Thanks for getting this out to the geologists! What is the number of the sat phone?

My understanding was that there can be issues with taking equipment across the border into mexico and more importantly getting them back out again. There was a message on this thread about broadband seismometers sitting in customs for 2 weeks waiting to get through. How is it that the GPS folks are getting continuous and campaign GPS equipment into mexico without these issues?

John Fletcher would be a good person to coordinate on finding secure field locations for instruments. He knows the roads in the region from his fieldwork there. Also, much of that area is a wilderness so instruments should be fairly safe once in place. Right now what is key is getting a line of communication established with persons in the field. John is already there, and Tom Rockwell plans to leave soon. Neither has a sat phone right now.

If there is a need for someone with spanish language skills to help with field deployment I could be available for a few days to help out in the field. I would need to fly out to meet you (Ontario?). Another logical person to help out here is Joann Stock.

The status of things right now as far as I understand it is that there are three groups either a the site, en-route, or planning to soon depart. Fortunately, it includes groups led by the two individuals most familiar with the field geology of the area:

(1) John Fletcher and others from CICESE went to the field last night and will be the first to find the rupture, most likely. John has done extensive work on the structural geology of the Laguna Salada.

(2) Tom Rockwell is leading a group from SDSU. Tom has worked on 1892 Laguna Salada fault rupture and is also very familiar with other faults in the region.

(3) A group led by SIO (Fialko / Sandwell) will be placing GPS instruments at sites near the epicenter and Cerro Prieto fault. Because our understanding of the rupture is now that it lies on a fault west of the CP fault (Laguna Salada fault or Cascabelle fault) it will be important to update this group on what is found on the geology side.

Others that have expressed interest in joining field investigations are Kate Scharer and Ray Weldon. Ray is in the Coachella valley and could join the group easily. His cell phone number is listed in a message left on this discussion board last night. Kate is considering flying out from NC, which will take a day.

James Dolan is committed to completeing a trench study on the China Lake naval base and cannot join the field response.

I am at least 12 hours away from the rupture, by car. At this point I am unsure whether I will be able to go to the field, or whether that is the best use of my time right now. I am working on coordinating an NSF RAPID proposal to support a lidar survey of the rupture. Ramon Arrowsmith (currently on sabbatical leave in Germany) is working with me on this, and I would like to involve Ken closely in this as well.

CRITICAL NEED: Get a satellite phone to Tom Rockwell ASAP. He is working on trying to figure this out but unfortunately does not have one handy at SDSU. Perhaps someone at SIO could pass one to him?

I talked to Octavio Lazaro-Mancilla of UABC Mexicali (engineering department)  by cell phone at 9:30 pm.  He had been in Mexico City the past 2 weeks and got back late on Sunday to Mexicali (after the earthquake).  He said the internet was not working in Mexicali.  He said people were sleeping outdoors because of fear of aftershocks.  He said the UABC was all closed due to Easter but he is going to talk to them in the morning and determine if the 3 Caltech broadband seismometers are there. (They were supposed to have cleared Mexican customs 2 weeks ago.) If so then we can coordinate about where to deploy them in the field.  I asked him to call me back in the morning to let me know what he needs.

Subject: Surface faulting coordination -- Fwd: M 7.2 UPDATE

I gather that Prof. John Fletcher of CICESE is en route to the field and will begin the search for surface faulting soon, along with Ronald Spelz and students from CICESE.

Also, Tom Rockwell will be going tomorrow with a group of students and I believe they will try to meet up with John in the field somehow. I have e-mailed Tom's cell number to John. [also, just forwarded Ray Weldon's note to Tom and John]

Also, Katherine Kendrick and Mike Rymer will be going down to check sites along the Mexico-USA border and to the north of the border for possible surface breaks and triggered slip.

Javier Gonzalez told me that CICESE colleagues may be making arrangements for helicopter airborne recon tomorrow. There was not enough daylight today to get down there for air recon.

Earlier today, I talked with Aspen Helicopters to begin to arrange for possible airborne reconnaissance as early as tomorrow. There are lots of things that would need to happen for this flight to occur. We need to have a request from colleagues in Mexico and then an official country clearance lined up for any USGS people who might go. Aspen is current and certified with AMD (formerly OAS). No other helo company in SoCal is AMD certified, to my knowledge. This is key for USGS but probably nobody else cares.

USGS would certainly like to try to ensure good coordination with our partners. In this case, CICESE is our main partner, along with SCEC and CGS of course (unless CGS considers this outside their area of responsibility?). Katherine has been trying to reach Jerry Treiman.

We hear that SCEC is coordinating a post-earthquake investigation, and we'll of course be coordinating with CICESE and SCEC across all areas, not only the surface faulting investigation.

It sounds as if there will be interest in an NSF rapid award that might even support airborne LiDAR if possible - if so, Mike Oskin may serve as PI and Chris Crosby as data center.

I have not heard about other plans for air photos, though if there is a helicopter recon hopefully good obliques can be obtained (as we just did for Haiti on the Enriquillo a few weeks ago) - see attached preprint of our SRL paper (in press) on the technique. Basically, take a camera with embedded GPS tagging and keep taking photos at a rate of once every half-second while flying at about 500 feet above ground level and at an offset of about 300 to 500 feet off to the side of the fault as you go. Bring extra memory cards and batteries.

Let me know if USGS can help in any way. I have not heard confirmation yet of whether or not the International Charter has been activated for satellite imagery. Hopefully that will occur soon, as was done for Haiti and Chile most recently.

The NEIC event summary has just been updated -- please click this link and hit reload to see the newest version.

    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/ci14607652.php...

I hope this quick note is helpful, and please cc' me if anyone starts getting surface rupture information.

Regards,

    Ken

- - -

From the internet - I don't know where this was taken -- thanks to Stacey Martin and Bob Dollar for passing it along:

http://tweetphoto.com/17203656

 Someone will be at the base station guarding the instrument at all times during the deployment.

The USGS CMT has a more substantial normal faulting component than their initial W-phase moment tensor.

I assume you'll have someone there at all times, Yuri?  I'm trying to get permission to go to Mexico despite an existing (and very strict) travel ban, but not sure when it'll happen.  Must get permission from the CSU Chancellor's Office to take State Vehicles - I've already been in contact and am "dialoging" with them.  Assuming we get the green light (or even a yellow light) I'll have a handful of students and trucks ready to help.

Interesting - healthy foreshock sequence too.

In the UNAVCO San Clemente office we have tooling and materials for 5 PBO/SCIGN SDBM stations that could be rapidly deployed if target locations were permitted quickly.   Recievers and antennas would be TBD.  Deployment in Mexico is subject to Greg Anderson's approval.

Field engineering support may be available depending on specific needs.

To request UNAVCO support please use the online form at:

http://achaia.unavco.org/public/newproject/supportform.aspx

Have emailed John Marquis to allow John Fletcher to access this website and post information.