GEODYNAMICS OF THE CHERSKY SEISMIC BELT

Abstract

The geodynamics of the Chersky seismic belt is discussed, based on seismic and geologic evidence, as well as on heat-flow and deep-structure analyses. The belt stretches across Northeast Asia from the Laptev Sea to the Komandorskie Islands. It forms a boundary between the Eurasian, North American and Sea of Okhotsk plates. The concept of the relationship between the belts seismicity and the Moma rift system is not supported. The belt is currently undergoing compression generated by the sublatitudinal convergence of the North American and Eurasian plates.