ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2019, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 138-146

Development of deformation processes in the Caucasus region derived from GNSS measurements

T.V. Guseva 1 , I.S. Krupennikova 1 , A.N. Mokrova 1 
1 Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth RAS, Moscow, Russia
Accepted: 10.07.2019
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2019-16-5-138-146
The results of monitoring modern movements, deformations and seismic activity in the Caucasus region, which is part of the mobile Alpine-Himalayan belt, are considered. The relevance of the research is due to the need to systematize and summarize the accumulated data of geodetic satellite observations of GPS/GLONASS at the points of the North Caucasus geodynamic network for 2005–2014. The assessment is given of the nature of modern movements of earth crust and their evolution in time, reflected in the scale of deformation of the geological structure of the region in the direction of the main axes of compression and extension with an average speed of ±2•10–8, as well as in the distribution of the intensity of the shear deformations. During the first and part of the second decade of the current century, the greatest geodynamic activity was inherent in the Eastern part of the region, where anomalous areas of areal deformation up to –3.1•10–7 (compression) and 2.3•10–7 (tension) were found, coinciding with the zone of increased seismic energy release, reaching 1010 J/km2. The results under discussion provide quantitative estimates of the mean and abnormal velocities of horizontal movements, area and shear deformations in comparison to the magnitude of the seismic energy released over the decade. This approach significantly broadens the geophysical and geodynamic information about the Caucasus region and reflects the quantitative impact on its modern tectonic development of the more mobile Arabian tectonic plate.
The results under discussion provide quantitative estimates of the mean and abnormal velocities of horizontal movements, area and shear deformations in comparison with the magnitude of the seismic energy released over the decade. This approach significantly expands the geophysical and geodynamic information about the Caucasus region and reflects the quantitative impact on its modern tectonic development of the more mobile Arabian tectonic plate.
Keywords: North Caucasus, monitoring, modern movements, GPS, GLONASS, deformation, geodynamics, seismicity
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