Bear Encounters with Seismic Stations in Alaska and Northwestern Canada

Carl Tape, David Heath, Michael Baker, Scott Dalton, Kasey Aderhold, Michael West

Seismological Research Letters, 2019

Full-resolution: main paper, supplement; Low-resolution: main paper, supplement

Remote regions of Alaska have lots of curious bears. These bears can wreak havoc on scientific equipment, such as a seismic station that records continuous ground motion. When bears disrupt a seismic station, there can be damage of equipment and loss of data. This has been a long-standing challenge. We decided to document this issue across Alaska and to make recommendations to minimize data losses in the future.

The photos below are from temporary seismic stations, which are much lighter than permanent stations in Alaska.