Tea G Godoladze

• Phd
• Ilia State University

Deep tectonic tremor has been observed along major subduction zones and several continental strike‐slip faults around the Pacific Rim and the Caribbean. However, it has not be widely identified in other tectonically active regions such as the Alpine‐Himalayan orogenic belt yet. Here we present dynamically triggered tremors and microearthquakes in t...

This report describes a new Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) developed for Azerbaijan. This includes the compilation and processing of a new and improved earthquake catalogue, which was used along existing active fault studies to develop the seismic source characterization. Broadband ground motion simulations were carried out to infor...

The attenuation of high-frequency seismic waves was investigated in the crust beneath Tbilisi and the surrounding territory by analysing 225 local earthquakes that occurred from 2008 to 2020 and were recorded by eight seismic stations. The quality factors of coda waves QC and direct P and S waves, QP and QS, were estimated using the single backscat...

Instrumental seismic monitoring has a long history in the Caucasus and started in 1899 when the first seismograph was installed in Tbilisi, Georgia. Much of the analog paper records from this time period are preserved in the Tbilisi archives because Georgia served as the regional data center. In the 1990s, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union an...

Our objective is to improve the view of the seismicity in the Caucasus region using instrumental data between 1951 and 2019. To create a comprehensive catalog, we combine the bulletins of local agencies and the International Seismological Centre, and use an advanced single-event location algorithm, iLoc, to obtain better locations. We show that rel...

Strong ground motions caused by earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 3.5 to 6.9 and hypocentral distances of up to 300 km were recorded by local broadband stations and three-component accelerograms within Georgia’s enhanced digital seismic network. Such data mixing is particularly effective in areas where strong ground motion data are lacking....

The frequency-dependent parameters of attenuation of P and S waves in one of the most seismically active regions, of the Javakheti plateau, have been estimated using digital data for the first time. We have analyzed and processed hundred and fifty local shallow earthquakes that occurred from 2006 to 2018 and were recorded by five seismic stations....

Fault characterization is a critical step toward improving seismic hazard assessment in the Georgian Greater Caucasus but is largely absent from the region. Here, a paleoseismic trench near the capital city of Tbilisi revealed evidence for recurring surface rupture on a shallowly north-dipping thrust fault. The fault has broken through the overturn...

Hypothesized feedbacks between climate and tectonics are mediated by the relationship between topography and long-term erosion rates. While many studies show monotonic relationships between channel steepness and erosion rates, the degree of nonlinearity in this relationship varies by landscape. Mechanistically explaining controls on this relationsh...

Hypothesized feedbacks between climate and tectonics are mediated by the relationship between topography and long-term erosion rates. While many studies show monotonic relationships between channel steepness and erosion rates, the degree of nonlinearity in this relationship varies by landscape. Mechanistically explaining controls on this relationsh...

Although the Greater Caucasus Mountains have played a central role in absorbing late Cenozoic convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian plates, the orogenic architecture and the ways in which it accommodates modern shortening remain debated. Here, we addressed this problem using geologic mapping along two transects across the southern half of th...

Since Plio-Pleistocene time, southward migration of shortening in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus into the Kura foreland basin has progressively formed the Kura fold–thrust belt and Alazani piggyback basin, which separates the Kura fold–thrust belt from the Greater Caucasus. Previous work argued for an eastward propagation of the Kura fold...

Although the Greater Caucasus (GC) Mountains accommodate a significant fraction of orogen-perpendicular Arabia-Eurasia convergence at their longitude, the locations and slip rates of the active structures absorbing this shortening are poorly known. Here we report the first late Quaternary shortening rate for an active thrust in the GC determined fr...

The Caucasus has a documented history of cataloging earthquakes stretching back to the beginning of the Christian era. Instrumental seismic observation in the Caucasus began in 1899, when the first seismograph was installed in Tbilisi, Georgia. During the Soviet era (1921–1991 in Georgia), the number of seismic stations increased in the region, pro...

Along the northern margin of the Arabia‐Eurasia collision zone in the western Greater Caucasus, the Main Caucasus Thrust (MCT) juxtaposes Paleozoic crystalline basement to the north against Mesozoic metasedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks to the south. The MCT is commonly assumed to be the trace of an active plate‐boundary scale structure that acc...

Since the Plio-Pleistocene, southward migration of shortening in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus (GC) into the Kura foreland basin has progressively formed the Kura-Fold Thrust belt (KFTB) and Alazani piggyback basin, which separates the KFTB from the GC. Previous work argued for an eastward propagation of the KFTB, implying that the weste...

We present and interpret newly determined site motions derived from GPS observations made from 2008 through 2016 in the Republic of Georgia, which constrain the rate and locus of active shortening in the Lesser–Greater Caucasus continental collision zone. Observation sites are located along two ∼160 km-long profiles crossing the Lesser–Greater Cauc...

The Caucasus defines the northern margin of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone between the Black and Caspian Seas, within the Alpine Himalayan collision. Most orogen perpendicular convergence within this sector of the Arabia-Eurasia collision is absorbed within the Greater Caucasus, as indicated by seismicity, GPS velocity gradients and Neotectonic...

Comparison of plate convergence with the timing and magnitude of upper-crustal shortening in collisional orogens indicates both shortening deficits (200-1700 km) and significant (10-40%) plate deceleration during collision, the cause(s) for which remain debated. The Greater Caucasus Mountains, which result from post-collisional Cenozoic closure of...

