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SURE Intern Projects, Summer 2013



Mentor(s): Danielle Sumy, Elizabeth Cochran (USGS), and Robert de Groot (USC)
    Promoting Citizen Science with the Quake-Catcher Network: Seismology online content-based design for use by museums and libraries

    The Quake-Catcher Network (QCN) uses low-cost seismic sensors to record data in real-time on volunteer computers, and places the science in the hands of everyday people. We seek a motivated intern to coordinate a pilot program with ~3-4 museums, libraries, and other free-choice learning institutions within southern California to facilitate the installation and marketing of the QCN sensors. This project is a joint effort between the QCN and the Earthquake Education and Public Information Center (EPIcenter) Network to further encourage earthquake and tsunami preparedness in California. The intern will document how the QCN sensors are used by the pilot institutions and the effectiveness of the sensors as a learning tool. In addition, the intern will be involved in designing web content and educational pamphlets for use in the installation and marketing of the QCN sensors. With sufficient density of sensors, QCN may one day be used as an earthquake early-warning and forecasting tool, which complements the goals of the Uniform Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF) version 3. UCERF provides a scientific hazard estimate for California that is currently under-development and will be released by the US Geological Survey in mid-2012. Since some local travel is involved, it is desirable for the intern to have access to a vehicle.

    Research Location: Pasadena, and Los Angeles

    Institution: United States Geological Survey

    Number of Interns Needed: 1

    Required Skills/Coursework: A computer science background is a must. A basic knowledge of HTML, and word processing skills is very desirable.

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: A general earth science background is desired.

    General Time Span: 6/4-8/17




Mentor(s): Zhigang Peng (PI), Chastity Aiken (graduate student), Hongfeng Yang (Research scientist)
    Global search of triggered tremors

    Deep tectonic tremor and episodic slow-slip events have been observed at major plate-boundary faults around the Pacific Rim. They appear to be extremely stress sensitive, and could be instantaneously triggered by distant earthquakes and solid earth tides. However, many important questions remain open. For example, it is still not clear what are the necessary conditions for tremor generation, and how remote triggering could affect large earthquake cycle. The summer intern(s) will join a group of graduate students/postdocs to continue our search of triggered tremor around the world. Possible work regions include: southern California, Alaska, Caribbean, Central and South America.

    Research Location: Georgia Tech

    Institution: Georgia Tech

    Number of Interns Needed: 1-2

    Required Skills/Coursework: Basic computer skills, familiar with Geophysics.

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: Familiar with the Unix/Linux environment, shell script, and Matlab. General understanding of earthquakes, seismology, and signal processing.

    General Time Span: May-June through August.




Mentor(s): Sally McGill
    Geodetic and Paleoseismologic Studies of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults

    I seek two interns to help with collecting GPS data from the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and vicinity. Dates of the 2014 internship can be either June 16-Aug 8 or June 23-Aug 15, though it is best if both interns choose the same date range. Interns will learn how to set up and operate geodetic-quality GPS antennae and receivers and will then travel as a pair to remote locations in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and vicinity to set up GPS equipment over existing benchmarks. This will often involve hiking several miles to reach remote benchmarks and may involve camping at less remote benchmarks in order to guard the equipment from theft. Interns will also help to train a large group of other undergraduate students and high school and middle school teachers in the use of the GPS equipment beginning on July 7. Data collection will be completed by around July 15, with the remaining 3-4 weeks of the internship available for modeling and interpreting the GPS site velocities in terms of fault slip rates and preparation of a research poster to present at the SCEC meeting in September.

    Research Location: San Bernardino Mountains, California

    Institution: California State University, San Bernardino

    Number of Interns Needed: 2

    Required Skills/Coursework: Trigonometry (pre-calculus) Map-reading and use of a compass Introductory Geology (especially plate tectonics)

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: Structural Geology Tectonics Sedimentary Geology

    General Time Span: Either June 16 to August 8, 2014 or June 23 to August 15, 2014. It is best if both interns choose the same date range.




