September 24, 2009
In response to new and emerging research opportunities in geodesy and its interdisciplinary applications, the geodesy community is preparing a written plan in a Grand Challenges format, identifying emerging science questions, required workforce development and diversity, and needed instrumentation and facilities. The intention is to have a draft by AGU and final plan by January 2010. This plan will inform a number of other national science planning initiatives anticipated in 2010. [Click for more details]
September 2009
UNAVCO personnel took part in a high-resolution GPS survey of the eastern lobe of the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, to provide ground truth for NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) laser altimeter. A prime objective of the ICESat mission is to acquire multi-year elevation data for Antarctica and Greenland in order to quantify changes in the ice sheets associated with climate change. To help calibrate the ICESat data, 1Hz GPS data was collected on the Great Bolivian Salt Flat. The GPS-derived surface height will be combined with data from a 2002 survey of the same area and compared against surface elevations from ICESat. [Click for more details]
July 21, 2009
GeoEarthScope recently announced the availability of new airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data products from the Intermountain Seismic Belt project. This release includes high resolution LiDAR topography data collected in tectonically active regions of Utah and Wyoming, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the Nephi segment (southern strand) of the Wastach fault. These products will serve as a resource for research in many fields, provide a framework for future airborne laser scanning acquisitions, and play a critical role in reaching EarthScope science goals. [Click for more details]
August 5, 2009
Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science (RESESS) celebrated five years of research, mentoring, and community on August 6, 2009. We acknowledged the 2009 RESESS participants’ achievements during a morning colloquium and afternoon poster session together with students participating in Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS). [Click for more details]
August 3, 2009
InSAR data from Envisat satellite (2004-06-24 to 2009-08-24) shows clear evidence of the coseismic deformation on mainland BAJA and Isla Angel de la Guarda. The InSAR data is used to infer the earthquake source mechanism, using episodic GPS data to constrain the total offset across the Ballenas channel. [Click for more details]