Title of research project: Study of the seismicity and structure of the lithosphere in Europe and the Western part of the FSU through the deployment of digital broadband seismic stations

Reference number of the grant: INTAS-93-1076

Period of performance: 1994 to 1997

Project Coordinator: Dr. M. De Becker (Royal Observatory of Belgium)

Principal Investigator: Dr. B. Bukchin

Summary:

Seismological data are the main tool for investigating earthquakes and the structure of the upper mantle of the earth. Understanding the earth structure and the seismicity in the earth is, apart from purely academic reasons, of importance for the investigations of earthquake hazards including its effect on society. Since seismological data are used for the detection on nuclear explosions, it was not possible for political reasons to install seismological instruments in the Soviet Union. As the political situation changed, it is now possible to install highly performant stations in the FSU. The Royal Observatory of Belgium, Utrecht University and the Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica (Italy) plan to deploy a total of 18 broadband digital seismological stations in the western part of Russia, Byalorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia and Turkmenistan. These stations will be used for reconstructions of the upper mantle structure under eastern Europe and the western part of the FSU, and for the investigations of the seismicity and the mechanisms of major earthquakes in the region. In orded to achieve this, the obtained data will be analyzed in joint project using modern techniques for surface wave tomography, waveform inversions for the seismic source and for spatial and temporal paterns of seismicity.

This project is a combination and a continuation of the project A92-047 introduces by the Royal Observatory of Belgium and selected for support by the International Association for the promotion of cooperation with scientists from FSU and the NARS-DEEP project (07-30-037) of Utrecht University that is finenced during the years 1992-1993 from the "Noodhulp programma aan het GOS" from the Netherlands Organisation for Sciemtific Research (NWO).