RUI: Geophysical Measurements Using Ring Lasers and Arrays

为了与“RUI：使用环形激光和阵列的地球物理测量”奖的目标保持一致，该奖项旨在帮助建立推进地球科学研究的基础设施，位于阿肯色州康威市的亨德里克斯学院的本科生正在研究美国中部地震产生的旋转地面运动、大气次声和密西西比海湾的特征。在这些研究中，学生们正在利用大型环形激光陀螺仪的测量结果，以及地震仪和气压计，这些都是美国国家科学基金会可运输地球范围阵列的一部分。地震学家多年前就知道，地震除了产生垂直和横向的地面运动外，还会产生旋转的地面运动；地震旋转分量的潜在危害还没有被完全了解。测量地震波旋转分量的两种方法是使用大环形激光陀螺仪和地震仪阵列。除了对地震波敏感外，大型环形激光陀螺仪已被证明对大气次声敏感。来自环形激光陀螺仪的测量和来自NSF可移动地球观测阵列的气压读数被学生们用来研究各种现象的次声特征，如飓风、火山、落基山脉上的奇努克风和来自海洋驻波的微气压。例如，飓风的次声特征可以提供有关其内部结构的信息，也许还可以提供有关其强度变化的信息。在1811年至1812年期间，密西西比州的三次大地震震动了美国中部，震中靠近密苏里州的新马德里小镇。地震震级估计从略高于7级到接近8级不等。如果这种震级的地震再次发生，可能会对田纳西州的孟菲斯等大都市地区造成灾难性的破坏。为了更好地了解新马德里断层的危险，美国国家科学基金会资助了密集地震阵列的部署，以补充美国国家科学基金会可运输地球范围阵列。亨德里克斯学院的学生在他们的旋转地面运动研究中使用了密集阵列的结果，并在帮助在密集阵列中部署地震仪方面获得了实际的地震现场经验。

In keeping with the goal of the "RUI: Geophysical Measurements Using Ring Lasers and Arrays" award to help create an infrastructure for advancing research in the Earth sciences, undergraduate students at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas are examining the rotational ground motion generated by earthquakes in the Central United States, atmospheric infrasound, and the characteristics of the Mississippi Embayment. In these studies, the students are utilizing measurements from large ring laser gyroscopes in conjunction with the seismographs and barometric pressure gauges that are part of the NSF Transportable EarthScope Array. Seismologists have known for years that earthquakes generate rotational ground motion in addition to vertical and lateral ground movement; the potential hazards from the rotational components of earthquakes are not completely understood. Two approaches for measuring the rotational components of seismic waves are through the use of large ring laser gyroscopes and arrays of seismographs. In addition to being sensitive to seismic waves, large ring laser gyroscopes have proven to be sensitive to atmospheric infrasound. Measurements from the ring laser gyroscopes and the barometric pressure readings from the NSF Transportable EarthScope Array are in use by the students to study the infrasound signatures from phenomenon as varied as hurricanes, volcanoes, Chinook winds over the Rocky Mountains, and microbaroms from ocean standing waves. As an example, infrasound signatures from hurricanes can provide information about their internal structure and perhaps provide information about their intensity variations. During 1811-1812, three large earthquakes in the Mississippi Embayment shook the Central United States with epicenters close to the small town of New Madrid, Mo. Estimates of the earthquake magnitudes range from slightly above seven to nearly eight. If earthquakes of this magnitude were to reoccur, there could be catastrophic damage to metropolitan areas such as Memphis, TN. In an attempt to better understand the danger from the New Madrid fault, NSF has funded the deployment of a dense seismic array that will supplement the NSF Transportable EarthScope Array. Hendrix College students are using the results from the dense array in their rotation ground motion studies and are gaining hands-on seismological field experience in helping to deploy seismographs in the dense array.