Seismic monitoring of the Olkaria Geothermal area in the southern Rift Vall
ey region of Kenya has been carried out since 1985. The initial purpose of
this effort was to determine the background level of seismicity before full
exploitation of the geothermal resource was started. This monitoring began
with one seismic station. However, since May 1996, a seismic network compr
ising six stations was operated and focused mainly on the East Production F
ield. During the 5 months of network recording up to mid-September 1996, mo
re than 360 local events originating within the Olkaria Geothermal area (T-
s - T-p < 5 s) were recorded, out of which 123 were well-located. Also, 62
events were recorded at regional distances (5 s < T-s - T-p < 40 s), and 44
events at teleseismic distance (T-s - T-p > 40 s). During this period, the
local microseismicity was found to be continuous with swarms occurring eve
ry 4-5 days. Duration magnitudes based on the coda length did not exceed 3.
0. Preliminary spectral analysis shows three kinds of seismic signals, with
only the first type displaying well-defined P- and S-phases. The seismicit
y is mainly concentrated in the central area of the recording network, and
the linear alignments in the epicenters are striking. A prominent alignment
occurs along the Ololbutot fault zone extending from the northern end of t
he greater Olkaria volcanic complex to the south near the southern terminus
of Hell's gorge. Two other prominent alignments occur along NW-SE trends t
hat coincide with fault zones which have been detected by geological and gr
avity studies. Consequently, they are interpreted to be associated with flu
id movement in the geothermal field. These preliminary results suggest that
seismic monitoring will be useful to both monitor the field during product
ion and to help site additional wells. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All r
ights reserved.