The Jordanian Seismic Observatory records 1,126 seismic activities during the year 2023

Weather of Arabia - The Jordanian Seismic Observatory, affiliated with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, recorded 1,126 seismic activities during the past year, including 281 local tremors recorded in Jordan and the neighboring border areas.

The observatory recorded 469 regional earthquakes that occurred in the neighboring regions (the Mediterranean, Cyprus, Turkey, Albania, the Red Sea and Iran), while the number of distant tremors reached 426, the majority of which were concentrated in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

According to the Observatory, local earthquakes were concentrated in the areas of: the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, Wadi Araba, the Jordan Valley, and the adjacent border areas. Seismic monitoring devices detected 73 tremors in: the Jordan Valley, and 71 tremors in the Jordan Valley, Carmel, and the adjacent border areas, while the Observatory recorded 56 earthquakes in the Dead Sea, and 22 in the Gulf of Aqaba and the adjacent southern border areas. The observatory also recorded 7 earthquakes in the Al-Sarhan, Ruwayshid, and Al-Safawi fault areas, and two earthquakes occurred in the Al-Hasa and Dhiban fault areas.

Speaking about seismic activity in Jordan and neighboring regions, the head of the Seismic Observatory, Ghassan Suwaidan, confirmed that, based on the movement of plates in the region, seismic activity is concentrated along the borders of the Arab Plate in the Gulf of Aqaba and the collapse crater regions, indicating that seismic studies indicate that central Jordan Its east and east are the least seismically active.

He said that the observatory monitors, records and analyzes local, regional and global seismic activity using the latest international devices and technologies around the clock through two types of seismic monitoring stations, represented by a network of weak monitoring stations, numbering 23 seismic monitoring stations distributed throughout Jordan, including 20 Jordanian stations and 3 International stations, one of which is affiliated with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization, and two stations affiliated with the German Seismic Research Center.

According to Suwaidan, the observatory includes devices to monitor strong movement that measure earthquakes above 3.5 degrees on the Richter scale, and there are 19 stations, distributed among the main cities and installed in dams, in addition to a device to monitor movement in the thermal power plant in Aqaba and some engineering facilities to measure displacement in the building and acceleration. gravity.

He pointed out that during the past year, the Observatory established, modernized and developed strong movement devices at the strong movement monitoring stations at Yarmouk University and the Ashqaf and Azraq areas, so that they can be contacted remotely.

It is noteworthy that the Jordanian Seismic Observatory built and developed a seismic information bank during the year 2022 for the purposes of updating the Jordanian building code, and preparing a “catalog” of earthquakes that shows the sources of seismic and tectonic activity in Jordan and neighboring regions, in addition to training and qualifying technical personnel working in national institutions and in the sisterly Arab countries. Preparing guidance bulletins for schools and civil defense and publishing seismic research and studies, in cooperation with scientific institutions locally, regionally and internationally.

Suwaidan continued, “The mechanism for recording, monitoring and analyzing earthquakes in the observatory is through the stations of the National Seismic Network using devices equipped with special programs to record and analyze seismic information, after measuring the arrival time of the primary and secondary seismic waves, the direction of movement of the first wave for each, and the time of the wave impact for each station, and then the analysis is done.” Data to determine the actual time of earthquake occurrence and its strength according to the Richter scale, and to determine the coordinates of the surface focus and depth of the earthquake.”

It is noteworthy that the Jordanian Seismic Observatory was established in 1983, with the aim of monitoring seismic activity, assessing seismic risks in Jordan and neighboring regions, and estimating the extent of the expected damage if it occurs.

Source: Petra