European Commission
contract N° EVG1 - 2002 - 00069


The RELIEF programme consists of multidisciplinary studies of two large and devastating earthquakes, an assessment of their dynamic coupling, and an integrated analysis of their consequent seismic-hazard implications. The aim of the project is to improve observational and theoretical methodologies for seismic-hazard assessment, and to establish models of crustal processes, fault mechanics and site behaviour that can be applied more widely in the European domain.

A web site with more scientific details of the RELIEF project can be found at  : http://www.ingv.it/paleo/RELIEF

We identify 4 main objectives:

(1)

Long-term faulting behaviour, determined through systematic geological, geomorphological and paleoseismological analyses (with trenching) along each of the 1999 earthquake rupture-segment and nearby earthquake faults to document the earthquake characteristics (fault dimensions, slip/event, slip rate, stress drop, elapsed time and return period of seismic events, seismic moment and moment magnitude) during the Holocene and late Pleistocene;

(2)

Understanding of physical dimension and dynamic properties of earthquake faulting (coupling between faults, the interseismic strain and fault loading characteristics), determined through use of Radar interferometry and Digital Elevation Modelling, and comparisons with the source time function (seismometer and strong motion waveform analyses);

(3)

Detailed understanding of the relationship between site effects (including response spectra) and the earthquake rupture process;

(4)

Development of a new time-dependent seismic-hazard approach based on the integration of multidisciplinary datasets, and thereby contribute to improved seismic-risk assessments for the Istanbul area



RELIEF is a 3-year project.

Date of commencement = 1 December 2002



Deformed railways showing 3.5 m of right-lateral slip along surface ruptures near Tepetarla. The permanent deformation related with the 17 August 1999 earthquake (Mw 7.3) can be registered at the surface.


Heavily damaged zone and collapsed buildings along the fault with walls Showing 4.1m of right-lateral displacement.


Contacts:

Coordinator:
Institut de Physique du Globe, Strasbourg - UMR (CNRS) 7516
Mustapha Meghraoui     mustapha@eost.u-strasbg.fr

Partners:

Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Roma
Daniela Pantosti     pantosti@ingv.it

Brunel University, London
Suzanne Leroy     Suzanne.Leroy@brunel.ac.uk

Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich
Domenico Giardini     giardini@seismo.ifg.ethz.ch

Istanbul Technical University
Serdar Akyuz     Akyuz@itu.edu.tr

University of Bergen
Kuvvet Atakan     kuvvet.atakan@ifjf.uib.no

Other cooperative institutions

European Commission
DG Research XII
Energy, environment and sustainable development

Head of Unit: Anver Ghazi     Anver.ghazi@cec.eu.int
Scientific Officer:    marie.yeroyanni@cec.eu.int

URL : http://eost.u-strasbg.fr/recherche/projet/RELIEF.html accueil EOST