Preliminary Results of the Ground-Motion Characterization of Metropolitan Izmir: Aegean Region of Turkey

Izmir, capital of the Aegean Region of Turkey, is the 3rd largest city in Turkey, following Istanbul and Ankara in terms of population, industrial density, capacity and contribution to the national economy. Earthquake loss reduction is one of the most important research topics of earth sciences and earthquake engineering. Starting from the necessities, a seismic monitoring project was initiated with covering Metropolitan Izmir and surrounding areas, and a local accelerometric array IzmirNet was established in July 2008. The network consists of 16 strong ground motion recorders in the frame of a multi-lateral cooperation between Earthquake Research and Implementation Center (DAUM) of Dokuz Eylül University (DEU, Izmir), Earthquake Research Department (ERD) of General Directorate of Disasters Affaires (GDDA, Ankara), and Metropolitan Municipality of Izmir. The other consortium member is the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement. This project has been funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).