CAREER: Career Development in Structural Seismology of Earth's Interior

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

CAREER Garnero 0135119 This proposal describes a long-term research directive for studying Earth's deep interior and related activities in science education in seismology and geophysics. An undergraduate and graduate course in seismology will be developed in Arizona State University's Department of Geological Sciences, a department that has experienced recent expansion in geophysics/seismology. Many topics in seismology are beyond the scope of an undergraduate course that uses traditional lecturing approaches. The new courses will utilize more three dimensional visualizations using computer imaging and animation, along with more interactive learning methods and analogies. Both the undergraduate and graduate course will utilize already in-house research tools to study aspects of seismic data from recent and past relevant earthquakes. Emphasis on individual student and group discovery will be emphasized in both classes. Research activities for the proposed period focus on seismic studies of Earth's interior, with emphasis on the deep mantle. Three main areas of focus are: (1) determination of seismic heterogeneity, which is used to infer thermal and/or chemical heterogeneity; (2) detection and characterization of seismic wave speed anisotropy, which is related to rheology, dynamics, and flow in the mantle; and (3) detection and mapping of boundary layers and/or discontinuities in seismic properties, which may relate to chemical or phase boundaries in the Earth. The proposed work utilizes travel time and waveform analyses of relevant seismic waves and tomographic analyses, and will utilize two state of the art computer labs in the department, which are both outfitted with modern PC and UNIX computers. Research efforts characterizing heterogeneity, anisotropy, and boundary layering will include 2- and 3-D travel time and waveform analysis and propagation tools, an important next step in deep Earth seismology. --