Preliminary outline of the seismologically active zones in Syria

Abstract

The aim of this study was to outline the seismologically active zones in Syria using the focal mechanisms of the largest events recorded by the Syrian National Seismological Network over the last decade. A dataset of fault-plane solutions was obtained for 49 events with magnitude ≥3.5 using the first P-wave motions. Most of these events had strike-slip mechanisms in agreement with the configuration of the seismogenic belts in Syria. Normal mechanisms were more scarce and were restricted to certain areas, such as the coastal ranges. These data show that despite the relatively small magnitudes of the events studied, they provide a coherent picture of the deformation that has currently been taking place along the active faults. However, some other faults were inactive during the period of this study. © 2010 by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. All rights reserved.