seismicity and geologic structures indubitable in wadi hagul, north eastern desert, egypt地震和地质结构在wadi hagul不容置疑的,北东部沙漠,埃及.pdf

International Journal of Geosciences, 2011, 2, 55-67 doi:10.4236/ijg.2011.21006 Published Online February 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ijg) Seismicity and Geologic Structures Indubitable in Wadi Hagul, North Eastern Desert, Egypt 1 2 Tarek A. Seleem , Hamdy A. Aboulela 1Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia , Egypt 2Marine Science Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia , Egypt E-mail : aboulel1_004@yahoo.co.uk Received November 7, 2010; revised January 14, 2011; accepted January 25, 2011 Abstract Paleo and recent earthquakes have been recorded in Wadi Hagul area and its environs, which have left be- hind geologic structures of deformation preserved in exposed sedimentary rocks. To evaluate such deforma- tion and surface break, different techniques and data types are used compromising image processing tech- niques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), seismicity data, as well as, field investigation. The field in- vestigation clarified that the study area is enriched with soft-sediment deformation structures encompassing two types of geologic structures; brittle and viscoplastic structures. The analysis of the various types of data elucidate that, the earthquakes of Wadi Hagul are frequently distributed at an average depth ranging from (1 to 35 km) within the top of the Earth’s crust which are mainly controlled by existing Hagul fault zone. The study gives new insight for a better understanding of the seismic activity in the study area which helps in the seismic hazard assessment. Keywords: Eastern Desert, Wadi Hagul, Remote Sensing, GIS, Seismic Activity 1. Introduction