Here are some of the articles that have been recently posted to the PASSCAL website:

Software Resources

EPIC PASSOFT Software

EPIC provides open-source software for downloading seismic data from data recorders, for quality assessment, and for conversion to other data formats for analysis and archiving at the EarthScope Data Management Center.

PASSOFT is supported only for Mac and Linux operating systems, and not for Windows. Some Windows users have been able to use PASSOFT by first installing a Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Note - Python: We no longer support Python version lower than 3.9.

Note - MacOS: We no longer support MacOS version lower than 12 (Monterey).

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Magnetotelluric Systems at EPIC

Magnetotelluric (MT) methods are used to produce conductivity models of the crust and upper mantle through the recording of geoelectric and geomagnetic field variations at the Earth's surface. Depending on the period of the recordings, these methods can provide results from a few hundred meters depth (short period) to 30 km or deeper (long period). Conductivity is a physical property, which is complementary to seismic velocity, and which is very sensitive to the presence of fluids. When seismic and MT data sets are measured together, the additional data can dramatically improve determinations of the structure of the crust and mantle.

 

 

Since 2019, the EPIC (formerly known as EPIC) has been developing MT resources to meet PIs needs. We currently have a wide pool of MT equipment including both long-period (LEMI) and wideband (Phoenix) systems.

 

Documentation - How to Archive your Active Source Data

Refer to the documentations below to learn how to prepare the data you've collected for archiving.  EPIC supports PH5 and SEGY as the archival data formats of active-source data sets.

Data from PH5 format data sets archived at the DMC can be accessed via PH5 Web Services.

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EarthScope Orientation Week Kick-starts a Busy Summer for Student Interns

For the last few years, several students have gathered at the EPIC (PIC) for the EarthScope Undergraduate Internship Orientation Week.  In the EarthScope Undergraduate Intern program, fifteen students fan out to conduct seismological research at thirteen
host institutions.  The program is organized and run by Michael Hubenthal of EarthScope.  This year, the staff for the week-long orientation program included Rick Aster (NMT), Greg Chavez (PIC), Kent Condie (NMT), Katie Foster (U. of Wyoming & Program Alumnus), Bruce Harrison (NMT), Michael Hubenthal (EarthScope), Hunter Knox (Sandia National Lab), Jesse Lawrence (Stanford University), William McIntosh  (NM Bureau of Geology), Sandra Saldaña (Noble Energy), John Taber (EarthScope), and Dave Thomas (PIC), along with Student Assistant Rob Anthony (NMT Grad Student & Program Alumnus).

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"White Wanderer" Exhibit in Chicago joins Seismology and Art

An exhibit sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council has combined the work of University of Chicago seismological scientist Doug MacAyeal of with the art of Luftwerk, to produce an artistic rendition of the seismic "sounds" produced by climate change in the Antarctic. The exhibit opened with a live demonstration of seismic data acquisition, using instruments provided by EarthScope/EPIC. The project was a collaboration with NRDC, with additional help from the University of Chicago, and was on display at Two Riverside Plaza, Chicago IL from Sept 7th – Oct 1st. 

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TA Installation in Alaska Now Complete

After covering the lower 48 United States from coast to coast with a grid of nearly 1700 sites, the last seismic station of the EarthScope Transportable Array has finally been installed in Alaska. EarthScope has commemorated the event with a post titled "EarthScope’s Transportable Array Spans Alaska, the Last Frontier." The EarthScope article includes a detailed map of the Alaska TA stations, highlighting the location of the final station A19K. 

EPIC Intern Winds Up Summer With "Ultrasound" of Mt. St. Helens

Federica Lanza, a Ph.D. student at Michigan Technological University under Gregory P. Waite, spent the summer as the EarthScope/EPIC intern. During that time, "Fede" deployed instruments with EarthScope interns, presented her work at the 2014 EarthScope workshop, and completed two research projects related to short period sensor responses and long period noise analysis using PSD PDFs. Fede wrapped up her summer with a couple of weeks in the field at Mt. St. Helens, supporting the iMUSH project, along with several other EarthScope/EPIC scientists and staff. Some highlights of our intern's busy summer follow.

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Smart Solo IGU-16HR 3C

The Smart Solo IGU-16HR 3C is a compact all-in-one 3-channel sensor & datalogger with onboard GPS timing, and a self-contained power supply. Similar to the FairfieldNodal ZLand 3C, it has been adopted by the academic community as a useful sensor for both active and short-term passive experiments.

The units require a pre-deployment plan to be filled out with the sample rate, gain, and minimum or linear phase specified. The units must be sent back to EPIC for data offload, unless the portable harvester system is requested for the experiment.

Specifications:

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Magseis Fairfield ZLand 3C Node - 3-Channel All in One, Sensor and Datalogger

The FairfieldNodal ZLand 3C is a compact all-in-one 3-channel sensor & datalogger with onboard GPS timing, and a self contained power supply. Originally designed for use in large N industry deployments, it has been adopted by the academic community as a useful sensor for both active and short-term passive deployments.

Unlike other sensors & dataloggers at EPIC, use of the ZLand 3C requires a deployment plan to be filed in advance with EPIC for handheld unit pre-programming.  Likewise, the units must be sent back to EPIC for data offload.