Seismicity and focal mechanisms of the Arctic region and the North American plate boundary in Asia

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Abstract
Although Arctic earthquakes have been recorded since 1908, detailed study of them has been hampered due to the lack of seismograph stations and the infrequent occurrence of large earthquakes north of the Arctic Circle. Detailed analysis of Arctic earthquakes began during the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957–1958), and subsequent studies have been facilitated by the development of the World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) starting in 1963. Many authors have published summaries of Arctic seismicity. The pre-IGY state of knowledge is summarized by Hodgson and others (1965), and epicentral coordinates and magnitude estimates of pre-WWSSN seismicity are given in Gutenberg and Richter (1954), Linden (1961), Hodgson and others (1965), and Rothe (1969). Overview summaries of the distribution and magnitude of Arctic seismicity are presented by Sykes (1965) and Wetmiller and Forsyth (1978). Numerous maps of Arctic seismicity have been published (e.g., Veis-Ksenofontova, 1962; Sykes, 1965; Barazangi and Dorman, 1970; Tarr, 1970; Wetmiller, 1978; Avetisov and Sokolova, 1980). Additional details about Arctic seismicity are given in international bulletins, national seismicity summaries, and annual reports. In this chapter we summarize the development of seismograph stations in the Arctic, the distribution of seismicity in the Arctic, focal mechanisms that have been determined for the Arctic seismic zone, including northeastern Siberia and Baffin Bay, and the implications of the seismic data for plate tectonic models of the region. In addition, we summarize inferences on crustal structure of the Arctic region based on the propagation characteristics of earthquake waves.

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