The World Stress Map — A Freely Accessible Tool For Geohazard Assessment

Abstract

Abstract. The World Stress Map (WSM) database contains over 16,000 indicators on contemporary crustal tectonic stress and provides an essential parameter for geohazard assessment. This paper focuses on the importance of database accessibility for geohazard assessment and presents the basic concepts and availability of the WSM. The WSM can be applied to several key aspects of geohazard assessment, in particular the mapping of stress patterns and places of stress concentration for improved delineation of zones of seismic hazard. Furthermore, contemporary tectonic stresses can be used in combination with numerical modeling to identify faults or sections of fault systems with high failure potential and can help to predict the likely type of fault reactivation. This approach is especially valuable for assessing the likelihood of strong and rare seismic events for which probabilistic hazard assessment will fail and physically based methodologies are required. Herein, we use the Caspian-Caucasian region as an example to apply WSM data for geohazard assessment. The Caspian-Caucasian area is characterized by the occurrence of a number of stress related geohazards on different spatial scales, in particular crustal earthquakes, seismically triggered landslides and mud volcanism.