About the project
Investigation of seismically vulnerable areas in Croatia and seismic ground motion assessment
2 117 647 EUR
Total project budget
Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014 – 2021 financing 85 %
Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia co-financing 15 %
17 January 2022 –
30 April 2024
Project duration
Project manager
Assoc. prof.
Snježana Markušić
Andrija Mohorovičić Geophysical Institute, Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Project manager assistant
Assist. prof.
Josip Stipčević
Andrija Mohorovičić Geophysical Institute, Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Norwegian project partner
Prof.
Stéphane Rondenay
Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Norway
Project administrator
Branimir Turudić
Andrija Mohorovičić Geophysical Institute, Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Goals and purpose of the CRONOS project
Croatia is located in a seismically active area where thousands of earthquakes are recorded annually. On average four of these are strong enough to cause damage with occasional strong events dangerous enough to cause great damage and losses.
The overall purpuse of the project “Investigation of seismically vulnerable areas in Croatia and seismic ground motion assessment” – CRONOS – is to make Croatian society more resilient to the impact of destructive earthquakes. We aim to facilitate this through the development and modernization of seismic hazard assessment in Croatia and stimulate the development of seismic risk reduction policies through scientific infrastructure and capacity building, knowledge transfer and international research cooperation. The project will help to improve the seismological scientific community in Croatia and Norway and strengthen bilateral cooperation and knowledge transfer.
Specific objectives of the project are:
Assess the potential seismic hazard for selected seismically most endangered region(s) in Croatia
Build a new seismic research infrastructure for the highest scientific impact
Strengthen the collaboration between Croatian and Norwegian geophysical communities through joint research and knowledge transfer
Transfer the scientific understanding of seismic and natural hazards to the community, people, businesses, policymakers and government agencies
Contribute to earthquake risk reduction
The project consists of two components:
Component 1
Assessment of seismogenic potential and characterization of the seismic fault systems and fault behaviour on the basis of newly collected data using modern seismological methods
Component 2
Development of attenuation relations for predicting seismic ground motion (GMPE – ground motion prediction equation)
In both components, we focus on one of the most seismically endangered areas of Croatia: the north and middle parts of Dalmatia. The activities in these two components complement each other – they are equally important in the process of better seismic hazard assessment and seismic risk reduction.
These investigations are important because their results can help national authorities, public and private institutions, civil emergency agencies and urban planners to enhance their disaster preparedness plans and contribute to the security of the Croatian citizens.
Project financing
The Norway Grants and the EEA Grants represent Norway’s contribution towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
Through the Norway Grants and the EEA Grants, Norway contributes to reducing social and economic disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with beneficiary countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. Norway cooperates closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). Together with the other donors, Norway has provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014.
Norway Grants are financed solely by Norway and are available in the countries that joined the EU after 2003. For the period 2014-2021, the Norway Grants amount to €1.25 billion. The priorities for this period are: Innovation, Research, Education, Competitiveness and Decent Work; Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction; Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy; Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights; Justice and Home Affairs.
The project “Investigation of seismically vulnerable areas in Croatia and seismic ground motion assessment – CRONOS” benefits from a 2.1 million € grant from Norway. The project is financed through the Local Development and Poverty Reduction Programme. The aim of the project is to make Croatian society more resilient to the impact of destructive earthquakes.
Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014 – 2021 is funds 85 % of the project and Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia funds 15 %.
