On a cold February morning, just off
the only highway adjacent to Alaska’s Denali National Park, Kevin Ward, Ph.D.,
and a group of students dig into the snow with shovels and ice axes. Once they
reach the ground, the team places a small instrument into the frozen tundra. The
sensor is about the size of a coffee can – but with a spike poking out of the
bottom. After the sensor is set and covered with snow, the team drives about a
half-mile and repeats the process. These researchers will place 400 of these
devices over the next several days.
The array of seismometers they’re
deploying along about 190 miles of the Denali Fault will detect tiny movements
in the earth’s crust. By analyzing the seismic waves captured by these devices,
the scientists can map the underground structure of this area. The data this
team recovers will give a more detailed view than ever before of what’s
happening along this section of the Denali Fault.
“People have done this in the past
with earlier generation seismometers. But these new instruments give much
higher resolution of what’s going on underground,” says Ward, an assistant
professor of geology and geological engineering at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
The kind of detailed analysis can
be very useful for those who want to understand earthquakes. The Denali Fault is
among the most active in the United States. In 2002, this fault...