Organizer:
Ramon Arrowsmith, ASU
Department of Geological Sciences
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-1404
ramon.arrowsmith@asu.edu

To capitalize on the "once per generation opportunity that is EarthScope," and build consensus about how SCEC and its community can be involved as logistical planner and coordinator as well as scientific catalyst with EarthScope, I invite interested SCEC colleagues to participate in a workshop on Geological and Geomorphological Linkages between SCEC and EarthScope Science in Southern California. I have narrowed the spatial and process scale to the crust (esp. brittle portion, i.e., 10s of km and smaller spatial scales) in order to achieve some focus in areas where I (and immediate colleagues) have more expertise and where we find a number of major scientific problems that are not necessarily high priority parts of the SCEC mission or the EarthScope data-gathering effort. We will organize our discussions around ideas for integrated characterizations of targeted areas. This will include 3D characterization of the rock volume in terms of geology, seismic velocity, density, deformation, etc. and we will seek to employ Information Technology tools under development (or make recommendations) by the SCEC ITR and GEON. Areas for pilot studies of this integration include the SAFOD volume at Parkfield, the San Jacinto Fault Zone, and for comparison a rapidly deforming fold and reverse fault zone (such as the San Cayetano Fault Zone). I am open to other suggestions as well.

Possible Workshop Topics

What are the integrating scientific questions for crustal-scale processes and how do they dovetail with the SCEC and EarthScope missions?

How can the tools of Information Technology best aid us in our data collection, manipulation, and inference/modeling scientific workflows? Obvious areas of interest are database population and compilation, database query enhancement, 3D data fusion and visualization, and kinematic and mechanical modeling of crustal deformation and surface process response.

What are the general process results that come from an integrated characterization of fault zone-containing volumes?

The GeoPBO effort includes a major Quaternary geology capability as well as high resolution topographic (LIDAR) and hyperspectral imaging data acquisition, yet little coordination for these efforts exists. With the results of the above discussions, we can provide at a minimum articulation of criteria for data acquisition and possibly identification of target areas where data collection will be most leveraged.

What are geophysical observations that will be most complimentary to these crustal scale studies (within and beyond those planned within EarthScope)?

How can we highlight the important contributions from geologic mapping of active fault zones and other structures?

Workshop Agenda

The workshop will be a two day event with a third day dedicated to a possible optional field trip. The format will start with an introduction to the workshop and definition of goals, followed by updates from SCEC and EarthScope perspectives. The rest of the workshop will include a number of invited and volunteered plenary presentations interspersed with 2 or 3 breakout sessions arranged around the topics identified above. We will follow a standard format of appointed discussion leaders and rapporteurs who will provide brief summaries to the group. In the end, we will identify areas of consensus and action items. A workshop overview and summary of discussions will be written and provided to the SCEC community within 2 months of the workshop.

Location and Date

The workshop will immediately follow the SCEC Annual Meeting September 23 and 24 at the Palm Springs Riviera Resort. The workshop will have a maximum of 50 participants.