Based on seismic data from existing seismic networks in Kyrgyzstan, we have constructed new crustal models of seismic velocity and attenuation for P and S wave s beneath the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. With data from more than 6,000 events recorded by the international KNET network, the most detailed structures were detected in the central‐northern part of the study region, where the Kazakh Shield collides with the northern Tien Shan. The independently computed 3‐D distributions of P and S wave attenuation show features that are consistent with the main structural elements. The high‐attenuation areas correspond to folded areas of the northern Tien Shan, whereas the partitions of the stable Kazakh Shield and the Issyk Kul block match with the low‐attenuation areas. The velocity model reveals some structures that help to determine the details of the collision processes in the northern Tien Shan. In the upper crust, we observe the alternation of several higher‐ and lower‐velocity anomalies that likely represent the interaction of brittle and ductile crustal layers of the collided Kazakh and Tien Shan plates. In deeper sections, both P and S wave velocity models show a prominent low‐velocity anomaly just beneath the northern boundary of Tien Shan. We propose that this anomaly represents an anomalous crustal thickening at the point of underthrusting of the Kazakh Plate beneath Tien Shan.

No abstract

In this study we present a detailed analysis of natural stresses in the Northern Tien Shan crust averaged in a window of 10–15 km obtained from seismological data of the local KNET network. The transformation of focal mechanism data into the parameters of the stress tensor was based on the method of cataclastic analysis of rupture displacement elaborated by Yu.L. Rebetsky (Institute of Physic of the Earth, Moscow). The results, including the orientation of the principal stress axes and the reduced stresses, are presented for four depth layers. It was shown that the central part of the study area is dominated by horizontal compression, while multiple domains characterized by horizontal shear and superimposed compression or pure horizontal shear are also present (uppermost layers in the eastern part of the Chuya depression, Suusamyr depression and adjoining regions, in the central part of the Kyrgyz Range). There are also several large domains of high and low effective confining pressure, which defines the corresponding deviator stress, according to the Coulomb–Mohr law. It was shown that relatively strong earthquakes are correlated with zones with low levels of effective pressure where the ruptures are characterized by lower resistance to brittle fracturing, i.e., Coulomb friction stresses. It was also shown that a distinct segment of the ~ 60 km E–W striking fault on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Range generates a uniform distribution of stresses, corresponding to a dextral slip along of its edges.

The field of earthquake epicentres of Pribaikalie (Russia) is reconstructed from the data of historical and instrumental monitoring of earthquakes. The analysis shows that seismic events in the study area are distributed irregularly in space and time. The seismic process in Pribaikalie is investigated through the prism of seismic structures in the lithosphere; the irregular occurrence of seismic events in time is considered with reference to seismic weather and climate; and the causes of periodic activations of the seismic process are discovered in relation to the external effects on the Earth's physical fields from cosmic and solar processes. It is proposed to classify the seismic structures as specific geometric objects located in the lithosphere. Such objects are viewed as abstract structural elements. Some regular features are noted in the occurrence of seismic events. It is revealed that the seismic process in time shows a similarity with the course of hydrometeorological processes, which is reflected in the periodicity of elastic energy release, if only the change in the number of earthquakes (of different energy classes) in time is analysed by years. An evidently regular time pattern of seismically active periods suggests that the seismic process is influenced by some external factors. In this study, we apply the concepts of heliogeodynamics, space climate and weather to investigate such factors.

No abstract