Italy has experienced several deadly earthquakes in recent years. They all occurred within a complicated fault system that challenges our models for fault behavior. An array of instruments has been deployed across the region to help geoscientists around the world study these faults. And with support from UNAVCO, the latest addition to that array is a number of borehole strainmeters.
There’s another way to approach this problem, and that’s to directly measure the station’s velocity as it moves during an earthquake—which has the advantage of working without relying on external correction information.
Are you looking to refine your geodesy knowledge and gain mapping skills? UNAVCO hosts technical short courses each summer that provide training on geodetic data processing techniques and tools.
New for summer 2022 is the diversification of the Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students (RESESS) internship program, which will now include a Satellite program in addition to the traditional Boulder program. For 2022, UNAVCO is partnering with faculty from the University of Washington Department of Earth and Space Sciences. We retain the RESESS Boulder program in collaboration with the University of Colorado.
Supporting a diverse and multi-talented engineering staff is extremely beneficial to any geoscience-focused institution. Unfortunately, the geosciences are one of the least diverse of the academic fields. One significant factor is that many fieldwork environments are not safe or welcoming to members of underrepresented groups.
UNAVCO, as a university-governed consortium, elected new members to the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. New members serve 3-year terms beginning January 2021.
Antarctica got a rare treat on December 4—a total solar eclipse. The last time that happened was 2003, and we’ll be waiting until 2039 for the next one. This wasn’t just an opportunity for lucky viewers, though. An eclipse near the pole is also an exciting opportunity for science.
Thanks to the generous support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Geo-Launchpad program will continue to serve community college students through 2024!
UNAVCO recently wrapped up a two-year project upgrading and installing geodetic stations to better serve the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System, but the work contributing to ShakeAlert is far from over. As a result of a new interagency agreement with the National Science Foundation and the United States Geological Survey, UNAVCO will build and operate the new geodetic data architecture of ShakeAlert.
The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system is much more than the alert message on your phone. Detecting earthquakes, characterizing them, and determining the appropriate warning area takes a tremendous amount of infrastructure. With the completion of a recent Cooperative Agreement with the USGS, UNAVCO has improved West Coast geodetic infrastructure so it can be fully integrated into ShakeAlert.