Join Richard Ott on April 23rd to learn about the Hellenic Subduction Zone across multiple time-scales. Register Now ⟶

SZ4D

A New Initiative to Investigate the Processes that Underlie Subduction Zone Hazards

A community-driven Research Coordination Network to develop a new long-term research plan

for focused study on land and under the sea

SZ4D International Webinars: From Miocene to today: Tectonics and surface processes of the Hellenic Subduction Zone across multiple time-scales

Join Richard Ott on April 23rd at 9AM PDT. Richard will present work that quantifies patterns of deformation and vertical land movements on several time scales in the Hellenic Subduction Zone, the largest and most active Mediterranean subduction zone, from Miocene to today. Combining these observations is crucial to derive a coherent geodynamic model, estimate the subduction zone's energy budget, and assess natural hazards. However, subduction zone topography is not only dependent on the tectonic uplift rates but also the type and rates of surface processes. Especially, differences in lithology can have a profound effect on subduction zone topography and surface processes. Richard will show how carbonate bedrock strongly affects the topography, and denudation mechanisms in the forearc of the Hellenic Subduction Zone and other sites around the Mediterranean.

What is SZ4D?

A vision of coordinated research to understand the processes that underlie subduction zone hazards

SZ4D is a new initiative in the U.S. research community to study subduction zones – the places where tectonic plates converge and collide – through both space and time, with a focus on the fundamental processes underlying geologic hazards such as great earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.

Subduction zones produce the most devastating seismic, volcanic, and landslide hazards on the planet, yet we lack critical understanding of the basic physical and chemical processes controlling the occurrence and magnitude of earthquakes or eruptions.

SZ4D focuses on designing targeted experiments to make the next big leaps in understanding of the processes underlying subduction geohazards. These are envisioned to involve comprehensive suites of new measurements to study subduction processes at key locations on the planet and fully incorporate the fourth dimension of time.

The SZ4D Vision that emerged at the NSF-sponsored Subduction Zone Observatory Workshop (2016) was a vision for a new Subduction Zone Initiative (SZ4D) to capture and model emergent earthquake, tsunami, landslide, and volcanic phenomena over space and time. The ensuing "SZ4D Vision Document" workshop report identified three key components to develop and phase in over the next 3 to 4 years, all developed and guided by an integrative organization:

an interdisciplinary science program
a modeling collaboratory
a community infrastructure program

The SZ4D Research Coordination Network

That integrative organization is the Research Coordination Network, or RCN. From 2018 to 2021, its National Science Foundation-funded mission is to coordinate and guide the development of the SZ4D Initiative, turning the conceptual SZ4D Vision into a unified, concrete community plan for a decade-long coordinated research effort.

SZ4D RCN comprises a Steering Committee, Interest Groups on key elements of the program, and Working Groups that will be tasked to develop detailed plans.

Steering Committee:

Harold Tobin* (chair) University of Washington

Thorsten Becker University of Texas - Austin

Emily Brodsky* University of California, Santa Cruz

Mike Brudzinski Miami University

Roland Bürgmann University of California Berkeley

Alison Duvall University of Washington

Tobias Fischer University of New Mexico

Melodie French Rice University

Sean Gallen Colorado State University

Matt Haney U. S. Geological Survey

George Hilley* Stanford University