IRES: Geoscience REsearch At the Cordillera Talamanca (GREAT)

在科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡（GREAT）项目的地球科学研究将使用各种各样的地球科学方法来调查的起源，目前的状态，和潜在的危害的科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡（CT）在南部哥斯达黎加。这个地区在中美洲是独一无二的，因为它缺乏活火山活动，它的极端（和地质上最近）高海拔，以及它的历史上异常分布的大地震。该项目将利用哥斯达黎加大学的资源：地质学院和土木工程研究中心（LanammeUCR），以及哥斯达黎加国家电力公司（ICE）的研究设施。在三年的时间里，18名本科生将参与该项目。他们将收集有关地震波传播、重力场强度和地球表面形状的新数据。他们将把新的观测结果与现有数据合并成一个统一的知识库，以增加对该地区的了解。他们将分析组合数据集，以回答有关该地区的具体问题，如“为什么科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡如此之高？现在的内部变形区在哪里？“、“什么因素控制边坡稳定性？“，并使用新获得的知识，以评估滑坡灾害沿着泛美公路在CT。将GREAT项目整合到全校范围的Aresty研究助理计划中，将提高罗格斯大学地球科学的知名度，使历史上代表性不足的群体更有可能参与。对该计划成果的评估将有助于制定未来旨在扩大美国多元化学生群体参与自然科学研究的努力。项目期间形成的国际合作将在美国一所大型公立大学（罗格斯大学）和中美洲最重要的研究和教育机构（哥斯达黎加大学）之间建立机构联系。 技术摘要地球科学研究在科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡（大）研究和教育项目将追求三个不同的研究途径.我们将通过重力和地震相结合的方法研究科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡地区的内部结构。对密度分布的改进约束将来自a）更好的重力数据;和B）对地壳几何和化学的额外约束的整合。这些限制将推断从地震结构的科迪勒拉塔拉曼卡的基础上结合的方法，使用体波从本地和远程地震。我们将利用地震波接收函数（RF）分析来探测地壳和上地幔的结构，并将利用大量的本地和区域地震，利用地震折射和广角反射等地球物理勘探技术来限制地震波速度的绝对值。 2.我们将利用现有和新部署的地震观测站的区域地震数据研究该地区目前的变形情况。 我们将通过以下方式改进区域地震活动的定位：a）包括更多的数据，B）使用更先进的工具，如双差定位，以及c）使用更好的地球地震速度模型。 3.我们将利用遥感数据和直接地质观测，调查塔拉曼卡山脉内泛美公路的潜在滑坡灾害。我们将使用无人机和陆基激光雷达来建立高度详细的数字高程模型，并将其与微重力调查以及地质和地震活动的背景信息相结合，以开发滑坡潜力的案例研究。在项目的3年中，每年将有6名本科生在哥斯达黎加度过6周，与该国研究机构的导师一起工作。学生将收集新的数据，并在哥斯达黎加执行基本的数据处理和分析任务，并将在随后的学年中开发个性化的研究项目，届时他们将参加大学范围内的Aresty研究助理计划。

Non-technical abstractThe Geoscience REsearch At the Cordillera Talamanca (GREAT) project will use a diverse array of geoscience methods to investigate the origins, the current state, and the hazard potential of the Cordillera Talamanca (CT) in southern Costa Rica. This region is unique in Central America because of its lack of active volcanism, its extreme (and geologically recent) high elevations, and its history of unusually distributed large earthquakes. The project will use resources of the University of Costa Rica: The School of Geology and the civil engineering research center (Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales, LanammeUCR,), and also the research facilities of the national power company of Costa Rica (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, ICE).Over the course of three years, 18 undergraduate students will participate in the project. They will collect new data on seismic wave propagation, gravity field strength, and the shape of the Earth's surface. They will merge new observations with existing data into a unified knowledge base to increase understanding of the region. They will analyze combined data sets to answer specific questions about this region, such as "Why are Cordillera Talamanca so high?", "Where are zones of present internal deformation?", and "What factors control slope stability?", and use newly gained knowledge to assess landslide hazards along the Pan-American highway in the CT. Integration of the GREAT project into the university-wide Aresty Research Assistant program will raise the visibility of Earth Sciences at Rutgers, making participation of historically underrepresented groups more likely. Assessment of the program's outcomes will be helpful in devising future efforts aimed at expanding participation of US diverse student population in natural science research. The international collaborations forged during the project will establish institutional links between a large US public university (Rutgers) and the premier research and educational institution in Central America (University of Costa Rica). Technical abstractThe Geoscience REsearch At the Cordillera Talamanca (GREAT) research and education project will pursue three distinct research avenues.1. We will study the interior structure of the Cordillera Talamanca region through a combination of gravity and seismic methods. Improved constraints on the distribution of density will come from a) better gravity data; and b) the integration of additional constraints on the geometry and chemistry of Earth's crust. These constraints will be inferred from the seismic structure of the Cordillera Talamanca based on a combination of methods using body waves from local and distant earthquakes. We will use teleseismic receiver function (RF) analysis to probe the structure of the crust and the upper mantle, and will take advantage of numerous local and regional earthquakes to constrain absolute values of seismic wave speed with textbook geophysical exploration techniques such as seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection. 2. We will study the present-day deformation within the region using regional earthquake data from existing and newly deployed seismic observatories. We will work to improve the location of regional seismicity by a) including additional data, b) using more advanced tools such as double-difference location, and c) using better models of seismic velocity in the Earth. 3. We will investigate the landslide hazard potential for the Pan-American Highway within Cordillera Talamanca using remote sensing data and direct geological observations. We will use unmanned drones and land-based LiDAR to build highly detailed digital elevation models, and will combine them with microgravity surveys and background information on geology and seismic activity to develop case studies of landslide potential.During each of 3 years of the project a six-person cohort of undergraduate students will spend 6 weeks in Costa Rica, working with mentors from research institutions in the country. Students will collect new data and perform basic data processing and analysis tasks while in Costa Rica, and will develop individualized research projects over the course of subsequent academic year, when they will be enrolled in a university-wide Aresty Research Assistantship program.