UNAVCO

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility, as a World Data Center, provided access to scientific data for quantifying the motions of rock, ice, and water at or near the Earth's surface. Geodetic Imaging Data] is collected by various sensors deployed on satellites, aircraft, and on the ground to provide high-resolution terrain models and deformation measurements. These can be taken over areas ranging in size from a dozen meters to hundreds of square kilometers. Data collected from strain and seismic borehole instruments is used to measure deformation on or near to the surface of the Earth as well as to measure the physical properties of rock within the vicinity of the installations. At many of the geodetic measurement sites, meteorological data are also collected to aid with processing of the geodetic data. In the large EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory, now known as the "Network of the Americas" (NOTA), UNAVCO acquired, archived, and distributed multiple community datasets; including data from GNSS/GPS, strain meters, borehole seismometers, tilt meters, and geodetic imaging taken with radar and lidar.

The datasets could be found online via http file servers and search interfaces.

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility managed a community pool of high accuracy portable GPS/GNSS receiver systems used for a range of applications. These systems – which include: receivers, antennas, mounts, power and optionally, communications – can be deployed for days in shorter jobs or for many months in long-term investigations. Systems are also available for precision mapping applications.

The GAGE Facility at UNAVCO maintained a pool of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) instruments and associated peripherals; digital photography equipment, software and ancillary equipment to support Earth science investigators. TLS technology is based on lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) and is sometimes referred to as ground-based lidar or tripod lidar. It is an active imaging system whereby laser pulses are emitted by the scanner and the time and intensity of the returning pulses, reflected by the surface or object being scanned, are recorded. The round-trip time for pulses enables the taking of millions/billions of points, from which a 3D "point cloud" is generated to accurately map the scanned surface/object.

The primary capability of TLS is the generation of high resolution 3D maps and images of surfaces and objects over scales of meters to kilometers with centimeter to sub-centimeter precision. Repeat TLS measurements allow the imaging and measurement of changes through time and in unprecedented detail, making TLS even more valuable for transformative science investigations.

TLS is a powerful geodetic imaging tool which may support a wide range of user applications in many different environments. Geology applications to date include detailed mapping of; fault scarps, geologic outcrops, fault-surface roughness, frost polygons, lava lakes, dikes, fissures, glaciers, columnar joints and hillside drainages. Carrying out additional TLS surveys can be useful in the imaging and measurement of surface changes over time due to, for example; surface processes, volcanic deformation, ice flow, beach morphology transitions, or post-seismic slip. The incorporation of GNSS/GPS measurements provides accurate georeferencing of TLS data in an absolute reference frame. The addition of digital photography can be used to create photorealistic 3D images.

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility provided engineering expertise and equipment resources to investigators in support of their geophysical research projects. This included proposal planning, project logistics, project support letters, field engineering support, modern GNSS equipment loans, permanent GNSS/GPS station installations, operation, and maintenance, and/or data acquisition, quality control, transfer, management, and archiving.

GAGE Facility engineers provided both classroom and in-field training; as well as project design and implementation, field engineering, TLS or GNSS/GPS network operations, and technology development for GNSS/GPS, TLS and other applications.

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility provided geodetic support to NSF-OPP (National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs) funded researchers working in the Arctic and Antarctic. Survey-grade GPS receivers, Terrestrial Laser Scanners, and supporting power and communications systems for continuous data collection and campaign surveying could be provided. Operation and maintenance services were also provided for long term data collection, with on-line data distribution from the UNAVCO community archive.

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility provided global infrastructure support to NASA/JPL in operating a collection of high capability, globally distributed, permanent GNSS/GPS stations called the NASA Global GNSS Network (GGN). Data from these stations are used to produce highly accurate products for GNSS/GPS Earth science research, multidisciplinary applications, and education. UNAVCO also provided support for the International GNSS Service (IGS).

The UNAVCO GAGE Facility's Education and Community Engagement (ECE) program offered short courses and workshops. They focused on professional development, research, and education, strategic support for scientific investigators in developing broader impacts, in-residence programs for geodesy science community members and educators, professional development in geosciences for K-12 faculty, and for undergraduate students through RESESS (Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students), student internships to encourage broader participation in geosciences.

UNAVCO operated the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), the geodetic component of the EarthScope program, funded by the National Science Foundation. The PBO consisted of several major observatory components: a network of 1100+ permanent, continuously operating Global Positioning System (GPS) stations many of which provided data at high-rate and in real-time, 78 borehole seismometers, 74 borehole strain meters, 28 shallow borehole tilt meters, and six long baseline laser strain meters. These instruments are complemented by INSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) and lidar imagery and geochronology.

UNAVCO operated the Continuously Operating Caribbean GNSS/GPS Observational Network (COCONet), which consisted of 50 planned continuously operating GPS/weather stations integrated with 65 existing GPS stations operated by partner organizations, 15 of which will be upgraded with new equipment. COCONet provides free, high-quality, open-format GPS and meteorological data for these stations via the internet for use by scientists, government agencies, educators, students, and the private sector. These data are used by local and foreign researchers to study solid earth processes such as tectonic plate motions, tectonic plate boundary interaction and deformation, including earthquake cycle processes and risks. They also serve atmospheric scientists and weather forecasting groups by providing more precise estimates of tropospheric water vapor and enabling better forecasting of the dynamics of airborne moisture associated with the yearly Caribbean hurricane cycle.

