Experiments

Introduction

Pre-deployment or “huddle” testing of equipment is a critical step in preparing for any field-based scientific deployment. This process involves testing most or all components of a typical field station, for multiple stations, simultaneously in a centralized location. The number of systems that can be tested in parallel depends primarily on available personnel and workspace.

Huddle testing can reduce the time and cost associated with fieldwork, minimize the likelihood of returning to correct issues, and greatly improve consistency across deployment teams. Most importantly, it increases the chances of successful equipment performance once deployed.

If this photo (below) of a 6' 1" tall individual looking up at the top of the solar panel mast doesn't cause one to wonder how much snow the mountains near Cornucopia, Oregon receive, a Snow Cat (below left) at a nearby lodge certain makes it's clear - lots of it. This temporary seismic station installed in the mountains of eastern Oregon is part of Dr. Ray Russo's Western Idaho Shear Zone Earthscope Flexible Array experiment. Spanning eastern Oregon to eastern Idaho, the seismic network covers arguably some of the most remote and rugged mountains of the contiguous United States.

"PICASSO  consists of a multidisciplinary international investigation of the Alboran Sea, Gibraltar arc, Atlas Mountains and surrounding areas in the western Mediterranean using passive and active seismology, magnetotellurics, geochemistry/petrology/structural geology, and geodynamic modeling. The project was selected as the pilot experiment for TopoEurope, an EarthScope-like initiative recently approved by the European Science Foundation. The U.S. PICASSO investigators are from Rice (Lee, Levander), the University of Oregon (Humphreys), U.C. San Diego (Seber), WHOI (Chave, Evans), and the University of Southern California (Becker, Platt)". (From Original Proposal)

ETS, or 'episodic tremor and slip', is a recently discovered phenomenon in seismic research. Similar to earthquakes but much smaller in magnitude, ETS events are associated with the subduction zone of some convergent plate boundaries. One such region, the Cascadia subduction zone under the Puget Sound, is the focus of an experiment by Ken Creager's group at the University of Washington (UW), called Array of Arrays.

In July and August of 2009, seven scientists deployed several seismic sensors for a two-year multidisciplinary study of one of the world's most active volcanoes, the Sierra Negra Volcano of the Galápagos Islands. The project's official name is “Collaborative Research: An integrated seismic-geodetic study of active magmatic processes at Sierra Negra volcano, Galápagos Islands.”