Reliable moment magnitude estimates for seismic events in the Middle East region can be difficult to obtain due to the uneven distribution of stations, the complex tectonic structure, and regions of high attenuation. In this study, we take advantage of the many new broadband seismic stations that have become available through improved national netw...

Current study concerns Javakheti area in the Lesser Caucasus. This area comprises a volcanic plateau with more than 20 volcanoes, several of them dated as having erupted during the Holocene. In the region the upper part of Lava complex is represented by Middle-Upper Quaternary formations. The region is an area of young deformations in the Alpine be...

Large-scale river channel migrations either in the form of avulsions or combing, i.e. progressive lateral migrations, are global phenomena during the Late Quaternary. Such channel migrations were triggered by tectonics, climate change, human activity or a combination of those factors. River channel migrations have the potential to cause significant...

Relative ages of late Cenozoic stratigraphy throughout the Caspian region are referenced to regional stages that are defined by changes in microfauna and associated extreme (>1000 meter) variations in Caspian base level. However, the absolute ages of these stage boundaries may be significantly diachronous because many are based on the first occurre...

Current study concerns Javakheti area in the Lesser Caucasus. This area comprises a volcanic plateau with more than 20 volcanoes, several of them dated as having erupted during the Holocene. In the region the upper part of Lava complex is represented by Middle-Upper Quaternary formations. The region is an area of young deformations in the Alpine be...

An intermediate-depth earthquake is confirmed at a depth of 158 +/- 4 km under the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus. Separate methods were used to confirm the depth: data from local and regional networks, teleseismic depth phases, and examination of waveforms. Additional examination of global catalogs suggests the presence of a (perhaps r...

Current presentation concerns investigation of Javakheti seismically active fault (Georgia, South Caucasus region) by means of Geophysical prospecting methods, carried out during the past two years. The named fault represents the major seismo tectonic structure at Javakhety volcanic highland. Fault segments at some places are well expressed on surf...

A seismic attenuation map of regional phase Pg is constructed for the northern Middle East using two-station frequency-dependent Q measurements and seismic attenuation tomography. Pg is widely used in source discrimination, but its attenuation behavior is not well understood. We investigate the functional form of the geometrical spreading of Pg for...

A unique broadband data set is combinedLithospheric velocity structure in the Caucasus region is estimatedReceiver functions and surface waves are used for the estimation

The Caucasus/Caspian region, which contains some of the most striking tectonic features of the entire Arabian/Eurasian collision, is a region of complex and poorly understood tectonics. Moderate depth earthquakes occur along the north edge of the South Caspian Basin and it has been suggested that this may represent an incipient subduction zone. The...

The Caucasus-Caspian region is part of the Alpine-Himalayan collision belt and is an area of complex structure accompanied by large variations in seismic wave velocities. Despite the complexity of the region little is known about the lithospheric structure. Using data from 25 new broadband seismic stations in the region, a unified velocity structur...

The southwest edge of Eurasia is a tectonically and structurally complex region that includes the Caspian and Black Sea basins, the Caucasus Mountains, and the high plateaus south of the Caucasus. Using data from 25 broadband stations located in the region, new estimates of crustal and upper mantle thickness, velocity structure, and attenuation are...

The seismic hazard of eastern Georgia has been computed with the seismotectonic probabilism approach. A logic tree was used to take into account the different hypotheses on the seismogenesis of the Caucasus region, and to model seismicity and attenuation. In addition to the usual maps referring to different types of terrains (rock, stiff, and soft...

It took more then a century for mankind first to understand a nature of most devastating catastrophes on the earth - earthquakes and then to reach more or less realistic seismic hazard assessment for particular regions. Seismic observations in the Caucasus had started in the end of XIX century. In 1899 the Tiflis (now Tbilisi) seismic station has b...

The Caucasus is one of the most active segments of the Alpine-Himalayan collision belt. We used the catalog data of Georgian Seismic Network to calculate the reference 1-D and 3-D P-velocity model of the Caucasus region. The analog recording period in Georgia was quite long and 17,000 events reported in the catalog between 1956 and 1990. We careful...

Tbilisi (Capital of the republic of Georgia) has largely been spared of large destructive earthquakes. The maximum affect from historical earthquakes in the Tbilisi area has not exceeded macroseismic Intensity 7 (MSC scale). There is very sparse information with which to identify the location of these earthquakes. The active seismogenic structures...

The Causin project is a joint effort between the countries in the Caucasus region to develop a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis. To that end, we have compiled a database of all available network data in the region. The information contained in the database is from four countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey and from the Incorporat...

In the present study we have compiled probabilistic seismic hazard maps of the Tbilisi area; for different parameters (macroseismic intensity, PGA, SA) and different probabilities. The hazard is dominated by the geometry of the seismic source zones that are situated in the immediate vicinity of the city. The northern part of the city, according to...

Anatolian Plateau-Caucasus-Caspian region is an area of complex structure accompanied by large variations in seismic wave velocities. Despite the complexity of the region little is known about the detailed lithospheric structure. Using data from 29 new broadband seismic stations in the region, a unified velocity structure is developed using telesei...

The probabilistic seismic hazard maps has been constructed for the territory of Georgia. Cornell approach, namely computer program SEISRISK III after Bender and Perkins 1987, was used for calculations. Three main elements were used for seismic hazard analysis following the Cornell approach: definition of seismic source zones (SSZ), parameters of se...