Multimedia Gallery
Earthscope (Image 3)
A global positioning system (GPS) station located at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, near Chinle, Ariz. The station, along with over 100 others spaced across the western United States and Alaska, is being used to determine the boundary between the deforming western part of North America and the stable (non-deforming) continental craton to the east.
This data is being collected as part of EarthScope, a program that deploys thousands of seismic, GPS and other geophysical instruments to study the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the processes the cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. [One of 14 related images. See Next Image.]
More about this Image
In a modern day journey to the center of the Earth, geologists are exploring the structure and evolution of the North American continent at scales from hundreds of kilometers to less than a millimeter--from the structure of a continent to individual faults, earthquakes and volcanoes. The project is called EarthScope. With approximately $200 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), EarthScope began development in 2004, and will continue over a five-year period. It is expected to operate for an additional 15 years.
EarthScope is using multiple technologies to explore the structure and tectonics of North America. For example, a 4-kilometer-deep observatory was drilled directly into the San Andreas Fault to measure the physical conditions under which earthquakes occur there. One of 875 permanent GPS stations has been installed that can measure relative distance changes of less than 0.5 millimeters. EarthScope is one of an eventual network of 400 seismographic stations that will spread across the U.S., making observations at more than 2,000 geographic locations to map the structure and composition of North America. EarthScope also provides unique educational opportunities as a national experiment, with its sensors located at more than 3,000 sites across the country for measuring and observing plate tectonics in real time. For more information, visit the EarthScope website Here.
Credit: Earthscope
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