ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARTHQUAKE SOURCE DEPTHS AND DEEP GEOLOGICAL COMPOSITION OF THE TERRITORY OF ARMENIA

Armenia is situated at one of the most active segments of the Alpine-Hymalayen seismic belt, in the zone of collision of Arabian and Eurasian plates. Basing on numerous geological and geophysical data the petrophysical section and mechanism of ophiolite structures formation are presented where the protrusive intrusion of serpentinized masses into upper horizons of crust is essential. Preliminary results on rock dehydration and polymorphous transformations in minerals which may trigger seismic shakings of crust. Study of earthquake sources distribution in depth has shown that the maximum depth of earthquake hypocenters is not exceeded 35 km and most earthquake sources in the Caucasus and Armenia are shallow ones which caused high intensity impact on the settlements. Data on petrophysical section as well as study of processes in minerals at high temperature and pressure are important for defining the physics of earthquake sources. The relationship between the different depths of sources for strong regional (M>5.5) and local perceptible (3.5??M??5.5) earthquakes (source depths: 0-10km, 10-20km, 20-35km with controlling active faults as well as deep processes in the crust in the territory of Armenia is studied. Preliminary results revealed the relationship in the system "earthquake source-active fault-protrusive intrusion of masses". The study is ultimately focused on right and in time evaluation of seismic hazard in the territory of Armenia [9, 10] and in prospect on solving the problem of earthquake prediction.