Hydrogeoseismological Research in Kamchatka: 1977–2017

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the main stages in the setting-up and technical development of a system specializing in physical and chemical parameters of groundwater at a network of wells and springs in the Petropavlovsk Geodynamic Test Area, Kamchatka. The focus is on a description of hydrogeochemical and hydrogeodynamic precursors to Kamchatka earthquakes (Мw = 6.6‒7.8) that occur a few weeks to a few months before a seismic event, manifesting themselves in anomalous changes in chemical composition and groundwater level. The precursors are discussed in application to their use at specialized councils on earthquake prediction. It is shown that the system of automated observation of groundwater parameters at wells as developed at the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences (KB GS RAS) is capable of identifying hydrogeodynamic precursors of water-level in near real time and of providing, in some particular cases, quantitative estimates of pre-seismic and coseismic deformation of water-saturated rocks. This can be useful in geophysical monitoring and intermediate-term prediction of strong earthquakes for the Kamchatka region.