Mesh Network GNSS-Acoustic Experiment in Alaska

Update: The Postdoc position is now open for applications. You can apply here, and please feel free to contact me to discuss the position.

I was recently awarded funding for an exciting new technical experiment to push the limits of what we can do with GNSS-Acoustic-based seafloor geodetic observations. In the experiment, we are buying and deploying a new Wave Glider and 10 new transponders for deployment in the near-trench environment that are expected to be most responsible for large tsunamis.

Over three years we will specifically be testing (1) deep-water measurements using lower frequency transponders than commonly used, (2) observations that include high gradients of change across the seafloor, and (3) the application of a mesh-network design that can dramatically reduce the cost of observations where dense deformation data are helpful.

The deployment will occur in June/July 2024 on the RV Sikuliaq, during the initial deployment of instrumentation in Alaska for the Community Near-trench Geodetic Experiment. We will commence observations then, with a second Wave Glider deployment planned for 2025.

My co-investigators are Mark Zumberge at UCSD-Scripps, and Surui Xie at University of Houston. We will soon be looking for a postdoc to manage the data processing associated with this experiment.

A little more detail can be gained from the below image I pulled from the proposal.

The proposed experiment design.

• 2023 4
• 2022 1