Collaborative Research: Interaction Between Long Valley Volcanism and Deformation of the Hilton Block, Sierra Nevada, CA

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Owen, Susan E.EAR-0073936 Long Valley caldera, California, is an ideal natural laboratory for the study of interaction between volcanism and tectonics. The Hilton Block - the area in the Sierra Nevada located south of Long Valley caldera - has been one of the most seismically active regions in California. However, patterns of recent seismicity are difficult to reconcile with the observed regional strain or with stress transfer calculated from simple elastic models of volcanic inflation. Understanding the connections between volcanism and tectonics in this region will require a better understanding of both the kinematics of the Hilton Block and the mechanics of stress transfer within the caldera system. The investigators will use detailed GPS observations and simple elastic models to determine the nature and distribution of deformation in the Hilton Block. They will develop finite element models that address time- and temperature-dependent viscoelastic effects to further explore how deformation within the seismically active Hilton Block is linked to Long Valley volcanism.