Contemporary Tectonic Movements of the Western Caucasus and the Ciscaucasia Based on Satellite-Geodetic Observations

The Western Caucasus and Ciscaucasia exhibit coordinated north-northeast movement at 27–28 mm/year, with distinct tectonic behaviors identified. Counterclockwise rotation occurs in the northern limb of the North Azov flexural fault zone, alongside shear displacements. Transverse compression (up to 1 mm/year) dominates the Greater Caucasus and West Kuban Foredeep, while longitudinal extension characterizes eastern regions beyond the Tuapse Fault Zone. Deformation intensity is higher on southern slopes than in Ciscaucasia, where shear prevails. Seismic activity remains low to moderate. This velocity field was derived from GNSS observations in the ITRF2014 frame, compared with geodetic profiles crossing key geological structures.

Milyukov, V. K., Mironov, A. P., Ovsyuchenko, A. N., Gorbatikov, A. V., Steblov, G. M., Korzhenkov, A. M., Drobyshev, V. N., Khubaev, Kh. M., Agibalov, A. O., Sentsov, A. A., Dogan, U., & Ergintav, S. (2022). Contemporary Tectonic Movements of the Western Caucasus and the Ciscaucasia Based on Satellite-Geodetic Observations. Geotectonics, 56(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1134/s0016852122010058