Paleo-seismic Record of the Northern End of the Cascadia Subduction Zone

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The greatest uncertainties in the Earthquake Hazard Model for Canada's west coast are the frequency and size of megathrust earthquakes and associated tsunamis which have the potential to affect millions of Canadians. This research cruise will advance our knowledge of the unknown earthquake history, known as the "paleo-seismic history", of the northern part of the Cascadia subduction zone which is responsible for giant earthquakes and tsunamis which occurred in the geologic past. Piston cores and freeze cores of marine sediments all along the BC coast will be raised from the seafloor and analyzed to accurately identify and date "seismites" which are ocean floor sediments which have been disturbed by earthquakes. In 2011, with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Province of BC, the research team acquired new state of the art marine sediment core analytical equipment called a Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL), which is the international standard of analytical equipment used for marine sedimentology research. This equipment enhances our capability to identify "seismites" along the BC coast from marine sediment cores.