Monitoring Soil Movement at Golden Gate National Recreational Area, California

I propose to set up a PASSCAL seismic array along a downslope portion of a well-characterized hill slope in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, California in order to detect Earth [sub]surface processes (e.g. soil creep, bioturbation) continuously over a period of 6 weeks (April – May 2019) to better understand soil and biotic processes via real time monitoring through seismic signals. Sediment production and transport are highly nonlinear and stochastic processes that are challenging to model or predict; utilizing seismometers to track these processes with modern techniques that take advantage of the ambient ‘noise’ they record will provide a better understanding of these processes and the forces that drive them, potentially opening up a new avenue of interdisciplinary research that bridges geomorphology and biology through the use of geophysical techniques.