An Earth science program to

explore the 4D structure of the

North American continent

EarthScopeProgram Director

(NSF)

EarthScopeScience and EducationAdvisory

Committee(ESEC)

EarthScope Facility Executive Committee(EFEC)

USArray(IRIS)

PBO(UNAVCO)

SAFOD(Stanford)

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

EarthScope Facility Director

EarthScope R&RA

EarthScope as an NSF/EARScience Program

• Goal– Fundamental

advances in geoscience

• Science driven• Research

based• Peer reviewed

• Product– Scientific results

• Management Plan– NSF open program announcement

• Individual research grants• Collaborative research grants

– Focused research • External research direction• Integrative research centers

– Strong partnerships• USGS, NASA, DOE• State surveys• International

Science GoalsExplore the Structure and Dynamics of the North

American Continent

• Structure and evolution of the continent and deep Earth• Earthquake processes and seismic hazards• Magmatic processes and volcanic hazards• Active deformation and tectonics• Continental geodynamics• Fluids in the crust• Exploration and discovery

Requires an Interdisciplinary Approach

First Solicitation• 151 proposals requesting a

total of $ 45,153,488

• 72 projects reviewed by panel– E&O - 15

– PBO - 14

– Research - 16

– SAFOD - 11

– USArray - 16

• 9 workshops proposed

• 19 projects funded– E&O - 2

– PBO - 3

– Research - 4

– SAFOD - 6

– USArray - 4

• 6 workshops supported

• ~ $ 3.4 million awarded

Examples of Projects• E & O

– Earth Live! - The EarthScope Video– Map Tools for EarthScope Science and Education

• PBO– Optimal Network Geometry for PBO– Understanding Volcanic Sources Through Improved Inversion of Deformation and Gravity Data

• Research– Seismic Characterization of Core Structure of the SAF using Fault Zone Guided Waves– The Cenozoic History of the Western US - a Data Integration Strategy for EarthScope

• SAFOD– SAFOD: Mineral Transformations and Patterns– Seismic Tomography and Location Calibration Around the SAFOD site

• USArray– Towards Characterizing Depth and Lateral Variations of Anisotropy Across the NA Continent– Receiver Reference Models: A Prototype for Automated Production of Data Products

Scientific Questions• Balanced, timely, “complete” characterization of the

SAFOD volume, including earthquake locations• Capturing slow earthquakes• Magmatic system eruption characterization (predictive)• NRT 4D transform fault plate boundary behavior • Development of integrated data analyses• Identification/development of new scientific products• Identification/development of new science education

tools/modules• Maximizing PBO and USArray geometry• Planning FlexArray and campaign GPS deployments

Education and Outreach• The EarthScope Program and the PI-based educational network require

high degree of coordination• Maintain the excitement, enthusiasm, and participation of the

educational network community• Insure that the “integrative link” education and outreach oversight duties

of ESEC (now a FACA) are not lost• Work with all parties to develop a community driven EarthScope E & O

Program• Seek appropriate resources to fully develop EarthScope E & O• Support an EarthScope Education Coordinator in the EarthScope Office

to coordinate E & O across the program

EarthScope as an NSF/EAR Facility• Goal

– Data in support of EAR science goals• Science directed• Community driven• Open access

• Product– Data

• Science-appropriate • Cutting edge

technology• Free and open access• Quality control

• Management Plan– Oversight and governance

• Coordination and balance– Equipment Acquisition

• Specification • Procurement • Inventory and control

– Operations• Operation and

maintenance• Data management• Technology R&D

– Partnerships

NSF Awards $219 Million Over Five Years for EarthScope Project: Far-reaching geoscience effort to understand the North

American continent

October 15, 2003

USArray US Seismic Array a continental scale seismic array to provide a coherent 3-D image of the lithosphere

and deeper Earth

SAFOD San Andreas Fault Observatory at Deptha borehole observatory across the San Andreas Fault to directly measure the

physical conditions under which earthquakes occur

PBO Plate Boundary Observatorya fixed array of strainmeters and GPS receivers to measure real-time deformation

on a plate boundary scale---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E&O Education and Outreach an educational and outreach program to bring the excitement of the exploration

of our continent to the classroom and the public

InSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar images of tectonically active regions providing spatially continuous strain

measurements over wide geographic areas.

Facility Components

View within NSF• Largest undertaking in NSF-EAR

• 1st MREFC project for Earth Science

• Only NSF-requested MREFC funded in 4 yrs

• Full partnership w/USGS

• Distributed facility

Test-case for the management and execution of NSF-funded large science projects

EarthScope Data

All data from the permanent components of EarthScope will be available without restriction and in real time

This includes data from:– PBO backbone network and clusters - GPS and strain– ANSS (USArray permanent) and Bigfoot– SAFOD Observatory instruments

All data collected with EarthScope instruments, along with full metadata, will be archived and available through a unified EarthScope Data Portal

EarthScope is underwaySo far:• Management structure developed & reviewed• Project Execution Plan (PEP) developed & reviewed• EarthScope Facility Director and some staff hired• Within 5% of its schedule and milestones• Within 1% of its budget• Drill bit is turning, GPS & seismic data available• $3,400,000+ in proposals have been funded• New RFP is out w/ $4,000,000 available• E&O Proposal in process of submission

Activities• San Simeon Earthquake Response• SAFOD Characterization Studies• Array Operations Facility Approved• EarthScope Facility office established

EarthScope Data Availability• 10 EarthScope stations are operational and are recording

data– 4 ANSS stations in: Wyoming (1), Nevada (1), Texas (1), Alaska

(1)– 6 GPS stations in: Colorado (1) and in response to San Simeon

Earthquake (5)

• Data flow and data availability– ANSS seismic data: via telemetry in real-time to IRIS DMC,

available to public starting in May– GPS data: via satellite, manual download, and cellular telephone

modem (end of April) to PBO, available now

EarthScope Facility Phases

“The expected operational lifespan of this project is 15 years after construction is complete in FY 2007.”

–National Science Foundation Budget Request FY 2005

EarthScope