ED31A-0883
EarthScope Transportable Array Siting Outreach Activities in Alaska and Western Canada

Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Lea Gardine1, Perle M Dorr2, Carl Tape1, Patrick McQuillan3, Joel Frank Cubley4, Mary A Samolczyk5, John Taber6, Michael Edwin West1 and Robert Busby7, (1)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (2)Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology - IRIS, Education and Public Outreach, Washington, DC, United States, (3)Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ, United States, (4)Yukon College, Whitehorse, YT, Canada, (5)Unversity of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, (6)IRIS, Washington, DC, United States, (7)Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Seattle, WA, United States
Abstract:
The EarthScope Transportable Array is deploying about 260 stations in Alaska and western Canada. IRIS and EarthScope are partnering with the Alaska Earthquake Center, part of the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute, and Yukon College to spread awareness of earthquakes in Alaska and western Canada and the benefits of the Transportable Array for people living in these regions. We provide an update of ongoing education and outreach activities in Alaska and Canada as well as continued efforts to publicize the Transportable Array in the Lower 48.

Nearly all parts of Alaska and portions of western Canada are tectonically active. The tectonic and seismic variability of Alaska, in particular, requires focused attention at the regional level, and the remoteness and inaccessibility of most Alaskan and western Canadian villages and towns often makes frequent visits difficult. When a community is accessible, every opportunity to engage the residents is made. Booths at state fairs and large cultural gatherings, such as the annual convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives, are excellent venues to distribute earthquake information and to demonstrate a wide variety of educational products and web-based applications related to seismology and the Transportable Array that residents can use in their own communities. Meetings and interviews with Alaska Native Elders and tribal councils discussing past earthquakes has led to a better understanding of how Alaskans view and understand earthquakes.

Region-specific publications have been developed to tie in a sense of place for residents of Alaska and the Yukon. The Alaska content for IRIS’s Active Earth Monitor emphasizes the widespread tectonic and seismic features and offers not just Alaska residents, but anyone interested in Alaska, a glimpse into what is going on beneath their feet. The concerted efforts of the outreach team will have lasting effects on Alaskan and Canadian understanding of the seismic hazard and tectonics of the region.

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