HR: 0800h
AN: ED31A-0083    [Abstracts]
TI: The Plate Boundary Observatory Student Field Assistant Program in Southern California
AU: * Seider, E L
EM: seider@unavco.org
AF: UNAVCO, 6350 Nautilus Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AB: Each summer, UNAVCO hires students as part of the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) Student Field Assistant Program. PBO, the geodetic component of the NSF-funded EarthScope project, involves the reconnaissance, permitting, installation, documentation, and maintenance of 880 permanent GPS stations in five years. During the summer 2007, nine students from around the US and Puerto Rico were hired to assist PBO engineers during the busy summer field season. From June to September, students worked closely with PBO field engineers to install and maintain permanent GPS stations in all regions of PBO, including Alaska. The PBO Student Field Assistant Program provides students with professional hands-on field experience as well as continuing education in the geosciences. It also gives students a glimpse into the increasing technologies available to the science community, the scope of geophysical research utilizing these technologies, and the field techniques necessary to complete this research. Students in the PBO Field Assistant Program are involved in all aspects of GPS support, including in-warehouse preparation and in-field installations and maintenance. Students are taught practical skills such as drilling, wiring, welding, hardware configuration, documentation, and proper field safety procedures needed to construct permanent GPS stations. These real world experiences provide the students with technical and professional skills that are not always available to them in a classroom, and will benefit them greatly in their future studies and careers. The 2007 summer field season in Southern California consisted of over 35 GPS permanent station installations. To date, the Southern California region of PBO has installed over 190 GPS stations. This poster presentation will highlight the experiences gained by the Southern California student field assistants, while supporting PBO- Southern California GPS installations in the Mohave Desert and the Inyo National Forest.
UR: http://www.unavco.org
DE: 3040 Plate tectonics (8150, 8155, 8157, 8158)
DE: 8150 Plate boundary: general (3040)
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting