San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth

By drilling ten thousand feet into the ground, earth scientists hope to discover how materials like rock and gas behave just before the earth begins to shake. What better place to begin than the earthquake capital of the world – Parkfield, California. It marks the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, making up an active fault zone.

The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) is a project aimed at understanding the physical processes controlling earthquake generation within a major active fault zone. By using a state-of-the-art-drill, scientists allow the machine to steer the hole towards and through the SA Fault Zone. They also hope to use the parameters discovered through drilling to simulate earthquakes in the laboratory or on a computer.

SAFOD is part of the National Science Foundation’s twenty-year Earthscope project. Earthscope explores the processes controlling earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Through this, scientists hope to lessen the risks from geological hazards and increase the public’s understanding of the Earth and its natural resources.

Understanding the fault zone properties and changes may give scientists the information they need to accurately predict when an earthquake is about to hit.