USArray – Seismic Reconnaissance in Northwest Canada

Abstract:

This poster describes the results of reconnaissance carried out by the Arctic Institute of North America in summer 2014 in collaboration with USArray and IRIS for deployment of the USArray in northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory, Canada. USArray is a 15-year program to place a dense network of permanent and portable seismographs across the continental United States and parts of Canada. The seismographs record local, regional, and distant (teleseismic) earthquakes. The array records seismic waves that propagate through finer and finer slices of the earth enabling scientists to link structures inherited from earlier stages of continental formation to known and potential geologic hazards (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides) (www.usarray.org). USArray deployment in Canada will complement existing Canadian seismic network(s). This project will be particularly significant in the St. Elias region of southwest Yukon, northwest British Columbia, and southeast Alaska as this one of the most seismically active areas and tectonically complex areas in Canada . The deployment will complement ongoing geological mapping carried out by both Yukon Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada and several universities. This reconnaissance work is part of a growing portfolio of research conducted by the Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary designed to meet needs for information and enable synthesis and transfer of knowledge for problem solving and decision-making in the north.