An introduction to the special issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters on USArray science

The USArray observatory, a component of the EarthScope science initiative, has provided a geophysical dataset that densely samples the continental US with unprecedented scale and resolution. The major scientific target of the multidisciplinary EarthScope project is an understanding of the structure, dynamics, and evolution of the North American continent, with emphasis on imaging the continental crust and lithosphere as well as illuminating dynamic processes in the deep Earth. This special issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters presents a collection of papers that leverage data from the USArray observatory to provide fundamental insights into Earth's structure and dynamics. Here we present an overview of the papers in this issue on a range of topics, including the nature of crustal and mantle heterogeneity across North America, the dynamics of the subcontinental mantle, the assembly and preservation of continental interiors, and the physics of earthquakes and faulting. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.