The project is part of a U.S. Geological Survey effort to map coastal fault lines, a number of which are described as active, in a region that spans Humboldt Bay up to Crescent City.
The small plane being used has a magnetometer, explained USGS geophysicist Janet Watt, which measures the Earth鈥檚 magnetic field. Differences in those readings can show the shape of underground fault lines and how the fractures might move.
鈥淜nowing those things about these faults can help us model and understand both the strong ground motions we might expect if there were an earthquake鈥� and also how these faults might deform the sea floor and displace the water column when they go offshore,鈥� said Watt. 鈥淏ecause that could generate a small tsunami.鈥�
Watt said the data they will collect is important in helping nearby communities prepare for potential earthquakes and tsunamis. Surveys from the USGS are used to inform building codes and infrastructure. She said this is the first time the region has been mapped at this level of resolution.
The flight paths will cross eight tribal areas which has also provided a unique local partnership opportunity for the USGS. The Yurok Tribe, whose land will be mapped, has offered their plane for the effort. The tribe has an available aircraft that was previously used in a surveying project during the Klamath River dam removal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 super exciting鈥� that we're sort of helping build capacity within the U.S. to collect more of this data because there鈥檚 not a lot of U.S. companies that do this work,鈥� said Watt. 鈥淭he local tribal members that know the area best can collect data over their own lands.鈥�
The Yurok Tribe鈥檚 flight program Condor Aviation will work with Canadian company Xcalibur Multiphysics to operate the flights for the next few weeks.
