The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) was a research project that began in 2002 aimed at collecting geological data about the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

for the purpose of predicting and analyzing future

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s. The site consists of a pilot hole and a main hole. Drilling operations ceased in 2007. Located near the town of

Parkfield, California Parkfield (formerly Russelsville) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on Little Cholame Creek east of Bradley, at an elevation of . As of 2007, road signs announce the population as 18. Parkfield is ...

, the project installed geophone sensors and GPS clocks in a borehole that cut directly through the fault. This data, along with samples collected during drilling, helped shed new light on

geochemical Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the ...

and mechanical properties around the fault zone. SAFOD was part of Earthscope, an Earth science program using geological and geophysical techniques to explore the structure of the North American continent and to understand the origin of earthquakes and volcanoes. Earthscope was funded by the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

in conjunction with the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. Data collected at SAFOD are available from The Northern California Earthquake Data Center at U.C. Berkeley and from NSF SAGE Facility Data Services operated by EarthScope Consortium, formerly known as the IRIS DMC.

References

External links

Earthscope

SAFOD
at ICDP-Online.org Deepest boreholes Geology of California Seismological observatories, organisations and projects Structure of the Earth

See also

References

Further reading

External links