Conference Center Rm 102

Rapid growth of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) applications in seismology, and geodesy, makes it likely that SAGE-GAGE researchers will increasingly employ DAS in projects. DAS technology, optical fiber availability, data management, and data analysis are also changing at a high rate. This collection of discussion topics should engage workshop participants considering DAS for new projects and collaborations.

• DAS Strain Response – SAGE to GAGE
• Novel methods of fiber-optic sensing (reporting on AGU 2022 special session)
• DAS for Near Fault Observatory
• Global DAS Month First Report
• DAS Data Management and Open Science requirements

Primary contact: Herb Wang (University of Wisconsin-Madison; hfwangwisc.edu)

Plenary Hall

EarthScope Consortium Data Services is developing a cloud-based replacement for the GAGE and SAGE data centers– known as the Common Cloud Platform.  This project aims to modernize the data systems, allow for significant future expansion, and provide new capability for researchers.  In this session we will provide an overview of the project, describe the expected enhancements and opportunities for researchers, and have a Q&A discussion covering research use cases and more.

Primary contact: Chad Trabant (EarthScope Consortium; chad.trabantearthscope.org)

Conference Center Rm 101

A variety of geophysics field instruments are now available for loan from the EarthScope Consortium and GAGE and SAGE facilities for educational purposes. These equipment include: real-time kinematic GPS, ground penetrating radar, and multichannel seismic systems. To support teaching with these resources, six field-related undergraduate-level teaching modules have been developed by the facilities and community partners. Another eleven modules focus on geophysics data analysis (but not the data collection). These modules all feature the application of geophysical data and techniques to societally-relevant, real-world problems – aimed to attract a diverse range of students into the geosciences. These NSF-funded modules are available online for free and the equipment loans only include the cost of shipping (waivers are available).

Join us for an overview of the available resources followed by a group discussion around how to enhance the current offerings in ways that will best meet the needs of the community.

Resources: 

• GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI)
• Introducing Geophysics for Urban and Near-Surface Applications (IGUaNA)

Primary contact: Beth Pratt-Sitaula (EarthScope Consortium; beth.pratt-sitaulaearthscope.org)

Conference Center Rm 104

To make a leap forward in understanding earthquake rupture, we need a leap forward in observations of earthquake rupture. Researchers from a range of fields have stated that geophysical observations are needed in the very near fault zone in order to glean details of rupture initiation, refine ground motion prediction estimates, and advance our models of earthquake processes. A multi-disciplinary effort is underway to design and propose a solution: the Rupture and Fault Zone Observatory (RuFZO), a community-driven endeavor to collect a high-quality suite of seismic, geodetic, and other geophysical data through continuous long-term stations and temporary dense surveys. At this session we will provide a concise update on the progress, status, and timeline of the RuFZO or near-fault observatory, then move into large and small group discussions to solicit feedback and illuminate next steps. We especially encourage early career researchers and students to participate. This session is a follow-on to the 2021 RuFZO SIG and continues community work from a series of virtual breakout sessions that have occurred over the past year, all available at: https://www.scec.org/article/930.

Primary contact: Kasey Aderhold (EarthScope Consortium; kasey.aderholdearthscope.org)

Conference Center Rm 103

Several NASA-supported projects are working on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data sets that will be valuable for the EarthScope Consortium community. Join this session to hear the latest from the NISAR and OPERA projects, discuss plans for data products, training, calibration/validation, and provide feedback on our plans and suggestions for community engagement that would support the EarthScope community. On schedule to launch in early 2024, the NISAR mission has broad science objectives in understanding global change related to solid Earth deformation processes, climate, and anthropogenic land use. NISAR will provide an unprecedented view of Earth to the SAGE/GAGE community, delivering dense interferometric and radiometric time series of L-band SAR data over all land and ice covered surfaces of Earth every 12 days from ascending and descending orbits (averaging 6 day or better sampling). The Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project will provide deformation products for North America based on Sentinel 1 and NISAR data and a global radiometric terrain corrected product from Sentinel-1 complementing those from NISAR. The Surface Deformation and Change mission study is formulating the next NASA mission for the community studying solid Earth deformation processes. This discussion session will be designed to both prepare the community for upcoming data sets and get community feedback on data needs for future missions.

