Libmonster ID: RU-17259
Автор(ы) публикации: Andrei NIKONOV, Leila FLEIFEL

by Andrei NIKONOV, Dr. Sc. (Geol. & Mineral.), Chief Research Assistant of the RAS Institute of Physics of the Earth, Leila FLEIFEL, Senior Research Assistant of the same institute

German natural scientists and travellers, who worked in Russia in the first half of the 18th century, greatly contributed to the studies of Siberian nature. Their observations, published later on, remained little known in our country, especially the works, which have not been translated into Russian till now, including the work of a member of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences Johann Georg Gmelin Travels About Siberia From 1733 to 1743. The significance of his reports, practically not used by specialists, is great as they refer mainly to the unique area-Baikal rift system with its high seismic potential and activity.

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KAMCHATKA EXPEDITION

The natural scientist, physician, ethnographer, and botanist Johann Georg Gmelin-senior (1709-1755) together with the historian Gerhard Friedrich Miller* headed one of the academic groups in the Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733-1743). It must be pointed out that on graduation from the medical faculty of the Tubingen University, the young Gmelin, who came to Russia from Germany (he was then 18 years old), in 1727 he became a junior scientific assistant in chemistry and natural history at the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, from 1731 to 1748 he was its professor and full member. In the course of the expedition he studied eastern slopes of the Urals, north-western part of Altai, Transbaikalia, inner regions of Eastern Siberia, in fact, he was the first to scientifically describe these vast regions. As a botanist he is known by his outstanding work Siberian Flora, published in 4 volumes by the Petersburg Academy of Sciences. His work under an extensive title Travels About Siberia, containing description of customs and ways of peoples of this land, currents of major rivers, location of mountain ranges, large forests, mines with all historical facts, which determine peculiarities of this territory, first published in 1751-1752 in German, then in 1767 in French, but it is still not translated into Russian.

The title speaks for itself: the book of this natural scientist must have become a reference book for national geographers, historians and ethnographers. It consists of everyday notes of traveller in a chronological order

See: O. Bazanova, "True Historian, Impartial and Modest", Science in Russia, No. 3, 2006.--Ed.

with deviations to various subjects and stories as he learned and comprehended them. It contains a great number of data on the nature, customs and life of the then outlying districts of Russia.

The peculiarity of the 18th century naturalists, natural philosophers consisted in the fact that they, as encyclopedists, accepting "nature" in all its diversity, tried to notice and describe very different phenomena. Everything that seemed remarkable to them, everything, including ways and customs of peoples, they described in their notes. Johann Gmelin was in this respect a typical representative of his time, and, in addition, a German, thoughtful and meticulous. Rather indicative are the author's words: "I always took other man's words with great caution, and before citing them, confirmed them, where possible, by other information." It must also be emphasized that the traveller knew Russian.

Gmelin's book has two maps of Siberia, which has never been used. One of them (Vol. 2) shows, in addition to hydrography, the means of movement of that time, water and land, but embraces only southernmost edge of the Baikal region, the other map (Vol. 3)--all this region and the Lena river with tributaries to the Chara estuary. To illustrate routes of the traveller's group we used the later, more precise 19th cent. map plus the maps in his book.

LOOK AT THE OLD IN A NEW WAY

In 1925 the Irkutsk historian and student of local lore and economy Vladimir Manassein first among national authors published reports on earthquakes in the Baikal

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region, collected by Gmelin. He cited extracts from translations of the original, but without comments, as at that time no methodological works on interpretation and more over on parametrization of primary data on such natural cataclysms existed either in Russia or Europe. Manassein justly assumed that it was Gmelin who first described seismic events in Siberia till the 1740s.

Later on seismologists did not use these data. They, though strangely enough, were left unnoticed by the compilers of the basic catalog of corresponding problems, published in 1977. It contains only the following list of early earthquakes: in Transbaikalia in February 1725 (rather unreliable evidence by conducted parameters), in Baikal mountains in 1742, on Kamchatka in October 1737, on the Kuril Islands in November 1742, in Altai territory and Sayan Mountains in 1761. The work by Anatoly Chipizubov, Dr. Sc. (Geol. & Mineral.), RAS SB Institute of the Earth's Crust, published recently, tells about previous earthquakes in the Baikal region beginning from 1734 (the event to the south-west of the Baikal rift system). From this same year begins also a list of earthquakes felt in Irkutsk. Thus, the second half of the 17th--the first half of the 18th cent. are left out by Siberian specialists. That's why Gmelin's data on earlier events are very important.

