Distribution relations of tectonical stresses in the upper part of the Earth's crust

Due to an analysis of the data in the literature on stress measurements in mining sites in the former Soviet Union, including those performed in the mines of the Kola Peninsula and the Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3, the subhorizontal tectonic stresses were reported to exceed the lithostatic stresses. As a rule, tectonic stresses are attributed to the interaction boundaries of blocks of different sizes: from lithosphere platforms to blocks of IV-V ranks. The tectonically stressed blocks are distinguished by increased rate gradients of the contemporary elevation of the Earth's crust, higher seismic activity, and abnormal values of rock pressure in mining holes and underground elaborations at relatively small depths. The stressed state of block structures located in the European part of the Eurasian lithospheric platform, Fennoscandia, Kola Peninsula, and the circular geological structures of the Khibini highland were studied by computer modeling. For more than 80% of the cases, the calculated directions of maximal compression matched those obtained by measurements of European block systems with a precision of +/- 25A degrees.