Earthquake data analysis in the Racha region, Georgia: Implication for 3D structural model active faults

The Caucasus region, which is one of the good examples of collision-driven far-field deformations, is located in the northernmost part of the Arabia/Eurasia collision zone and is classified with moderate seismic activity. Racha region, a part of Greater Caucasus orogen, in particular is characterized with the highest activity. In recent year several moderate earthquakes were observed in the region, notably 2009 September 7 (Mw = 6.0), 2011 August 18 (Mw = 4.8), and also 2024 January, 2 (Mb = 4.4), with depths varying from 10 to 15 km. The strongest event during the instrumental period recorded in Racha was observed in 1991 April 29, with magnitude Mw=7.0 and Depth = 17.2 km. Which was the largest earthquake recorded in the region, causing casualties. This event caused a number of fore- and aftershocks. Following the Racha 1991 earthquake temporary, dense seismic network was installed around the area to study aftershock activity, around 2000 aftershocks of different magnitudes were recorded by this network in total. This data was analyzed in several papers (for example Triep, et al., 1995, Fuenzalida, et al., 1997), including hypocenters and focal mechanisms. Depths of the aftershocks were observed ranging from 0 to 15 km. The mechanism of Racha 1991 main shock was shown to be reverse faulting on a gently sloping (35°) plane. Also, strong earthquake mechanisms show reverse faulting with strike-slip components. This work was oriented to analyze existing earthquake data and see its correlation to a 2-3D structural model created for the area.

Acknowledgments. This work was funded by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation (SRNSF) (grant# FR-21-26377).