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| Nevada Geodetic Laboratory | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nevada Geodetic Laboratory |
| Formation | 2003 |
| Headquarters | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Location | Reno, Nevada |
| Fields | Geodesy, Geophysics, Earth science |
| Leader title | Director |
Nevada Geodetic Laboratory is a research group based at the University of Nevada, Reno that specializes in analysis of geodetic and geophysical data for studies of earthquakes, volcanoes, tectonics, and ice sheet dynamics. The Laboratory produces publicly accessible products and services used by agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the United States Geological Survey, and international research centers. Its work informs operational responses to Sierra Nevada seismic events, Long Valley Caldera unrest, and regional deformation linked to plate boundary interactions.
The Laboratory applies techniques from GPS geodesy, InSAR, and precise orbit determination to quantify crustal motion across the western United States and beyond, collaborating with institutions like California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Columbia University. Its datasets support studies by investigators at Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, and Oregon State University, and inform hazard assessments by the California Geological Survey, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, and Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Research themes include continuous strain monitoring relevant to San Andreas Fault, Walker Lane, Eastern California Shear Zone, and volcanic deformation at sites such as Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Yellowstone Caldera, and Kīlauea. Projects have involved time series analysis for events like the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the 2014 South Napa earthquake, the 1992 Landers earthquake, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The Laboratory contributes to initiatives funded by NASA Earth Science Division, the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, and international programs like Global Geodetic Observing System and Group on Earth Observations. Collaborative networks include Plate Boundary Observatory, UNAVCO, International GNSS Service, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency investigators.
Instrumentation includes continuous Global Navigation Satellite System receivers from manufacturers used by Trimble, Septentrio, Topcon, and geodetic-quality antennas deployed at sites with dataloggers from Raspberry Pi-class processors and power systems similar to those used by USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. Methods incorporate precise point positioning, ambiguity resolution algorithms inspired by work at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and European Space Agency centers, and InSAR processing using data from satellites like Sentinel-1, RADARSAT, TerraSAR-X, COSMO-SkyMed, and missions by NASA such as Landsat and NISAR. Analyses employ software toolchains maintained by communities around MATLAB, Python, GAMIT/GLOBK, GIPSY-OASIS, and libraries developed by teams at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The Laboratory provides time series of crustal displacement, velocity fields, strain rate maps, and rapid-slip estimates for earthquakes made accessible to users at USGS, FEMA, NOAA, and emergency managers. Data feeds integrate with platforms like IRIS, DataONE, Zenodo, and institutional repositories at University of Nevada, Reno while adhering to conventions used by International Association of Geodesy and Open Geospatial Consortium standards. Operational products have been incorporated into situational awareness systems for events monitored by California Office of Emergency Services, Nevada Division of Emergency Management, and international partners including Geoscience Australia.
The Laboratory partners with research groups at University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Utah, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University, Brown University, Duke University, Yale University, and international centers like GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, British Geological Survey, ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Italy), and Instituto Geográfico Nacional (Spain). Funding and programmatic partnerships have included agencies such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Defense, European Commission, and philanthropic foundations supporting research at Simons Foundation and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Founded in 2003 within the University of Nevada, Reno research community, the Laboratory grew from early GPS networks deployed following work by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Organizationally it collaborates with academic departments including Department of Earth Sciences (University of Nevada, Reno), centers like the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, and administrative units tied to grants from National Science Foundation and cooperative agreements with USGS. Leadership and staff have included faculty and researchers who previously trained at institutions such as California Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Products have supported seismic hazard modeling grounded in standards used by USGS National Seismic Hazard Model, informed volcanic crisis response coordinated with USGS Volcano Hazards Program and Alaska Volcano Observatory, and contributed to cryosphere studies relevant to NASA Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite analyses. Applications extend to infrastructure monitoring for railroads and pipelines overseen by companies and regulators like Federal Railroad Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and to climate-related research involving Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments and polar studies by British Antarctic Survey and National Snow and Ice Data Center.