Today a number of national researchers started revision from contemporary positions of primary historical data on the earthquakes of the past. Our work continues this tendency. The extracts on earthquakes from the book "Travels...", mentioned below, are published and analyzed in Russian for the first time.

Gmelin himself did not happen to witness earthquakes during his 10-year stay in Siberia. All his data are a result of interrogation of local officials (even top ones) and citizens of various estates. Let's dwell on the most informative of them, first of all, the following text: "The strongest of these events, 1 was told in Siberia, had been felt in Irkutsk: they overturned chimneys, and made bells ring." Let's point out that according to the contemporary macroseismic scale the greatest magnitude of shocks is estimated at 5-6 (peal of bells) and 7 (destruction of chimneys).

In this city the traveller learned about several considerable earthquakes, but without dates. There are no grounds to assume that stronger vibrations were recorded in the period embracing several decades right up to 1735. The matter is that Gmelin, on his arrival in Irkutsk, in March of that year, could not have failed to learn about the earthquake, which had struck the city and its environs 4 months before that, in October 1734, when the intensity of one of the shocks made up, according to absolutely independent data, 7: all bells were ringing, some people were falling from their beds. The author's details completely correspond to such intensity. Therefore, almost for sure, Gmelin received information just about this event in Irkutsk.

"As if all Siberian earthquakes under Lake Baikal and around it take place from the depths of the earth: 1) I found out that they are felt only in places located not far

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from it, 2) it is said that they are stronger near the lake, while far from it they become weaker." The traveller emphasizes: "around Baikal" the vibrations were rather strong, i.e. close by intensity. But it is impossible to determine whether they correspond to those in Southern Transbaikalia--Selenginsk and Nerchinsk, through which the traveller passed, and where the force of shocks is weaker than in Irkutsk (approximately 5-6), the more so as it is unknown whether this happened in all above-mentioned points simultaneously. The seat could have been on the western flank of the Baikal rift zone.

ON SIBERIAN RIVERS

Let's follow the author. "On the Lena and Lower Tunguska, they (earthquakes.--Auth.) are rather rare. Once I had already reported that in 1725 they were felt in both places simultaneously, but on the Lena not further than Chechuisk stockade. This state of things went on for a quarter of the century, during which there arouse strong shocks from time to time." Concerning the reality of arising earthquakes (feeling of tremors) on these two rivers in general the information first was published in Gmelin's book. Though they are "rather rare" there, still their existence should be regarded as a reality, as the group's route passed along the Lena river towards Yakutsk and back. The point mentioned by the author--Chechuisk--is located in the beginning of the shortest land route from the Lena to the upper reaches of Lower Tunguska, where Gmelin learned, at least, about one perceptible earthquake.

Very important are his data about the 1725 earthquake on the Tunguska and Lena rivers. Taking into consideration the year and some other important details of the event, we get information on the event not mentioned by anyone else. Meanwhile, it was not weak (magnitude 5 or even more) judging by its duration (evidently several shocks with intervals) and the area size ~400-500 km2.

There are no grounds to admit the spread of tremors in 1725 up stream along the Lena, as Gmelin, living in Kirensk stockaded town for half a year, says nothing about them. Besides, it is important that here we are not speaking about the active rift zone of Baikal, we are interested in the exclusively platform territory, seismic-ity of which has attracted the attention of specialists only recently, trying to find out its causes (here, by the way, have been discovered rich deposits of hydrocarbon raw materials).

The next point--the Vitim estuary and upstream along the Lena. "They said, however, that sometimes the earth trembled in Vitim sloboda and lower (to the south.--Auth.) in Chechuisk. One of the Vitimsk old residents informed me in 1736 that 50 years ago a triple earthquake had been felt in that place and that the last one took place 5 years ago. None of them, even the strongest one, lasted for more than 10 min, and it seemed as if the earth was moving, but this did not damage plastering in the houses; only once the ice in the river cracked here and there as a result of an earthquake, which struck in March."

Gmelin refers to Vitimsk as a sloboda. In 17th-18th cent. it was located on the left bank of the Lena opposite the place confluence of two rivers. The author's reports on earthquake, on the Vitim and the adjoining part of the Lena valley are rather trustworthy. First, he received them from an old Russian resident of Vitim sloboda. Secondly, Gmelin during his travels along the Lena and in general during his journey got interested in antiques (as well as another head of the group Gerhard Miller). He reports on the date of laying foundations of a great number of stockaded towns and settlements along the Lena, fixing a gradual penetration of Yenisei Cossaks (service class) downstream along the Lena from 1640 to 1666.

