Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) Workshop
October 3-5, 1999; Snowbird, Utah

Sponsored by the NSF Division of Earth Sciences, UNAVCO, IRIS, NASA, USGS, IGPP, and SCEC.

The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) is a proposed facility for investigating active tectonic and magmatic processes of the Pacific/Juan de Fuca - North American plate boundary through measurements of crustal deformation. The study of plate boundary deformation is a research area that deserves increased attention from a broad spectrum of Earth scientists. The chief observational requirement is a characterization of the three-dimensional deformation field over the maximum ranges of spatial and temporal scales. The PBO should be designed to study long-term, regional tectonic processes as well as shorter-term, smaller-scale processes that may be more closely related to natural hazards, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It is proposed that the PBO be coordinated and integrated with the proposed USArray and the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) initiatives as part of the EarthScope initiative being developed at NSF. In addition to advancing our basic scientific knowledge of active tectonic processes, the facility will improve seismic and volcanic hazard assessment and contribute to earth science education and outreach in the U.S.

The PBO Steering Committee invites participation from a broad spectrum of earth scientists in a workshop to help define the PBO concept and plan for its implementation. The workshop will produce a report outlining the scientific basis for the PBO, its instrumentation requirements and deployment strategy. It will describe the ways the facility can advance earth science research and contribute to education and outreach.

The workshop will be limited to 100 participants. Applicants to the workshop are asked to provide a brief statement of interests including how the applicant can contribute to the goals of the workshop. Partial support (air travel, hotel, meals) will be provided by workshop funds. The application deadline is September 1, 1999. Invitations will be mailed to participants by September 10, 1999. You may use the form to apply for an invitation.

PBO Steering Committee: Yehuda Bock, Andrea Donnellan, Don Helmberger, Tom Henyey, Ken Hudnut, Gene Humphreys, Chris Marone, Meghan Miller, Bernard Minster, Barbara Romanowicz, Paul Segall, Paul Silver, Bob Smith, Seth Stein, Wayne Thatcher, George Thompson

PBO Workshop Draft Agenda
(as of Wednesday, September 1, 1999)

Note: Participants are invited to present relevant posters/maps. No formal poster session will be held.

Day 0 - Saturday, October 2, 1999

4:00 pm - Steering Committee Meeting

7:30 pm to 9:30 pm - Icebreaker

Day 1 - Sunday, October 3

7:30 am - Continental Breakfast

Session 1.1: Morning Plenary Session - 8:15 am to 12:15 pm (Presiding - Silver)

8:15 Welcome and PBO Overview Paul Silver
9:00 Regional Tectonics and Crust/Mantle Dynamics Gene Humphreys
9:30 Magmatic Processes Paul Segall

10:00 Break

10:30 Earthquake Physics (and NAS report) Tom Jordan
11:00 Stress, Strain, and Rheology Brad Hager
11:30 NSF/USGS/NASA Presentations Agency Representatives
12:00 Instructions for Breakout Sessions Paul Silver

Lunch - 12:15 pm to 1:30 pm

Session 1.2: Afternoon Breakout Sessions - 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Breakouts should focus on scientific questions/issues and required observations. They should develop a short list of objectives and main goals, major problems to be solved, and the needed coverage, spatial resolution, and bandwidth.

Breakout 1 - Regional Geodynamics/Tectonics Co-chairs Bill Holt/Joann Stock
Breakout 2 - Earthquake Physics Co-chairs Chris Marone/Greg Beroza
Breakout 3 - Magmatic Processes Co-chairs Bob Smith/Tim Dixon
Breakout 4 - Transients versus Secular Strain Co-chairs Al Linde/Ken Hudnut
Breakout 5 - Rheology of Crust and Upper Mantle Co-chairs Steve Kirby/Fred Pollitz

3:30 Break

Session 1.3: Afternoon Plenary Session - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (Presiding - Wernicke)

4:00 Reports from breakout chairs (10 minutes each)
4:50 Discussion (40 minutes) and Instructions for Evening Breakout Sessions

Dinner - 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

7:00 Speaker - Tom Hanks (30 minutes)

Session 1.4: Evening Breakout Sessions - 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Breakout 1 - GPS Instrumentation Chair Yehuda Bock
Breakout 2 - Strainmeter Instrumentation Chair Malcolm Johnston
Breakout 3 - Satellite and Airborne Instrumentation Chair Bernard Minster

Issues for breakouts to consider include: technical advances, instrument capabilities, distinguishing between tectonic and non-tectonic signals, spatial resolution, and necessary bandwidth. Groups should look to future; we must do things better than we are doing now. Results from these breakouts will feed into day 2.

