Overview

Barazangi came to Cornell after earning his PhD from Columbia University. He is currently an active emeritus professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of the Continents (INSTOC). He also served in 1978-1980 as an associate professor and chairman of the Department of Geophysics at the Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His interests are seismology, tectonics and lithospheric structure especially in the Middle East and Morocco.

Research Focus

A major objective of Barazangi's research is to understand the lithospheric structure and the seismotectonics of intracontinental mountain belts and young continental collision zones. His group is focusing their investigation on the Palmyride fold and thrust belt in central Syria (including the nearby Euphrates rift system) and the Rif and Atlas Mountains in Morocco, as well as a detailed study of the Anatolian Plateau in Eastern Turkey, one of the youngest continental collision zones on Earth. Another objective of Muawia's research is to collect and organize all available seismological, geophysical, and geological data sets, on both a regional and global-scale using a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS).

Instruction Focus

Earthquake Seismology

Additional Links

• Muawia Barazangi`s website

Honors, Awards and Appointments

• Fellowship to advise the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment in Damascus, Syria under the U.N. - 2004
• Fellowship to advise and help the National Syrian Seismological Center in Damascus, Syria on the analyses and interpretation of seismological data and the seismotectonics of Syria and surrounding regions. - 1999
• Associate Director of INSTOC - 1988 - Present
• Fellowship from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to advise the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission on earthquake hazard in the region. - 1988
• Leader of the Cornell Syria Project, a cooperative joint research effort between Cornell and the Syrian Petroleum Company and Damascus University and funded by oil companies. - 1987 - Present

Professional Activities

• Co-planned and coordinated the annual INSTOC scientific workshops on different themes concerning the structure of the continental lithosphere, 2005-present. - 2005 - Present
• Invited by the International Data Center of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to deliver lectures about the Cornell Geographic Information System (GIS) project and the structure and seismotectonics of the Middle East and North Africa region, February 10-13, 1999, Vienna, Austria. - 1999
• Invited by the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency to deliver a comprehensive oral presentation about seismology and the Middle East during the Arms Control and Regional Security Working Group meeting to advance the Middle East Peace Process sponsored jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the Russian Federation,Helsinki, Finland. - 1995
• Planned, coordinated, and participated in numerous international scientific workshops and symposia in Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt (1985-2005). - 1985 - 2005
• Initiated, planned and coordinated the first "International Symposium on Deep Structure of the Continental Crust: Results from Reflection Seismology", June 26-28, 1984 at Cornell University. The conference was attended by 270 earth scientists from 17 countries. - 1984

Selected Publications

• "Global Positioning System measurements of strain accumulation and slip transfer through the restraining bend along the Dead Sea fault system in Lebanon, " with F. Gomez, G. Karam, M. Khawlie, S. McClusky, P. Vernant, R. Reilinger, R. Jaafar, C. Tabet, and K. Khair, Geophysical Journal International, 168, 1021-1028.
• "Strain partitioning of active transpression within the Lebanese restraining bend of the Dead Sea fault (Lebanon and SW Syria), " with F. Gomez, T. Nemer, C. Tabet, M. Khawlie, and M. Meghraoui, Geological Society of London, Special Paper (Tectonics of Strike-Slip Restraining and Releasing Bends in Continental and Oceanic Settings), 290, 285-303.
• "Structure and tectonic evolution of the Anatolian Plateau in eastern Turkey, " with E. Sandvol and D. Seber, in Dilek, Y., and Pavlides, S., eds., Post-collisional Tectonics and Magmatism in the Mediterranean Region and Asia: Geological Society of America Special Paper 409, 463-473.
• "Late Cenozoic uplift along the northern Dead Sea transform in Lebanon and Syria, " with F. Gomez, M. Khawlie, C. Tabet, A. N. Darkal, and K. Khair, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 241, 913? 931.
• "Crustal structure of the Arabian Plate: New constraints from the analysis of teleseismic receiver functions, " with K. Al-Damegh, and E. Sandvol, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 231, 177-196.
• "Pn tomographic imaging of mantle lid velocity and anisotropy at the junction of the Arabian, Eurasian, and African plates, " with A. Al-Lazki, E. Sandvol, D. Seber, N. Turkelli, and R. Mohamad, Geophysical Journal International, 158, 1024-1040.
• "Regional seismic wave propagation (Lg and Sn) and Pn attenuation in the Arabian Plate and surrounding regions, " with K. Al-Damegh, E. Sandvol, and A. Al-Lazki, Geophysical Journal International, 157, 775-795.
• "Evidence for 830 years of seismic quiescence from palaeoseismology, archaeoseismology and historical seismicity along the Dead Sea fault in Syria, " with M. Meghraoui, F. Gomez, R. Sbeinati, J. Van der Woerd, M. Mouty, A. N. Darkal, Y. Radwan, I. Layyous, H. Al Najjar, R. Darawcheh, F. Hijazi, and R. Al-Ghazzi, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 210, 35-52.
• "The Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment: The study of a young continent-continent collision, " with E. Sandvol, and N. T?rkelli, Geophysical Research Letters, 30(24).
• "Tectonic and Geologic evolution of Syria: The role of GIS, " with G. Brew, The Leading Edge, 176-182.

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