V. M. Nikiforov

Large steeply dipping geoelectrical structures penetrating the whole lithosphere and extending deeply beneath it are detected on Sakhalin Island by magnetotelluric soundings. The fault system...

A fundamentally new conclusion that zones of high seismic activity are controlled by electroconducting (fluid-saturated) fragments rather than by the entire deep fault is drawn. It is shown that the...

The transverse current anomalies evident from magnetotelluric sounding (MTS) data in the transition zone from the Asian continent to the Pacific Ocean and a geoelectrical model suitable for explaining these effects are discussed. Using simulation results and new MTS data on Sakhalin and northern Vietnam, ultra-deep fluid–fault system (UDFFS) models are constructed, comprising steeply dipping low-resistivity and high-resistivity linear bodies which penetrate through the whole section of the lithosphere, continuing deep into the asthenosphere. The structure of these systems reflects the development of deep and ultra-deep fault zones, along which mantle-originated fluids may migrate through sediments to reach the surface. This allows the anisotropic–conductive fractured structures adjacent to these faults to be considered as being most favorable for hydrocarbon accumulations.

New data on the fluid lithospheric regime in the junction zone of the continent and the marginal seas are presented. For the first time, this problem was solved by the comprehensive interpretation of the geophysical methods, including magnetotelluric and geomagnetic-variation sounding, unique investigations of the variations of the electric field along the Japan Sea Cable (JASC), structural-density modeling, thermometry, and thermodynamics. A joint analysis of the distribution of the electric conductivity, density, and temperature in the lithosphere made it possible to substantiate the participation of mantle fluids in the formation of lithotectonic complexes that are quite different beneath the continent and the marginal Sea of Japan.