Abstract
Using Shen’s method (Shen et al., 1996), deformations of the Earth’s crust in Azerbaijan were studied based on GPS measurements. For estimating the rate of deformation, we used the field of velocity vectors for Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and Armenia that were derived from GPS measurements during 1998–2012. It is established that compression is observable along the Greater Caucasus, in Gobustan, the Kura depression, Nakhchyvan Autonomous Republic, and adjacent areas of Iran. The axes of compression/contraction of the crust in the Greater Caucasus region are oriented in the S-NE direction. The maximum strain rate (approximately 200 × 10−9 per annum) is documented in the zone of mud volcanism at the SHIK site (Shykhlar), which is marked by a sharp change in the direction of the compression axes (SW-NE). It is revealed that the deformation field also includes the zones where strain rates are very low approximating 5 × 10−9 per annum. These zones include the Caspian-Guba and northern Gobustan areas, characterized by extensive development of mud volcanism. The extension zones are confined to the Lesser Caucasus and are revealed in the Gedabek (GEDA) and Shusha (SHOU) areas, as well as in the zone located between the DAMO and PIRM sites (Iran), where the deformation rate amounts to 100 × 10−9 per annum. It is concluded that the predominant factor responsible for the eruption of mud volcanoes is the intensity of gas-generation processes in the earth’s interior, while deformation processes play the role of a trigger. The zone of the epicenters of strong earthquakes is correlated to the gradient zone in the crustal strain rates.
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Original Russian Text © F.A. Kadirov, I.S. Guliyev, A.A. Feyzullayev, R.T. Safarov, S.K. Mammadov, G.R. Babayev, T.M. Rashidov, 2014, published in Fizika Zemli, 2014, No. 6, pp. 99–107.
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Kadirov, F.A., Guliyev, I.S., Feyzullayev, A.A. et al. GPS-based crustal deformations in Azerbaijan and their influence on seismicity and mud volcanism. Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 50, 814–823 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351314060020
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351314060020