Center for Embedded Network Sensing

The deployment phase of CENS equipment began this year within MASE (Middle America Subduction Experiment), a collaboration involving UCLA, the California Institute of Technology (CIT), and the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mexico (UNAM). The CENS 50 radio-linked sites joined the 50 stand-alone sites of CIT in Mexico. Scientifically, we will be mapping the subducted slab beneath Mexico, examining the propagation of seismic waves through Mexico, and searching for slow earthquakes. The array has already yielded receiver function images of the slab 10 times clearer than previous images due to the density of the array. We are beginning to develop an inversion algorithm of the data for a 3d velocity tomography. We are hoping the images are clear enough to answer where the subducting slab is. Currently it is unclear if the slab is still there or if it has torn away from the top. Due to a lack of deep seismicity from within the slab, a network of this density is the best way to determine its location.