We propose a pilot study consisting of a six-month deployment of six three-component broadband stations in a portion of the Gulf Coast Plain for which there is already high-quality active-source reflection data, some vintage refraction data, and a proposed geophysical model to be tested. This deployment will allow us to (1) apply, validate, and fine-tune receiver function techniques for imaging the crust and upper mantle beneath deep sediments and (2) test a geophysical model proposed for this region. The need for such a pilot experiment arises from two sources:
* The importance of studying passive - as well as active - margins in order to understand continental evolution and to motivate students and the public who do not live near active margins; and * Difficulties in applying seismic analysis techniques to passive data recorded over thick sedimentary sequences, which typically exist in passive margins.
