The major objectives of the SCIGN array are:
To provide regional coverage for estimating earthquake potential throughout Southern California
To identify active blind thrust faults and test models of compressional tectonics in the Los Angeles region
To measure local variations in strain rate that might reveal the mechanical properties of earthquake faults
In the event of an earthquake, to measure permanent crustal deformation not detectable by seismographs, as well as the response of major faults to the regional change in strain