Instrumentation

The modern sensing landscape includes all kinds of instruments. The Alaska Earthquake Center manages more than 250 stations that make up the Alaska Geophysical Network. Each station contains one or more seismometers, and many include other types of sensors, such as weather, infrasound, soil temperature, and GNSS instruments. Through the variety of instruments at each station, we are forming new, multidisciplinary partnerships and, along with other scientists, engaging in cross-disciplinary research.

 

Alaska Geophysical Network Station Interactive Map (Alaska Earthquake Center website)
6th grade to early college students
This interactive map shows seismic stations across Alaska, more than 250 of which are managed by the Alaska Earthquake Center. Students can search for stations in specific locations, and click on the link to see what instruments are at the station, when it was installed, and the recent seismograms each recorded. 

Getting Started with the ShakeNet Data Portal
3rd grade to early college students
This lesson introduces students to the Raspberry Shake Organization and how to use their website to identify station location, earthquake arrival time, and amplitude.

Reading an Earthquake Seismogram
3rd grade to early college students
This is an introductory lesson on seismograms and how this tool is used to identify P-waves and S-waves and how the waves are used to determine the distance between the detecting station and the hypocenter.

Understanding Earthquakes: Comparing Seismograms
3rd grade to early college students
This activity has students compare several seismograms to learn how different seismometer locations record earthquake data and how it provides information about the structure of the Earth.

US Array Seismic Wave Visualizations
3rd grade to early college students
This animation shows how the ground is affected by seismic waves by utilizing 400 sensitive seismograph stations. 

Let's get Shaking ASeiS Lesson (Google Slides)
3rd grade to early college students
This slideshow is a crash course on the Alaska Earthquake Center and how our organization utilizes our seismic stations to learn more about earthquakes and tsunamis in Alaska. This lesson also goes over introductory information on tectonic plates, earthquakes, tsunamis, and seismic instruments. 

Raspberry Shake plugin (Google Slides)
3rd grade to early college students
This slideshow covers seismicity, seismometers, seismographs, and the different types of seismic sensors, as well as our stations in Alaska and how we record earthquake data. It also covers how to use and set up a home science seismograph created by Raspberry Shake to record seismic data.