This award will provide supplemental support to enable Dr. Thomasson of West Virginia University to carry out a long-term research stay to collaborate with Dr. Hirokazu Kato of the Geological Survey of Japan in Tsukuba, Japan. They will investigate the Itoigawa-Shizuoka tectonic line, a major discontinuity in the tectonic framework of Japan. There are many similarities in the geology of the Itoigawa- Shizuoka region of Japan and the Appalachian mountain region of the U.S. Dr. Kato's group has detailed data on the deeper crustal and near-surface structural characteristics of the Itoigawa- Shizouka tectonic line and surrounding areas. Dr. Wilson will investigate whether the geophysical nature of the deep crustal features present in the central Appalachians are comparable to the modern-day analogue in Japan.
