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January 31 2006
Project IDA to install new GSN station in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Peter Davis, Executive Director of Project IDA at IGPP, recently traveled
to Sharjah, one of the seven federated states of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), to sign an agreement with the University of Sharjah governing
the establishment of a new IRIS/IDA Global Seismographic Network (GSN)
station there and to prospect for a suitable location for that station.
The University of Sharjah, founded in 1997, has been rapidly developing
relationships with comparable educational institutions around the world
and sought contact with UCSD to form a partnership for this project.
The wording of a draft agreement had been refined prior to Dr. Davis
arrival, and all that remained was to endorse the document.
The visit proved to be quite eventful. As though to underscore the
station's importance to the region, the initial meetings between Dr. Davis
and his host, Prof. Abdallah Shanableh of the Univ. of Sharjah were
interrupted by the occurrence of a
moderate earthquake approximately 150
km from Sharjah in the Strait of Hormuz. The quake caused several deaths
locally in Iran and was felt widely throughout the UAE. Some shopping
centers and tall buildings were evacuated out of concern for public
safety. In order to reassure the public, Prof. Shanableh was requested
to appear on the national television station to provide expert commentary
and analysis; Dr. Davis was invited to join him. The two spent the next
ninety minutes sharing their knowledge of the nature of earthquakes and
what was known about this quake with the Sharjan television audience.
That audience included the ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin
Mohamad Al-Qassimi, who enthusiastically supported the projects goal.
The next day, he led the search for a suitable site for the seismic
station, and after reviewing several candidate locations, all agreed
that the final one in the
eastern UAE near the village of Wadi Hilu met all criteria desired.
Preparations have now
begun to ready the site for the GSN instrumentation to be installed there.
The sensors will be sited in slightly fractured gabbro, rock which will
permit seismic signals to be recorded with high fidelity. The village
has access to electric power and telephone that will be used to power
and communicate with the seismic equipment. The stations proximity to
the very active Zagros seismic region at the nearby boundary between
the Arabian and Eurasian plates is ideal for improving our knowledge of
seismic activity in the area.
Figure 1: Peter Davis and Sheikh Dr. Al-Qassimi at the site selected for the station.
On the final day of the visit, the accord was signed by Dr. Davis for
UCSD and Prof. Ismail Al-Bishri, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah.
To demonstrate his support of the project, Sheikh
Dr. Al-Qassimi presided over the ceremony and
witnessed the agreement. The value Sharjah places on higher education
makes this emirate and its university a natural partner for UCSD on
this project. IDAs selection of the UAE was made to fill in a gap in
the network between other GSN stations operated by IDA in Saudi Arabia
and Turkmenistan.
Figure 2: Peter Davis (right) and the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, Prof. Ismail Al-Bishri (center), shake hands following the signing of the MOU. At left is the director of the universitys Research and Studies Center, Prof. Maamar Bettayeb.
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