Earthquake activity in the Aswan region,Egypt

The November 14, 1981 Aswan earthquake (M _L= 5.7), which was related to the impoundment of Lake Aswan, was followed by an extended sequence of earthquakes, and is investigated in this study. Earthquake data from June 1982 to late 1991, collected from the Aswan network, are classified into two sets on the basis of focal depth (i.e., shallow, or deeper than 10 km). It is determined that (a) shallow seismicity is characterized by swarm activity, whereas deep seismicity is characterized by a foreshock-main shock-aftershock sequence; (b) the b value is equal to 0.77 and 0.99 for the shallow and deep sequences, respectively; and (c) observations clearly indicate that the temporal variations of shallow seismic activity were associated with a high rate of water-level fluctuation in Lake Aswan; a correlation with the deeper earthquake sequence, however, is not evident. These features, as well as the tomographic characteristics of the Aswan region (Awad andMizoue, this issue), imply that the Aswan seismic activity must be regarded as consisting of two distinct earthquake groups.We also relocated the largest 500 earthquakes to determine their seismotectonic characteristics. The results reveal that the epicenters are well distributed along four fault segments, which constitute a conjugate pattern in the region. Moreover, fault-plane solutions are determined for several earthquakes selected from each segment, which, along with the 14 November 1981 main shock, demonstrate a prominent E-W compressional stress.     

Tomographic inversion for the three-dimensional seismic velocity structure of the Aswan region,Egypt

The Thurber iterative simultaneous inversion program is used to determine the three-dimensionalP-wave velocity structure in the Aswan seismic region of Egypt. The tomographic inversion presented in this study is based on 1131P-phase observations at 13 stations from 89 local earthquakes, all of which occurred within the Kalabsha fault zone. The assumed initial velocity model is that deduced from local explosion experiments. The results indicate that the Aswan region is characterized by a heterogeneous crust, consisting of a shallow, low-velocity zone and a deeper high-velocity anomaly. Seismic velocity structure within the shallow part demonstrates that the inferred change in velocity exists primarily across the east-west trending Kalabsha fault scarp, whereas the high-velocity zone is located south of this fault. Two well-resolved, low-velocity zones appear within the upper 6 km of the crust. The first coincides with a graben structure located between the Kalabsha and Seiyal faults and the second exists between the N-S Kurkur fault and the main axis of Lake Aswan. Both low-velocity zones occupy an area of approximately 30×40 km, located along the western bank of the lake. The most significant result of this study is that the location of the deeper, high-velocity anomaly coincides with the concentration of seismic activity in the lower crustal layer.     

Present state of geodynamic properties of Kalabsha area, nortwest of Aswan Lake, Egypt

Aswan Lake is the second largest man-made lake in the world. Its filling started 1964 and reached the maximum water level in 1978. An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 took place in 1981 along the most active fault near the lake (Kalabsha fault). This earthquake was follwed by a tremendous number of smaller events that continue till now.Seismicity and the underground water table around the lake are monitored continuously through a radio-telemetered network. A local geodetic network was established around parts of the active faults in the northwestern part of the High Dam Lake, for monitoring vertical and lateral movements. The Kalabsha local geodetic network (the first one) was established around an active part of the Kalabsha fault in 1983. Precise geodetic measurements have benn carried out twice a year since 1984.On the basis of the repeated geodetic measurements, seismicity of the area and geophysical as well as geological data, the present state of the geodynamical properties of the Kalabsha area is studied.Remarkable horizontal movements were detected; they are correlated with the seismicity of the area and are attributed to the differential loading by the lake. The Kalabsha fault is a right-lateral strike-slip motion on an E-W plane. The magnitude of the movements detected along the fault is variable for the different epochs of measurements and is correlated with both seismicity and water loading in the lake.     

