Seismic Velocity Structure of the Aleutian Arc and Bering Shelf and the Composition of Continental Growth

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9204998 Klemperer This research will measure the seismic velocity structure of the Aleutian Arc and the Bering Sea Shelf in order to provide constraints on continental growth and composition. It is widely believed that two-thirds of the continental crust forming today does so at magmatic arcs, but, paradoxically, recent geological and petrological estimates of island arc composition suggest that arcs are substantially more mafic than average continental crust is believed to be. The best test of the composition of in-situ crust is its seismic velocity, but though many measurements of continental velocity have been made worldwide, very few data exist for island arcs because of the logistic difficulties of working in these areas. This project is coordinated with two other NSF-funded projects to collect seismic reflection data via the R/V Ewing under a University of Delaware and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory grant and an ocean-bottom seismometer deployment under a Woods-Hole Oceanographic Institution grant. ***