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.