ENERGY CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME EPICENTRAL AREAS IN THE VARDAR ZONE

Abstract

Seismological phenomena are a natural phenomenon associated with the development of the Earth. They inflict huge damage and cause a large number of human casualties. The territory of the Republic of Macedonia is, seismically, very active part of the Mediterranean area where a large number of earthquakes have occurred. When studying these phenomena, the determination of the energy released during earthquakes is of great importance. This paper deals with the seismic energy of the Vardar zone through the empirical formula for the dependence of the magnitude of the earthquake M and the activated geotectonic surface. Seismicity in Vardar zone is particularly pronounced in the areas of crossing of the reactivated old faults from the Vardar direction with neotectonic faults that predominantly stretch in the transverse direction. Vardar zone is defined as the most labile tectonic unit on the Balkan Peninsula with very expressed seismicity. This paper presents the energetic characteristics of the epicentral areas separated in the Vardar zone: Kumanovo, Skopje, Veles–Sveti Nikole, Štip–Radoviš, Kavadarci and Valandovo.

Key words: energy; characteristics; magnitude; Vardar zone; epicentral areas