Recent crustal movement studies in Aswan region, Egypt: introduction

After the November 1981 earthquake in the Aswan area along the Kalabsha fault, Nubian Desert, studies on its origin were initiated in the Helwan Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics [now National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) in Helwan]. As a first step an array of seismic stations were established in cooperation with the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and the correlation between the number of seismic events and the water level in Lake Nasser was investigated. In order to understand the eartqquake mechanism, additional information on the crustal deformation due to water load was required, and the International Center on Recent Crustal Movements (ICRCM) was invited to consult in the necessary procedures aimed at recent crustal movement studies around part of the western bank of Lake Nasser. The first local network of horizontal and vertical geodetic measurements was established and measured in 1984. Simultaneously, with respect to the extreme meteorological conditions in the desert, additional investigations as refraction studies, stability of bench marks etc. were initiated. The extension of the network and an increase of repeated measurements first brought results during the last few years. The results of these studies will be reported in the following papers in detail as a homogenous block of scientific communication.     

Active fault and water loading are important factors in triggering earthquake activity around Aswan Lake

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.     

Temporal variations of gravity in the Aswan region of Egypt

The Kalabsha region at the northwest side of Lake Aswan has been a subject of seismological and geodetic investigations since 1981, after the 5.5 M earthquake on 14 November. The subsequent seismic activity was related to the effect of water-level oscillations in the Lake. Geodetic measurements provided indications of regional stress and of the local character of vertical movements. As crustal dynamics represents a potential hazard with respect to the size of the lake, other techniques have been applied to the monitoring system. Repeated gravity test measurements were already made in the late 1980s and in 1994, but only in 1997 was a new epoch of long-term investigation initiated. The measured data showed sufficient accuracy of approx. 5 μGal. Already the first difference of the two campaigns of the years 1997 and 2000 showed a few important features. First of all, the temporal non-tidal changes of gravity exceed the level of confidence significantly. The changes were compared with older available geodetic data, and it was concluded, that the gravity changes were not related directly to the vertical movements of the surface. On the contrary, a water loading effect may be expected on the eastern side of the network, especially in the Kalabsha local net. The development of the stress field is considered to be the main source of observed gravity changes. In both the Kalabsha and Seiyal nets the changes differ according to the relative positions of the particular measuring points with respect to the faults.     

Electrical structure of the tectonically active Kalabsha Fault, Aswan, Egypt

In this work, we use the magnetotelluric (MT) method to detect geoelectrical conductivity anomalies in the Earth's crust and link them to local seismic activity. This application affords the unusual opportunity to study the percolation of water from a lake into a fault system and its effect on the induced seismicity. MT measurements were carried out in the period range 0.0046–420 s at nine sites along a 15 km-long North–South profile crossing the Kalabsha Fault, on the western bank of Lake Aswan. Data were analysed by 2D simultaneous inversion of both polarisations. The resulting model is compared with the local seismicity map and reveals the conductive signature of the fault, as well as geological and tectonic stresses prevailing in the Aswan area. Our MT investigations show the following features:

The measured MT strike aligns with the seismic epicentre axis corresponding to the Kalabsha Fault.

While crossing the Fault, enhanced conductivity is found down to depths of 5 km on a 1–2 km profile segment.

At mid-crustal depths (20 km), a very high conductive body is found to coincide with the main seismic cluster in the Aswan area.

These observations indicate that seismic activity and high electrical conductivity are related. The link between them is the presence of crustal fluids which are presumably the cause of the high conductivity observed. Their presence is also required to trigger the observed seismicity. In addition, we explain the lower conductivity of the local upper crust in terms of stress-modulated rock porosity. We believe that these results are of general significance, as they could explain the mid-crustal seismicity of tectonically active zones.     

