Year: 2014

RV Marcus Langseth user community:

The National Academies are conducting a Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences to develop a list of the top ocean science priorities for the next decade in the context of the current state of knowledge, ongoing research activities, and resource availability. The DSOS committee’s report will present a compelling research strategy for increased understanding of the oceans over the decade 2015-2025.

The report generated from this study will provide key input to NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences and likely define the the allocation of experiment and facility funding from within OCE for the next decade.

The RV Marcus Langseth is partly funded through the Division of Ocean Sciences and the results of this report will greatly impact the future growth in capability and availability of 2D and 3D seismic data available to researchers. The oceans present a huge ‘blank spot’ to our current collective available geophysics data that will need to be instrumented to further our understanding of Earth’s geophysical processes.

Please take some time to review existing comments and submit your own comments on the need for increased geophysics measurement capability in the oceans.

Existing comments can be reviewed at: http://nas-sites.org/dsos2015/comment-forum/

Comments may be submitted at: http://nas-sites.org/dsos2015/

The deadline for comments is March 15!

Dale S. Sawyer
Chair of Marcus Langseth Science Oversight Committee
UNOLS
dale@rice.edu
713-348-5106 (o)

Ocean Bottom Seismometer user community:

The National Academies are conducting a Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences to develop a list of the top ocean science priorities for the next decade in the context of the current state of knowledge, ongoing research activities, and resource availability. The DSOS committee’s report will present a compelling research strategy for increased understanding of the oceans over the decade 2015-2025.

The report generated from this study will provide key input to NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences and likely define the the allocation of experiment and facility funding from within OCE for the next decade.

The Ocean Bottom Seismograph Instrument Pool is funded through the Division of Ocean Sciences and the results of this report will greatly impact the future growth in capability and availability of Ocean Bottom Seismometers available to researchers.  The oceans present a huge ‘blank spot’ to our current collective available geophysics data that will need to be instrumented to further our understanding of Earth’s geophysical processes.

Please take some time to review existing comments and submit your own comments on the need for increased geophysics measurement capability in the oceans.

Existing comments can be reviewed at: http://nas-sites.org/dsos2015/comment-forum/

comments may be submitted at: http://nas-sites.org/dsos2015/

The deadline for comments is March 15!

Brent Evers
Project Manager
OBSIP Management Office
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
202-682-2220 x156
brent.evers@iris.edu

Message from the OBSIP Management Office:

The OBSIP Management Office (OMO) has restricted access to the Cascadia Initiative dataset (network ID 7D) at the IRIS Data Management Center (DMC) in order to resolve a channel naming error that results in a large number of stations having an incorrect relative orientation.  The channel-naming errors affected LDEO OBS data in Year 1 and Year 2 and the SIO OBS data for Year 2.  As a result of this change, OBSIP will make all of the Cascadia Initiative data consistent in relative orientation.

Specific details of the issue will be made available shortly on the OBSIP website Cascadia experiment page:

http://www.obsip.org/experiments/experiment-list/2011/cascadia

The OMO is working with OBSIP instrument centers to resolve the issue as expeditiously as possible.  When the corrected data are again available for open distribution from the DMC, the OMO will notify the community.

For researchers still wishing to use the Cascadia data with known channel naming issues, or for any other questions relating to this issue, please contact Jessica Lodewyk (jessica.lodewyk@iris.edu) at the OBSIP Management Office to receive access.

For general OBSIP notices, instrument information, and OBS technical discussion, please consider subscribing to the OBSIPtec mailing list:

http://www.iris.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/obsiptec

Brent Evers
Project Manager
OBSIP Management Office
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
202-682-2220 x156
brent.evers@iris.edu

Call for Participation GeoPRISMS ENAM Community Seismic Experiment
Application Deadline March 1, 2014 – APPLY NOW

The deadline to apply for the Explosion Seismic Shoot, Active-Source Seismic Cruise, Active-Source OBS Deployment Cruise, and Broadband OBS Recovery Cruise for the the GeoPRISMS Eastern North America Community Seismic Experiment (ENAM CSE) is March 1, 2014. More information about the objectives and design of the ENAM CSE can be found online (/enam/community-seismic-experiment.html). The tentative operational schedule and participation numbers are:

*Explosion seismic shoot and onshore/offshore recording (survey, deploy, recover Reftek instruments)
Early September – Early October 2014
PIs: Beatrice Magnani, Dan Lizarralde, Steven Harder
Science Party: 14

*Active-source seismic cruise (Langseth)
PIs: Donna Shillington, Matt Hornbach, Anne Becel
September 15 – October 22, 2014
Science party: up to 12

*Active-source OBS deployment (Endeavor)
September 12 – October 13, 2014
PIs: Harm Van Avendonk, Brandon Dugan
Science Party: 12

*Broadband OBS recovery (ship TBD)
Spring 2015
PIs: Jim Gaherty, Maggie Benoit, Maureen Long
Science Party: up to 12

To apply to participate, please assemble an application package (2-page CV and 2-page statement of interest and experience including identification of potential involvement in post-experiment science or potential use of data) and submit it electronically to Brandon Dugan (dugan@rice.edu) no later than March 1, 2014. Applications by undergraduate and graduate students require a letter of support from the advisor.

The next IRIS Webinar highlights “Imaging the African Superplume Using AfricaArray Data: Is the Superplume a Whole-Mantle Structure?” at 2 pm EST (7 pm UTC) on Wednesday, 2/12.

Register to attend: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/617775338

You will be emailed a confirmation containing a link for accessing the webinar. The presentation and subsequent interactions between the speaker, host, and audience are recorded and made available within a few days. Access to the webinar archive, along with related materials and more information on the series is found here: http://www.iris.edu/hq/webinar/

Presenter: Professor Andy Nyblade, Pennsylvania State University

Abstract: The African superplume is arguably one of the largest features in Earth’s lower mantle and whether or not it extends into the upper mantle beneath eastern Africa, giving rise to the Cenozoic rifting, volcanism and plateau uplift found there, has long been debated. New seismic images of mantle structure obtained from modeling AfricaArray data indicate that the superplume is indeed a whole-mantle structure. The images come from body and surface wave tomography, receiver function stacks illuminating topography on the 410 and 660 km discontinuities, and shear wave splitting. The seismic images are consistent with a thermal anomaly of a few hundred degrees spanning the mid-mantle connecting anomalous lower mantle structure under southern Africa with anomalous upper mantle structure under eastern Africa.

Please direct any related inquiries or amusing memes to Andy Frassetto (andyf@iris.edu).

System Requirements
PC-based attendees: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Mac®-based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer
Mobile attendees: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

Dear ExTerra friends,

The finalized ExTerra white paper is available on the newly updated ExTerra website! Check it out at http://www.geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com/scd/exterra.html . The white paper is the product of the labor of many people over many years, with an especially intensive effort this fall. Thanks to all who contributed! Thanks also to Anaïs Ferot and the GeoPRISMS office for revamping our website. Thanks, finally, to NSF Petrology and Geochemistry for their support of the ExTerra workshop at Goldschmidt this past August, which helped define the science questions in the white paper and gave us the push needed to refine our ideas about future field institutes. We are running a small pilot field institute in the Santa Lucia Mountains in California this coming summer and are planning a field institute in the Alps in summer 2015, so stay tuned!

Best wishes,

Sarah Penniston-Dorland and Maureen Feineman

Question? Contact the GeoPRISMS Office at info@geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com
www.geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com