Session 1.5: Evening Plenary Session - 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm (Presiding - Minster)

9:00 Reports from breakout chairs (10 minutes each)
9:30 Discussion (30 minutes)

Day 2 - Monday, October 4

7:30 am - Continental Breakfast

Session 2.1: Morning Plenary Session - 8:00 am to 12:25 pm (Presiding - Stein)

8:00 GPS Surveys (state of the art and a look into the future) Jim Davis/Yehuda Bock
8:45 InSAR Surveys (state of the art and a look into the future) Gilles Peltzer
9:15 Strainmeter Surveys (state of the art, etc) Duncan Agnew and
Selwyn Sacks

9:55 Break

10:15 Japan PBO Kosuke Heki
10:45 Seismicity and Crustal Deformation Tom McEvilly/Max Wyss
11:25 Subsurface Imaging and Crustal Deformation John Vidale
11:55 Deployment Strategies David Jackson
12:25 Instructions for Afternoon Breakout Sessions Paul Silver

12:30 Lunch

Session 2.2: Afternoon Breakout Sessions - 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Breakouts should focus on network design (instrument mix and deployment strategy) vis-à-vis the major unresolved controversies/problems, and how PBO can help resolve these controversies/problems.

Breakout 1 - Regional Geodynamics/Tectonics Wayne Thatcher/Leigh Royden
Breakout 2 - Earthquake Physics Jim Dieterich/Andrea Donnellan
Breakout 3 - Magmatic Processes Susan Owen/Mike Hamburger
Breakout 4 - Transients versus Secular Strain Roland Burgmann/Frank Wyatt
Breakout 5 - Rheology of Crust and Upper Mantle Brad Hager/Louise Kellogg

3:30 Break

Session 2.3: Afternoon Plenary Session - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (Presiding - Miller)

4:00 Reports from breakout leaders (10 minutes each)
4:50 Discussion (40 minutes)

Dinner - 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

7:00 Speakers - Anne Meltzer (USArray) and Bill Ellsworth (SAFOD)

8:00 PBO Steering Committee Meeting

8:30 InSAR Meeting

Day 3-Tuesday, October 5, 1999

7:30 am - Continental Breakfast

Session 3.1: Morning Plenary Session - 8:00 am to 12:00 pm (Presiding - Thatcher)

8:00 Lessons from SCIGN and other crustal deformation arrays Ken Hudnut/Brian Wernicke
8:30 What are the Major Science Gains That PBO Hope to
Achieve: A Summary of Workshop Discussion Meghan Miller
9:00 PBO Deployment Strategy (chairs from previous day's breakouts form a panel and lead discussion)

10:15 Break

10:30 Archiving and Data Management Hadley Johnson
11:00 Education and Outreach Jill Andrews
11:30 Opportunities for Collaboration - National and International David Simpson

12:00 Lunch

Session 3.2: Afternoon Plenary Session - 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (Presiding - Minster)

1:00 Management of PBO Program Tom Henyey
2:15 PBO Budget Paul Silver

End of PBO Workshop

3:30 PBO Steering Committee Meeting

NOTES

• We will need a hard copy of presentation materials; a short write-ups of 1-2 pages with 2-3 figures from each speaker. Deadline of September 10.
• We will need a "white paper" draft before the workshop (see below).

Deadline of September 1.

Writing assignments: EC decided that there will be an introduction, followed by the written topics that take the form of the breakout groups. For each one of these we ask the following: address the most significant unsolved scientific problems and describe the technical requirements for addressing these problems in terms of measuring the three-dimensional deformation field. For surface deformation specify spatial resolution, bandwidth and coverage. For subsurface deformation, describe relevant techniques for constraining subsurface deformation and structure. There will then be a section on instrumentation that addresses the following issues: technical advances, instrument capabilities, distinguishing between tectonic and non-tectonic signals, spatial resolution, and bandwidth. There will be other sections on archiving and data management and education and outreach.

Topic	Author
Introduction	T. Henyey
Regional Dynamics/Tectonics	W. Thatcher
Earthquake Physics	T. Jordan/A. Donnellan
Magmatic Processes	R. Smith/T. Dixon
Transients vs. Secular Strain	T P. Silver
Rheology of Crust, Upper Mantle	R B. Hager /L. Kellogg
Regional Tectonics	B. Wernicke
Subsurface Deformation	D. Helmberger
Qualitative/Quantitative Gains from PBO	M. Miller
Instrumentation	B. Minster/D. Agnew/F. Wyatt/K. Hurst
Archiving and Data Management	H. Johnson
Education and Outreach	C. Johnson/J. Andrews
Management	T. Henyey/J. McRaney