9405583 Aiken To fully characterize active tectonic systems such as the Pacific-North American transform boundary, it is important to examine the interactions at several spatial and temporal scales. This project sets out to quantitatively assess the spatial distribution of strain in the central Walker Lane Belt of the western Great Basin, presently undergoing active transcurrent and extensional faulting that results from the relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates, complicated by interaction between the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin. The work will focus on three duration intervals from Mid Miocene to present-day deformation rates. Methods vary from mapping to GPS measurement of deforming Pleistocene lake terraces. Results are expected to provide a balanced view of the present strain regime of this area, in a historical context, and fully integrated with known geological data, that will be utilized in understanding how the basic plate interaction are modified and applied to continental margins.
