To avoid interference and ground loops, one (1) common ground is installed near the Control Building. The ground consists of a 20-foot, 2-inch copper pipe buried in the ground and is connected at the Control Building in a box on the side of the building to a single conductor, 2/0 stranded insulated copper wire. Each building on the radius is connected to this same ground with an identical copper wire. All projects and power must be connected to this common grounding system, and no project is permitted to install a separate ground.

To assure proper maintenance and order for the CIGO, all cabling (wiring) that connects projects outside of the building with instrumentation inside the building must be run underground, direct burial or in plastic conduit.

The plastic conduit should be routed to one of the connection boxes located on the outside wall of each building and through the existing conduit installed through the wall of the building to the inside. It is important that no holes be cut through the walls of the buildings.

Any installation of equipment and/or instruments must receive prior approval of the CIGO Project Manager. Environmental control inside the buildings, vaults, etc., is very important, especially in the area of temperature stabilization. Any heat-generating equipment must be evaluated to determine total impact on the facilities and projects. Any use of unsealed batteries that could leak vapors generally will not be permitted unless in a well-ventilated area. All batteries must have protective covers to avoid shorts and/or sparks and for safety purposes.

To preserve the integrity of the CIGO operation and to avoid disturbance of projects, it is necessary to monitor and control vehicular and personnel traffic. A visitor log where all users will sign in and out is located in a small shelter located on the 500' radius gate (the inner gate). Please assist in the CIGO vehicle traffic and personnel control by signing in and out each time you visit the site.

Security for the CIGO is provided by an outer padlocked gate on Yankovich Road and an inner padlocked gate 500 feet from the center of the site. Keys are issued in the Geophysical Institute Operations Office located in room 616 Elvey (phone 474-7291). More information about key check-out procedures, forms, deposits, lost key fees and other related issues can be found at http://tinker.gi.alaska.edu/admin/operations/policies/key .

Any alterations to the CIGO property and facilities must receive prior approval from the CIGO Project Manager. This includes the attachment of objects to buildings, facilities, and grounds and installation of permanent wiring and cable that must be attached to the inside or outside of the buildings, facilities or grounds.

The Control and Interface buildings are primarily intended for communication and the distribution of data. Cabling and conduit to each of the buildings on the 200-foot radius circle connect back to the Control Building. Each building on the 200 foot radius has 24 pairs of #18 twisted, stranded copper wires, with shield, connected to the Control Building. The Control Building and the Interface Building are connected with 2 fiber optic cables, 4 strands in each cable.

UAF Facilities Services, through the Geophysical Institute Operations Office, provides building and ground maintenance, road maintenance and snow removal for CIGO. Facilities Services' Division of Design and Construction (FS DD&C) provides professional advice and oversight concerning engineering aspects of CIGO. Anything that pertains to maintenance should be reported to the CIGO Project Manager (474-7790 or 474-7411) for action.

The CIGO is designed to include various scientific disciplines, but all of the individual projects must be planned to work in harmony with the geomagnetism programs that are predominate in the CIGO scheme. Each project will be designated an area or building to operate in. To avoid interfering or extending into other project operations, it is requested that each project limit its operation to the area designated. If there is a need or if the project would like to make a test or inspect an area outside of its designated area, please contact the CIGO Project Manager for approval.

If you would like to locate a new project at the CIGO site, fill out a project proposal form (bottom of this page) furnishing the following information for each project.