Steering Committee Members:
Brian Taylor, University of Hawaii at Manoa, taylor@soest.hawaii.edu
Susan Debari, Western Washington University, debari@cc.wwu.edu
Fred Chester, Texas A&M University, chesterf@geo.tamu.edu
William Dietrich, University of California at Berkeley, bill@geomorph.berkeley.edu
Timothy Dixon, RSMAS, University of Miami, tim@corsica.rsmas.miami.edu
Garry Karner, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, garry@ldgo.columbia.edu
Simon Klemperer, Stanford University, sklemp@pangea.stanford.edu
David Kohlstedt, University of Minnesota, dlkohl@maroon.tc.umnn.edu
Charles Nittrouer, University of Washington, cnittrouer@ocean.washington.edu
Simon Peacock, Arizona State University, peacock@asu.edu
Terry Plank, University of Kansas, tplank@bu.edu
Thomas Shipley, University of Texas, tom@utig.ig.utexas.edu
Eli Silver, University of California, esilver@earthsci.ucsc.edu
Joann Stock, California Institute of Technology, jstock@gps.caltech.edu
Michael Underwood, University of Missouri, geoscmbu@showme.missouri.edu
Douglas Wiens, Washington University at St. Louis, doug@kermadec.wustl.edu

Margins are where the action is. Continental margins are the Earth's principle loci for producing hydrocarbon and metal resources, for earthquake, landslide, volcanic and climatic hazards, and for the greatest population density. Despite the societal and economic importance of margins, many of the mechanical, fluid, chemical and biological processes that shape them are poorly understood. Progress is hindered by the sheer scope of the problems and by the spatial-temporal scale and complexities of the processes. To overcome these obstacles, the MARGINS community has identified the outstanding scientific problems in continental margins research and the MARGINS Program (a research initiative supported by the US National Science Foundation) is promoting research strategies that redirect traditional approaches to margin studies.

The MARGINS Program seeks to understand the complex interplay of processes that govern continental margin evolution. The objective is to develop a self-consistent understanding of the processes that are fundamental to margin formation and evolution. The MARGINS approach involves concentration on several study areas targeted for intense, multidisciplinary programs of research in which an ongoing dialogue among field experiment, numerical simulation and laboratory analysis researchers is axiomatic. The plan is to investigate active systems as a whole, viewing a margin not so much as a "geological" entity of divergent, translational or convergent type, but more in terms of a complex physical, chemical and biological system, subject to a variety of influences. The processes that fundamentally govern the evolution of margins include lithospheric deformation, magmatism and mass fluxes, sedimentation, and fluid flow. The goal of the MARGINS Program is to provide a focus for the coordinated, interdisciplinary investigation of these processes.

MARGINS Office
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e-mail: margins@ldeo.columbia.edu
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We are located at the Columbia University at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,

Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (OCE97-14554). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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