EarthScope is a major earth science research initiative that will integrate scientific information derived from seismology (US Array), geodesy (Plate boundary Observatory), subsurface sampling and measurement (SAFOD), remote sensing (InSAR), and complementary geology and geophysics to understand continental scale plate deformation and evolution. Funding for the EarthScope initiative is currently being discussed in Congress as part of NSF's FY 2003 budget. The Division of Earth Sciences has made FY 2002 funds available for projects that qualify as pre-EarthScope activity, i.e. activities that will facilitate or enable the construction, fabrication, installation or operation of EarthScope once it is funded under the MREFC (Major Research Equipment Facilities and Construction) account. Such activities include meetings and workshops, prototype development, site selection or characterization.
This award provides funds to support activities which will make the data from the large number of strainmeters to be installed as part of the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) component of EarthScope more useful, and more widely used. At present, strainmeter data are used only by a small number of investigators, primarily those who install and operate the instruments; to the larger geophysical community these data seem somewhat mysterious, rather as GPS data originally did. The Principal Investigator will undertake several activities which should "demystify" strainmeter data for interested researchers, and thus make these data much more generally accessible. These activities include both didactic and research efforts, all drawing on the PIs recognized expertise in the area of strain measurement and interpretation. The specific work to be undertaken includes four activities: 1) the development of a strainmeter guide; 2) the development of processing software; 3) facilitating data availability; and 4) data characterization for array design. ***
