Collaborative Research: Crustal Deformation Measurements and a Multidisciplinary Geophysical Investigation of the Rio Grande Rift

合作研究：里奥格兰德裂谷的地壳变形测量和多学科地球物理调查

• 批准号: 0454541
• 负责人: Anne Sheehan
• 金额: $ 48.11万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0454541&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Crustal; Deformation; Measurements

NSF 0454541: Collaborative Research: Measurements of Crustal Deformation and a Multidisciplinary Geophysical Investigation of the Rio Grande RiftAbstractThe Rio Grande rift is the easternmost deforming province within the tectonically active western margin of North America. Located just east of the Colorado Plateau, the rift is undergoing stretching and extension manifested by slightly higher probabilities of earthquake occurrence than in surrounding regions. Rates of motion are estimated at sub-mm to 5 mm/yr, but uncertainties in measurements of total extension are typically of the same order as the estimates themselves. This project brings together a team of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of New Mexico to establish current rates of motion along the Rio Grande rift with high precision. The team is measuring rift motions using state-of-the-art global positioning system (GPS) instruments at 24 sites in Colorado and New Mexico. Each measurement epoch lasts six months and data are being collected for four epochs, providing rates encompassing a three-year span. The slow rates of motion in the region make this project especially challenging. The monumentation, observing time, and innovative post-processing strategies are designed to optimally resolve deformation at the sub-millimeter per year scale. A primary goal of the project is to understand what stretching rates measured at the surface imply about the stretching of the plate at deeper levels. An intriguing possibility is that stretching in the Rio Grande rift is heterogeneous, with different processes operating in the crust and the mantle. Available geologic observations also suggest that the character of the rifting changes dramatically from north to south, with a narrow rift zone marked by linear topographic depressions in Colorado and northern New Mexico grading to a broad region of multiple valleys ("basin and range") in south-central New Mexico. The factors that drive this variable character of the Rio Grande rift are not well-understood, but could have significant bearing on our understanding of how and why tectonic plates undergo stretching and of earthquake and volcanic hazards within rift zones. To examine these issues, the team is comparing their measured rates of motion with all other available datasets, including seismic velocities in the crust and mantle, gravity, surface heat flow, and geologic data. These diverse datasets are being used to build computer models of processes that control how tectonic plates undergo rifting. The project involves training graduate and undergraduate students in GPS measurement and analysis and spreading the group's knowledge in a variety of ways, including: training K-12 school teachers in the research process (the 'Earthworks' project of the Cooperative Research in Environmental Sciences at CU Boulder); involving middle schools in the siting and "adoption" of GPS sites; and interactions with agencies interested in earthquake and volcanic hazards along the Rio Grande rift including state Geological surveys, local and federal emergency management agencies, local governments, city planners, and engineers.

NSF 0454541：合作研究：格兰德河裂谷的地壳形变测量和多学科地球物理研究摘要格兰德河裂谷是北美构造活动西缘最东端的变形区。 位于科罗拉多高原以东的裂谷正在经历拉伸和延伸，其地震发生的概率比周围地区略高。 运动速率估计为亚毫米至5毫米/年，但总延伸测量的不确定性通常与估计本身相同。 该项目汇集了来自科罗拉多大学博尔德分校和新墨西哥州大学的一组研究人员，以高精度确定沿着格兰德河裂谷的当前运动速率。 该小组正在科罗拉多和新墨西哥州的24个地点使用最先进的全球定位系统（GPS）仪器测量裂谷运动。每个测量时期持续六个月，收集四个时期的数据，提供涵盖三年跨度的比率。 该地区缓慢的运动速度使这个项目特别具有挑战性。 纪念物、观察时间和创新的后处理策略旨在最佳地解决每年亚毫米尺度的变形。 该项目的一个主要目标是了解在地表测量的拉伸速率意味着板块在更深层次的拉伸。 一个有趣的可能性是，格兰德河裂谷的伸展是异质的，地壳和地幔中有不同的过程。 现有的地质观测也表明，裂谷的特征从北到南变化很大，从科罗拉多和北方新墨西哥州的线性地形凹陷为标志的狭窄裂谷带逐渐变为新墨西哥州中南部的多个山谷（“盆地和山脉”）的广阔区域。 驱动格兰德河裂谷这种多变特征的因素还没有得到很好的理解，但可能对我们理解构造板块如何以及为什么经历拉伸以及裂谷带内的地震和火山危险有重要影响。 为了研究这些问题，该团队将他们测量的运动速率与所有其他可用的数据集进行比较，包括地壳和地幔的地震速度，重力，地表热流和地质数据。 这些不同的数据集被用来建立控制构造板块如何经历裂谷过程的计算机模型。 该项目涉及对研究生和本科生进行GPS测量和分析培训，并以多种方式传播该小组的知识，包括：在研究过程中培训K-12学校教师（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校环境科学合作研究的“土方工程”项目）;让中学参与全球定位系统站点的选址和“采用”;以及与对格兰德河裂谷沿着地震和火山灾害感兴趣的机构的互动，包括州地质调查局、地方和联邦应急管理机构、地方政府、城市规划者和工程师。