Землетрясения возникают в результате внезапного высвобождения энергии в литосфере Земли. Большинство землетрясений возникают вследствие разрывов в геологических разломах, происходящих под действием тектони-ческих напряжений, накопленных в результате тектонических деформаций.

В сборнике приведены сведения о механизме очага землетрясения 4.III 1977 г. и проявлении сейсмического эффекта на поверхности.
Рассматриваются геологическое строение, сейсмотектоника и геофизические поля, а также сейсмический режим очаговой области. Освещаются вопросы сейсмического районирования и микрорайонирования городов, влияния грунтовых условий на здания и сооружения.
Сборник рассчитан на сейсмологов и специалистов по сейсмостойкому строительству, а также геофизиков и геологов, занимающихся изучением сейсмических районов.

Until the 1950s, the various branches of geology, including the study of volcanoes and earthquakes, appeared to have no real connection, and the progress of the science was toward continued divergence. What pulled everything back together was the radical concept of plate tectonics that came into fruition in the 1960s and 1970s. Plate tectonics is sometimes referred to as “the glue that holds geology together” to reflect this power. It explains virtually all volcanoes and the lion’s share of earthquakes and even relates them to each other.
The following review of plate tectonics is a good place to start for anyone needing a refresher.

During the late afternoon of Good Friday, 1964, at 17: 36 h local time, a great earthquake struck the sparsely inhabited mountainous area of northern Prince William Sound in south-central Alaska (see Fig. 1.1). Waves from the earthquake source spread through the Earth and caused serious damage over more than 20,000 square km. In the area of significant damage, or meizoseismal area, the largest city affected was Anchorage, some 130 km from the earthquake's center (see Fig. 1.2).
In the well-to-do suburb of Turnagain Heights, on a high cliff overlooking Cook Inlet, Mr. Robert B. Atwood, editor of the Anchorage Daily Times, afterwards recorded his experience.<...>

Humans live on unsteady ground. This fact was made abruptly apparent on January 12, 2010, when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. Because many buildings in thisimpoverished country were poorly constructed, they could not withstand the shaking and collapsed en masse, particularly in the capital city of Portau-Prince, 15 miles from the quake’s epicenter. Rescue workers desperately combed through rubble, hunting for survivors. By early February, Haiti’s prime minister estimated that more than 200,000 people had been killed by the earthquake’s effects. This type of earthquake, caused by two separate sections, or plates, of the Earth’s crust sliding against each other is known as a strike-slip earthquake. It is just one example of the restlessness of Earth’s surface. <...>

The tropical island of Java, Indonesia, has sweeping beaches, lush landscapes, and majestic mountains. But in late 2010 the eruption of Java’s Mount Merapi volcano made parts of the island an ugly nightmare. Huge gas clouds and fiery rocks spewed high into the air. Glowing lava snaked down the mountainside. Showers of ash draped homes and fields in ghostly gray. Later, search and rescue teams hunted for survivors but found mostly bodies, some charred, caught in mid-flight. In the end, hundreds of people were killed. This powerful eruption is just one illustration of why many Earth scientists focus on the study of plate tectonics.

В работе приводятся результаты изучения спектрального состава сейсмических колебаний на территории Армянской ССР и прилегающих областей Азербайджана, Грузии, Ирана и Турции.
Получены амплитудные и энергетические спектры сейсмических волн при землетрясениях и сейсмовзрывных колебаний в различных грунтах, с учетом их непериодичности. Установлена зависимость амплитудных и энергетических спектров сейсмических колебании от эпицентрального расстояния, глубины и силы очага; исследовано затухание максимального значении спектральной плотности амплитуды с увеличением эпицентрального расстоянии.
Вычислены приведенные сейсмические ускорения по записи колебаний при землетрясениях и взрывах и осуществлено их сравнение

Some photos speak for themselves. Some gestures communicate more than words ever could, like these clasped hands, which seek comfort in the face of fear of the unknown. The picture was taken Oct. 8, 2005, when aftershocks were still being felt from the strongest earthquake ever to strike Kashmir, in northern India.
Those clasped hands symbolize terror and panic; they speak of fragility and helplessness, of endurance in the face of chaos. Unlike storms and volcanic eruptions, earthquakes are unpredictable, unleashed within seconds, and without warning. They spread destruction and death, forcing millions to flee from their homes. The day after the catastrophe revealed a terrifying scene: debris everywhere, a number of people injured and dead, others wandering desperately, children crying, and over three million survivors seeking help after losing everything. Throughout history Earth has been shaken by earthquakes of greater or lesser violence. These earthquakes have caused great harm. One of the most famous is the earthquake that rocked San Francisco in 1906. Registering 8.3 on the Richter scale, the temblor left nearly three thousand dead and was felt as far away as Oregon to the north, and Los Angeles in southern California. <...>

В монографии приводится подробное описание методики и техники определения основных параметров землетрясений. Представлена полная   информация   об очаговых параметрах и макросейсмических эффектах наиболее сильных землетрясений.
Для специалистов в области сейсмологии, геофизики, геологии, сейсмостойкого строительства.

Под алгоритмом прогноза землетрясений будем понимать последовательность действий, направленных на выделение характерных признаков или аномальных изменений в различных геолого-геофизических полях, их совместное рассмотрение и анализ с целью определения места, силы и времени возникновения землетрясения.