Funds are requested for two years of operation of the Pinon Flat Observatory as a research facility for the development and evaluation of seismic and crustal deformation instruments and for using these sensors to monitor a tectonically active region near the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault system in southern California. One half of the cost of the facility will be furnished by the U.S. Geological Survey and the other half is requested of NSF. Investigators form many institutions have installed a wide range of geophysical instruments at the observatory, including some extremely stable and precise strainmeters and tiltmeters. Records from these high-quality instruments are essential for measuring crustal deformation associated with earthquakes and other tectonic processes and for providing reference standards against which to evaluate new instruments.
