Branches of EarthScope

1) Plate Boundary Observatories

GPS Station (EarthScope)

The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) is a network of stationary GPS equipment, and a number of strain meters. While some of the required research equipment already exists across the country, the NSF project will greatly increase the number of stations in the western United States, with a clustering of equipment at key points to address data needs and will improve the ability to more accurately analyze the geo-dynamics of the North American Plate. A consortium of universities is working with the U.S. Geological Survey, and others to place equipment and to record data. The data will be made available to all researchers to facilitate our understanding of plate tectonics.

For more information please visit the official EarthScope site.

2) USArray

USArray Station (EarthScope)

The USArray portion of the project involves the placement of highly sensitive seismic monitors in a grid across 49 states. It is also known by the name “Bigfoot”, which reflects the fact that it will be done in stages that “march across the country” placing a grid of an additional 2000 temporary seismic stations across the U.S. The final grid will have data from almost every county of 49 states, with a clustering of equipment at key points.

For more information please visit the official EarthScope site.

3) SAFOD

SAFOD drill rig (EarthScope)

San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) is the portion of the project that collects data from a 4km deep core drilled into a single section of the San Andreas Fault.
The bore hole will travel through seismic clouds in which observation equipment can be placed to better understand the dynamics of this fault and gain information that may be applied to the understanding of earthquakes in general.

For more information please visit the official EarthScope site.