Collaborative Research: Installation of a Real-Time Seafloor Geodetic and Thermal Observatory on the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

The Principal Investigators will install instrumentation to observe strain build-up and fluid behavior near the up-dip end of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The project will establish a borehole geodetic observatory offshore of Vancouver adjacent to an existing CORK observatory, which will be enhanced with tiltmeters and temperature-monitoring instrumentation. Real-time data will be streamed onshore and made available to the community via the NEPTUNE Canada system. Long-term data analysis goals include capturing and characterizing slow-slip events and/or major earthquakes. The project will enhance scientific infrastructure and produce widely accessible data that will advance understanding of earthquake and tsunami hazards. A graduate student at RSMAS will be supported and at WHOI students and/or post-doctoral researchers will be involved in the cruise and data analysis.