IRES Track I: Mapping and Assessing the Seismic Hazard of the Guanacaste Tectonic Sliver, Costa Rica

This International Research Experience for Students (IRES) contributes to the formation of the next generation of research talent, thereby enhancing U.S. leadership in research and strengthening economic competitiveness. It focuses on mapping and quantifying the seismic hazard in rural communities in Costa Rica in the vicinity of the Guanacaste Volcanic Arc.

Over three years, fifteen U.S. underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority-serving institutions in the state of Georgia will participate in a four-week research experience that is enriched by partnering with the University of Costa Rica, the Comision Nacional de Emergencias, and Observatorio Sismológico y Vulcanológico Arenal-Miravalles. The project creates unique linkages to these Costa Rican organizations that assist in training, educating, and professionally developing the participating students.

Students' research findings will impact local communities and organizations by providing them with data for advocacy to garner resources for earthquake readiness. Intellectual products created by IRES participating students will provide essential benefits to society, bringing the attention of government agencies and local organizations. This experience will offer student cohorts the knowledge, motivation, and inspiration to pursue internationally-focused science careers to solve US-national and global challenges.

More importantly, this IRES program is built intentionally to deliberately contribute to making the geosciences a diverse, equitable, and inclusive discipline and produce future leaders and mentors for subsequent students in STEM research and education.

This IRES site project aims to have students process Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data (InSAR) and collect high-resolution Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) data in the vicinity of the Guanacaste Volcanic Arc in Costa Rica. By processing the data, participating students will define the boundaries of the active seismogenic boundary and its velocity vector.

Using these results, students will (1) determine the main zones of deformation, (2) identify potential seismogenic zones, and (3) produce an assessment of seismic hazards. Our high-resolution approach could offer a rapid identification method for other potential seismic zones. If successful, our findings will be generalizable for focused research in active tectonic zones, including the Western United States.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.