This award studies of active crustal deformation in southern California, in research areas that should complement past and future geodetic studies. Previous work has emphasized analysis of data from with instruments Pinon Flat Observatory (PFO), along with the development of the techniques needed for high-quality measurements. The PIs will continue this, focusing on ways to use existing deformation data, both from PFO and from geodetic surveys, to test hypotheses about the nature of fault zones. They will continue a detailed examination of the USGS EDM-network data in southern California, working on the difficult inverse problem of solving for fault-plane displacements given the observed line-length changes. This investigation should improve not only understanding of fault mechanics, but should also prove valuable for planning future geodetic measurements near active faults. This award falls under NEHRP.
