Sensors

Nanometrics Trillium 240 Polar Sensor

Nanometrics Trillium 240

The Nanometrics Trillium 240 is a symmetric triaxial broadband instrument that has a flat response to ground velocity between 240s and 200Hz, and has a low self-noise, below the New Low Noise Model between 100s and 10Hz.  The manufacturer specifications of operating temperatures are between -20C and +50C, but the Trillium 240 has operated reliably for us to temperatures below -60C.  The power consumption at low seismic noise conditions and with the instrument well leveled is about 650mW.  The Trillium has a +/-1deg tilt tolerance, is fairly sensitive to varying temperature, but was designed to be insensitive to atmospheric variations.

The Trillium 240 is well suited for medium to long term experiments in the Arctic and Antarctic supported by the EarthScope EPIC Polar Program.

Working with Responses to Get Units of Ground Motion

Necessary information:

Sensor: sensitivity and passband (velocity transducer) or scaling (accelerometer)

For information on sensor sensitivity and passband, see the Sensor Comparison Chart along with the Sensor Response Plot.

Datalogger: Analog-to-Digital (A/D) conversion factor (aka bit weight) and Gain 

Quanterra model Q330: 419,430 counts/volt, or 2.384 uV/count at a Gain of 1 RefTek model RT130: 629,327 counts/volt, or 1.58997 uV/count at a Gain of 1

 

Example: Counts to Ground Velocity Conversion within the Passband

 

Instrumentation

Instrumentation to support portable seismology available from the EPIC:

Dataloggers - This section encompasses the equipment which take in data and stores it on some type of non-volatile media.

Power Systems - All the required equipment to keep a seismic station continuously powered throughout its deployment.

Sensors - The equipment that actually detects and quantifies ground motion. The sensor sends this information to the datalogger through a cable.

Related categories:

Accelerometers

EPIC Accelerometers: Titan Accelerometer Features:

Strong-motion sensors are accelerometers, and are designed to measure the large amplitude, high-frequency seismic waves typical of large local earthquakes. These seismic waves result in the strong ground motion we feel during a large earthquake. Strong ground motion is often to blame for the structural damage that occurs during an earthquake. The data seismologists record with strong motion sensors is used to improve the design of earthquake resistant buildings and to understand earthquake-induced geologic hazards like liquefaction and landslides. The range of motions of interest for strong-motion applications includes accelerations from 0.001 to 2 g and frequencies from 0 to 100 Hz or more.

Related categories:

Sensors

Seismometers are instruments that measure and record motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, nuclear explosions, and other seismic sources. Records of seismic waves allow seismologists to map the interior of the Earth, and locate and measure the size of these different sources.

Seismograph is another Greek term from Seism - "the shakes" and Grapho - "I draw". It is often used to mean seismometer, though it is more applicable to the older instruments in which the measuring and recording of ground motion were combined than to modern systems, in which these functions are separated. Both types provide a continuous record of ground motion; this distinguishes them from seismoscopes, which merely indicate that motion has occurred, perhaps with some simple measure of how large it was.

The EPIC supports the following types of seismometers:

Related categories:

Cold-rated Guralp CMG-3T Sensor

The Cold-rated Guralp CMG-3T seismometer is described in detail in the Polar section article "Sensors for Year Round Polar Programs".

Guralp CMG-3T Broadband Sensor

  Salient Features: 120s - 50 Hz flat velocity response Remote electronic mass locking, unlocking and centering. Installation & Troubleshooting Documents: Example of 3T/RT130 setup One-pager field sheet
Manufacturer's Documents: Guralp CMG-3T Manual Datasheet, Manual & Quick Start Guide
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