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EarthScope Science

We use telescopes to observe things that are far away. We use microscopes to glimpse things that are very tiny. And now we can use EarthScope to peer inside of the earth!

EarthScope is an ambitious, multifaceted program to investigate the structure, dynamics, and history of the North American continent. The complexity of geologic processes requires contributions from investigators across the Earth sciences, working both as individuals and as members of multidisciplinary collaborative teams. The EarthScope program initiatives are outlined in the 2010-2020 EarthScope Science Plan.

EarthScope is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Map of USArray locations

Map of USArray locations.

 
Related Highlights

PBO H2O Initiative

PBO H2O Initiative

The PBO H2O initiative is an interdisciplinary research program using reflected signals recorded by the Plate Boundary Observatory...

Understanding Continental Evolution

In the fall 2012 inSights Newsletter, Dr. Hersh Gilbert, Purdue University discusses the use of EarthScope seismic data collected from the transportable array USArray in achieving a greater understanding of the evolution of the North American Continent

Dr. Stephen Marshak

Tectonics, Earthquakes, and the EarthScope Project: Interview with Stephen Marshak

Dr. Stephen Marshak, Professor of Geology and Director of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, gives a nice interview on Tulsa Public radio discussing a variety of EarthScope projects underway in the mid-continent, and their scientific context.

 


The EarthScope scientific community conducts multidisciplinary research across the Earth sciences utilizing freely available data from instruments that measure motions of the Earth's surface, record seismic waves, and recover rock samples from depths at which earthquakes originate.