The Cornell Morocco Project



The Cornell Morocco research project has been an ongoing collaborative effort between Cornell University and institutions in Morocco and Spain to improve the understanding of the structure and geodynamics of the western Mediterranean (Alboran) region and the intracontinental development of the Atlas mountain system, using geophysical and geological methods. On these pages you will find information about the research conducted including papers, abstracts, figures, and posters from recent investigations.

This project is a very comprehensive one. Considerable diversified data are used, including earthquake seismology, well data, surface geologic mapping, gravity, remote sensing and digital topography, and GPS observations. The results shed new lights on strategy for oil exploration and provided significant new knowledge on how to better assess and evaluate earthquake hazard in Morocco.


See our Morocco Project publications



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Current Research Activities:

  • GPS measurements of plate interactions in the western Mediterranean (collaborative research with MIT and Moroccan institutions)

Research Accomplished (see publications):

  • Propagation of regional seismic phases (Lg and Sn) and Pn velocity structure along the Africa-Iberia plate boundary zone: Tectonic implications

  • Geodynamic Evolution of the Lithosphere and Upper Mantle Beneath the Alboran Region of the Western Mediterranean: Constraints from Travel Time Tomography

  • Geodynamics of the Alboran Sea and Rif - Betic Mountains

  • Late Cenozoic and Neotectonics in the Middle Atlas

  • Tectonic Evolution of the Atlas Mountains, North Africa

  • Active deformation of Morocco based on GPs observations



Collaborating Institutions

We sincerely thank our colleagues at the institutions listed below for making this project a success.


See Also:

Paco Gomez: http://www.missouri.edu/~gomezf/gomezf.html


Return to Current Projects

For questions or comments, please contact Muawia Barazangi: mb44@cornell.edu.

Last updated: March 2016