Collaborative Research: High-Resolution Multichannel Seismic Imaging of Active Tectonics, NW Gulf of California

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Funds are provided for a high-resolution multi-channel seismic survey of tectonically active area in northwestern Gulf of California. The Gulf of california is one of the very few accessible areas where the transitional crust from continent to ocean can be studied in a region of oblique estension. Most models of the region show a single, simple plate boundary, due to lack of deeper understanding. Two end-member models are possible: diffuse deformation in a broad active zone, and localized slip in two separate zones in the northern Gulf. The key to discriminating between the two models lies in shallow Gulf of California. The PIs will use the LDEO portable high resolution MCS system on a Mexican research vessel to obtain seismic reflection profiles of active tectonics, augmented with sonobuoy refraction profiles, to image the young faults, transform faults and the spreading center. Modeling will quantify estimates of kinematics of the current plate motions and strain partitioning and lead to an understanding of the organization of the strike-slip and rift segments during transition from a continental to an oceanic system.