Yellowstone Park GPS Installation Update

Overview

July 27, 2005

Based in Montana for the summer, the Rocky Mountain regional staff is working in the Yellowstone/Teton area to install GPS monuments, set up a communications network, and perform reconnaissance and permitting activities throughout Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. There are currently eight sites scheduled to be installed in Yellowstone National Park over the next several months: five monument installations this summer and three installed next summer (2006). So far, six of the eight sites have been identified and permitted. Additionally, a few sites just outside of the park are part of the Yellowstone monitoring network.

As of this writing, the PBO crew has installed three GPS stations and a repeater inside Yellowstone Park, and two GPS stations around the perimeter of the park. By mid-September, we hope to have completed five short drilled base monument (SDBM) sites in the park, and five to seven sites outside the park (3 deep drill braced monuments (DDBM) and 2-4 SDBM depending on time).

Additionally, a transect of sites is located to the north and west of Yellowstone Park to instrument the Hebgen Lake Fault, as well as a few sites around the Tetons to capture movement of the Teton fault. In total, there will be about 25 cluster sites installed (not including backbone) in and around Yellowstone.

With several sites in such a small vicinity, a radio network is needed for the GPS data transmission, similar to networks created for volcanoes. Fortunately, there is already some infrastructure set up for communications on three of the highest peaks around the park, allowing for a large area of coverage. The radios are setup to feed all of the data to Mt. Washburn, the highest point in Yellowstone, where data will be sent to Boulder via the Internet. Once nucleus sites are updated, 15-20 sites will utilize the radio network.