Hi Kiddo. Duncan Agnew who has a B.S. Astronomy helped John Vidale do the study on the sun and moon bit has an area of his own that he is very active in. This is an area Canie may be interested in. Take Care…Cowboy

The deformation of the crust is what drives the earthquake cycle, but this deformation is (except at the time of earthquakes) so gradual as to be very difficult to measure. Together with Frank Wyatt, I have for some time been studying how best to make such measurements, and what the best ones mean. Most of the data come from Piñon Flat Observatory (PFO), at which there is a unique collection of precise instruments for measuring crustal motion and other geophysical quantities. We have recently added another instrument (a long-base laser strainmeter) at Durmid Hill, just off the southern end of the San Andreas Fault (the section which is, by general consent, closest to failure).

Some recent results from these instruments include:
Improved limits on possible precursory slip before the 1992 Landers earthquake.
Observation of rapid postseismic strain, still not explained, after this event.
Determination that the elastic response of a major fault zone is not enhanced relative to the surrounding material.

• Duncan Agnew