A seismologist from the Weizmann Institute installed and supervised the geophysical observatory near Eilat on the Red Sea, to monitor and distinguish between natural seismic activity, and vibrations in the ground caused by human activity. Data were collected and analyzed about the seismic action of geological faults in the area, magnetic and acoustic activity in the atmosphere, and nuclear explosions. The data made it possible to analyze and chart seismic risk in Israel.
One result of the work was a theory that the seismic focus of every earthquake moves along a geological fault at high speed during the quake. This theory was subsequently confirmed.
In other research, data collected at the observatory on the experimental nuclear explosions carried out by the Soviet Union and China were compared with data about the mysterious explosion which took place at Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908. Based on this comparison, it was possible to calculate the energy of the explosion and the height above ground at which it occurred.