Plate Boundary Evolution and Physics at an Oceanic Transform Fault System

This study will deploy a dense array of 55 Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBSs) off the coast of Oregon for one year to study the Blanco Transform fault. This deployment of OBSs will also be an important adjunct to the Cascadia Initiative (CI), an ongoing onshore/offshore seismic and geodetic experiment that includes an array of seismometers on the seafloor to complement an array of stations onshore. A primary aim of the Cascadia Initiative is to gain a better understanding seismicity associated with subduction along the Pacific margin of Washington, Oregon and northern California, where the risk of a 'megathrust' earthquake is high.