This award is for the support of participation by five scientists from Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Russia in two workshops to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology In Cambridge, MA in the summer of 1997. The workshops are organized by Dr. Robert Reilinger and Dr. Robert King, of the Earth, Atmosphere, and Planetary Sciences Department at M.I.T. The purpose of the first workshop is to carry out geological data reduction and analysis. The data was obtained in a study by the P.I., funded by NSF/EAR, using Global Position System (GPS) measurements. The second workshop will follow, to conduct analysis and interpretation of the results obtained in the first workshop. The study seeks to understand the nature of the collision of the African and Arabian plates with the Eurasia plate, by monitoring deformation in the eastern Mediterranean region. The workshops will involve scientists from the countries in the region as well as others from the US, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Scope: This project will support participation by key scientists from the eastern Mediterranean region, who are actively involved in multi-national research effort using GPS measurements of ground movement, in important workshops intended to understand the results from field data collected in that region. Their participation should lead to improvement in the interpretation of the results obtained and in the conclusions to be reached. The attendance by the scientists from Russia, Armenia, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt should help them with their future in-country research in this field, and would enhance the potential for further collaboration. Their participation will therefore have mutual benefits to all involved in these studies and for future efforts. The project fits well within the objectives of the Division of International Programs. This award includes funding from the Division of International Programs, and from the Division of Earth Sciences.
