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Weak Seismicity and Strongest Earthquakes Against the Background of Variations in S-Wave Attenuation Field

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Abstract—The role of relatively weak earthquakes as an instrument to study the medium, including during strong earthquakes, is studied. The spatial structure of the attenuation field of several seismic regions (the Garm geodynamic test site in Tajikistan; Altai; the Caucasus; Eastern Anatolia; the Western Tien Shan) and epicentral regions of a number of strong earthquakes is considered, and the confinement of deep seismicity to this structure is analyzed. It is shown that the attenuation field estimated from short-period coda of weak earthquakes in seismic regions is inhomogeneous, consisting of blocks with high Q-factor and weakened zones with high attenuation. It is noted that the deep earthquakes have an uneven spatial distribution, which correlates with the block structure: there are more deep earthquakes in the weakened zones than in the high-Q blocks. Examples of variations in the deep seismicity activity in the weakened zones are presented. Deep seismic activity varies over time, increasing before strong earthquakes. Facts are presented that point to the existence of a correlation between the Earth’s rotation rate and the intensity of deep seismicity. Examples of activation of weak seismicity in the form of seismic swarms (series of weak earthquakes localized in space and time) in connection with strong events are shown. A characteristic feature of the swarm sequences is that the earthquake localization regions are isometric in plan and elongated vertically. As a rule, these regions coincide with the weakened zones of strong S-wave attenuation. Intense localized seismicity confined to one-dimensional domains is most likely to be associated with highly conductive channels acting as pathways for deep fluid migration. Activation of swarm seismicity is driven by active migration of deep fluids and increasing fluid saturation of the weakened zones. Fluids, in turn, are catalysts of the processes leading to rock strength degradation and block destruction in the epicentral zones. In this case, clusters of seismic swarm sequences can be considered as local seismogenic zones. The formation of compact clusters of weak seismicity, isometric in plan and nearly vertical in the cross section, is also quite frequently observed outside the epicentral zones of strong earthquakes. Such zones may simply be indicators of the seismotectonic situation in the region as a whole. It is believed that a sharp change in the dynamics of atmospheric pressure during the preparation of a strong earthquake, detected by weather stations located in such areas is a consequence of the intergeospheric interaction between the lithosphere and the atmosphere. One of the main mechanisms of the anomalous behavior of atmospheric pressure during strong seismic events appears to be deep degassing, which is most active in the weakened zones. The mechanisms by which deep degassing affects the outer geospheres are still a matter of debate.

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The work was carried out under the state contract with the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences (project no. FMWU-2022-0016).

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  1. Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123242, Moscow, Russia

    O. I. Aptikaeva

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Aptikaeva, O.I. Weak Seismicity and Strongest Earthquakes Against the Background of Variations in S-Wave Attenuation Field. Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 59, 421–432 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351323030011

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