Fracturing in the Primorsky fault zone (Baikal rift system)

Fracturing in the Primorsky Fault, a master fault in the Baikal rift system, is investigated using high-resolution structural data. The fault zone consists of several roughly parallel segments and elongate wedge-shaped blocks cut by large transversal extension joints that belong to a fault running along the Sarma valley. Fracturing parameters were used to distinguish regularly zoned influence areas of individual fault planes. These areas have been involved in selective Cenozoic activity expressed as right-lateral oblique-slip and normal faulting in NNW and NE extension stress fields along fractures parallel to the Primorsky and Sarma Faults. The breadth of the active Primorsky fault zone exceeds 3 km.