EarthScope SAFOD Management Office for Physical Samples

这笔资金用于支持圣安德烈亚斯深度断层观测站(SAFOD)在德克萨斯州大学站的物理样本管理办公室，该办公室将于2013年10月至2016年9月期间在德克萨斯州大学站工作。该办公室的职能包括在德克萨斯农工大学IODP墨西哥湾沿岸储存库管理SAFOD实物样品的管理和长期储存，切割和分发授予科学家的子样品，维护实物样品研究产生的抽样历史和出版物的数字档案，努力增加参与样品表征的研究人员的多样性，并促进SAFOD成果与更广泛的研究地震力学的科学界的成果相结合。管理办公室与三个委员会合作，负责审查政策并保持必要的有效运作，以履行对首席调查员(PI)用户社区的承诺，特别是SAFOD咨询委员会(SAC)、SAFOD核心样本工作组(CoSWoG)和SAFOD样本委员会(SSC)。管理办公室的主要目标是将SAFOD样本保存在冷藏柜中，并便利继续将这些样本用于独立的PI驱动的地球科学研究。作为管理处活动的一部分，每年维护和更新一个基于网络的绘图和样本请求工具--核心查看器，以便向科学界传达样本请求和样本获奖信息。这是记录、回顾和执行样本分布给科学家的主要工具。圣安德烈亚斯深度断层观测站(SAFOD)是EarthScope的主要研究设施之一，提供对控制活动板块边界断裂带中断层蠕变和地震破裂的物理化学过程的研究和直接监测。到目前为止，SAFOD最重要的成就是成功地在约3公里深的圣安德烈亚斯断层上进行了科学钻探，开始了对该断裂带的现场地质和地球物理表征，并成功地从该断层的活动部件上收集了有价值的岩芯和其他物理样品。这些样本构成了正在进行的实验室调查的基础，使用了各种技术和方法来解决地震力学的基本问题。这些研究正在改变我们对断裂过程的理解，并最终将推进孕震断层的建模和监测，以及减轻地震灾害。SAFOD的物理样本收集确实是例外的，具有重大的科学价值。这个系列是超过15年精心规划和完成一个多阶段、复杂的钻井项目的直接结果。这些样品提供了一个窗口，可以了解在孕震深度的主要活动板块边界断层中运行的活动过程。对这些独特样品的科学分析所产生的数据和解释为与其他钻探的断裂带和与挖掘出的断层的地质观察进行比较奠定了重要的基线。由于SAFOD样品的独特特性，世界各地的研究人员对SAFOD样品的需求很高；没有建立其他活动的孕震断裂带钻探计划，为大量研究人员提供样品，以便继续科学发现。除了样本管理和分发外，SAFOD样本设施还为教育和宣传提供有价值的材料，并促进在国际上共享科学数据。对这一资源的高效和周到的管理正在为科学调查提供便利。该项目的研究项目最终将通过改善减轻地震灾害而造福社会。

The funding award supports the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) Office for Management of Physical Samples at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, from October 2013 to September 2016. The functions of the office include managing the curation and long-term storage of the SAFOD physical samples at the IODP Gulf Coast Repository (GCR) of Texas A&M University, cutting and distributing sub-samples awarded to scientists, maintaining a digital archive of sampling history and publications resulting from study of the physical samples, working to increase the diversity of researchers participating in sample characterizations, and fostering integration of SAFOD results with those of the broader scientific community studying earthquake mechanics. The management office works with three committees charged with reviewing policies and maintaining effective operations necessary to meet commitments to the Principal Investigator (PI) user community, specifically the SAFOD Advisory Committee (SAC), the SAFOD Core Sample Working Group (CoSWoG), and the SAFOD Sample Committee (SSC). The primary objectives of the management office are to preserve the SAFOD samples in cold storage lockers and to facilitate continuing use of the samples for independent PI-driven geoscience research. As part of the management office activities, a Web-based mapping and sample request tool, the Core Viewer, is maintained and updated annually for communicating sample request and sample award information to the scientific community. This is the primary tool for recording, reviewing, and executing sample distributions to scientists.The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) is one of the major research facilities of EarthScope and provides for the study and direct monitoring of the physical and chemical processes that control fault creep and earthquake rupture in an active plate-boundary fault zone. The most significant achievements of SAFOD to date are the successful scientific drilling across the San Andreas Fault at ~3 km depth, initiating an in situ geological and geophysical characterization of the fault zone, and the successful collection of valuable core and other physical samples from across the active components of the fault. The samples form the basis of ongoing laboratory investigations using a variety of technologies and approaches to address fundamental questions of earthquake mechanics. These studies are transforming our understanding of faulting processes and ultimately will advance modeling and monitoring of seismogenic faults, and earthquake hazard mitigation.The physical sample collection of SAFOD is truly exceptional and of great scientific value. The collection is the direct result of over 15 years of careful planning and completion of a multi-phase, complex drilling project. The samples provide a window to the active processes operating in a major active plate-boundary fault at seismogenic depths. The data and interpretations that result from the scientific analysis of these unique samples establish an important baseline for comparison with other drilled fault zones and with geological observations of exhumed faults. Because of their unique characteristics, the SAFOD samples are in high demand by researchers worldwide; no other active seismogenic fault zone drilling program is set up to provide samples to a large number of researchers for continued scientific discovery. In addition to sample curation and distribution, the SAFOD sample facility provides valuable materials for education and outreach, and promotes the sharing of scientific data internationally. Efficient and thoughtful management of this resource is facilitiating scientific investigations. The research projects from this project ultimately will benefit society through improved earthquake hazard mitigation.