SEISMOTECTONICS AND NEOTECTONICS IN FINNMARK, KOLA AND THE SOUTHERN BARENTS SEA .2. SEISMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND SEISMOTECTONICS

A detailed review and analysis of seismological data acquired since 19 79 from Finnmark, Kola and the southern Barents Sea has provided a muc h improved delineation of the earthquake activity in that region. In t he Barents Sea the seismicity is confined only to the western areas, w hile the Finnmark-Kola coastal areas show some seismicity only north a nd east of Murmansk, in the Rybachi-Cape Tereberski region. Further in land there are several clear seismicity lineations that to some extent can be correlated with postglacial faults, including the NE-SW striki ng Stuoragurra Fault in Finnmark. The spatial correlation between seis micity and mapped faults is interpreted in general as a reflection of broad zones of weakness that respond to the present-day stress field. A detailed analysis of the earthquakes in this area has also shown a d ynamic consistency in that they reveal a reverse faulting pattern that is consistent with a detailed geological study that includes a core d rilling. The dominant horizontal stress direction in this region is NN W-SSE, consistent with the ''ridge push'' effect.