Present-day seismicity,stress field and crustal deformation of Egypt

In this study we investigate present-day seismicity and crustal deformation of Egypt based on a comprehensive earthquake catalog from 1900 to 2004 by focal mechanism stress inversion and by recent GPS observations. Spatial distribution of earthquake epicenters indicates that Egypt has been suffered from both interplate and intraplate earthquakes. Most earthquake activity (more than 70%) has been concentrated in northern Egypt along the geologically documented borders of Sinai subplate (northern Red Sea and its two branches Suez rift and Aqaba–Dead Sea transform). The majority of inland earthquake focal mechanisms in Egypt are normal with strike-slip component or strike-slip faulting events. Only a small minority, namely four events, exhibits reverse faulting. The inversion method of Gephart and Forsyth (1984) was applied to calculate the orientation of the principle stress axes and the shape of the stress tensor. The best fitting tensor in Egypt shows homogeneity stress field. The tension stress regime is dominant in northern Egypt. The stress directions are well resolved by the 95% confidence limits, the relative stress magnitude has a value of about 0.3. However, along southern Egypt the strike-slip regime is dominant. The shape factor (R-value) is 0.5, which means that the deviatoric components of σ₁ and σ₃ are of the same magnitude, but of opposite signs. The average horizontal velocity of GPS stations in Egypt is 5.15± 1.1 mm/year in mostly NNW direction. The results of deformation analysis indicate that the northern Egypt is deformed more than the southern part. Only the Egyptian-Mediterranean coastal–Nile Delta zone dominates as a compression deformation area. However, an extensional deformation has been observed throughout the rest of country. This means that the relative motion of African plate with respect to both Eurasian and Arabian has highly controlled the deformation processes in Egypt.     

南北地震带北段及其两侧断层现今活动性

分析了南北地震带北段及其两侧跨断层流动形变资料，研究了各断裂带的活动水平、动态过程及其与强震的关系。结果表明，南北地震带北段及其两侧现今断层平均垂直活动速率为0.19mm/a，断层活动处于第四纪以来较低水平；区域断层活动增强是强震发生的重要标志之一；强震前断层异常活动存在由外围向震中迁移的特征；南西华山-六盘山断裂带为近年可能发生强烈地震的地区。     

Seismicity and water level variations in the Lake Aswan area in Egypt 1982–1997

The data described here are obtained from the continuous record of earthquakeactivity and lake water-level variation in the Lake Aswan area in Egypt between 1982 and 1997. The seismicity is monitored by a local telemetered seismograph network. The hypocentral parameters of earthquakes have been determined using Hypo71. The earthquake foci are distributed in two seismic zones, shallow and deep in the crust. Shallow events have focal depths of less than 10 km. Deep events extend from 10 to 30 km. The temporal sequence of seismicity iscorrelated with both the water-level variation and the average daily change of the water level in the lake Aswan. The temporal variation of the seismicityindicates that there are only six sequences of increased seismic activity during 1982–1997. The correlation between the seismic activity and the daily variation of the lake water level is poorly observed except with the June 1987 events swarm, which was accompanied by the presence of an anomaly in rate of water level decreasing. It is concluded that the increase in seismic activity in the Aswan reservoir is demonstrating an example of rapid reservoir-triggered seismicity. The deeper seismic sequence in this area, which was associated with the November 14, 1981 mainshock (M_D = 5.7), and the earlier seismicity (1981–82), has been correlated with a deeper high velocity anomaly (Awad and Mizoue, 1995-b).     

Evaluation of the crustal deformations in the northern region of Lake Nasser (Egypt) derived from 8 years of GPS campaign observations

The proper evaluation of crustal deformations in the Aswan (Egypt) region is crucial due to the existence of one major artificial structure: the Aswan High Dam. This construction induced the creation of one of the major artificial lakes: Lake Nasser, which has a surface area of about 5200 km² with a maximum capacity of 165 km³. The lake is nearly 550 km long (more than 350 km within Egypt and the remainder in Sudan) and 35 km across at its widest point. Great attention has focused on this area after the November 14, 1981 earthquake (M_L = 5.7), with its epicenter southwest of the High Dam.In order to evaluate the present-day kinematics of the region, its relationship with increasing seismicity, and the possible influence of the Aswan High Dam operation, a network of 11 GPS sites was deployed in the area. This network has been reobserved every year since 2000 in campaign style. We present here the results of the analysis of the GPS campaign time-series. These time-series are already long enough to derive robust solutions for the motions of these stations. The computed trends are analyzed within the framework of the geophysical and geological settings of this region. We show that the observed displacements are significant, pointing to a coherent intraplate extensional deformation pattern, where some of the major faults (e.g., dextral strike-slip Kalabsha fault and normal Dabud fault) correspond to gradients of the surface deformation field. We also discuss the possible influence of the water load on the long-term deformation pattern.     

