Recurrence of strong seismic events in the area of the 2011–2012 Tuva earthquakes according to paleoseismological data

Abstract

This paper presents the results of paleoseismological studies in the epicentral area of the Tuva earthquake of 2011 (M = 6.7) and 2012 (M = 6.8). Their seismotectonic position and seismic history over the last millennia has been studied. The results are of great importance because these earthquakes are the strongest in the history of seismological observations in Tuva and are thus the first well-studied strong earthquakes in this region. The data show that relatively weak events similar to the 2011–2012 Tuva earthquakes recurred every 300–500 years in the past millennium, while catastrophic earthquakes with M = 7.0-7.2 and higher occur approximately every thousand years.