EAGLE - Design of 2003 Controlled Source Seismic Profile Across the Ethiopian Rift

The Ethiopia Afar Geoscientific Lithospheric Experiment (EAGLE) is a project to image the crust and upper mantle just prior to break-up in the northern Ethiopian Rift, where the transition from continental rifting to incipient sea-floor spreading is captured. A major component of EAGLE is a 400km cross-rift controlled source profile involving the detonation of 8 borehole shots into a nominal 450 recorders distributed along the line. The principal objective of this part of the project is to provide a cross-rift P-wave velocity model of the crust and upper mantle across a transitional rift segment. The results will be used: (1) to constrain the volume of magmatic material that has been added to the crust across the rift; (2) to determine the distribution of crustal strain; (3) to identify pre-rift variations in lithospheric properties that may have influenced high strain location; and (4) to provide high resolution crustal velocity control to enhance interpretation of teleseismic and local earthquake data recorded on the linked EAGLE passive array projects. A planning visit to Ethiopia in 2001 resulted in 7 of the 8 borehole sites being provisionally identified. Information concerning population distribution and environmental risk, water table depths and restrictions on the use of underwater shots will limit the distance to which seismic energy can be observed from each shotpoint. Results from previous surveys both in Ethiopia and in the Kenya Rift enable expected amplitude-distance relations to be estimated. Using (1) the optimum crustal seismic velocity model consistent with available gravity data, (2) the proposed distribution of shots and recording stations, (3) the range to which energy from each shot should be observed, and(4) field and remote sensing constraints on major rift structures and volcanic centres, 2-D forward modelling of first arrival travel times is being undertaken to enable tighter control on the experiment design in line with the defined experiment objectives.