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A Less Invasive, More Accurate Way to Survey Penguin Colonies

January 26, 2019

Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) show promise for accurately surveying penguin populations in Antarctica. Two UNAVCO-supported UAS surveys of Adélie penguins this season (2018-19) will lend insight into penguin nesting habits.

Moving at the Speed of Dirt: TLS Used at Slumgullion Landslide

December 31, 2018

Slumgullion landslide, in southwest Colorado near Lake City, is an ideal outdoor laboratory for comparing a variety of techniques used to measure slope displacements and understand landslide kinematics. The “slow” landslide is nearly constantly active, with surface displacements of several centimeters per day measured on some areas of the slide surface.

Data Event Response to the December 20, 2018 M 7.3 Earthquake, 82km W of Nikol'skoye, Russia

December 20, 2018

UNAVCO is downloading high-rate 1-sps (1 Hz) data from the few PBO/NOTA GPS/GNSS stations near the epicenter of this event. In addition, 5-sps (5 Hz) data are being downloaded from available sites. Due to the remote locations and limited comms of these sites, data will take longer than usual to be acquired. A station map is shown in Figure 2; this map will be updated after data are acquired. When downloaded, these data are available from the UNAVCO high rate data ftp site.

Subduction Below Extreme Sedimentation – A Multidisciplinary Transect from the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta to the IndoBurma Backarc

December 21, 2018

To gain a better understanding of the underlying fault system and the entire IndoBurman subduction zone, researchers are installing a large broadband seismic array across Bangladesh, India, and into Myanmar. In addition, cGPS has been installed within the array to better determine the surface deformation across the entire system. In Bangladesh the seismometers were spaced at 5-10km to image shallow as well as deep crustal features, and six continuous GPS (cGPS) station were installed along a 100km portion of this array.

SCIENCE SNAPSHOTS

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Probabilities of Large Earthquakes in Alaska

February 28, 2018

A crustal deformation model for the Western United States fits geodetic and geologic observations and shows where major changes in the crust are occurring. Such modeling is critical for earthquake hazard assessments and for understanding Earth processes.

Stable North American Plate Bending and Moving After Ice Loss According to GPS

September 17, 2018

Analysis of thousands of GPS observations over decades shows the upward bending of the stable North American plate due to ice loss and horizontal contraction, mostly due to higher than expected inward velocities around the edges of the former ice sheets.

Looking for Dark Matter Passing Through the GPS Constellation

November 21, 2017

The Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation can be used to detect dark matter. Sixteen years of ground-based GPS receiver observations were utilized to look for dark matter passing near Earth. Although no dark matter was detected, the results refine the properties of the universe, the accuracies of atomic clocks and future searches for dark matter.

Measuring Permafrost on the North Slope of Alaska with GNSS

January 18, 2019

The freeze-thaw dynamics of permafrost on the north slope of Alaska was measured over 12 years using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) site permanently embedded in the permafrost near Barrow, Alaska. The data reveal subsidence due to thawing each summer plus interannual variations. The technique provides a new spatial and temporal approach to quantify permafrost changes and it can be applied at more than 200 GNSS sites in cold regions.

How Flood and Fire Alter Landscape, Seen Through the Discerning Eye of Ground-based LIDAR

February 7, 2019

A colluvial hollow in Fourmile Canyon, Colorado that was present after the 2010 Fourmile Canyon wildfire transitioned to a fluvial channel with steps and pools while retaining the original hollow roughness after an intense 2013 flood. The changes were measured with a terrestrial laser scanner from UNAVCO and can help understand future risks in a changing landscape.

Tsunami Hazards in Central America

November 8, 2017

Central America faces tsunami threats along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts and at the shores of large lakes. Large earthquakes caused the most damaging tsunamis, however, landslides or volcanic eruptions can cause tsunamis around large lakes. Warning systems rely on seismic and geodetic observations. The Central American Tsunami Advisory Center (CATAC) will use these observations to help reduce losses.

Integrating Geodetic Data For Earthquake Warnings in the Western U.S.

January 03, 2019

Real-time Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) ground-based sites can measure displacements on the Earth’s surface. Here, the benefits of including GNSS in an earthquake early warning system are outlined and three different algorithms for integrating geodetic data into the USGS’s ShakeAlert system are identified.

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