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Department of Geology and Geophysics:
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"The Department of Geology & Geophysics, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, offers
undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a variety of Earth Science related fields
with an emphasis on Alaska and the circum-Arctic region.
Students working on the M.S. in Geology can specialize in one of
six areas of concentration: General Geology, Economic
Geology, Petroleum Geology, Quaternary Geology, Remote Sensing,
and Volcanology. The department also offers doctorates in a variety of
disciplines in the Geosciences."
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Geophysical Institute:
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"Our approach to research is through convenient disciplinary faculty groups. Beginning at the sun, these are space
physics, atmospheric sciences, snow, ice and permafrost, seismology, volcanology, tectonics and sedimentation, and
remote sensing. Our 60 faculty, together with approximately 80 graduate students and associated undergraduates carry out
research projects at high latitudes relating to the location of Alaska within the Arctic. Together with the support services at
the Geophysical Institute, these research activities have a budget of about $30M annually.
A large part of the success of the Institute is attributable to the support staff and their expert services. These include a
research library, machine and electronic shops, computer resource center, digital design center, geodata center, map
office, operations, business, human resource, proposal and information offices.
The Geophysical Institute has several large facilities. The largest is a satellite ground station and associated processing
and archiving center called the Alaska Synthetic Aperture Radar Facility funded by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). Radar images produced here enable the all-weather study of sea ice, earthquakes, volcanoes, and
regularly provide hazard-management products for agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the National Ice Center, Through the International Observatory of the North, optical images of the Arctic from
NASA and NOAA satellites are received and processed to support remote sensing research and data services to the state.
The Poker Flat Research Range, the only university-owned rocket range in the world, is a NASA-supported launch site for
suborbital space flight. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center operates over 300 seismomctcrs and records more than
50 earthquakes a month occurring within the state. The Alaska Volcano Observatory maintains a continual watch for
eruptions and ash clouds. Together with the United States Geological Survey, warnings are issued to pilots for avoidance
of aviation hazards."
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