The Geophysical Institute of the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

conducts research into

space physics Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy, aurorae, planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, ...

and

aeronomy Aeronomy is the scientific study of the upper atmosphere of the Earth and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets. It is a branch of both atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics. Scientists specializing in aeronomy, know ...

;

atmospheric sciences Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study ...

;

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

, and

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

;

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

;

volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geology, geological, geophysical and geochemistry, geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin language, Latin ...

; and

tectonics Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

and

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

. It was founded in 1946 by an act of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. The mission of the Geophysical Institute is to: * Understand basic geophysical processes governing the planet Earth, especially as they occur in or are relevant to Alaska; * Train graduates and undergraduates to play leading scientific roles in tomorrow's society; * Solve applied geophysical problems and develop related technologies of importance to the state and the nation; * Satisfy the intellectual and technological needs of fellow Alaskans through public service.

History

The

established the Geophysical Institute with an act approved on July 31, 1946, to study the

aurora borealis An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, after auroral activity disrupted military communications during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The funds from Congress were used to build the Geophysical Institute's main structure, which was finished in 1950. The building today is known as the Sydney Chapman Building. The institute's first director, Stuart L. Seaton, served for nine months before resigning. While the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

looked for a new director, William S. Wilson, a professor of chemistry, was appointed to be the acting director. Wilson was able to recruit Sydney Chapman — who spent three months every year from 1951 to 1970 in Alaska. In January 1952, the Board of Regents appointed astronomer Christian T. Elvey as the director of the institute. During this time, the first doctorate degree was awarded to Masahisa Sugiura who went on to become Head of the Analysis Section of the Magnetic and Electric Fields Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Elvey served as the institute's director until 1963 when he was succeeded by Keith B. Mather, namesake of the Mather Library, which is still part of the Geophysical Institute. The early research done at the institute was focused on atmospheric science and space physics, then throughout the 1960s the research done was expanded to include fields such as glaciology, seismology and volcanology. In 1968, the

Defense Nuclear Agency The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is both a defense agency and a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, a ...

wanted a location to launch research rockets — which prompted the start of the

Poker Flat Research Range The Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) is a Rocket launch site, launch facility and rocket range for sounding rockets in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on a site at Chatanika, Alaska, Chatanika, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Fairban ...

, 30 miles north of Fairbanks. In 1970, the Geophysical Institute had outgrown the Chapman Building, and began to move into the newly constructed C.T. Elvey Building. Currently, there are almost 300 employees working inside the Geophysical Institute, including 59 students.

Research

The Geophysical Institute has seven research groups: * Space Physics & Aeronomy * Volcanology * Remote Sensing * Snow, Ice & Permafrost * Tectonics & Sedimentation * Atmospheric Sciences * Seismology & Geodesy

Facilities

The Geophysical Institute houses numerous facilities — from the Alaska Satellite Facility, whose radar images allow all-weather study of sea ice, earthquakes and volcanoes, to Poker Flat Research Range, the only university-owned rocket range in the world. The research facilities at the Institute include: * Alaska Earthquake Center * Alaska Satellite Facility *

Alaska Volcano Observatory The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surv ...

* Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) * Alaska Climate Research Center * Alaska Space Grant * Chaparral Physics * College International Geophysical Observatory * GeoData Center & Map Office * Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) * Keith B. Mather Library * High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) * Instrument Development Services * Petrology Lab * Research Computing Systems *

SuperDARN The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is an international scientific radar network consisting of 35 high frequency (HF) radars located in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. SuperDARN radars are primarily used to map high- ...

* Geochronology Facility * Wilson Alaska Technical Center

Notable Faculty and Alumni

* Syun-Ichi Akasofu: Aurora researcher and Institute director. * Carl Benson: Geology and Geophysics Emeritus. * Christian T. Elvey: Astronomer and director of the Geophysical Institute. * Sydney Chapman: Mathematician and advisory scientific director of the Institute. * T. Neil Davis: Co-inventor of the Elvey-Davis all-sky camera. * Don L. Lind: NASA astronaut, who conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute. * Masahisa Sugiura: First Ph.D. recipient. * Erin Pettit: Glaciologist and creator of the Girls on Ice program. * Keith B. Mather: Director of the Institute. * Eugene M. Wescott

External links

Official website

Alaska Earthquake Center

Alaska Satellite Facility

Alaska Volcano Observatory

Poker Flat Research Range

Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI)

Alaska Climate Research Center

Alaska Space Grant

Chaparral Physics

College International Geophysical Observatory

GeoData Center & Map Office

Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA)

High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)

Instrument Development Services

Keith B. Mather Library

Petrology Lab

Research Computing Systems

SuperDARN

Geochronology Facility

Wilson Alaska Technical Center
{{authority control 1946 establishments in Alaska Geophysical observatories Research institutes in Alaska Science and technology in Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks

History

Research

Facilities

Notable Faculty and Alumni

See also

External links