Rocky Mountain Seismology Research

Colorado is in a region of moderate levels of Seismicity (see figure below). Although it is not an area where large earthquakes have been a modern problem, data such as fault scarp displacement measurements clearly indicate moderate to large quaternary earthquakes. Despite this evidence of damaging earthquakes near the rapidly growing cities of the Colorado Front Range, research examining seismic hazard is sparse at best.

GRA Bensen has been with working on the GEON project with UNAVCO since May of 2003. Previously, he had been working with his former advisor, Dr. Anne Sheehan, on a project to better utilize the data collected during the 1992 PASSCAL Rocky Mountain Front (RMF) experiment. These data have been used to understand the crustal structure of the Rocky Mountain region. Results include tomographic models, measurements of crustal thickness, and other applications using mostly teleseismic events. The 36 stations in this experiment are well distributed through eastern Utah, Colorado and into Kansas. This spatial distribution is well suited for analyzing regional events as well. Previously, only a parsed data set was available from IRIS, representing just a fraction of the total data recorded. GRA Bensen worked to time correct these data, build a usable database and archive them at the IRIS Data Management Center. He also began work on locating regional events and computing focal mechanisms.