SCEC Award Number 12114 View PDF
Proposal Category Workshop Proposal
Proposal Title Community Stress Model (CSM) Workshop
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Jeanne Hardebeck United States Geological Survey Thorsten Becker University of Southern California Bruce Shaw Columbia University John Shaw Harvard University Brad Aagaard United States Geological Survey
Other Participants Potential participants listed in proposal.
SCEC Priorities 2d, 1b, 4d SCEC Groups SDOT, FARM, EFP
Report Due Date 11/15/2012 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
At the second Community Stress Model (CSM) workshop, held October 15-16, 2012 at USC, we compared the stress models contributed by the SCEC community, and held focused discussions on topics including: reconciling models, validating models with data, quantifying uncertainty in models, including stochastic stress heterogeneity in models, interaction with user communities, and IT needs. The workshop began with formal presentations of the submitted models and model comparisons, but the majority of time was focused on discussion of important issues. We identified short-terms needs for the next year of CSM development, and solicited SCEC proposals for 2013 to address those needs.
Intellectual Merit Crustal stress is a fundamental quantity that is relevant to many aspects of the earthquake problem. SCEC4 has committed to the development of the Community Stress Model (CSM) to provide the SCEC community with better constraints on the stress field, and with a means to formally test physical connections between observations and stress models. The intended CSM end-product, a model or suite of models for the 4D stress tensor in the California lithosphere, will be useful for numerous SCEC core science issues. These include a better understanding of how faults are loaded, redistribute strain as a result of earthquakes, and evolve over time. There is a range of potential uses for the CSM, including seismic hazard estimates, crustal seismicity studies, dynamic earthquake rupture models and earthquake simulators. Moreover, even the discussions of the issues involved in the construction of a CSM (such as the completeness of physical models, noise, and uncertainties) are expected to lead to scientific progress.
Broader Impacts The CSM workshop had approximately 50% female participants, as well as the participation of two graduate students and two post-doc. The CSM collaborative project in general is enhancing partnerships across institutions and disciplines, and is working to develop infrastructure for research and education in the form of an accessible community model of stress in the southern California lithosphere.
Exemplary Figure Figure 1. Left: Maximum horizontal compressive stress axis (SHmax) for an average stress model generated by averaging the normalized stress tensors of the models of Bird; Luttrell, Smith-Konter and Sandwell; and Yang and Hauksson. Right: the RMS difference of the SHmax orientation of the three models relative to the mean. (Credit: Jeanne Hardebeck.)