Collaborative research: seismic experiment for eastern aleutian subduction tremor and earthquake research

The National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences awarded Michigan State University $187,925 on January 1, 2027, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to conduct collaborative research on seismic phenomena in the Eastern Aleutian Subduction Zone. The award, classified as a Project Grant, runs through December 31, 2030, with place of performance in East Lansing, Michigan.

The project will deploy broadband ocean bottom seismographs in the Eastern Aleutian Subduction Zone to augment permanent land stations and study the region extending from the volcanic arc to seaward of the trench. Research activities will produce a high-precision earthquake catalog, a tectonic tremor catalog, a high-resolution regional seismic velocity model, and constraints on plate interface depth. These data will improve earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment in Alaska and test the hypothesis that variability associated with the contrast between overriding continental and oceanic plate composition drives along-strike variability in megathrust earthquake rupture, background seismicity, plate coupling, and tectonic tremor. The principal investigators will partner with museums in Alaska and Hawaiʻi to design and implement education and outreach programs focusing on earthquake and tsunami hazards at subduction zones. No subawards are planned for this award. The project is jointly funded by the Marine Geology and Geophysics Program and the Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth Program within NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

Abstract

The eastern aleutian subduction zone is a region that produces significant earthquakes and tsunamis with impacts both locally and throughout the pacific ocean. This project will use data from ocean bottom and land instruments to study a region extending from the volcanic ARC to seaward of the trench in the eastern aleutians. The scientific results will be used to improve earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment in alaska. The principal investigators will partner with museums in alaska and hawai?i to design and implement education and outreach programs focusing on earthquake and tsunami hazards at subduction zones. This study will deploy broadband ocean bottom seismographs in the eastern aleutian subduction zone. The new deployment will augment permanent land stations in a region where the overriding plate transitions from continental to oceanic crust. The project will produce a high-precision earthquake catalog, a tectonic tremor catalog, a high-resolution regional seismic velocity model, and constraints on plate interface depth. The results will be used to test the hypothesis that variability associated with the contrast between an overriding continental and oceanic plate is the primary driver of along-strike variability in megathrust earthquake rupture, background seismicity, plate coupling, and tectonic tremor in the eastern aleutians. This project is jointly funded by the marine geology and geophysics program and the structure and physics of the solid earth program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.