The African continent is made of various geological structures that include zones of active deformation. Seismically active regions are primarily located along rift zones, thrust and fold mountain belts, transform faults and volcanic fields. Several tectonic structures may generate large earthquakes with significant damage and economic losses in Africa. The development of thematic mapping with the identification and characterization of seismically active zones constitutes the framework for the seismic hazard assessment and mitigation of catastrophes.
The IGCP-UNESCO programme recently launched the project-601 (SIDA) "Seismotectonics and seismic hazards in Africa" (IGCP Project 601). The Global Earthquake Model has set-off regional programs in North Africa and sub-Sahara Africa for implementing seismic zoning and probabilistic applications for large ground motions. The African plate was the site of numerous large earthquakes (Mw > 6.5) causing severe damage and tremendous economic losses. The most recent events being the 2006 Machaze earthquake (M 7.0) in Mozambique, the 2003 Zemmouri-Boumerdes earthquake (M 6.8) in Algeria, and the 1990 Juba earthquake (M 7.1) in southern Soudan. The presence of major active faults that generate destructive earthquakes is among the most important geological and geophysical hazards for the continent.
In this session we seek contributions on the observation, analysis and modelling of the significant seismotectonic activity in the African continent and neighbouring islands. In particular, we encourage contributions on lithospheric and crustal deformation using interdisciplinary approach and field measurements such as GPS, InSAR and seismicity analysis (tomography) in contractional and extensional tectonic domains, and along main transform faults.