Review of EarthScope Integrated Science (2001) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 9-20
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 9... ...
"The goal of the solid-earth sciences is: to understand the past, present, and future behavior of the whole earth system. From the environments where life evolves on the surface to the interaction between the crust and its fluid envelopes (atmosphere and hydrosphere)
|
From page 10... ...
These basins contain faults that cross rail and road systems, and lie beneath many of our major cities that were settled near river mouths—their soft sediments are subject to liquefaction in earthquakes. "The world is rapidly changing; revolutionary technological advances, demographic growth, competing demands for resources, and increased awareness of the interconnectedness and global scale of many natural science issues are shaping tomorrow's science needs.
|
From page 11... ...
Plates move apart at ridges in the middle of oceans, they slide past each other along fault zones such as the San Andreas Fault of California, and they converge in regions such as the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where one plate descends beneath another. Nearly all earthquakes and volcanoes (with important exceptions such as Hawaii)
|
From page 12... ...
"EarthScope is a bold undertaking to apply modern observational, analytical and telecommunications technologies to investigate the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the physical processes controlling earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. EarthScope will provide a foundation for fundamental and applied research throughout the United States that will contribute to the mitigation of risks from geological hazards, the development of natural resources, and the public's understanding of the dynamic Earth.6" The goals of EarthScope include: to produce the first highresolution synoptic views of the crust and mantle beneath the United States to generate the first comprehensive maps of crustal deformation 4 NRC, 1993.
|
From page 13... ...
By studying the recorded waveforms of hundreds of local, regional and global earthquakes, and large explosions from mines and quarries, scientists will be able to identify and map subtle differences in the velocity and amplitude of seismic energy traveling through Earth. These observations will result in a vastly improved ability to resolve geological structures throughout the entire crust and upper mantle and into Earth's deepest interior.
|
From page 14... ...
SAFOD is a 4-km-deep observatory drilled directly into the San Andreas fault zone near the nucleation point of the 1966 magnitude 6 Parkfield earthquake. The project will reveal the physical and chemical processes acting deep within a seismically active fault.
|
From page 15... ...
Schematic showing the planned SAFOD drilihole through the San Andreas fault zone near Parkfield, CA. In addition to providing rock and fluid samples, geophysical instrumentation emplaced deep in the drilihole will improve understanding of the nature of fault movement and earthquake activity by creating a long-term fault observatory (from EarthScope Working Group, 2001; EarthScope A New View into Earth)
|
From page 16... ...
These data will elucidate the poorly understood processes that precede earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and could provide a firm basis for their prediction. The broad geographic coverage will permit quantitative understanding of tantalizing connections observed between activity in different regions.
|
From page 18... ...
In addition, the committee heard presentations and had discussions with other members of the solid-earth sciences community, with other interested scientists, and with NSF staff. Although a final EarthScope scientific planning statement was not available at the time of the committee meeting, it was clear from presentations to the committee and from the extensive background scientific planning elements included within individual component white papers that scientific planning is well advanced, and accordingly the committee believed that it was able to assess the project and make recommendations.
|
From page 19... ...
The latest plans indicate that operations and science support costs for the InSAR component within an integrated EarthScope would require the contribution of $150 million by NASA together with $100 million by NSF. After NSF integrated the individual components into the EarthScope initiative in 1999, an EarthScope Working Group was established to assume responsibility for organizing the community planning workshops that have refined the integrated science objectives and produced a draft Project Plan.0 This project plan indicates that the total cost to the NSF Major Research Equipment (MRE)
|
From page 20... ...
a San Andreas Scientific Drilling Project, 2001. Testing Fundamental Theories of Earthquake Mechanics: The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.