Photo is from fieldwork with Colgate undergraduates on San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos that ultimately led to this Picker project.
Karen Harpp, professor of earth and environmental geosciences at Colgate University; Andrew Bell, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh; Peter LaFemina, professor doctor of geophysics at the University of Bremen; and Mario Ruiz, director at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, have received a Picker ISI Minor Grant award of $29,990 for their project, “Understanding Volcanic Island Evolution in the Galápagos: A Pilot Implementation of a Small, Multi-Parametric Geophysical Network.”
The project will install a long-term broadband seismometer and Global Navigation Satellite System station on San Cristóbal Island, expanding current monitoring coverage to the eastern Galápagos and extending the network’s effective aperture by approximately 250 km. The new seismic and geodetic data will improve constraints on regional earthquakes and fault systems and support initial imaging of crust and upper mantle structure, while laying groundwork for future network expansion and student research opportunities in partnership with Ecuador’s Instituto Geofísico, the Galápagos National Park, and the Charles Darwin Research Station.