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Seismicity and seismotectonics of the Gulf of Aqaba region

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Abstract

The historical seismicity of the last ten centuries and the instrumental data that occurred in the Gulf of Aqaba region during the period 1982–2008 are evaluated. It is found that 12 historical earthquakes have occurred with average recurrence periods 70–90 and 333–500 years for M ≥ 6.0 and 7.0, respectively. Those with M ≤ 6.5 appear to be incomplete and require further investigation. More than 98 % of the instrumental data has occurred in the form of swarms and sequences. The first have released about 32 % of the total energy and are most likely related to subsurface volcanic activities. Their epicentral distribution indicates that all regional faults of the gulf area are active in the present, but with clear concentration within the area bound by latitudes 28.2°–29.8° and longitudes 34.4°–35.2°. Regional strike-slip faults of the northern two basins appear to be as twice active as the normal, or more. An appreciable level of seismic hazard is envisaged as the “a” value is 6.0–6.2 while the “b” value shows a temporal variation, mostly in the range 0.8–1.05. More than 95 % of the seismic energy was released from earthquakes shallower than 22 km. This indicates a brittle upper crust and a ductile lower crust and upper mantle. Tectonic movements at depths > 22 km appear to be aseismic. The epicentral distribution of the five swarms indicates that the lengths of the causative faults varied in the range 45–70 km. The maximum expected magnitude is Mw = 6.8–7.2. This implies a seismic slip rate of about 0.54–0.8 Cm/year and some 20–30 % of aseismic tectonic movements. This and the sequence nature of the seismicity of this region result in a noticeable hazard reduction. Combining the seismicity data of the Gulf of Aqaba region with other geophysical, geological, tectonic, and environmental data, clearly indicate that the seismicity of this region is as old as the initiation of the gulf itself. No apparent southward or northward migration of activity is observed.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been completed during a sabbatical year the author spent at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with financial support from the University of Jordan, Amman. Thanks are due to Larry Ruff of UM for many useful discussions through the preparation of this work and his critical reading of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Geology, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    Zuhair H. El-Isa

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Correspondence to Zuhair H. El-Isa.

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El-Isa, Z.H. Seismicity and seismotectonics of the Gulf of Aqaba region. Arab J Geosci 6, 3437–3449 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0604-8

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