During the preceeding decade, the general area of chaotic behavior in complicated dynamical systems has received a great deal of attention in a variety of fundamental and applied scientific disciplines. Closely related subjects are fractals, phase transitions, nucleation, and the renormalization group approach. The recognition of the existence of deterministic chaos raises important questions about the role of causality, chance, and the prospects for deterministic prediction of physical processes, such as earthquakes, in the earth sciences. Only a small number of earth scientists are actively working in these areas. This award contributes support to a small workshop - format conference, which will be invaluable in stimulating interest and developing expertise in this area. 20 - 30 earth scientists will informally meet with 10 - 20 nonlinear dynamicists to explore how these newly developed ideas might best be used in understanding the complexity seen in the dynamics of the earth's crust.
