Activities

The activities of the department is determined by the themes of the main scientific and applied investigations which are as follows:

• Monitoring and analysis of the seismicity in Bulgaria and neighboring lands;
• Macroseismic classification of the earthquake consequences;
• Physics of seismic waves and earthquake sources;
• Earth’s crust and upper mantle structure in tectonically active regions;
• Seismic zoning of Bulgaria;
• Seismic risk evaluation for urban regions – control/reduction of the devastating earthquakes effects;
• Seismic Risk Assessment and Development of Seismic Scenarios for large urban areas; infrastructure (distribution of direct earthquake losses); buildings, facilities and etc.;
• Ecological protection by seismic safety of NPP, Thermal Electric Power Plants, dams, chemical industry facilities, etc.;
• Vulnerability of building structures for seismic impacts using: non-linear analysis of building structures and observed vulnerability to past earthquakes
• Management/development of the National System for Registration, Analysis and Assessment of Strong Ground Motion
• Development/adaption of earthquake resistant structural system
• Reducing of the destructive earthquake effects
• Development of regulation documents for design and building in seismic regions.

Seismological Network

NIGGG-BAS runs the Bulgarian seismological network-NOTSSI (National Operative Telemetric System for Seismological Information). NOTSSI was founded at the end of 1980. The network comprise today 17 permanent seismic stations and two local networks. In 2005 the modernization of the seismological network was performed. The overall objective for the NOTSSI is continuous monitoring of seismicity on the territory of Bulgaria and adjacent areas within the Balkan region. After the modernization, NOTSSI became a world-class digital network providing reliable, real-time seismic monitoring and rapid earthquake information to both scientific communities and authorities in Bulgaria for seismic risk mitigation. Recently developed Methodology for analysis, assessment and mapping of the seismic risk of Bulgaria; and the new seismic hazard assessment for Bulgaria are based on the high quality seismological information.