Optimal Geometry for the Seismological Observation Network in the Caucasus Region

Abstract

The modern seismological network of the Caucasus contains a little more than 300 seismic stations. Despite the fact that the number of stations is rather large, they are not uniformly distributed over the territory of Caucasus. Therefore, although the Caucasian seismological network is quite effective in general, earthquakes with different minimum energy classes and different accuracy are recorded at different points. To ensure that the observation system records seismic events occurring at different points of the Caucasus region with the same accuracy and with one minimum energy class, it is necessary that the system’s seismic stations be located more uniformly over the territory; i.e., the observation system should have an optimal configuration. Calculation of the minimum energy classes for the optimal seismic network of Caucasus, which included 55 seismic stations, shows that at 50 000 magnification of all stations, the system will reliably record all earthquakes of the energy class K = 9 (which corresponds to a magnitude of M = 2.6) of more in the entire territory of the Caucasus. The errors in determining the epicentral coordinates of earthquakes in latitude and longitude within the limits of the network will not exceed 1.0 km. The errors in determining the depths of earthquake will not exceed 1.0 km in the central part of the network and 10 km in the entire Caucasus.