The South Eastern Durance fault permanent network: Preliminary results

The Durance fault area is located in South EasternFrance. This fault system is characterized byhistorical earthquakes (one every century, since 1509,with a magnitude between 5.0 and 5.3). This is theonly fault in France with such a periodic historicalseismic activity. In order to study an active fault ina moderate seismic context, the IPSN (Institute forNuclear Safety and Protection) decided to install apermanent network in 1992, surrounding the fault area.Such a permanent seismic network has been installed inthe french Pyrenees in the Arette area (Gagnepain etal., 1980). While the Arette network covers a regionaffected by several major faults, our network isdevoted to the study of the specific Durance fault.Major historical earthquakes are clearly associatedwith this structure. From an instrumental point ofview, few earthquakes have been recorded since 1962with the national network. Our network shows a smallseismic activity, with the epicenters well alignedalong the fault direction. Moreover, focal mechanismscomputed for two events agree with the regionalmicrostructural studies (Cushing et al., 1997).Finally, a study of the shear wave splittingunderlines preferential S wave polarization for twostations. The H/V ratio on noise microtremors has beencomputed for each station in order to check theirpositions in term of site effects. It does not exhibitany amplification effect (except for two stations).The comparisons with H/V ratio on earthquake datasetshow the important biases we can obtain with realearthquakes.     

四川鲜水河断裂带上的一个地震活动空区

本文根据鲜水河断裂带自1900——1981年5级以上地震震中分布、6.5级以上地震的极震区或地震地裂缝带的展布,以及1967——1981年各次强震的余震分布,提出道孚——乾宁间出现缺震段.从弱震活动和地形变资料分析,认为这个缺震段不象是一个蠕动段.因此,可以认为这是一个地震活动空区,至少是一个第一类空区.根据统计关系推断,未来强震的最大震级可达7(1/2)级左右.      

Relative location and source mechanism of inland earthquakes in Northern Egypt

We have relocated 259 inland earthquakes in northern Egypt using the double-difference hypocenter technique. Among this dataset we are able to determine source mechanisms of 200 events using P-wave polarities and amplitude ratios as well. The studied earthquakes have been recorded by the Egyptian National Seismological Network from October 1997 to December 2006 with local magnitude (M_L) varies between 1.5 and 5.0. Three earthquake dislocations have been defined namely: Dahshour, southeast Beni-Suef, and Cairo-Suez district. Earthquake activities tend to occur in clusters along the first dislocation (Dahshour) however, relatively scattered along the second (southeast Beni-Suef) and the third (Cairo-Suez district) dislocations. At Dahshour dislocation three distinct clusters have been distinguished. Source mechanism solutions of Dahshour earthquakes displayed normal faulting with a strike-slip component to strike-slip faulting with a minor normal dip-slip component. Most of earthquake focal mechanism orientations are varying from NE-SW to NW-SE. The fault plane solutions of Beni-Suef earthquakes represented normal faulting with a strike-slip component. If the NNW-SSE striking plane has been chosen to be the actual fault plane, some solutions would indicated normal faulting with a sinistral strike-slip motion and other reflect normal faulting with a dextral strike-slip component. The fault plane solutions of Cairo-Suez district earthquakes are compatible with E-W to ENE-WSW striking normal fault with a dextral strike-slip motion.     

