Plate Boundary Evolution and Physics at an Oceanic Transform Fault System - The Blanco Transform OBS Experiment

大多数地震都发生在岩石板块的边界上。构成地球的是什么？S的表面。大多数大地震都发生在板块交汇的地方，比如印度尼西亚、日本和卡斯卡迪亚。其他破坏性事件与变身有关？在土耳其和加利福尼亚州的圣安德烈亚斯断层沿线，板块相互滑动的断层。海底的大洋转换断层(OTF)比陆上的更为简单，为研究其地震活动性提供了天然的实验室。这项研究将在俄勒冈州海岸外部署55台海底地震仪(OBSS)的密集阵列，为期一年来研究Blanco变换断层。这一部署OBSS也将是卡斯卡迪亚倡议(CI)的一项重要补充，该倡议是一项正在进行的陆上/近海地震和大地测量实验，其中包括在海底安装一组地震仪，以补充陆上一系列台站。卡斯卡迪亚倡议的一个主要目的是更好地了解与华盛顿、俄勒冈州和加利福尼亚州北部太平洋边缘俯冲有关的地震活动，在那里发生巨型断裂的风险？地震强度很大。该项目的广泛影响包括对两名研究生的支持和几名研究生的参与。直接的科学收益是更好地了解地震活动和大洋转换断层(OTF)的力学，但该项目的主要更广泛的影响将是它对更广泛的卡斯卡迪亚倡议的重大贡献。

Most earthquakes occur along the boundaries of rocky ?plates? that make up the Earth?s surface. Most great earthquakes occur where plates converge, as in Indonesia, Japan and Cascadia. Other damaging events are associated with ?transform? faults, where the plates slide past each other, in places such as Turkey and along the San Andreas Fault in California. Oceanic Transform Faults (OTFs) in the seafloor are geologically simpler than those onshore, and thus offer a natural laboratory for studying their seismicity. This study will deploy a dense array of 55 Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBSs) off the coast of Oregon for one year to study the Blanco Transform fault. This deployment of OBSs will also be an important adjunct to the Cascadia Initiative (CI), an ongoing onshore/offshore seismic and geodetic experiment that includes an array of seismometers on the seafloor to complement an array of stations onshore. A primary aim of the Cascadia Initiative is to gain a better understanding seismicity associated with subduction along the Pacific margin of Washington, Oregon and northern California, where the risk of a ?megathrust? earthquake is high. Among the broader impacts of this project are support for two graduate students and participation by several graduate students. The immediate scientific benefit is better understanding of seismicity and mechanics of Oceanic Transform Faults (OTFs), but the chief broader impact of this project will be its very significant contribution to the broader, Cascadia Initiative.