Practical Seismology in Undergraduate Education: A Short-Term Seismic Deployment on the Big Island of Hawaii
Abstract
In June 2011, we deployed three broadband seismometers on and near Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii as a pilot project in geophysical undergraduate education at Cal Poly Pomona. Although large-scale temporary seismic deployments are now fairly common, usually undergraduate students do not have a leading role. The main purpose of this specific field experiment was for the undergraduate students to be active participants, or even leaders, in the installation and data gathering process, and thus have true ownership of the recorded data. This pilot project is part of Cal Poly Pomona's growing undergraduate geophysics program, which includes significant components of practical fieldwork, using modern geophysical equipment, as well as computational analysis, both in keeping with the polytechnic approach of the university. In this seismological field experiment, eight Geology majors were directly responsible for installing the seismic equipment using three different types of deployment. One seismometer was installed in a large instrument vault close to Kilauea Caldera, the second was installed in a pre-built buried container and the final installation was completely free field, using basic supplies from a local hardware store to build a shelter. Students had been taught how to work with the equipment during an on campus hands-on tutorial session. The specific type of seismometers was specifically chosen for its relative ease and speed of deployment, thus enabling the students to carry out the entire installation process almost completely independently. They aligned and centered the seismometers, built shelters for seismometers and batteries, installed GPS sensors and checked that the instruments were functioning correctly using a laptop. During the deployment period, students were able to see some of the volcanic and tectonic processes that were being recorded on the seismometers in action and in the field. We visited the Hawaii Volcano Observatory; explored a large fault scarp, a lava tube, volcanic craters, shield volcanoes, tsunami sites and scoria cones; and observed the glow from the active Halemaumau lava lake. After six days, the seismometers were retrieved. During this short time period, they recorded the ground motion of a small crater edge collapse, tens of local earthquakes and the tremor associated with the rise and fall of the lava lake. The seismic waveforms are currently being analyzed and will be used for at least one senior thesis project.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFMED11A0760P
- Keywords:
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- 0810 EDUCATION / Post-secondary education;
- 7280 SEISMOLOGY / Volcano seismology