西秦岭北缘断裂带的位移累积滑动亏损特征及其破裂分段性研究

根据西秦岭北缘断裂带的水平位移分组特征,定量计算了断裂端部和不连续部位的位移累积滑动亏损率,同时结合断裂带上的障碍体规模,滑动速率的差异,历史地震及古地震特征等,对断裂带进行了破裂分段性研究,结果表明,西秦岭北缘断裂带可以划分为鸳凤断裂,漳县断裂,锅麻滩断裂３条一级破裂段,６条二级破裂段。     

瀑布沟水库区域地震的重新定位

利用双差定位方法对瀑布沟水库区域内2006-10-13~2013-07-31之间发生的3 784个地震进行了重新定位,获得了3 601个地震的重新定位结果,到时残差平均为0.12 s,E-W、N-S和U-D三个方向上平均定位误差分别为0.15 km、0.17 km和1.10 km。重新定位结果显示,在研究区域内的西南方向和水库流域,地震分布密集,这个区域处于鲜水河断裂中南段、安宁河断裂北段和大凉山断裂北段的位置,此区域内地震震源深度主要分布在5~30km间,表明该区域的地震主要是构造活动引起的,而水库库区内地震震源深度主要分布在0~5 km区间,分布比较集中,该地区的地震为水库诱发和人工爆破引起的地震。     

Evidence for ground-rupturing earthquakes on the Northern Wadi Araba fault at the archaeological site of Qasr Tilah, Dead Sea Transform fault system, Jordan

The archaeological site of Qasr Tilah, in the Wadi Araba, Jordan is located on the northern Wadi Araba fault segment of the Dead Sea Transform. The site contains a Roman-period fort, a late Byzantine–Early Umayyad birkeh (water reservoir) and aqueduct, and agricultural fields. The birkeh and aqueduct are left-laterally offset by coseismic slip across the northern Wadi Araba fault. Using paleoseismic and archaeological evidence collected from a trench excavated across the fault zone, we identified evidence for four ground-rupturing earthquakes. Radiocarbon dating from key stratigraphic horizons and relative dating using potsherds constrains the dates of the four earthquakes from the sixth to the nineteenth centuries. Individual earthquakes were dated to the seventh, ninth and eleventh centuries. The fault strand that slipped during the most recent event (MRE) extends to just below the modern ground surface and juxtaposes alluvial-fan sediments that lack in datable material with the modern ground surface, thus preventing us from dating the MRE except to constrain the event to post-eleventh century. These data suggest that the historical earthquakes of 634 or 659/660, 873, 1068, and 1546 probably ruptured this fault segment.     

基于GIS研究南黄海活动断层与地震的关系

基于GIS缓冲区分析和叠加分析的空间分析方法,定量研究南黄海活动断层与地震的关系.通过对震中与10 km和20 km断层缓冲区的叠加分析得出断层缓冲区内地震的数量,从中看出:走向NE～NEE向断裂是控制地震发生的主要活动断裂;通过对断层和震中缓冲区的叠加分析得出对地震发生有影响的断层的数量.     

Tectonic model of Egypt based on magnetic analysis

The main target of this work was to study the dynamics of the Earth’s crust for Egypt based on the magnetic survey. High-resolution land magnetic data were analyzed, combined with the results of GPS and seismic stress analyses. The constructed tectonic map shows that the N35°-N45°W trend of the structure (related to the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez tectonics) predominates along the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, covering wide parts of the study area. The N45°-N65°E tectonic trend (related to the Syrian Arc tectonics), prevailing in the northern part of Egypt, is of the second rank. The Aqaba (N15°-25°E) and E-W trends prevail in the northern part and along the transition zone of stable/unstable shelves. The depth to the basement rocks ranges from the surface along the Red Sea and southern parts of Egypt to more than 4 km below sea level at the northern part of the study area.     

Microseismicity and tectonics of Sinai

Five microearthquake seismographs were used at 11 sites in northern Sinai in the period February 1987 to February 1988 to study the microseismicity of the area around the Maghara coal mine for mine-development studies. A total of 270 events were recorded on 850 records. The magnitude, epicenter and depth of each event were calculated using suitable software for an Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority's (EGSMA) XT computer. The interpretation of the seismic activity in the area is given in view of plate tectonics, the Sinai subplate boundary follows the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea. The plate and subplate boundaries are presently active, and there seems to be a diffuse zone of deformation between “NW Africa” and “Nubia” affecting the Cairo-Suez district.