receivers and strainmeters, the EarthScope project will provide spatially continuous strain measurements over wide geographic areas with decimeter to centimeter resolution. Global Strain Rate Map The Global Strain Rate Map (GSRM) is a project of the International Lithosphere Program whose mission is to determine a globally self-consistent strain rate and velocity field model, consistent with geodetic and geologic field observations collected by GPS, seismometers, and strainometers. GSRM is a digital model of the global velocity gradient tensor field associated with the accommodation of present-day crustal motions. The overall mission also includes: (1) contributions of global, regional, and local models by individual researchers; (2) archive existing data sets of geologic, geodetic, and seismic information that can contribute toward a greater understanding of strain phenomena; and (3) archive existing methods for modeling strain rates and strain transients. A completed global strain rate map will provide a large amount of information which will contribute to the understanding of continental dynamics and for the quantification of seismic hazards. Science There are seven topics that EarthScope will address with the use of the observatories. Convergent Margin Processes Convergent margins, also known as convergent boundaries, are active regions of deformation between two or more tectonic plates colliding with one another. Convergent margins create areas of tectonic uplift, such as mountain ranges or volcanoes. EarthScope is focusing on the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate in the western United States. EarthScope will provide GPS geodetic data, seismic images, detailed seismicity, magnetotelluric data, InSAR, stress field maps, digital elevation models, baseline geology, and paleoseismology for a better understanding of convergent margin processes. A few questions hoping to be answered by EarthScope include: What controls the lithospheric architecture? What controls the locus of volcanism? How do convergent margin processes contribute to growth of the continent through time? Crustal Strain and Deformation Crustal strain and deformation is the change in shape and volume of continental and oceanic crust caused by stress applied to rock through tectonic forces. An array of variables including composition, temperature, pressure, etc., determines how the crust will deform. A few questions hoping to be answered by EarthScope include: How do crust and mantle rheology vary with rock type and with depth? How does lithospheric rheology change in the vicinity of a fault zone? What is the distribution of stress in the lithosphere? Continental Deformation Continental deformation is driven by plate interactions through