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The Spitak (Armenia) earthquake of 7 December 1988: field observations, seismology and tectonics

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Abstract

The epicentre of the destructive earthquake that devastated northern Armenia, the strongest in the region since historical times, is located within the Lesser Caucasus, a mountain country subjected to north–south compression by the push of the Arabian plate. A French-Soviet field expedition studied surface breaks and aftershock activity. The fault scarp could be followed for 13 kilometres and showed a reverse dislocation of 1.6 metres. Aftershocks are shallower than 13 kilometres, and delimit a ruptured surface of about 300km2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institutde Physique du Globe, Université Louis Pasteur, 5 rue René Descartes, 67084, Strasbourg, Cedex, France

    A. Cisternas, M. Cara, L. Dorbath, C. Dorbath, H. Haessler, E. Jimenez & L. Rivera

  2. Laboratoire de Géologic Structural, Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Place E. Bataillon, 34060, Montpellier, France

    H. Philip & J. C. Bousquet

  3. Institut de Physique du Globe, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75230, Paris, Cedex 05, France

    A. Deschamps, A. Nercessian & B. Romanowicz

  4. Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération, ORSTOM, 213 rue La Fayette, 75480, Paris, Cedex 10, France

    L. Dorbath & C. Dorbath

  5. Institute of Physics of the Earth, 10 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya, 123810, Moscow, USSR

    A. Gvishiani, N. V. Shebalin, I. Aptekman, S. Arefiev, B. A. Borisov, A. Gorshkov, V. Graizer, A. Lander, K. Pletnev, A. I. Rogozhin & R. Tatevossian

Authors
  1. A. Cisternas
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  2. H. Philip
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  3. J. C. Bousquet
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  4. M. Cara
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  5. A. Deschamps
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  6. L. Dorbath
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  7. C. Dorbath
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  8. H. Haessler
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  9. E. Jimenez
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  10. A. Nercessian
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  11. L. Rivera
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  12. B. Romanowicz
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  13. A. Gvishiani
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  14. N. V. Shebalin
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  15. I. Aptekman
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  16. S. Arefiev
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  17. B. A. Borisov
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  18. A. Gorshkov
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  19. V. Graizer
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  20. A. Lander
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  21. K. Pletnev
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  22. A. I. Rogozhin
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  23. R. Tatevossian
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Cisternas, A., Philip, H., Bousquet, J. et al. The Spitak (Armenia) earthquake of 7 December 1988: field observations, seismology and tectonics. Nature 339, 675–679 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/339675a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/339675a0

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