Fault zones and stress fields of the Earth’s crust in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) at the modern stage of tectogenesis

Abstract

The seismic and emanation activity of fault zones at a geodynamic test site arranged in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar to investigate dangerous geological processes in a heavily populated area of Mongolia is analyzed. It has been found that, at the modern stage of tectogenesis, destruction of the Earth’s crust occurs in the area of the strike-slip fault transformed from the Indo-Asian collision zone. Thus, a network of fault zones with seismic and emanation activity is developed in this area. In the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar, there are four systems of fault zones. The spatial pattern of the systems shows a nodal junction of comparatively large rightlateral and left-lateral strike-slip faults of submeridional and sublatitudinal orientation. These strike-slips are barely connected with a network of ancient faults. The northwestern and northeastern zones developed by compression and tension, on the contrary, inherit disjunctive structures of the most recent age located in a nodal junction at the tops of dihedral angles. Determination of the pattern of recent faulting is essential to estimate the seismic hazard for the capital of Mongolia, where more than one-third of the nation lives.