Home – Home – Jornals – Russian Geology and Geophysics 2005 number 1

Choice of observation sites is of key importance for understanding geodynamic processes and related phenomena, especially earthquakes, as it has been found out through three decades of investigation into preseismic, coseismic, and postseismic dynamic and nonlinear effects. Junctions of trans-lithospheric active faults are extremely heterogeneous zones in the multiphase polydisperse system of the lithosphere. These zones, marked by specific nonlinear and dynamic properties, build up the greatest elastic strain and are thus the least stable thermodynamic elements highly sensitive to external physical effects, mainly associated with regional stress variations. The sensitive local lithospheric zones with their ability to accumulate, redistribute, and release various types of energy were called sensitive energy active points (SEAP). Monitoring at the Kajaran SEAP station in an active seismic region of southern Armenia showed compression effects related to all earthquakes within the Arabia/Eurasia collision zone, irrespective of their epicentral distances.