Fair Function Minimization for Direct Interpretation of Residual Gravity Anomaly Profiles Due to Spheres and Cylinders

A new interpretative approach is proposed to interpret residual gravity anomaly profiles in order to determine the depth, the amplitude coefficient and the geometric shape factor of simple spherical and cylindrical buried structures. This new approach is based on both Fair function minimization and on stochastic optimization modeling. The validity of this interpretative approach is demonstrated through studying and analyzing two synthetic gravity anomalies, using simulated data generated from a known model with different random noises components and a known statistical distribution. Being theoretically proven, this new approach has been applied on three real field gravity anomalies from Sweden, Senegal and the United States. The agreement between the results obtained by the proposed method and those obtained by other interpretation methods is good and comparable.     

Fair function minimization for interpretation of magnetic anomalies due to thin dikes, spheres and faults

A new method is proposed to interpret magnetic anomalies due to a thin dike, a sphere, and a fault like structure, where depth, horizontal location, effective magnetization intensity and effective magnetization inclination of a buried structure are simultaneously obtained. The proposed method is based on Fair function minimization and also on stochastic optimization modeling. This new technique was firstly tested on a theoretical synthetic data randomly generated by a chosen statistical distribution from a known model with different random noises components. This mathematical simulation shows a very close agreement between the assumed and the estimated parameters. The applicability and validity of this method are thereafter applied to magnetic anomaly data taken from United States, Australia, India, and Brazil. The agreement between the results obtained by the new method and those obtained by other interpretative methods is good and comparable. Moreover, the depth obtained by such a method is found to be in high accordance with that obtained from drilling information.     

A combined methodology of multiplet and composite focal mechanism techniques for identifying seismologically active zones in Syria

This contribution is an attempt to enlarge the current knowledge about the focal mechanisms as well as the seismotectonic settings in Syria. The seismologically active zones have been identified by applying an appropriate methodology to the events recorded during the period 1995–2003 by the Syrian National Seismological Network (SNSN). The recorded events in Syria were classified as weak during the research period. It was extremely important to propose and apply an appropriate methodology to identify the focal mechanisms generating this seismic activity. The proposed methodology consists of applying a combination of two techniques: the multiplet and the composite focal mechanisms. The combination of many events in one composite focal mechanism was realized by a multiplet technique using the spectral coherence of the events as a measure of similarity. The application of the proposed methodology allows a data set of composite fault plane solutions to be obtained. Most of the composite fault plane solutions had strike-slip mechanisms which are in agreement with the configuration of seismogenic belts in Syria.     

Electrical resistivity investigations for guiding and controlling fresh water well drilling in semi-arid region in Khanasser Valley,Northern Syria

Electrical resistivity survey is conducted in the Khanasser Valley, considered as a semi-arid region in Northern Syria, to guide and control fresh water well drilling. Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) are carried out near the existing wells, which were also used to measure salinity and conductivity of water samplings. Resistivity and hydrogeological data combination made it possible to establish empirical relationships between earth resistivity, water resistivity, and the amount of total dissolved solids (TDS). These relationships are used in the present research in order to follow the TDS salinity variations, both in lateral and depth directions, along the longitudinal profile LP3, located in Khanasser Valley. Apparent salinity map under this profile is established for Quaternary and Paleogene deposits, and boundaries of suitable areas for fresh water well drilling in the totality of the Khanasser Valley are drawn. It was shown that excessive fresh-water depletion may affect the groundwater quality by upward seepage of saline water. Therefore, it is important to keep the fresh-salt water interface in a stationary situation. The geoelectrical methods widely contribute in determining the position of such interface, and can be easily applied in similar arid areas.     

An Approach for Interpretation of Self-Potential Anomalies due to Simple Geometrical Structures Using Fair Function Minimization

A quantitative interpretation method of self-potential field anomalies has been proposed. The method is designed and implemented for the estimation of center depth, electric dipole moment or magnitude of polarization, polarization angle, and geometric shape factor of a buried body from SP field data, related to simple geometric structures such as cylinders, spheres and sheet-like bodies. The proposed method is based on Fair function minimization and also on stochastic optimization modeling. This new technique was first tested on theoretical synthetic data randomly generated by a chosen statistical distribution from a known model with different random noise components. Such mathematical simulation shows a very close agreement between assumed and estimated model parameters. Being theoretically proven, it has been applied and tested on self-potential field data taken from the United States, Germany, India and Turkey. The agreement between results obtained by the suggested method and those obtained by other previous methods is good and comparable. Moreover, the depth obtained by this method is found to be in high accordance with that obtained from drilling information.     

Seismicity assessment in and around Syria based on instrumental data: application of Gumbel distributions and Gutenberg-Richter relationship

An instrumental earthquake catalog covering the time span between 1903 and 2007 and for the area bounded by 32°N–38°N and 35°E–43°E has been compiled in this research. The catalog has a magnitude of completeness (M _c ) with 3.5. Least squares and statistical probability Gumbel’s techniques with different approaches have been applied on the instrumental events in order to assess the average recurrence time periods for different earthquake magnitudes. The constants a and b of Gutenberg-Richter and the average recurrence times have been computed firstly for the study area and secondly for the central and northern parts of Dead Sea fault system. The different statistical computations using Knopoff and Kagan formalism are generally in agreement and suggest an average recurrence time of 203 years for an earthquake of magnitude 7 for the region. The occurrence of large well-documented historical earthquakes in Lebanon and western Syria, the existence of active fault segments, the absence of large earthquakes during the study period, the increasing number of the low-magnitude earthquakes, and the continued accumulation of the strain since 1900 indicate therefore the probability of an earthquake occurrence of a large magnitude. This should be permanently taken into consideration in seismic hazard assessment on the local and regional scales.