Site Selection for the Field Stations of the Kuwait National Seismic Network

Abstract

INTRODUCTION On June 2,1993 an earthquake of magnitude 4.7, followed by numerous aftershocks, occurred in Kuwait near the Minagish oil field. In spite of its modest magnitude, the earthquake was widely felt and caused panic in the city of Kuwait. The source parameters of this event were poorly determined by the U.S. Geological Survey using the data from a few regional seismograph stations. Bou-Rabee (1994) presented a table with a map for the source parameters of seven earthquakes located in Kuwait. Only one of the numerous aftershocks of the June 2, 1993 earthquake was instrumentally reported in this table due to the absence of local earthquake monitoring in Kuwait. Consequently, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) decided to establish the Kuwait National Seismograph Network (KNSN) to initiate earthquake monitoring in the State of Kuwait. The network is designed to start with seven three-component, short-period seismic field stations together with...