Earthquake manifestation activity in the border territories of the south of the European part of Russia

Abstract

Aim. Assessment of earthquake activity in the border areas of the south of the European part of Russia (excepting Crimea) over the past decade.Material and Methods. The main materials used are literary sources, as well as data from regional divisions of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies and the southern regional centre of the Federal State Budgetary Institution, Hydrospetsgeology, published in the open press.Results. The general picture of the distribution of earthquakes that occurred in 2009‐2018 in the south of the European part of Russia (excepting Crimea) is given. In the territory of this region and in the 30‐kilometre adjacent border zone of the neighboring states of Azerbaijan and Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) 1768 earthquakes with an energy class of KR =2.5‐14.2 occurred annually on average. A significant variation in the number of earthquakes in the region (from 1146 to 2214) was revealed. The largest number of seismic events was observed in 2009 and 2017 and the lowest in 2010. The greatest activity of earthquake manifestations was observed in Russian territory (62.1%), a significant share of seismic events (38.9%) occurring in the 30‐kilometre adjacent border zone of the neighboring territories of the states of Azerbaijan and Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia). The largest number of earthquakes was observed in the eastern part of the North Caucasus (Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia).Conclusion. The analysis conducted made it possible to assess the seismic hazard and activity of earthquakes from 2009 to 2018 in the territories of the border regions of the Russian Federation within the south of the European part of Russia (excepting Crimea).

Keywords

• seismic event
• earthquake
• depth of earthquake focus
• magnitude
• frontier territory
• energy class
• earthquake epicentre