Gmelin's data serve as an indirect indication of the presence of Russians on the rivers Vitim and Tontora (Aldan's tributary) and getting of reports from there already in the last decades of the 17th century with reference to old archives, on prospecting and extraction of mica there: "It is already 40 years since the sloboda is famous due to its first-rate mica, which people are mining in the region."

Another fragment of the book, where the author describes his stay in Vitim sloboda, states: this is one of the oldest settlements on the Lena, founded approximately the same time as Yakutsk, founded in 1632. The traveller informs us in detail about finding and consequent mining of mica in 1680-1705 just in the Vitim and its tributaries. He received such information from local Russian residents--voivodes, managers, tradesmen and land-surveyors, by the way, he met them even in bigger settlements along the route.

Earlier even a relatively severe earthquake in Vitim sloboda continued within the limits of 10 min and consisted of 3 major shocks. Its magnitude made up almost 6-7, as not a single, chimney was damaged by it, but there formed a crack in the ice on the river. Such cracks are very rare in case of shocks of the intensity of 5, while they usually form under 6-7. But such moderate seismic events do not last 10 min, even with aftershocks. So, the epicenter was far away and the intensity must have been higher there. It is evident that this region was not located higher upstream of the Lena, where people recalled the weaker earthquake for more than 10 years, so they could not forget a relatively more severe one. It is also difficult to believe this region was to the north-east lower downstream of the Lena. First, the group never received any information on earthquakes either on its way to Yakutsk or during its 10-month stay there or on its way back upstream of the Lena. Besides, according to Gmelin, earthquakes never take place to the east of Yakutsk. As for the city itself, had there ever taken place consider-

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able seismic events before the group's arrival, Miller, Gmelin and Krasheninnikov* would have learned about them by all means. Thus, it remains to assume that the epicenter of the severe earthquake was located somewhere to the south of the lower stream of the Vitim.

The other abovementioned earthquake in Vitimsk (on the Lena) "5 years ago", i.e. concerning the Lena route of 1936/37, in 1731/32 it could have been local and weaker, tentatively of the magnitude of 4-5.

THE TREMOR IN KRASNOYARSK

"Up to now earthquakes somehow spared Siberia. The westernmost place 1 managed to visit, where earthquakes had been recorded, is Krasnoyarsk, but probably they struck the place only in ancient times. In any case, younger people could not remember a single earthquake. The earthquakes, which the old people could still recall, were evidently not too severe and could not frighten anybody." Further on: "... Nothing is known about earthquakes in the regions of Siberia located to the west from the Yenisei river."

Other sources did not have any information about severe seismic events in Western Siberia till 1734. The data received by Gmelin from local old people in 1740, when on his return way from Eastern Siberia the author lived in Krasnoyarsk, point at the possibility of fully perceptible tremors. As the old people recalled the

* Stepan Krasheninnikov (1711-1755)--a Russian traveller, explorer of Kamchatka, member of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences from 1750.--Ed.

event, which had taken place more than 30 years ago, its magnitude in the city probably was 4-5. The reminiscences of the old people in Krasnoyarsk cannot refer to the earthquake in Tomsk in 1734 (Altai one?), but must be regarded as an earlier event. An effort to estimate the probable time of the earthquake was made by the historian Manassein in 1925. He thought that the old people were at that time over 60 or even 80 years old. From 1740 this makes the 1680s or 1660s. Evidently, it would be reasonable to accept 1680±20 years.

The question arises: Are we talking about the local event or an echo of shocks in the remote center? Since then, i.e. for almost 300 years, there were felt no shocks of such magnitude from local centers in the city. Therefore, first of all, we must talk about a distant and extremely severe, and thus rare, event. We can judge about a possible location of the epicenter of the severe earthquake (magnitude of 8-9) in the late 17th century on the basis of events known today, which took place in the course of past centuries.

On the basis of contemporary knowledge, Krasnoyarsk latitudes can feel shocks from the centers in Altai Sayan Mountains and even Mongolia. Thus, in 1903, the earthquake of the magnitude of 8 in the Sayan Mountains (M=6.1±0.2) and the epicenter distance Δ=450 km, the tremors in Krasnoyarsk were approximately of the magnitude of 3, i.e. clearly weaker than in the late 17th century, while in the north-western Mongolia, Bolnai earthquake which struck on July 9, 1905, with M=7.6 and the epicenter distance Δ=750-800 km.

