| Abstract: | Aswan Lake started impounding in 1964 and reached the highest water level so far in 1978 with a capacity of 133.8 km3, thus forming the second largest man-made lake in the world. An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 (Ms) took place on 14 November 1981 along the most active part of the E-W Kalabsha fault beneath the Kalabsha bay (the largest bay of the lake). This earthquake was followed by a tremendous number of smaller events that continue till now. A radio-telemetry network of 13 seismic short period stations and a piezometer network of six wells were established around the northern part of the lake.Epicenters were found to cluster around active faults near the lake. The space-time distribution and the relation of the seismicity with the lake water level fluctuations were studied. Six years after flooding the eastern segment of the Kalabsha fault, strong seismicity began following the main shock of 14 November 1981. It occurred four days after the reservoir had reached its seasonal max level. The effect of the North African drought (1982 to present) is clearly seen in the reservoir water level. As it decreased and left the most active fault segments uncovered, the activity (Gebel Marawa area) decreased sharply. Also, the shallow activity was found to be more sensitive to rapid discharging than to the filling. This study indicates that geology, topography, lineations in seismicity, offsets in the faults, changes in fault trends and focal mechanisms are closely related. No relation was found between earthquake activity and both-ground water table fluctuations and water temperatures measured in wells located around the Kalabsha area. |
