Earthscope Project Plan

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ A NEW VIEW INTO EARTH ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ PROJECT PLAN ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ A NEW VIEW INTO EARTH ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ PROJECT PLAN OCTOBER 2001 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ EarthScope Working Group Thomas Henyey (Chair) ............. University of Southern California Thomas Herring.......................... Massachusetts Institute of Technology Steve Hickman ............................ United States Geological Survey Thomas Jordan .......................... University of Southern California John McRaney (Secretary) ........ University of Southern California Anne Meltzer............................... Lehigh University J. Bernard Minster...................... University of California, San Diego Dennis Nielson ........................... DOSECC Paul Rosen .................................. Jet Propulsion Laboratory Paul Silver ................................... Carnegie Institution of Washington Mark Simons............................... California Institute of Technology David Simpson ........................... IRIS Robert Smith............................... University of Utah Wayne Thatcher ......................... United States Geological Survey Mark Zoback ............................... Stanford University ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Contents○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Project Summary.............................................................................................................1 A New View Into Earth: The Deformation of a Continent ............................................4 Scientific Themes and Motivation .................................................................................9 Continental Structure and Evolution .................................................................... 10 The Pacific/North America Plate Boundary System ............................................ 11 Fault Systems and Seismic Hazards .....................................................................12 Magmatic Systems and Volcanic Hazards............................................................13 Earth’s Interior ........................................................................................................15 Integrated Observation Systems .................................................................................17 New Observational Facilities .................................................................................18 USArray ............................................................................................................18 PBO ...................................................................................................................19 InSAR ................................................................................................................20 SAFOD ..............................................................................................................21 Data Management and Information Technology ................................................. 22 Education and Outreach ........................................................................................24 Implementation .............................................................................................................27 Management Structure and Coordination ........................................................... 27 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ National and International Partnerships............................................................... 30 Budget and Planning Overview.............................................................................32 Appendix 1: Implementation Milestones .................................................................... 34 Suggested Reading .......................................................................................................36 Acronyms .......................................................................................................................36 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Project Summary○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Earth is a dynamic planet. Motions ogy, geodesy, and remote sensing, of the fluid core produce the dynamo that EarthScope will yield a comprehensive, gives rise to the magnetic field. Convection time-dependent picture of the continent be- in the mantle drives plate motions, result- yond that which any single discipline can ing in the relentless cycle that creates achieve. Cutting-edge land- and space- oceans, builds mountains, shapes land- based technologies will make it possible for forms, and concentrates the world’s energy the first time to resolve Earth structure and and mineral resources. While these mo- measure deformation in real-time at conti- tions are gradual and usually go unnoticed, at times the outer layers of the crust shift rapidly, with catastrophic impact on Earth’s Recent California [and Washington] earthquakes have surface and the fragile web of human in- frastructure and lives. In the United States, demonstrated that cities and towns in tectonically ac- vivid examples include the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and the 1994 tive areas are built on complex systems of faults with Northridge earthquake in California. The hundreds of potential “moving parts,” some of which plate-tectonic forces responsible for devas- tating earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do not even breach the surface, and any one of which in the western U.S. and Alaska operate might suddenly shift. throughout the entire North American con- ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ tinent. They are tied to large earthquakes Active Tectonics and Society: A Plan for Integrative Science, 1993 that struck the New Madrid seismic zone in central U.S., and Charleston, South Caro- lina in the 19th century. No region of our continent is exempt from the influence of these nental scales. These measurements will great forces. permit us to relate processes in Earth’s in- While earthquakes and volcanic erup- terior to their surface expressions, includ- tions annually cause billions of dollars in ing faults and volcanoes. damage and tragic loss of life, they also re- EarthScope includes new observational veal the inner workings of our planet. If we technologies in seismology, geodesy, and can understand the geologic processes that remote sensing, that will be linked through control these phenomena, we can reduce high-speed, high-performance computing risks to life and property and, perhaps, one and telecommunications networks. The day predict them. new facilities build on existing strengths in EarthScope is a new Earth science initia- these fields, as well a strong tradition of tive that will dramatically advance our excellence in field observations and labo- physical understanding of the North Ameri- ratory research in the broader Earth sci- can continent by exploring its three-dimen- ences. Combined with funding for inte- sional structure, and changes in that struc- grated Earth science research and ture, through time. By integrating scientific education, EarthScope provides a unique information derived from geology, seismol- framework for basic and applied geologi- 1 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ cal research across the United States and magmatic plumbing to surface volcanism— its neighboring countries. EarthScope will is best done in portions of Alaska and the make new and fundamental contributions, Pacific Northwest, while natural laborato- permitting us to address the following key ries in the central and eastern U.S. afford questions: some of the best opportunities for examin- • What are the underlying geologic pro- ing relationships between intraplate stress cesses that build mountains, deform con- and earthquake occurrence. tinents, ignite volcanic eruptions, gener- EarthScope resources will be accessible ate earthquakes, and ultimately tear to the entire scientific and educational com- continents apart? munities. Data acquired from the new ob- • How do continents interact with the servational facilities will be telemetered in whole Earth system? near real-time to central processing facili- • How are features at Earth’s surface re- ties and made freely and openly available lated to structures and deformational to the research community, government processes in Earth’s deep interior? agencies, educators, and the public and pri- • How does the long-term process of stress vate sectors. End users also will have on- accumulation in Earth result in the greatly line access to software that will aid in data accelerated catastrophic failure associ- integration, manipulation, and visualiza- ated with earthquakes and volcanic eruption. An Earth science information system tions? of this type will build on the nation’s in- • What are the architecture and physical creasing capabilities in the development state of the lithosphere, and how do they and use of information technology. relate to deformation? EarthScope will provide mechanisms to • What are the spatial and temporal scales unite North American Earth scientists with of deformation across the continent? diverse tools and perspectives in a decade ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ • How are earthquakes, volcanoes, and or more of interdisciplinary studies of the mountain building related to preexisting continent.

Load more