Images of the Earth's Crust & Upper Mantle

Updated: Dec 09, 2024

IGCP Project 474 Business Plan

(Full copy available from D. M. Finlayson, Business Manager IGCP Project 474)

Following confirmation from IGCP Office, Paris, of IGCP support for the project, a business plan (dated 2 May 2003) was prepared that set out the modus operandi for the project for the 5-year lifetime of the current project. This business plan was developed largely from the results of the preliminary discussions held in January in New Zealand, and set out the project mission statement and summary, the executive committee, administrative arrangements, timetable, financial arrangements, meetings, website development proposals, and educational/public information objectives.

Summary and statement of goals

This IGCP project will bring together the strengths in a number of major geoscience research institutions and international associations to make available to a worldwide scientific, educational and public audience, the best examples of images of the interior of the Earth's crust and upper mantle across a variety of representative structural provinces from all parts of the globe. This aim may be seen as part of a wider objective to foster the spread and application of geoscience knowledge to issues related to the pursuit of international social, economic and cultural goals and sustainable development.

The last three decades have seen an explosion in the quantity and quality of seismic images of the Earth's crust. These images give us a detailed insight into the geological structures and tectonic processes that shape the crust. They are therefore relevant to natural resource exploration, the distribution and management of groundwater resources and the study and mitigation of natural hazards such as earthquakes. They define the processes that control the evolution of the landscape and soils.

However, most deep seismic images have been generated to study geology at the regional scale. This project will provide the catalyst for and the means by which the results of the separate regional programs will be brought into a global scientific framework, in order to tease out common scientific results that do not arise from the individual programs. Most Earth science theory flows from an understanding of the geology at the surface of the Earth.

This project will generate the collaboration to show and make available research images of type depth sections across representative orogenic belts, rifts, continental margins, etc. Most of the results available today are from developed nations. In making the results available in a global scientific context, they will be available and have meaning to researchers and educators in developing nations which have no opportunity fund their own seismic imaging programs.

Previous attempts at such correlations have failed to make an impact because of the effort required to publish and distribute the seismic images and their interpretations in consistent formats. Some compilations are only available in scientific journals and to those with high-level specialist computer facilities. Some are contained in specialist atlases that would be difficult or impossible for the researchers in developing countries to access.

This can now be overcome by distributing the results in common digital formats via the World Wide Web. Formats will be chosen to also ensure access by the general public. Distribution by the WWW ensures that the results will be available almost everywhere immediately. The results will therefore be designed to bridge the gap between scientific effort and the public interest and give the public a real insight into nature of the major geological processes in the outer 50-70 km of the Earth that directly affect their lives.

Scope of this work plan

The May, 2003 business plan sets out in broad terms the activities of this IGCP project for five years. It also indicates the specific outputs that will be generated in the first of the five years (2003), and the process through which the project will be managed and work plan for subsequent years determined.

The business plan will be updated annually, and will form the basis for distributing funds allocated to the project by the IGCP.

Deep seismic profiling data and their significance

IGCP Project 474 will bring together the strengths in a number of major geoscience research institutions and international associations to make available to a worldwide scientific, educational and public audience the best examples of images of the interior of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Representative structural provinces from all parts of the globe will be highlighted. The aim may be seen as part of a wider objective to foster the spread and application of geoscience knowledge to issues related to the pursuit of international social, economic and cultural goals and sustainable development.

The last three decades have seen an explosion in the quantity and quality of seismic images of the Earth's crust. These images give us a detailed insight into the geological structures and tectonic processes that shape the crust. They are therefore relevant to natural resource exploration, the distribution and management of groundwater resources and the study and mitigation of natural hazards such as earthquakes. They define the processes that control the evolution of the landscape and soils.

However, most deep seismic images have been generated to study geology at the regional scale. This IGCP Project 474 will provide the catalyst for, and the means by which, the results of the separate regional programs will be brought into a global scientific framework, in order to tease out common scientific results that do not arise from the individual programs.

Most theoretical concepts about the nature of the Earth flow from an understanding of the geology at the surface of the Earth. This IGCP project will generate the collaboration to show and make available images of depth sections of the Earth's interior across representative orogenic belts, rifts, continental margins, etc. Most of the results available today are from developed nations. In making the results available in a global scientific context, they will be available and have meaning to researchers and educators in developing nations that have no opportunity fund their own seismic imaging programs.

Previous attempts at such correlations have failed to make a large impact because of the effort required to publish and distribute hard-copy folios of seismic images and their interpretations in consistent formats. Some compilations are only available in scientific journals and to those with high-level specialist computer facilities. Some are contained in specialist atlases that would be difficult or impossible for the researchers in developing countries to access.

These drawbacks can now be overcome by distributing the results via the World Wide Web. Formats will be chosen to ensure access by the general public and research groups. Distribution by the WWW ensures that the results will be available almost everywhere immediately. The results will therefore be designed to bridge the gap between scientific effort and the public interest and give the public a real insight into nature of the major geological processes in the outer 50-70 km of the Earth that directly affect their lives.