The nature of fire phenomena during the 1927 Crimean earthquakes

During the Crimean earthquakes of 1927, incomprehensible natural phenomena were observed in the Black Sea — flashes of fire above the water (henceforth referred to as the fire phenomena). It was originally believed that these phenomena were associated with ignition of methane, which had escaped from the seabed due to tectonic disturbances formed during seismic movements. Analysis of the available geological and geophysical materials, along with the seismicity of the northern Black Sea region, indicates that the fire phenomena that had occurred during the Crimean earthquakes of 1927 were caused by massive gas emissions. These emissions were a result of the powerful mantle gas-fluid flow into the decompaction zones of the crystalline basement along tectonic disturbances of various scales within the Odessa-Sinop and Circum-Black Sea fault zones during this time. In fact, the earthquakes were a trigger for the activation of tectonic disturbances in the bottom sedimentary horizons for the migration of focused deep gas-fluid flows. To establish a proper interpretation and understanding of the fiery phenomena observed during the Yalta earthquakes of 1927, the conceptual system of the hypotheses of A.L. Gilat and A. Vol [2012] is provided. The main energy source for the Earth’s internal processes is considered to be the induced chain of degassing reactions of hydrogen and helium, as the most common and important energy carriers and reservoirs. This article analyzes the deep structure of focal zones and the nature of the seismic process, and it, and via these analyses it considers the possible nature of the manifestations of the fires phenomena phenomena. Through the methods used in this study, their spatial and temporal directionality of the fire phenomena is established. The main bands of the fire outbreaks over the water spread in two directions. The earlier one, the Sevastopol-Evpatoriya zone, was elongated submeridionally to the west of the coast. It lied was spatially situated to the east of the Nikolaevskiy fault. The later one, the Yalta-Alushta zone of the northeastern extension, was associated with tectonic disturbances within the Circum-Black Sea fault zone. This fault zone remains active at the present time, which is confirmed by its seismicity, the structure of the consolidated crust and sedimentary strata, the forms of the bottom relief, etc.