The Geodetic Infrastructure (GI) program integrated all geodetic infrastructure and data acquisition capabilities for continuously operating observational networks and shorter-term deployments. Supported activities included development and testing, advanced systems engineering, the construction, operation, and maintenance of permanent geodetic instrument networks around the globe, and engineering services tailored to PI project requirements. Major projects supported by the GI program included the 1,112 station Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), Polar networks in Greenland and Antarctica (GNET and ANET, together known as POLENET), COCONet spanning the Caribbean plate boundary, the multi-disciplinary AfricaArray, and several other smaller continuously observing geodetic networks.

Geodetic Data Services (GDS) program provided services for the long-term stewardship of unique data sets. These services organized, managed, and archived data, and developed tools for data access and interpretation. GDS provided a comprehensive suite of services including sensor network data operations, data products and services, data management and archiving, and advanced cyber-infrastructure. Services were provided for GNSS/GPS data, Imaging data, Strain and Seismic data, and Meteorological data. GNSS/GPS data enable millimeter-scale surface motions at discrete points. Data from geodetic imaging instruments can be used to map topography and delineate deformation with high spatial resolution. INSAR and Terrestrial LIDAR imaging data services are provided. Strain and seismic data from borehole strain meters, seismometers, thermometers, pore pressure transducers, tilt meters, and rock samples from drilling, as well as surface-based tilt meters and laser strain meters were available. In addition, temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure data are available from surface measurements of atmospheric conditions from stations. Tropospheric parameters are generated during daily GNSS/GPS post-processing managed by UNAVCO and were accessed through data access services. The program was optimized to enable access to high-precision geodetic data. The UNAVCO Data Archive included more than 2,300 continuous GNSS/GPS stations.

The Education and Community Engagement program provided services to communicate the scientific results of the geodetic community, foster education across a broad range of learners, and grow workforce development and international partnerships. Particular focus was given to providing training, developing educational materials, and facilitating technical short courses to scientists studying geodesy. The program also supported formal education (K-12) and informal public outreach through workshops, educational materials for secondary students and undergraduate level courses, museum displays, and social media interactions. UNAVCO provided an annual series of short courses and workshops aimed at current researchers who wanted to update their skills or branch into new areas of geodetic research. UNAVCO Short Courses were offered to increase the capacity of the scientific community to process, analyze, and interpret various types of geodetic data. Educational Workshops promoted a broader understanding of Earth science for college and secondary education faculty.

UNAVCO supported geo-workforce development through undergraduate internship programs, graduate student mentoring, and online resources. The premier internship program for upper division undergraduate students was Research Experience in the Solid Earth Science for Students (RESESS). RESESS is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and ExxonMobil. It was a multi-year geoscience research internship as well as a community support and professional development program designed to increase the diversity of students entering the geosciences. Upper-division undergraduate students from underrepresented groups spent 11 weeks in Boulder, Colorado during the summer, conducting an independent geoscience-focused research project. RESESS was a summer internship program dedicated to increasing the diversity of students entering the geosciences. Interns worked under the guidance of a research mentor and were mentored and supported throughout the academic year by RESESS program staff from UNAVCO. The alumni of RESESS are 55% Latino/Hispanic, 27% African American/Black, 11% Native American, and 7% Asian American. Of the 30 interns who went on to earn a bachelor's degree, 13 were enrolled in a master's degree program and 8 were enrolled in a doctoral program. Nine RESESS alumni were in private industry, five of which were working in geosciences.[2]

Earth and the tools to study it are constantly changing. The tectonic plates are continuously in motion, though so slowly that even with the highest precision instruments, months or years of observations are necessary to measure it. Over the last several decades, the advent of space-based geodetic techniques have improved the ability to measure tectonic plate motion by several orders of magnitude in spatial and temporal resolution as well as accuracy, and to establish stable terrestrial and celestial reference frames required to achieve these improvements. The research with these systems has led to revolutionary progress in our understanding of plate boundaries and plate interiors.[4]

Ice covers approximately 10% of Earth's land surface at the present, with most of the ice mass being contained in the Greenland and Antarctic continental ice sheets. Designing and undertaking geodetic experiments that enable researchers to improve the understanding of ice dynamics allows stronger predictions (through numerical models) of the response of the glaciers to changing climates.[5][6][7]

Through its sensitivity to mass redistribution and accurate distance measurements, geodesy is uniquely posed to answer fundamental questions about issues relating to water and the environment. Geodetic observations are enabling researchers, for the first time, to follow the motion of water within Earth's system at global scales and to characterize changes in terrestrial groundwater storage at a variety of scales, ranging from continental-scale changes in water storage using gravity space missions, to regional and local changes using INSAR, GNSS, leveling, and relative gravity measurements of surface deformation accompanying aquifer-system compaction.[8][9][10]

Seventy-five percent of Earth's crust is unobservable using solely electromagnetic energy-based geodetic techniques. Seafloor geodesy can now expand geodetic positioning to off-shore environments.[11] Researchers can see the effects of changes in Earth's crust far beyond what we can measure with instruments placed solely on dry land.[12]

Space geodesy utilizes electromagnetic signals propagating through the atmosphere of Earth, providing information on tropospheric temperature and water vapor and on ionospheric electron density. Thus, in the early twenty-first century, the goal of geodesy has evolved to include study of the kinematics and dynamics of both Earth's atmosphere and the solid Earth.[13][14][15]

Geodetic research associated with earthquakes and volcanoes have goals of providing early warnings and mitigating future hazard events on a global scale. As the population density increases and more people live in proximity to seismically active faults, understanding the nature of earthquakes remains a goal of the Earth sciences.[16][17]

High-resolution images and 3D/4D topography maps facilitate field-based tests of a new generation of quantitative models of mass transport mechanisms. Open access to data, tools and facilities for processing, analysis, and visualization, and new algorithms and workflows are changing the landscape of geodetic scientific collaboration.[18]