Anatoly Kuzmich Rybin

The “NARYN” geoelectric model, which runs along the 76° E meridian through the Central Tien Shan from the Kazakh Shield to the Tarim Platform, is one of the longest cross-sections in continental Asia. This paper provides a historical overview of geoelectric models based on magnetotelluric (MT) soundings from 1999-2000 and 2005. Two inversion models constructed from these data using different algorithms are presented: the discrete-smoothed NARYN-RLM model and the piecewise continuous NARYN-INV2D model. A local earthquake catalog for 1980­2022 is considered. Hypocenter distributions from four regional and global seismic catalogs are superimposed on a reference cross-section to re-examine the previously identified relationship between crustal conductivity and earthquake depth distribution. It is noted that weak seismicity is mainly concentrated above the upper boundary of the middle and lower crustal conductor, while the strongest events are grouped in resistive, consolidated blocks of the earth’s crust or at their contacts with conductive zones.

For several decades, the intracontinental Tien Shan orogeny has served as a testing polygon for the study of modern geodynamic and seismic processes, carried out by Russian and foreign scientists at the Research Station RAS (Bishkek). The investigations have big practical significance for developing seismic hazzard zoning strategies. Magnetotelluric sounding, providing unique information on the lithosphere structures and rheology, plays an important role in the complex of applied geological and geophysical methods. The article describes the experience of studying the deep geoelectric structure of one of the most seismically active regions of the Tien Shan, the junction zone of the orogen and the Tarim plate. This experience was obtained during the interpretation of materials from the regional profile of MT soundings that cross this zone. Comparing the results of applying three different approaches to the inversion of magnetotelluric data, which differ not only in software implementations and algorithmic foundations, but also in model dimension, allows us to assess the reliability of the allocation and revealed properties of the main structural elements in the deep conductivity section, which help to clarify the seismotectonic pattern of the studied crustal zone. The objectives of the article also included support for new SinoProbe MT experiments.

In 2023, monitoring geophysical studies were carried out using the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method along three profiles that cross the strike zone of the Issyk-Ata fault in the transverse direction. A detailed study was carried out of the observed variations in apparent electrical resistivity, which characterize the change in the electrical properties of the upper part of the Earth’s crust section with a 40-minute discretization in time. Using the analysis of difference pseudo-sections of apparent resistivity, constructed based on the results of ERT monitoring, the most informative pseudo-depth interval from the point of view of geoelectric activity was determined for all three monitoring profiles. Accordingly, for a pseudo-depth of 24 m on each monitoring profile, an assessment was made of the geodynamic activity of these sections of the Issyk-Ata fault based on an analysis of the magnitude of two parameters: the amplitude of apparent resistivity variations and the correlation coefficient of electrical resistivity variations with lunar-solar solid tides. High values of these parameters, in our opinion, determine the location of modern active fault zones.

New results of a detailed study of the deep structure of the Central Tien Shan along the Son-Kul magnetotelluric (MT) profile crossing the Son-Kul Lake are reported. Based on the results of magnetotelluric data modeling, the regional and local geoelectric anomalies in the lithosphere are studied and their quantitative characteristics are given. Geological interpretation of the geoelectric cross-section was carried out, which supported the existing ideas about the block–hierarchical structure of the upper part of the Earth’s crust. This corresponds to the tectonophysical concepts of the sequential inserted subordination of large and smaller elements of the zone–block structure consisting of stable blocks and limiting mobile zones, which are distinguished by the high dislocation of the geological substrate. The integral pattern of the distribution and morphology of zones of high electrical conductivity in this segment of the Central Tien Shan crust may reflect discretely localized palm tree–type structures associated with the evolution of transgressive suture zones of localized deformation during the Hercynian and Alpine tectogenesis.

The article presents data on the structure of transition zones from areas of relative downwarping (intramountain depressions) to anticlinor uplifts dividing them. The geological and geophysical data obtained by the authors in recent years in different areas of the Northern Tien Shan are considering and discussing to compare the structure and tectonic evolution of key objects. A comparative analysis of the depression / uplift tectonic zones in different regions indicates a fundamental similarity in their structure. These areas of gradient vertical movements are zones of concentrated deformation. We described ensembles of structures formed at the same time in the sedimentary cover and in the basement rocks. Similar structural features are due to the common tectonic evolution of basins and ridges as parts of a unified activation structure of the Paleozoic folded belt. Over a long period of time, from the Oligocene to the Pliocene inclusive, the depressions of the Northern Tien Shan had developed under conditions of sedimentary subsidence, probably by the type of pool-apart structures in a latitudinally oriented region of plastic shear deformation. The relatively quiet tectonic setting of this stage is reflected in the lithological features of the sedimentary complexes. The next stage, which began about 3 Ma b.p., was marked not only by the emergence of a high-altitude relief and the accumulation of molasses, but also by a change of tectonic regime to transpression. The generally flexible bending of the foundation surface in the steep sides of the depressions, to some extent complicated by uplifts, was accompanied by the formation of extensive detachments and thrust-folded structural ensembles in the sedimentary cover of the depressions. Contrary to popular point of view volumes of disintegrated basement rocks demonstrate significant plasticity. The lateral pressure of the side ledges inside the sedimentary cover was transmitted for many kilometers towards the depression’s center. At the same time, contrary to traditional ideas, the volumes of disintegrated rocks of the basement demonstrate significant plasticity, while the lateral pressure of the side ledges was transmitted for many kilometers into the depressions inside the sedimentary cover.

On the basis of the Research Station of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Bishkek, a unique scientific infrastructure—a complex geophysical station—is successfully functioning, realizing a monitoring of geodynamic processes, which includes research on the network of points of seismological, geodesic, and electromagnetic observations on the territory of the Bishkek Geodynamic Proving Ground located in the seismically active zone of the Northern Tien Shan. The scientific and practical importance of monitoring the geodynamical activity of the Earth’s crust takes place not only in seismically active regions, but also in the areas of the location of particularly important objects, mining, and hazardous industries. Therefore, it seems highly relevant to create new software and hardware to study geodynamic processes in the earth’s crust of seismically active zones, based on integrated monitoring of the geological environment in the widest possible depth range. The use of modern information technology in such studies provides an effective data management tool. The considering system for collecting, processing, and storing monitoring electromagnetic data of the Bishkek geodynamic proving ground can help overcome the scarcity of experimental data in the field of Earth sciences.