U N A V C O , A N O N - P R O F I T U N I V E R S I T Y - G O V E R N E D C O N S O R T I U M , F A C I L I T A T E S G E O S C I E N C E R E S E A R C H A N D E D U C A T I O N U S I N G G E O D E S Y.
We challenge ourselves to transform human understanding of the changing Earth by enabling the integration of innovative technologies, open geodetic observations, and research, from pole to pole.
WHAT'S HOT
view all- New Video: Mirror-image Subduction Settings; What GPS can tell us about future earthquakes
- Update: the fourth round of requests for SAFOD Phase III core samples will begin 1 July 2013
- Apply Now: Short Course on InSAR Processing and Theory (June 26-28, 2013)
- Notice to UNAVCO GPS Data Product Users: File Format Update on March 25th 2013
- Report now available: COCONet Workshop #3: Data and Research (October 2012 - Tulum, Mexico)
- Major UNAVCO SAR data access and web site changes completed
HIGHLIGHTS
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The RESESS internship program kicks off its 9th year
May 21, 2013
Aisha R. Morris is excited to join the UNAVCO team as an Education and Community Engagement Specialist, and Director of the RESESS Program. Most recently, Aisha worked in the office of Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) as the 2011-2012 William L. Fisher Geosciences/American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional Science Fellow.
COCONet station installed in Anguilla
May 8, 2013
With assistance from the Anguillan government, UNAVCO installed a continuous GPS/MET site in Anguilla, one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and directly north of Saint Martin.
COCONet station installed near Anegada Passage
May 2, 2013
Puerto Rico and the northern Virgin Islands define the eastern terminus of the Greater Antilles, which extend eastward from offshore eastern Central America to the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc and mark the boundary between the Caribbean and North America plates.
Three continuous GPS sites constructed in Panama for COCONet
April 19, 2013
UNAVCO staff installed 3 new COCONet continuous GPS/MET sites in Panama, which complement the previously installed CN33 (ca. November 2011) continuous GPS/MET site. A total of 4 new COCONet cGPS and meteorological sites (CN20, CN28, CN33, and CN34) are now operational in Panama.
SCIENCE SNAPSHOTS
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Solar Storm Creates Geomagnetic Disturbance Captured by South Pole GPS
February 25, 2013
A coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun that was directed toward the Earth created a significant ionospheric and geomagnetic disturbance at the South Pole. Observations from satellites, the Antarctic GPS network and seven GPS scintillation receivers installed in 2010 mapped out the disturbance.
Observing Abrupt Melting in the Greenland Ice Sheet and Relating Air Mass Changes to Bedrock Changes
November 2, 2012
Snow and ice melts in Greenland every summer, but the summer of 2010 melting season was so much longer and hotter than in previous years that an extra 100 billion tons of ice melted from the ice sheet and flowed out to sea.
Sea Level Rise on the U.S. Gulf Coast
February 6, 2013
The Mississippi Delta along the Gulf Coast of the United States is a major site of sediment deposition from the Mississippi River and conversely a major site of wetland loss from rising seas and subsidence. There is debate about how much and when the delta has risen or fallen due to deposition, subsidence, sea level change, and erosion.
Real-time GPS can send the alert before a deadly landslide
August 15, 2012
An unexpected landslide can create a disaster for the town of Cerce del Cielo in Puerto Rico, especially if it cuts off access to the only road out of town. Researchers at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez have installed 19 real-time GPS units on and around the landslide area to detect any early indications of an impending slide.
UNAVCO's Strainmeters Record the Arrival of Tsunamis on the west coast of North America
August 15, 2012
UNAVCO’s Plate Boundary Observatory includes 75 borehole strainmeters installed predominantly throughout the west coast of North America. Strainmeters work by detecting changes in the size of the borehole, and are sensitive enough to detect a 4 picometer change (smaller than the width of a hydrogen atom). Because they are so sensitive, they pick up every thump and shake in their vicinity, including the arrival of a tsunami wave from across the ocean.
Standing Waves in Yellowstone Lake Sense Magma Body at Active Hotspot
March 21, 2013
The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field is a very active hotspot and national park with spectacular evidence of volcanic activity on the surface in the form of geysers, hot springs, hydrothermal pools, steaming vents, and seismic activity.
Quality Assessment: A new technique to assess and monitor long-term quality of GPS data
March 7, 2013
Geoff Blewitt and Corne Kreemer of UNR’s Geodetic Laboratory have devised a new processing-based technique for evaluating site quality on an ongoing basis.
2013