SEISMICITY OF NORTHERN EURASIA in 2014

Abstract

An overview of Northern Eurasia seismicity in 2014 is given. This territory includes 16 regions of Russia and neighboring countries. Seismic monitoring was carried out by 618 stationary seismic stations, including 591 digital, 27 analog stations and eight seismic groups. Also, temporary stations operated in some re-gions. These networks have registered over 30 thousand tectonic and volcanic earthquakes, for 571 of them the focal mechanisms are determined. According to the data collected and presented in the Annual, 413 earthquakes were felt in settlements of Northern Eurasia in 2014, manifestations of 14 of them were surveyed and described in the special articles of this issue, together with data on the focal mechanisms, preceding seismicity, aftershock processes and seismotectonic conditions. Estimates of the number of earthquakes and seismic energy released in 2014 in the regions of Northern Eurasia in comparison with long-term characteristics of seismic regime indicate that in most regions the seismic process proceeded in the “background” or “background lowered” regimes accor-ding to the definition on the SOUS'09 scale. Only the level of seismicity in the Pribaikalye and Transbaikalia region is assessed as “background increased”. The intensification of seismicity in the source zones of the past strongest earthquakes in the Alpine-Himalayan collision-fold belt – Crimean 1927, Spitak 1988, Zakatala 2012 – is noted. The tangible earthquakes that occurred in the previously aseismic areas of the Siberian and Turan platforms – Gonam earthquake on January 4 with KP=14.2, I0=8, Boguchan earthquake on January 17 with KP=13.3, I0=7 and Karaganda earthquake on June 21 with KP=11.7, I0=5–6 – indicate the need to revise the concept of a low seismic hazard in these platform areas.