AGU conference highlights UAF, global research

December 12, 2016

University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists are presenting their work at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting in San Francisco this week. Here are some highlights of their research, as shared at the world’s largest Earth and space science meeting.

The American Geophysical Union’s fall conference is serious stuff.

More than 25,000 people attend the enormous annual science meeting, which occupies several blocks this week in San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood. The throng of researchers, students and science reporters nearly equals the population of the city of Fairbanks, packed into various conference halls and rooms at the Moscone Center.

As a leading researcher in Earth science, particularly in the Arctic, it’s an event the University of Alaska Fairbanks knows well. Scientists from UAF have attended the event for decades, including about 100 people this year. It’s a rare opportunity to discuss the latest in Earth and space research with a diverse group of colleagues, including researchers from 118 countries who are attending AGU this year.

The event includes a week of presentations and news conferences on scientific research. An accompanying poster session includes thousands of displays in a hall bigger than a football field. The area is so cavernous that several uninvited pigeons casually flew around the indoor venue on Monday morning.

But this is no science fair. UAF doctoral candidate Kathleen McKee displayed a poster entitled “Infrasound signal detection and characterization using ground-coupled airwaves on a single seismo-acoustic sensor pair." The study highlights possible new methods for finding the direction of the source of a volcanic eruption or explosion, while using minimal instrumentation.

The poster sessions and presentations draw thousands of spectators, allowing researchers to learn about about new studies and topics in their fields.

“It’s really about getting to talk about science,” said McKee, a geosciences researcher in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “A lot of times we’re buried in our work mode, and this is an opportunity to learn from each other and share ideas.”