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New data about seismicity and crustal velocity structure of the “continent-ocean” transition zone of the Barents-Kara region in the Arctic

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Abstract

The recent (2011) installation of seismic station Zemlya Franca-Iocifa (ZFI) on Alexander Island in the Franz Josef Land Archipelago allows new seismic monitoring of the “continent-ocean” transition zone of the Barents-Kara Sea region. The region is seismically active, and we hypothesize that the prevailing geodynamic factor responsible for the occurrence of weak earthquakes is isostatic compensation of avalanche sedimentation in the “continent-ocean” transition zone. The crustal velocity structure beneath ZFI was determined using receiver functions. Crustal thickness is 30 km, based on an observed Moho discontinuity with underlying mantle velocities being Vp = 8.15 km/s and Vs = 4.5 km/s The model indicates a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km with a velocity contrast between the upper (Vp = 6.1 km/s, Vs = 3.6 km/s) and lower (Vp = 6.8 km/s, Vs = 3.9 km/s) layers. In addition, the upper crustal sedimentary layer is about 4 km thick with Vp = 4.3 km/s and Vs = 2.36 km/s.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Kevin G. Mackey of the Michigan State University and Sergey Y. Sokolov of the Geological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences for their suggestions in the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Seismology, Institute of Ecological Problems of the North of Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Severnoj Dviny Emb., 23, Arkhangelsk, Russia, 163000

    Alexey N. Morozov & Natalya V. Vaganova

  2. Seсtor Seismic Monitoring of the North of the Russian Plate, Geophysical Survey of Russian Academy of Sciences, Severnoj Dviny Emb., 23, Arkhangelsk, Russia, 163000

    Alexey N. Morozov & Yana V. Konechnaya

  3. Kola Branch of Geophysical Survey of Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmana Emb., 14, Apatity, Russia, 184209

    Vladimir E. Asming

Authors
  1. Alexey N. Morozov
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  2. Natalya V. Vaganova
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  3. Yana V. Konechnaya
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  4. Vladimir E. Asming
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Correspondence to Alexey N. Morozov.

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Morozov, A.N., Vaganova, N.V., Konechnaya, Y.V. et al. New data about seismicity and crustal velocity structure of the “continent-ocean” transition zone of the Barents-Kara region in the Arctic. J Seismol 19, 219–230 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-014-9462-z

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