Dr. Bangs' is interested in structural development and tectonic processes along convergent margins. He uses advanced MCS methods to acquire 3-D images of structure and stratigraphy within subduction zones in order to examine tectonic activity and deformational styles and to study fluid migration in accretionary prisms. His expertise also includes the processing, inversion, and modeling of seismic reflection data. Recently, Bangs has studied the accretionary complexes of Barbados, Chile, and the Aleutians. He is currently the U.S. co-leader of a major U.S.-Japan project to characterize changes in the physical properties of a portion of the Nankai Trough subduction zone offshore Japan. The project aims to determine how these changes relate to earthquake activity. Three-dimensional seismic data collected during summer 1999 will be used to determine at which depths sediments have sufficient strength to store the large stress energies that could be released in tsunamagenic earthquakes.