SCEC Award Number 25057 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Research Project (Multiple Investigators / Institutions)
Proposal Title Integrating a multi-parameter 3D thermal model of California and Nevada toward an open-sourced Community Thermal Model
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Andrew Zuza University of Nevada, Reno Daniel Trugman University of Nevada, Reno
SCEC Milestones A1-1, A2-2, B3-1 SCEC Groups CEM, RC, PBS
Report Due Date 03/15/2026 Date Report Submitted 03/03/2026
Project Abstract
 The goal of this year’s project was to further the development and public accessibility of a new multi-disciplinary crustal thermal model for California and Nevada (Fig. 1), an effort which was initiated last year under SCEC award 24026. This project directly supports the research priority of the Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC) to broaden the Community Thermal Model (CTM) to a statewide scale. Our thermal modeling approach consists of an open-source Python script that is accessible, user-friendly, and customizable to incorporate user-specified inputs and parameters. When available, the model can leverage\ available relevant temperature proxy datasets for any geographic region, including surface heat flow, relocated seismicity as it relates to the temperature-sensitive seismogenic thickness, Curie point depth, crust-mantle boundary temperature and depth estimates derived from Pn velocity
models, and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary depths and temperatures (Fig. 1).

For this year’s project, we finalized a three-dimensional (3D) thermal model of the California and Nevada crust (Fig. 1). The Python scripts and final 3D temperature volume is available on Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/18462713). Furthermore, we cross evaluated our temperature model with other published models that span California or the United States. With the assistance of SCEC staff, we developed a web-based explorer that hosts our 3D temperature model, and other published models, which can serve as the publicly available CTM for users (http://moho.scec.org/research/ctm-explorer/). The new web portal allows for extraction of 1D vertical thermal profiles, 2D horizontal-slice maps, and 2D vertical profiles across the datasets.
SCEC Community Models Used Community Thermal Model (CTM), Community Rheology Model (CRM)
Usage Description This work provides an updated Community Thermal Model (CTM) product that covers California and Nevada. It can be leveraged to build a Community Rheology Model. We build an online web portal to display the CTM products from different working groups.
Intellectual Merit This project delivered an open-source, multi-parameter 3D crustal thermal model spanning California and Nevada. By integrating surface heat flow, seismogenic thickness, Curie point depth, and Moho temperature constraints, the model provides high spatial resolution of crustal thermal structure across a tectonically complex region. A web-based Community Thermal Model (CTM) Explorer enables community-wide access to temperature profiles, cross-sections, and map slices. This framework supports SCEC priorities by linking crustal temperature to fault behavior, seismicity, rheology, and earthquake hazard assessment across the plate boundary.
Broader Impacts This work contributed to the broader goals of SCEC by constructing a crustal thermal model that encompasses the entire state of California. This work was led by a PhD student, whose training and growth was directly supported by this funding. Two early-mid career faculty started a new collaboration because of this support and project.
Project Participants PI Andrew Zuza (University of Nevada, Reno) and co-PI Daniel Trugman (University of Nevada, Reno) worked with graduate student Terry Lee (University of Nevada, Reno). We coordinated with SCEC computing staff Mei-Hui Su and Philip Maechling.
Exemplary Figure Figure 1 (abbreviated caption). (a) Oblique view of crustal temperature proxies in the western US, including surface heat flow, seismogenic thickness (D95), crustal thickness, and Moho temperature. (b) Schematic 1D steady-state crustal (orange) and lithospheric (red) thermal profiles from two proxy combinations. (c) Representative 1D thermal modeling result for the Salton Trough. (d–f) Temperature maps across Nevada and California at 10 km (d), 20 km (e), and Moho depths (f). Panel (d) includes geothermal power plants and <10 Ma igneous rocks. Thin black lines: Quaternary faults; dashed lines: tectonic domain boundaries. White/grey regions lack accepted results.
Linked Publications

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