Study and experience the natural wonders of the Earth! Students will live in Denali National Park for 5 days, accompanied by a dedicated Park Ranger in addition to the two ASRA instructors. Students will see all the park has to offer, including wildlife in their natural habitat. One is almost guaranteed to see caribou, moose, grizzly bears, wolves and more. This module really ROCKS! Students from past years have had a blast.

Alaska has more earthquakes every year than any other state in the country. These earthquakes are directly related to Alaska's mountain ranges, volcanoes, and tsunamis. This module combines sophisticated electronics and outdoor adventure as we track earthquake activity over the course of two weeks using Denali National Park as our laboratory. We will examine why and where earthquakes occur by exploring their impacts on Denali from the road and by hiking in the backcountry. We will learn how to read the record of vibrations called seismograms to determine where earthquakes have occurred and how big they are. The rest of our time will be devoted to analyzing the data we collect for earthquakes and other signals. Around the camp fire at night we will put together a website where we will publish the results of our investigation.

Look at the 2006 ASRA student Earthquake webpage HERE and the 2007 website HERE. Half of this course will take place on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus with the other half located in Denali National Park. At the University we will learn about earthquakes and become familiar with recording equipment. We will put these skills to use at Denali National Park where we will install instruments to record earthquakes and then analyze our data.

Students in this course should have an interest in hiking and camping. A primary goal is to explore the geology of the park and the science of earthquakes, but there will be ample opportunity to learn about other things. We will be doing real field work with all the unpredictability of weather that accompanies summer in Alaska.

NOTE: This module carries an additional cost because of travel and camping logistics.

Mike is a research assistant professor at the Geophysical Institute. He works in seismology with a research focus on volcanoes. He works with the Alaska Volcano Observatory. He particularly enjoys any activities that allow him to explore the Alaskan wilderness. The ASRA earthquakes module is a great chance to explore one of the most interesting tectonic areas of the country. The Denali field work is Mike's idea of heaven: a mix of science and outdoors, and camping with bright interesting people.

Helena works at the Geophysical Institute at UAF, studying seismology with an emphasis on volcanoes. She is a graduate student, working with Mike West. Helena works with both the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the Alaska Earthquake Information Center. Helena is also a certified WMA Wilderness First Responder, which is a qualification in wilderness first aid.