Primary contact: Susan Owen (JPL; Susan.E.Owenjpl.nasa.gov)

Conference Center Rm 104

The Common Sensor Platform (CSP) is a unified SAGE and GAGE Facilities engineering effort that is working to create a scalable, modular sensor platform that will be applied to multiple types of geophysical instrumentation. The major goals of the CSP are to: a) identify commonalities and differences across existing geophysical station designs and other engineering design procedures used by both facilities; b) create a core sensor platform design concept from these commonalities; c) identify and specify scalable and modular components that can accommodate a variety of physical environments, field logistics, use cases, and other design-constraining factors, and, crucially; d) establish a collaborative and unified engineering culture that fosters common practices across all instrumentation and infrastructure groups within SAGE and GAGE.

This session will introduce the CSP project and its goals to the community at large, provide a status update, and solicit community feedback on project goals and roll out.

Primary contact: Andy Frassetto (EarthScope Consortium; andy.frassettoearthscope.org)

Conference Center Rm 103

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data-products management and education are increasingly critical to the geophysics research community. Over the past three decades, InSAR methods have moved from capturing only snapshots of the earthquake deformation cycle, to constraining multidecadal processes that encompass the fields of active tectonics, volcanology, geomorphology, hydrology, and cryosphere sciences.

Looking beyond the end of the current GAGE facility, there is an opportunity to reimagine the future of community-driven InSAR data products and facility support for the InSAR community, including objectives and opportunities. This session, organized by the WInSAR ad-hoc committee, will present ideas and seek community feedback on the community’s needs for InSAR and other types of geodetic imaging data hosting, software and products.

WInSAR was established by a group of practicing scientists and engineers to facilitate advancement of Earth science research using radar remote sensing. WInSAR formed under the auspices of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) in 1999 and became part of UNAVCO in 2006. Its current members include universities, research laboratories, and public agencies. Today, the WInSAR community includes over 320 member institutions from around the world. The historical objectives of WInSAR include: 1) promoting the use and development of InSAR technology for scientific investigations; 2) acquiring SAR imagery in western North America from sources that do not routinely provide free, open and unlimited access to data; 3) advocating the open exchange of SAR data and disseminating data for use by member organizations; 4) providing value-added InSAR products; and 5) educating and training the scientific community on software use and InSAR applications.

Primary contact: Eric Lindsey (University of New Mexico, eolunm.edu)

Conference Center Rm 102

SZ4D (Subduction Zones in Four Dimensions) is a rapidly developing initiative for a long-term, interdisciplinary, community-driven research program to improve our understanding of processes underlying subduction zone geohazards across the shoreline. SZ4D has brought together representatives from US research communities that study subduction geohazards to collaborate for the past three years in a Research Coordination Network (RCN). SZ4D has now graduated to a standalone entity distinct from the prior RCN.  The objective is to develop a program designed to grow the SZ4D community through coordinated scientific and capacity building efforts that achieve broader collective impact. The SZ4D team is pursuing multiple funding and development paths toward realization of the goals. The publicly available Implementation Plan, built and revised upon community input, lays out the key science priorities, focused field and laboratory infrastructure, modeling and computational capability, and building equity and capacity efforts. The SZ4D effort has already engaged an inclusive community of researchers via workshops and webinars and is seeking to recruit additional members to populate a committee governance structure that will be critical to develop the SZ4D Science Center. This session will present the current status of the initiative, ways for the SAGE/GAGE community to be actively engaged in designing SZ4D, and will provide an open forum for questions and feedback. www.sz4d.org 

Primary contact: Mike Brudzinski (Miami University of Ohio; brudzimrmiamioh.edu)

Conference Center Rm 101

This session will include presentations and discussions aimed at familiarizing attendees with how SAGE facility resources for collecting magnetotelluric (MT) observations can enhance their study of the crust and upper mantle at different scales. This includes an overview of the portable MT instrument pool with a brief introduction to how the instrumentation can be deployed in common environments. Additionally, we will highlight tutorials and software tools for working with MT data, including a growing number of documented, self-guided modules that allow users to process the Earth response from magnetic and electrical field timeseries, explore these datasets across a survey area, and invert the frequency dependent Earth response to model subsurface structure. We will include short highlights from recent studies using MT, and how MT can be an important tool in future community science undertakings. Finally, we will close with a Q&A discussion directed at ensuring that this capability is fully accessible to interested new users.

Primary contact: Justin Sweet (EarthScope Consortium; justin.sweetearthscope.org)