EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF HIERARCHICAL BLOCK STRUCTURE OF THE EARTHʼS CRUST IN THE WORKS OF THE IDG RAS

Abstract

The article attempts to trace the evolution of some basic provisions of the model of the geophysical medium by M.A. Sadovsky in the works of the employees of the IDG RAS. Rich experimental material accumulated over many years of participating in nuclear weapons tests served as a foundation for developing the dynamics of rock mass deformation at different hierarchicallevels. It is shown that many modern approaches and current results anyway were predicted in the works of M.A. Sadovsky. The key role of fault zones in the evolution of deformation processes in the Earthʼs crust is demonstrated. The development of a new scientific school «Geomechanics of Faults» opens up new possibilities in solving fundamental and applied problems in the physics of the solid Earth.