GINA

Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA)

Geophysical Institute

Geographic Information Network of Alaska

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GINA on the University of Alaska Campus

The Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) resides within the Geophysical Institute (Elvey Building) on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Geophysical Institute was established by an Act of Congress in 1946 and enjoys an international reputation for studies of the earth and its physical environment. It is one of the few research institutes in the United States where scientists study a wide spectrum of geophysical processes ranging from the center of the earth to the center of the sun and beyond.

Direct Broadcast Receiving Stations

"Big Dog" Antenna, Akasofu Building, UAF Campus

The "Big Dog" antenna. Photo by Todd Paris

GINA/UAF owns and operates the “Big Dog” X-Band receiving station on top of the Akasofu Building on the West Ridge of UAF. The 3.6-meter dish inside the fiberglass radome captures dozens of passes per day from the polar-orbiting satellites SNPP, Terra, and Aqua satellites. Pass data is processed by our “Near Real Time” data processing and distribution facilities on the UAF campus. Select products derived from each pass are available at the Puffin Feeder. Contact GINA for more information

"Sandy Dog" Antenna, NOAA’s Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS)

Sandy Dog antenna being installed at FCDAS at Gilmore Creek.
GINA works closely with one of the largest ground receiving facilities in the world, NOAA/NESDIS Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS), to operate the “Sandy Dog” 3.0-meter L-, X-, and S-band antenna on FCDAS’s Fairbanks (Gilmore Creek) campus. The antenna enhances the National Weather Service’s Alaska Region capabilities by increasing satellite data acquisition capabilities. Passes from numerous polar-orbiting satellites are received, with priority on the JPSS constellation. Pass data is sent to GINA’s computing facilities on the UAF campus and hundreds of products are created and distributed to forecasting agencies and communities across Alaska.

UAF5 Antenna, Usibelli Building, UAF

UAF5 being installed at Usibelli Building. Photo by Jay Cable

GINA owns and operates “UAF-5,” the Orbital Systems 2.4 Meter Antenna on top of the Usibelli Building on UAF’s Lower Campus. It has the ability to receive X- and L-band direct broadcast data from satellites and is primarily used for tracking and downloading sensor data from weather satellites. GINA then takes that data and uploads it into our Near Real Time (Puffin Feeder) processing stack to make the data available for our partners. A radome was placed in September 2024.