CAREER: Integrating Research and Education to Apply High-Rate GPS Into Natural Hazards Reduction

全球定位系统（GPS）已发展成为适用于许多学科的主要工具之一，包括地理学、地球科学、大气科学、环境科学、土木工程、测量学等。具有低采样率的GPS（例如，30秒）已经被地球科学家用来研究板块运动超过二十年。该项目的新方面是研究高速率GPS（例如，每秒1个样本或更高），这对于对地震、海啸和山体滑坡等自然灾害进行实时监测和预警至关重要。该项目将通过开展独立研究，改进当前的地球科学课程，支持和指导本科生和研究生的研究，促进教师专业知识的发展，促进教育和研究的整合。该项目的研究部分将侧重于提高实时高速率全球定位系统的精度，并促进其在自然灾害监测和预警方面的应用，而教育部分将侧重于将全球定位系统纳入大学和大学预科一级的地球科学教育。这两个组件都是基于由NSF重大研究仪器（MRI）计划资助的高速率GPS网络。高速率全球定位系统网络包括位于波多黎各和美属维尔京群岛的六个永久性全球定位系统台站和四个活动性全球定位系统台站。这些永久性全球定位系统台站与波多黎各地震网和强震方案运营的地震台站同地设置，并与国家海洋和大气层管理局运营的海平面验潮站相距很近。全球定位系统-地震仪-潮汐仪综合观测系统已成为波多黎各及其周边地区地震和海啸研究的基本基础设施。该项目的最终目标是促进实时高速率GPS在减少自然灾害中的应用，并为我们的新一代（研究生，本科生和K-12学生）提供最先进的GPS技术，为广阔的职业道路做好准备。本研究的具体目标是：（1）系统地评价高速率（2）开发提高高速率GPS精度的新方法，以及（3）将实时高速率GPS集成到由波多黎各大学的波多黎各地震网络运行的地震监测和海啸预警系统中-玛雅格斯实时高速率GPS技术是先进的GPS卫星、互联网、实时通信、太阳能、计算机和可视化技术的综合。这些新技术会激发学生的兴趣吗？这将有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科的兴趣，并吸引更多的学生选择地球科学专业，这将增加地球科学界的多样性。教育和推广是这个项目的重要组成部分。我们将支持两个毕业生，两个本科生，和一个高中地球科学教师（夏季）每年。我们亦会就全球定位系统的应用发展一系列教育及外展活动。预计它们将提高公众对科学和新技术的认识，并增加代表性不足的群体（西班牙裔）对地球科学研究的参与。

Global Positioning System (GPS) has grown to become one of the principal tools applicable to many disciplines, including geography, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, civil engineering, surveying, and others. GPS with a low-sampling rate (e.g., 30 second per sample) has been used by geoscientists for more than two decades to study plate motions. The new aspect of this project is to study high-rate GPS (e.g., 1 sample per second or higher), which is critical to conduct real-time monitoring and early-warning of natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides. This project will foster the integration of education and research through conducting independent research, improving current geosciences curriculum, supporting and mentoring undergraduate and graduate research, and promoting faculty expertise development. The research component of this project will focus on improving precision of real-time high-rate GPS and promoting its applications in natural hazards monitoring and early-warning, while the educational component will focus on implementing GPS into earth science education at college as well as pre-college levels. Both components are based on a high-rate GPS network funded by a NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. The high-rate GPS network includes six permanent GPS stations and four campaign GPS stations located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These permanent GPS stations are colocated with seismic stations operated by the Puerto Rico Seismic Network and Strong Motion Program and closely-spaced with sea level tide gauge stations operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The integrated GPS-Seismic-TideGauge observation system has become a fundamental infrastructure for earthquake and tsunami research in Puerto Rico and its surrounding regions. The final goal of this project is to promote applications of real-time high-rate GPS in natural hazards reduction, and fuel our new generation (graduates, undergraduates, and K-12 students) with the cutting-edge GPS technology to prepare for a broad set of career paths. The specific objectives of the research are to (1) systematically evaluate the performance of high-rate (5-Hz, 10-Hz, or higher) GPS as a new seismometer, (2) develop new methods of improving precision of high-rate GPS, and (3) integrate real-time high-rate GPS into the earthquake monitoring and tsunami early-warning system operated by the Puerto Rico Seismic Network at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Real-time high-rate GPS technology is an integration of advanced GPS satellite, internet, real-time communication, solar power, computer, and visualization technologies. These new technologies will inspire students? interests in a spectrum of science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) disciplines, and attract more students to earth science majors, which will increase the diversity of earth science community. Education and outreach are the vital parts of this project. We will support two graduates, two undergraduates, and one high-school earth science teacher (in summer) each year. We will also develop a series of education and outreach activities related to the applications of GPS. They are expected to enhance public awareness of science and new technologies and increase the participation of underrepresented groups (Hispanics) in earth science research.