Geologists list quake zones in Azerbaijan
By Aynur Jafarova
The Institute of Geology under the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences has cited the zones with a high possibility of earthquakes in the territory of Azerbaijan.
Head of the Institute's geodynamics and seismology department, Fakhraddin Gadirov, said the seismically dangerous zones in Azerbaijan are the Shamakhi-Ismayilli, Zagatala, Sheki, Bilasuvar-Jalilabad regions as well as the northern and southern part of the Absheron Peninsula, which encompasses the capital Baku and its surrounding districts.
An earthquake, one of the catastrophic natural disasters of the Earth, causes not only devastating destruction, but also claims hundreds and thousands of lives. According to estimates, earthquakes occurred 831 times in the period 1965-2010.
Azerbaijan and its part of the Caucasus Mountains are located at the junction of the South Arabic and North Eurasian tectonic plates. These plates are always in movement, which causes earthquakes in the country's territory.
According to scientists, powerful earthquakes are possible in the Azerbaijani part of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus as well as in the Caspian Sea.
Experts believe that from the seismic point of view, Azerbaijan is located in a very hazardous zone due to the compression on the Arabic tectonic plate. The compression processes cause quakes, volcanoes and the emergence of cracks. All these pose great danger for the Azerbaijani infrastructure, in particular, oil infrastructure.
Gadirov said eight to nine point magnitude quakes may take place in Ganja, Shamakhi-Ismayilli, Sheki and in the northern part of the Absheron Peninsula as these places are historically known as seismically active areas.
However, according to Gadirov, representatives of the Institute of Geology jointly with US experts are studying these processes to ensure maintenance of seismic security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
It is important to evaluate the seismic risk posed to the country's large cities. The seismic risk implies pre-evaluation of damage, loss and destruction levels of a potential earthquake.
Researches conducted in various parts of Baku show that the coastal parts of the Sabail and Khatai districts and several parts of the Nasimi district of the city are located in seismically active areas.
Seismic stations
Enormous damage, losses and destruction prompt governments to seek better solutions to the problem. High technologies now make it possible to predict this natural disaster.
To prevent the bitter consequences of such disasters Azerbaijan has decided to install new seismic stations. The first mobile station will allow determining abnormal seismic processes and conducting their monitoring.
The installation was carried out under a joint project of the Cybernetics Institute under the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, director of the institute Telman Aliyev said.
The mobile station, which operates very effectively, registered all the abnormal seismic processes within three days.
It is also planned to install such mobile stations in the Aghstafa-Gazakh zone and in the Yalama village of the Khachmaz region.
Furthermore, the installation of seismic stations in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea is due to be carried out by fall.
A while ago, representatives of the US Kinemetrics company were in Azerbaijan in connection with the design work on marine-bottom seismic stations to be installed near the Bahar, Umid and Guneshli fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
Initial installation work is planned to be done around the Bahar field.
Three bottom marine seismic stations will be commissioned. Their number will be increased to 10 in the future. Thus, it will be possible to better understand seismic activity at sea.
Installation of seismic stations in the Azerbaijani territory is not a new process. The first seismic station in Azerbaijan was established in 1902 in Baku. Afterwards, seismic stations were set up in different areas in Azerbaijan, including Balakhany, Shamakhi, Ganja, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Chilov Island and Mingachevir.
Starting from 2003 earthquakes have been monitored in Azerbaijan.
Earlier Azerbaijan started applying a digital kinemetrics system. 14 modern digital seismic telemetry stations of the US Kinemetrics company were purchased.
Such stations have been installed in numerous regions of Azerbaijan. Besides, the Azerbaijani government purchased 7 additional sets of telemetry stations of the Kinemetrics company in 2008 and 10 in 2010, bringing the total number of telemetry stations of this type to 31.
Acquired data is transmitted to the seismic data center in Baku through a satellite communication system and analyzed there with the use of special software.
The most important point is to provide the population with information about how to behave in case of earthquakes and how to avoid the devastating outcomes of this natural disaster.