Real-time monitoring of oxidation-reduction potential in groundwater from the Kultuk area in late 2023 – early 2024: comparison of electric effects with earthquakes in the central Baikal Rift System

The results of real-time observations of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) in groundwater from two wells in the Kultuk area from December 2023 to March 2024 are presented. Variations of this parameter show reorganizations, accompanied by short episodes of single earthquakes and longer intervals of earthquake series in the central part of the Baikal Rift System. A change from low to high ORP values accompanies the general transition from strong to weak earthquakes. The uneven variations in ORP of the monitoring stations are suggested to associate with piezoelectric effects that arise when seismic waves act on quartz of the ordered tectonite structures in different active structures of the South Baikal basin: in its marginal Obruchev fault and in the axial Kultuk tectonic step.