Southern Coyote Creek Fault to Superstition Hills Fault: New Insight to the San Jacinto Fault System - Afton Van Zandt; M.S. Candidate, Advisors Dr.Rob Mellors , Dr. Thomas K. Rockwell, and Dr. Douglas A. Stow: The Superstition Hills fault (SHF) is an active fault in the San Jacinto fault zone that also creeps aseismically. 58 interferograms from ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellite data (descending, track 356, frame 2943) spanning a time period from 1992 to 2000 were analyzed to measure surface...

Study of crustal structure in the Caucasus and Caspian regions using receiver functions - Rumi Takedatsu; B.S. Candidate- Advisor Dr.Rob Mellors: The Eurasia-Arabia collision has created complex tectonics and structure in the Caucasus and Caspian region. In particular, Caspian Basin has a very different lithospheric structure from the surrounding region and the origin of the basin and nearby structures, such as the Kura Depression, are not well understood. This study will map the main...

Potential Controls Affecting Gastropod Biomass in the the High Intertidal Zones at Neighboring Locations - Tiffany Schillereff; B.S. Candidate, Advisor Dr.Stephen Schellenberg: San Diego California’s coastlines include rocky intertidal zones that contain an abundance of the Class Gastropoda. What are the potential controls on gastropod abundance and size? Do wave energy, anthropogenic impact, substrate lithology and predation play a role? The locations in this study were Bathtub Rock...

Crustal Structure of the Caucasus/Caspian region using gravity and receiver functions - Jason Ricketts; B.S. Candidate, Advisor Dr.Rob Mellors: The area west of the South Caspian basin is an area of complex and uncertain tectonic structure. Thick sediments within the Kura Depression mask the basement and its subsurface geology is poorly constrained. Forward modeling of receiver functions provides initial constrains. However, a good match is sometimes difficult due to the thick sediments....

Paleoenvironments, Paleoecology, and Exceptional Preservation in Burgess Shale-type Deposits - Robert Gaines; Department of Geology, Pomona College: Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposits occur worldwide and offer a remarkable window on the initial Phanerozoic radiation of the Metazoa. However, BST deposits also represent significant deviations from the constraints that govern the typical operation of the fossil record. These deviations remain to be adequately accounted for,...

LA's Future Earthquake;
Kim Bak Olsen -
Department of Geological Sciences,
San Diego State University