MRI-R2: Development of the New Generation of Long-Period Seafloor MT Instrumentation

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This award provides funds to build 20 new seafloor magneto telluric (MT) instruments using fluxgate magnetometer technology. The instruments will be designed and built for deployment offshore Cascadia as part of the proposed onshore-offshore seismic effort. Land-based MT data already exist through the Earthscope program, and PI Evans is funded to collect a more detailed MT profile in Washington State, coincident with a large seismic experiment. The instruments will reside at WHOI but their use will eventually be open to the community. Broader Impacts: This project will involve persons with disabilities by collaborating with CapeAbilities, a non-profit organization on Cape Cod, to have its clients assist in the manufacture of the sensor electrodes. Additionally, the research enabled by these instruments will have direct societal relevance in that the seismogenic zone of Cascadia represents a significant geologic hazard in a highly populated region of North America. The proponents also express a strong desire to entrain new students into the MT field, which has been criticized as lagging behind other countries.