Mentor(s): Kathleen Springer, Senior Curator of Geological Sciences Robert de Groot, SCEC
    Interpreting Paleoseismology to the Public - The Pallett Creek Virtual Field Trip

    The San Bernardino County Museum(SBCM) is completing a suite of exhibits in our new Hall of Geological Wonders. The SBCM is a free choice learning environment and part of the EPIcenter (Earthquake Education and Public Information Center) network in California, providing earthquake awareness and preparedness messaging. Many of the new exhibits are focused on earthquake science, utilizing place-based learning to teach big ideas in geosciences. One of these exhibits interprets paleoseismology, which will include a three-dimensional recreation of a paleoseismic trench on the San Andreas fault, with the addition of two actual peels from the San Andreas Fault - one from Pallett Creek, the other from Wrightwood. Our intern will build on an interpretive field guide for Pallett Creek that that has already been produced -- this guide was created as a companion piece to the static exhibits in the Hall, inviting the visitor to explore their world. The 2013 SCEC intern will create a web-based virtual field trip for the Pallett Creek experience - complete with content, illustrations and links to other earthquake science/educational resources. The web-based Pallett Creek interpretive guide will allow the SBCM to cast our interpretive net wider, welcoming distant visitors as well as other EPIcenters to experience the museum with a full complement of resources, making their virtual visit both educational and meaningful.

    Research Location: Redlands, CA

    Institution: San Bernardino County Museum

    Number of Interns Needed: 1

    Required Skills/Coursework: Geological Sciences coursework; preferably a geology major; basic computer skills and web design; knowledge of most common computer programs; good communication skills including writing. An interest in teaching, in both an informal and formal educational setting

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: geology curriculum; student interested in geoscience education

    General Time Span: June -early August




Mentor(s): Russ Welti Patrick McQuillan
    IRIS Active Earth HTML5 Update

    Modernize a popular seismology-related website by replacing a Flash object with JavaScript, CSS3 and DOM manipulation techniques. If time permits, improve the CSS file to be more fluid and reusable.

    The Flash object downloads a text list of URLs and sets up timeouts and event handlers to rotate through the URLs as well as allow a user to press buttons to advance forward or backward linearly through the URLs.

    All the functionality is now available using HTML5 techniques and we'd like not to be dependent on Flash. Also this moves us toward being able to be viewed on an iPad.

    Research Location: USC Los Angeles

    Institution: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

    Number of Interns Needed: 1

    Required Skills/Coursework: HTML (HTML5) JavaScript CSS DOM ftp client

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: jQuery AJAX basic UNIX skills

    General Time Span: early June and for ten weeks.




Mentor(s): Lisa Grant Ludwig (UCI) and Sinan Akciz (UCLA)
    3D Paleoseismologic Studies of the San Andreas Fault

    We seek one intern to help with a series of 3D paleoseismic trenches across the San Andreas Fault. The fault trenching will most likely occur from mid-June to mid-July, and will involve scraping trench walls, setting up string grids on the trench walls, surveying critical contacts with a total station and interpreting and documenting the stratigraphic and structural relationships exposed in order to document the surface slip that occurred along the SAF in the Carrizo Plain during the 1857 rupture. Each new exposure of The trench will be excavated by a "back-hoe" but some hand-digging will also be necessary.

    For field work, we will be staying at a motel in Taft (CA). Driving to and from the field site should take about 45 minutes each way. This is a collaborative project between UCI, UCLA and ASU. Office time will mostly be spent at UCLA with Sinan Akciz, but regular visits to UCI campus will also be made.


    Research Location: Taft (CA), UCLA, UCI

    Institution: University of California, Irvine

    Number of Interns Needed: 1

    Required Skills/Coursework: Sedimentary geology, Structural Geology, Trigonometry

    Desirable Skills/Coursework: Field work experience, figure drafting on Adobe (or similar) software

    General Time Span: June 3 - August 12, 2013





For more information contact:

SCEC Education Programs
Office of Experiential Learning & Career Advancement
internships@scec.org
213-821-6340

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