Welcome URI Guests!

Speaker: Dr. Andrew Newman, Georgia Institute of Technology. Title: Near- and very near-trench opportunities for understanding megathrust coupling and tsunamigenesis Abstract: Here I present on a pair of new experiments aimed at improving our understanding of seismogenic coupling/locking within the subduction megathrust off of Cascadia and Alaska. The method captures deformation using absolute bottom pressure and a combination of sea-surface GNSS and seafloor acoustic transponders, called GNSS-A. Data collection and transmission is done using autonomous and green-powered Wave Gliders. The first project is developed as a significant opportunity to grow the seafloor geodetic community. We are two years into the five year Alaska and Cascadia “Near-Trench Community Geodetic Experiment”. As of the summer of 2024, we have installed 12 new GNSS-A sites split between Cascadia and Alaska, using instruments from the NSF-sponsored Seafloor Geodetic Instrument Pool (SGIP). Sites are being surveyed annually through 2027, with data access being developed through a developing portal at EarthScope.org. Along with this project, we will run 2 short-courses this year focusing on "Future-PI" training, and GNSS-Acoustic processing, the latter with new open-source software developed during the project. While the above project is highly important for a first look at the large-scale coupling offshore, it is insufficient to capture very near-trench behavior that is particularly important for tsunami generation. To address this, we developed a design experiment to test GNSS-A capabilities in the steep and deep regions along the trench, where deformation patterns may change rapidly down-dip. We were funded, and in 2024 we deployed a mesh network of 10 near deep-water transponders between 4 and 6 km water depth along a segment of the overriding plate near the 1946 tsunami earthquake rupture along the Aleutian trench. In addition to testing deeper water observations than previously used, the project also evaluates functionality in steep-terrain environments. The mesh design employed here allows for a substantial increase in observation points over a traditional geometry that requires three transponders, as having the ability to reuse existing transponders from multiple centroids demonstrates a substantial reduction in instrumentation and cost. This experiment provides progress in methodologies regarding deployment strategies for dense observations, as well as observations in steep and deep environments, and can be of particular interest for design plans for SZ4D. View on site | Email this event

Vibrance/Essence(n) Defining Color & Texture A Group Exhibit featuring area professional women artists with works in all media related to notions of Color and Texture. The exhibit includes artworks by: Agonza, Janet Austin, Mary Jane Andreozzi, Titilola O. Martins, Saberah Malik, Madolin Maxey, Cindy Ross Meeks, Dianne Reilly, Kristin Street, Robyn Thomas, Anita Trezvant, Judy Volkmann. Free and open to the public Monday – Saturday 8-4:30 located in Lippitt Hall 3rd and 4th Floor and The Higgins Welcome Center. For information contact spennell@uri.edu View on site | Email this event

AI Tools provides a comprehensive introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for students of all disciplines. The course introduces students to various AI tools that can enhance their academic performance and overall college experience. Students will learn how to leverage AI technologies to improve study habits, enhance research skills, and augment their creativity. Through interactive sessions and hands-on activities, students will gain practical knowledge and skills to use AI tools for academic and personal success in college. Fri, Jan 31, AI Tools: For Researchers Fri, Feb 07, AI Tools: Personal Productivity Fri, Feb 14, AI Tools: Writing Fri, Feb 21, AI Tools: Image and Art Fri, Feb 28, AI Tools: For Researchers Fri, Mar 07, AI Tools: Programming Fri, Mar 21, AI Tools: Video + Music View on site | Email this event

Title: The Polar Tempest: ocean mixing and remote sensing at the sea ice floe scale Speaker: Dr. Christopher Horvat, Brown University Abstract: Recent dramatic changes in both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice have profound consequences for the global climate system, yet modern climate models have long struggled to predict them. Here I will discuss recent efforts to understand mixing processes generated at the scale of sea ice floes in response to brittle sea ice deformation. These suggest that a key reason for the lack of model skill is sea ice geometric variability. I'll show that contemporary parameterizations of ocean vertical mixing underestimate ocean mixing in the Arctic and Southern Ocean. This is coupled with biased overestimations of sea ice coverage in standard sea ice remote sensing products, and reinforces the view of polar oceans being quiescent and simple. Instead, evidence points to active, floe-scale mixing processes, which may be explored using a new generation of parameterizations, sea ice models, and remote sensing products under development both in my group and in others. View on site | Email this event

KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 21, 2025 — Hispanic-Latino individuals experience some of the highest obesity rates in the U.S. compared to other ethnic groups, yet have far lower rates of metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS), the most effective obesity treatment. A University of Rhode Island doctoral student’s study aims to find out why, identify socio-cultural […]

KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 21, 2025 – At the end of South Ferry Road in Narragansett, amid the trees on both sides of the road, sits a small beach and a large pier. The pier is home to the University of Rhode Island’s research vessel, Endeavor. Along with the research vessel, off to the right […]

KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 21, 2025 – The University of Rhode Island Center for the Humanities will host historian Shannon King on Thursday, Feb. 27, as part of the center’s year-long series “Sustaining Democracy.” King, associate professor of history at Fairfield University, will discuss “The Politics of Safety: The Black Freedom Struggle,” at 5 p.m. […]