Vol 52, No 3 (2016)

It is shown that the instability of turbulent flows with Ekman velocity profiles in the vicinity of the core–mantle boundary leads to the formation of horizontally oriented circulating roll structures. The geophysical implications of the presence of such structures in the liquid core are explored, namely, the formation of the hot zones with enhanced conductivity and their influence on geomagnetic reversals.

The regularities in the radiation and propagation of seismic waves in the regions of the North Caucasus are analyzed for estimating the ground motion parameters during the probable future strong earthquakes. Based on the records of the regional earthquakes with magnitudes M_W ~ 3.9–5.6 within epicentral distances up to ~300 km obtained during the period of digital measurements at the Sochi and Anapa seismic stations, the Q-factors in the vicinities of these sites are estimated at ~55 f^0.9 and ~90f^0.7, respectively. The estimates were obtained by the coda normalization method developed by Aki, Rautian, and other authors. This method is based on the phenomenon of suppression of the earthquake (source) effects and local (site) responses by coda waves in the S-wave spectra. The obtained Q-factor estimates can be used for forecasting the ground shaking parameters for the future probable strong earthquakes in the North Caucasus in the vicinities of Sochi and Anapa.

The neural network estimates of seismic P- and S-wave velocities from electrical resistivity of the rocks and, vice versa, resistivity estimates from seismic velocities are presented. It is shown that, depending on the ratio between the volumes of the known data and the data to be reconstructed, the accuracy of the estimates of the P- and S-wave velocities ranges within 1–4 and 4–6%, respectively. The logarithmic resistivity is estimated from seismic P- and S-velocities as accurately as up to 15–17%. In all cases, the biggest errors are obtained when the estimates are based on correlated data.

The relationship between the characteristics of seismic waves in the Western Caucasus and the geological-tectonic structure of the region is studied for identifying the specificity of seismic propagation in the mountainous regions with a complicated geological structure and forecasting the characteristics of the propagation from the geological and tectonic data. The interpretation is presented for the estimates of the Q-factor of the medium (Q(f) ~ 55f^0.9 in the region of Sochi and Q(f) ~ 90f^0.7 in the region of Anapa), seismic wave enhancement in the upper crustal layers (A(f) ~ 1), and peak ground acceleration residuals, which were previously determined from the records of the local earthquakes and show the distributions of local variations in the parameters of seismic wave radiation and propagation. The obtained characteristics are interpreted in the context of the up-to-date information about the tectonic, geological, and deep structure of the epicentral zones in the Western Caucasus and neighboring territory of the Black Sea. The discrepancies revealed in the low-frequency behavior of the Q-factor in the vicinities of Sochi and Anapa is accounted for by the spatial scale and character of tectonic dislocations of the rocks in these regions. The local variations in the parameters of seismic radiation and propagation are probably related to the geological features of the region such as the fault structures, including the thrusts, shatter zones, oblique seismic boundaries, variations in the thickness and consolidation of the sedimentary cover, as well as the peculiarities in the structure and material composition of the basement.

The electrical prospecting by the transient electromagnetic sounding method (TEM) employs a set of the established notions. For example, it is believed that the effect of the displacement currents on the results of TEM is typically negligible except for the techniques which are intended for exploring the uppermost portions of the section and use high frequencies. In other words, for the underlying physicomathematical description, it is sufficient to use a quasi-stationary approximation. This is true for the traditional methods; however, the studies and results presented in this paper show that these notions need to be revised when TEM soundings are viewed from a more general standpoint. The suggested approach to the problem of the displacement currents’ influence on TEM soundings consists in the fact that the question should be partitioned into several issues and the shallow-depth electric prospecting which employs the high frequencies (or very short transient times) should be considered separately. The problem should be viewed from the standpoint of using the TM (transverse magnetic) and TE (transverse electric) polarizations of the electromagnetic field. As the core of this paper, I suggest the new and, in my opinion, rather fascinating results showing that the displacement currents can be in principle vital for the deep electrical prospecting studies; however, this is the case only if a pure TM field is used.

The methodical solutions for improving the GT-2A aerogravimetric complexes by incorporating the Javad Quattro-G3D GPS receiver connected to four antennas spaced in two orthogonal planes are discussed. The operation features of the advanced aerogravimetric complex are described and the results of its application during the testing flight to 78° N latitude are presented. The anomalous gravity obtained in the testing flight is compared with the EGM2008 and EIGEN-6C models.