UAF will host the next EarthScope National Office
August 4, 2015
Sue Mitchell
907-474-5823
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is the new host of the EarthScope
National Office, the National Science Foundation has announced.
The EarthScope project is a large-scale NSF-funded geoscience project using state-of-the-art
instruments to study North America.
The EarthScope National Office is a rotating, university-based office. It is the focal
point for engagement with science related to the EarthScope project and coordinates
education and outreach efforts for the EarthScope community. The Geophysical Institute
will receive more than $2.5 million over a four-year period to conduct the responsibilities
of the national office.
The award will cover two new full-time staff and multiple student positions. Jeffrey
Freymueller, professor of geophysics and coordinating scientist for the Alaska Volcano
Observatory, will serve as director. Elisabeth Nadin, assistant professor of geology,
will be associate director. Co-investigators will be David Fee, research assistant
professor; Jessica Larsen, research associate professor; and Carl Tape, assistant
professor.
The Alaska office will integrate aspects of the nationwide project and help scientists
collaborate through workshops. The office will publicize scientific results through
the EarthScope website and articles for the media. Additional outreach efforts will
be directed toward Alaskans.
EarthScope has operated the Plate Boundary Observatory, an array of GPS receivers
to understand the motions of Earth’s surface across tectonically and volcanically
active southern Alaska, since 2004. EarthScope is now installing the Transportable
Array, which is a grid of temporary seismometers across Alaska and the adjacent parts
of Canada, which will provide a rich data set to study earthquakes and the structure
of the Earth beneath North America.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Jeff Freymueller, jeff.freymueller@gi.alaska.edu, 907-474-7286.
ON THE WEB: www.earthscope.org