic intrusions was demonstrated at the transition from a crystalline basement to the near-surface depth: subvertical forms are replaced with a system of sills and interesting injections.

The pattern of deep structure and recent tectonics of the Greater Caucasus in the Ossetian sector from the complex geophysical data

Microseismic sounding along the profile in the Ossetian sector of the Greater Caucasus revealed two domains with characteristic properties and morphology deep beneath the mountain system. One subvertical domain is marked with low velocities and the other, also subvertical, has high velocities. The high-velocity zone is largely located beneath the northern limb and axial part of the Greater Caucasus mega-anticlinorium, whereas the low velocity zone projects on the southern limb. Almost throughout the entire structure of the block part of the northern limb of mega-anticlinorium, the top of the high-velocity zone beneath it is consistently horizontal at a depth of ∼10 km. This pattern is violated by the apparent steep rise of the top of the high-velocity zone to the surface in the southern direction, which starts approximately from the main thrust. Beneath the southern limb, the top boundary can also be guessed at a depth of ∼10 km, although less reliably. The roots of the low-velocity zone stretch to a depth of ∼50–60 km and narrow with the depth. The weak regional seismicity quite distinctly maps onto the high-velocity zone. In the depth interval of 10 to 25 km, weak seismicity abruptly drops northwards at the transition to the low-velocity zone. The independent magnetotelluric data show that electric resistivity of the low-velocity zone significantly exceeds the resistivity of the hosting rocks. The model of a medium filled with isolated fractures with mineralized fluid is suggested for the low-velocity zone. According to a series of features, the low-velocity zone tends to float up; in particular, there is a high lateral correlation between the most elevated part of the mountain relief, morphology, and age of the rocks, on one hand, and the position of the low-velocity zone, on the other hand.

The structural framework and recent geodynamics of the Greater Caucasus Meganticlinorium in the light of new data on its deep structure

Using the microseismic sounding method (MSM), deep sections along two profiles intersecting the central part of the Greater Caucasus in Ossetia and its northwestern part near the town of Tuapse have been compiled. The revealed heterogeneities of the lithosphere display close relationships to orogenic tectonic deformations and young volcanic activity. Along the profile in the Ossetian sector of the Greater Caucasus, three deep-seated bodies of the Earth’s crust with characteristic properties and morphology have been identified beneath the mountain system. These are a near-vertical low-velocity body and two high-velocity bodies framing the latter in the north and the south. The low-velocity body is primarily situated beneath the axial zone of the Greater Caucasus Meganticlinorium, whereas the high-velocity bodies occur beneath its southern and northern limbs. The persistent horizontal roof of the low-velocity body is traced beneath the entire core of the fold edifice at a depth of approximately 10 km. In the Tuapse sector near the western pericline of the meganticlinorium, the contrast of the low-velocity body is much less pronounced. The most contrasting narrow low-velocity bodies are related to the boundary of the Caucasus (West Kuban) Foredeep with the mountain edifice and the Adygean ledge.

The structure of the Vladikavkaz Fault Zone based on the study utilizing a complex of geological-geophysical methods

The Vladikavkaz Fault Zone is a regional boundary between the Alpine folded-block system of the Greater Caucasus and Pre-Caucasus foredeep (Ossetian Depression). A complex of geological and geomorphological techniques was used for its study. The data of recent activity of discontinuous and folded dislocations were obtained as a result. Additional application of the microseismic sounding method allowed us to trace the behavior at depth and along the direction of the Vladikavkaz Fault Zone’s branches known on the Earth’s surface from geological and geophysical surveys. An idea of the three-dimensional structure of this system of tectonic faults was made up. It was shown that the structure of the upper section of the fault zone has a form of listric foldthrust, and in the deep layers of the Earth’s crust it is represented by a well-formed contrast zone with subvertical plunging. Expressive deformations of young sediments and a clear manifestation of the fault zone at a depth make it possible to consider the Vladikavkaz Fault as a major seismogenerating structure.

Deep structure and volcanic activity of Mount Elbrus and a portion of the Elbrus–Tyrnyauz valley: Geological and geophysical data

A microseismic sounding profile was made along the Baksan River valley from the eastern summit of Elbrus volcano to the southern edge of town Tyrnyauz. The geological section along the profile presents the structural features of the subaerial structure of Mount Elbrus and magmatic chambers, which are traced to a depth of 40 km or more as a subvertical chain. Along the profile, deep-seated faults, well correlated with their morphological manifestations on the surface, were identified. Under the southern edge of town Tyrnyauz, a low-velocity region, comparable in size to Elbrus volcano, was interpreted as the cooling volcanic structure. The results obtained were correlated with the data available on the geology and geomorphology of the area of study, as well as data obtained earlier during independent studies of Elbrus volcano.