9616302 Qamar This award supports the cost of installing a network of continuously recording Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in the state of Washington for the purpose of measuring ground motion associated with subduction zone tectonics, volcanic activity, and earthquakes. The Principal Investigator will coordinate the installation and operation of the network from the University of Washington. The basic research goal of the measurements to be taken by the network is an understanding of the processes leading to deformation of the continental crust in the Pacific Northwest region due to the combination of forces from the oblique subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate, the entrainment of the Sierra NevadaOregon Coast Range block, and the local forces created by the topographic gradient from the Basin and Range to the Columbia Basin. The network is also expected to provide important data for improved assessment of the seismic and volcanic risk in the region. ***
