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

UAF 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 http://feeder.gina.alaska.edu/ . Contact us at GINA for more information.

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

Sandy Dog dish being installed at FCDAS 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.

Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) 2.4-m antenna at Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS)

FCDAS Barrow antennas (NOAA)

FCDAS operates a 2.4-meter X- and L-Band antenna in Utqiagvik, Alaska that receives passes from the POES constellations. Data from these passes are made available to GINA for processing, and, as with data from the Big Dog and Sandy Dog antennas, all products derived from these passes are made available to the public.