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HIGHLIGHTS

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Recreational Drones as a Platform for STEM Learning

September 28, 2017

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have transitioned from military usage to many beneficial societal applications such as science research platforms, mapping the terrain, creating three-dimensional models of the land surface or of objects, search & rescue, aerial reconnaissance during wildfires, capturing glamor shots of properties, and many other scientific, commercial, educational, and hobbyist applications.

Join UNAVCO at GSA

October 1, 2017

Visit our booth, take a short course, and keep up with UNAVCO work through our staff presentations.

Episodic GPS Data Collection in Panama

July 11, 2017

Over two and a half weeks in June 2017, graduate student Gorki Ruiz from The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Omar Espinoza and Javier Cornejo from Instituto Geografico Nacional "Tommy Guardia" - Departamento de Geodesia, and Mike Fend from UNAVCO traveled throughout much of Panama to collect episodic GPS data (eGPS) and service previously installed continuous GPS sites (cGPS).

September 19, 2017 M7.1 Earthquake 5km ENE of Raboso, Mexico Data Event Response

September 20, 2017

In response to the M7.1 earthquake 5km ENE of Raboso, Mexico on 2017-09-19 at 18:14:39 UTC, UNAVCO and UNAM-Geofisica have initiated the acquisition of high-rate (1 Hz and/or 5 Hz) GPS/GNSS data from stations within ~1000 km of the epicenter.

SCIENCE SNAPSHOTS

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Probabilities of Large Earthquakes in Alaska

August 11, 2016

Estimates of the probabilities of a magnitude greater than 9.0 earthquake for the Aleutian Islands are about 6.5 to 12 percent over the next 50 years. Such an event poses obvious earthquake and tsunami risks for Alaska and tsunami risks for western North America and Hawaii.

Satellite Imagery Defines Characteristics of 2016 Ecuador Earthquake and Future Risks

June 15, 2017

A moment magnitude 7.8 earthquake ruptured a major subduction zone boundary between the Nazca and the South American plates just offshore of Ecuador on 16 April 2016. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and model analysis show about 2.5 meters of slip at about 20 kilometers depth. The event implies shorter recurrence times for earthquakes in the region.

Complex Characteristics of a Solar Storm in the Ionosphere from GPS and Other Data

October 18, 2017

Two coronal mass ejections impacted the Earth in February 2014 creating disturbances in the Arctic ionosphere. Multiple instruments measured the disturbances, particularly the Greenland GPS network (GNET). Analysis shows the solar inputs heated the polar atmosphere causing an upwelling of nitrogen-rich air that altered the normal ionospheric dynamics.

Following Solitary Waves in a Greenland Glacier with Geodesy

July 11, 2017

Greenland’s ice and snow mass has been melting at an accelerated rate for many years. A network of GNSS sites, set-up on coastal bedrock, has been utilized to measure a huge outflow of ice and water in 2012 and 2010 from the Rink Glacier. The horizontal motion at the GNSS site captures a solitary mass transport wave traveling coastward down the glacier in the summers of those two melt years.

Seasonal Water Load Changes Can Trigger Earthquakes in California

September 18, 2017

GPS sites in California measure the changing water load due to rainfall, snowfall, groundwater, and drought. The recorded small vertical motions are shown to influence the state of stress on shallow faults. An analysis of fault failure conditions indicate that the rise and fall of the surface due to water loading and unloading creates a small amount of additional stress on the faults and can trigger small earthquakes.

Subsiding Atlantic Coast Due to Geologic Adjustment and Groundwater Extraction

November 28, 2016

Long-term records from GPS stations along the Atlantic Coast of North America show long term subsidence due to geologic adjustments and short term subsidence due to human-related groundwater extraction. These measurements are critical for understanding water use, sediment structure and sea level rise. In particular, knowing the rate of subsidence or uplift along this populated coastal plain could help mitigate flooding and inform land use.

Testing Geodetic Observations for Earthquake Early Warning in Alaska

August 31, 2017

An analysis of the 2016 Iniskin earthquake shows how GPS sites in Alaska may augment earthquake early warning. For a large magnitude earthquake that originates at a shallow depth, information from GPS can provide some warning before the shaking arrives in populated areas such as Anchorage. The geodetic data can rapidly and precisely define the earthquake properties to help with response and triggered hazards such as landslides and tsunamis.

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