Assignment of the German Task Force in the border area Kyrgyzstan - China

13.10.2008 | Potsdam: The Seismology-Team of the German Task Force “Earthquake” today starts off on an assignment in the border triangle between Kyrgyzstan - Tajikistan - China. On Sunday, 05.10.2008 this border area in the Pamir-Tienshan region experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6, strongly damaging the villages of the region and according to information to date – causing the loss of 350 lives.

For the first time the three neighbouring states, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the People's Republic of China, will cooperate cross-border to investigate the high seismic hazard of central Asia. The region is characterised by the collision and the lateral super-imposed movement of two continent plates, which results in extremely high earthquake activity both in the crust and in the Earth's mantle.

The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, in cooperation with the Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (ZAIAG), the research station of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Geological Institute of the Tajikistan Academy of Sciences and the non-governmental organisation “PMP Internationally”(Tajikistan), operates a seismic network of 40 stations, providing an insight into the structure and seismo-tectonic activity of the area. The stations of the task force will consolidate the network in the vicinity of the current earthquake, and will, thus, be in a position to precisely register aftershocks.

The most important local partner for the task force assignment is the ZAIAG, which provides comprehensive logistic assistance. China’s participation in this mission is of specific scientific value. Since the earthquake occurred directly in the border area, employees of the Xinjang Seismological Office on the Chinese side will install an extended net for the registration of aftershocks which will compliment the Task Force mission.