Unlocking plate motions of the Cascadia subduction zone with seafloor geodesy
Seeking understanding of the fundamental constraints on plate motions, rates of convergence, and shallow strain accumulation across one of the United States’ most hazardous fault zones.
USGS scientists from the Earthquake Hazards and Coastal Marine Hazards and Resources Programs have joined forces with academic colleagues (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Washington, University of Hawai‘i/University of Stuttgart) in a pioneering effort to instrument the seafloor in the Pacific Northwest. The goal is to understand where and how much strain is accumulating along shallow portions of the Cascadia subduction zone that have produced large earthquakes and tsunamis in the past. From March 12-17, two new seafloor geodetic sites, each consisting of three seafloor benchmarks, will be placed on the seafloor to measure small (centimeter-scale) tectonic plate motions at each site. The benchmarks will be deployed from R/V Sikuliaq. Plans are underway to retrieve data from these sites in summer 2021 using the USGS waveglider. Over the next decade, repeat measurements at these and other seafloor geodetic sites in Cascadia will provide fundamental constraints on plate motions, rates of convergence, and shallow strain accumulation across one of the United States’ most hazardous fault zones.
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Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards
2019 Seafloor Geodesy cruise
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Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards
Societal Issue: Uncertainty related to rupture extent, slip distribution, and recurrence of past subduction megathrust earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest (northern CA, OR, WA, and southern BC) leads to ambiguity in earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments and hinders our ability to prepare for future events.ByNatural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 3-D CT Core Imaging Laboratory, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization, Subduction Zone Science2019 Seafloor Geodesy cruise
Performed maintenance on and retrieved data from seafloor geodetic instrument arrays offshore of Oregon and northern California in 2019, a USGS-Scripps-University of Washington-University of Hawaii partnership
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