POLARIS

POLARIS (Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Research Investigating Seismicity)

Carleton University (CU), University of Western Ontario (UWO), University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) started the POLARIS Project in 2001 with the establishment of a Consortium of scientists of Canadian universities. Dr. Atkinson (with 10 others) was the primary applicant of POLARIS from 2001 to 2009.

POLARIS (2001-2014) was a major university/government/industry geophysical consortium focused on elucidating the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s interior and investigating earthquake hazards. POLARIS provided unparalleled, collaborated research opportunities across Canada and other countries (e.g. Austria, Morocco, UK, and the US).

The POLARIS Consortium deployed arrays of geological observatories across Canada for research in geophysics. The POLARIS funding was initially from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), for equipment purchase, and from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grants and equipment users through User Fee procedures established by POLARIS Consortium and administered by Carleton University. Carleton University was the lead institution for the POLARIS Consortium and equipment at the observatories.

Dr. Dariush Motazedian became the primary applicant (with 10 others) of the successful POLARIS proposal in 2009. POLARIS ended in 2014 and the equipment was distributed among the participating universities. Carleton University, in collaboration with the GSC, reinstalled an array of broadband seismic stations in the Ottawa Valley using POLARIS equipment.  

All Dr. Motazedian's undergraduate, two M.Sc., and three Ph.D. students, and two PDFs at Carleton University, in addition to many undergraduate and graduate students at seven other participating universities across Canada, benefitted from data gathered by the POLARIS equipment. Many journal papers and presentations by POLARIS members and their students were based on data gathered by POLARIS equipment.