Relation between Morphometric Parameters of Relief Characterizing the Fracturing of the Upper Part of the Lithosphere and Manifestations of Volcanism in the Malko-Petropavlovsk Zone

Abstract

Numerous monogenic volcanic structures and thermal water outlets in the Malko-Petropavlovsk zone of transverse dislocations (MPZ) on the Kamchatka Peninsula have been established to be localized in areas of increased fracturing in the upper part of the earth’s crust. In the paper, we characterize at a quantitative level the association of manifestations of volcanism and hydrothermal–magmatic systems with positive anomalies in the morphometric characteristics of the relief (specific length of “weak” zones and watercourses, density of intersections of rivers and lineaments, and dispersion of slope exposure). A high degree of consistency in the orientations of faults and weak zones are revealed: both rose diagrams show northwestern, meridional, and northeastern directions, while the average circular values of their strikes are 75° and 76°, respectively. According to the Nechaev method (Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences (IPE RAS)), 3D models of tectonic fragmentation of the earth’s crust in the depth range of 2.5–10 km are obtained based on the calculation of the specific lengths of weak zones and watercourses. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the point elements of these voxel models is 0.86. Based on the relation between morphometric characteristics and manifestations of volcanism, we suggest that, in general, the nature of the fracturing reflected in the relief is one of the main factors determining the hydrothermal–magmatic activity of the studied area, which has a great effect on human economic activity.