A Complexity of the Displacement Along Segments of the Akhtyirskiy Fault

Abstract

A distinctive features of the Ahtyirskiy fault (Krasnodar, Russia) are its long length and the unusual geological structure. The fault demarcates the boundary between highlands and flat landform. To study the fault displacement we have applied two methods. The first structural–geo-morphological method reconstructs orientation of the compression/expansion axis in a horizontal plane and thus determines the direction of a horizontal displacement along the fault. In this study the method has been modified by analyzing of individual segments of the Ahtyirskiy fault. Another method is the microseismic sounding that determines a distribution of surface wave characteristics in a vertical plane. We conclude that the displacement along the fault has average direction, which we call the upthrust right-shift. However there are segments that are deformed in a special manner and displacements along them can not be explained via theoretical models. Mainly the fault plane falls to the south direction while its individual parts fall to the north.