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the tremors in the city were of the magnitude of 5. Such events took place in 2011 and 2012 with earthquakes of the magnitude of 8-9 in Eastern Tyva (M=6.7 and 6.8), Δ=700 km. In addition, in Krasnoyarsk, due to a considerably lesser magnitude of events, the tremors did not exceed 4. Let's point out: the severe earthquakes of the past are described in several Mongolian legends and are confirmed by paleoseismogeological studies in the mountainous areas of the south of Eastern Siberia.

Hence, the origin of the severe earthquake in one of the abovementioned southern regions in the late 17th century, perhaps, in the Tyva region or Northern Mongolia, is not in any way surprising, i.e. we are getting new information for the region.

Gmelin mentions the fact that to the west of the Yenisei river valley (where he travelled for 9 months in 1739-1740), "no information about any earthquakes exists". No earthquakes were recorded also to the north of Krasnoyarsk in ensuing centuries. On the other hand, nobody heard about tremors reaching Krasnoyarsk from the earthquakes centers in the Baikal rift zone, even from the Tunkin basin at a distance of 750-800 km.

While "in Yakutsk and further to the Eastern Ocean (Weltmeer)... no earthquakes are recorded," writes the author of the book. It follows from this short phrase, taking into consideration the life of Gmelin's group in this city for 10 months and his relations with a great number of people, local and newcomers, including those from Okhotsk, that there did not take place any devastating seismic events during the preceding decades of 1737 in Yakutsk and to the east to the Pacific Ocean (near Okhotsk). All we know about them now refers to the later period.

IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY SEISMOLOGY

It is natural that our knowledge of seismicity of Siberia for the past 300 years from the time of travels of Gmelin's group has greatly increased. Today it is impossible to say that "earthquakes relatively spared Siberia till now". This, however, by no means decreases the value of collected and reported by the traveller information. Its significance cannot be overestimated as, first of all, today it can be better interpreted in the context of the accumulated information.

Very important is a possible use of the data collected by Gmelin in the context of contemporary seismology. It is natural that the volume and method of their presentation in early 18th century today cannot be regarded as sufficient for comprehensive and reliable assessments. Relying on the available data and using separate fragments of the text, certain notes, taking into consideration facts now known from other sources, we have to form a kind of logical series with a certain share of probability. To some extent this becomes possible due to the knowledge of subsequent, almost 300-year history of seismic and accompanying phenomena within the limits of the Baikal rift system.

Generalizing we can state the following. Johann Gmelin is one of the first naturalists, who began to collect and publish materials on earthquakes in the Asiatic part of Russia already in the first half of the 18th century, when natural scientists of that time did not yet know about them anything. Difference between his data on the subject under consideration and those of his contemporaries consisted in the fact that he described, though mainly omitting details, more than one event on the relatively limited area, and gave data, as a minimum, on 4 regions and no doubt on several earthquakes of different magnitude in the course of tens of years before 1741.

Deepening of knowledge on earthquakes in Siberia is topical in view of necessity of amplification of seismic catalog of historical time, which is there essentially shorter as compared with European Russia. In relation to the first decades of the 18th century and, perhaps, the very end of the 17th century, the involved literary source opens such possibility. We regard Gmelin's information as possible to be used in several ways. First, for check up and amplification of parameters known due to other sources of earthquakes and shocks. Secondly, for inclusion of probable earthquakes, which were not mentioned before or required confirmations, into the list. Finally, we learn from Gmelin and only from him that no severe earthquakes were recorded for the indicated 20-40-year period in several regions, namely, the region along the Yenisei river valley and its middle stream and along the coastline, vast expanses around and to the east of Yakutia, Krasnoyarsk environs and the Argun river basin in Transbaikalia.

The data for the first half of the 18th century allow to more definitely bring out regularities of seismic events and to consider some problems principally important for assessment of seismic danger, e.g. about "the 1725 Earthquake in Eastern Siberia", about the range of action of powerful shocks from remote seats in Siberia and Mongolia.

Johann Gmelin is not only the naturalist of the past 18th century, he is our helpmeet in the solution of problems of contemporary seismology. The data collected by him will help amplify long-term seismic danger of the region.


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Andrei NIKONOV, Leila FLEIFEL, ON THE EARTHQUAKES IN SIBERIA IN LATE 17th-EARLY 18th CENTURIES // Москва: Либмонстр Россия (LIBMONSTER.RU). Дата обновления: 08.11.2021. URL: https://libmonster.ru/m/articles/view/ON-THE-EARTHQUAKES-IN-SIBERIA-IN-LATE-17th-EARLY-18th-CENTURIES (дата обращения: 29.03.2024).

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