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

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.

Pegasus Datalogger

The Pegasus is a 3 channel high-resolution data logger. It is very low power and easily configurable via a handheld device. The Pegasus is lightweight and small in form factor. The Pegasus has 32 gigabytes of internal recording space, and is downloaded via free software through USB. It supplies MiniSEED data along with StationXML to smoothly allow data archival. It also has built-in sensor controls, automatic mass re-centering, and calibration functions. The Pegasus is currently supplied as a set with a Trillium Compact sensor for a small station footprint and ease of installation.

Features:

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Requirements for EPIC Passive Experiments (SEED)

  Data and format for archiving

In order to accept your passive-source data for archiving please comply with the procedures and standards below. EPIC staff are available to assist you with meeting the requirements of archiving your SEED data as stated in the EPIC Data Delivery Policy

Regarding the archiving of SEED data, the policy may be summarized in three points:

Nanometrics Trillium 120 Posthole Broadband Sensor

Note:  EPIC has purchased 11 Nanometrics Trillium 120PH seismometers.

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7th annual Polar Technology Conference coming to Albuquerque in March 2011

The 7th annual Polar Technology Conference will be hosted by EarthScope/EPIC on 24-25 March 2011, at the Albuquerque Marriott, 2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110 USA. The primary purpose of this conference is to bring together Polar Scientists and Technology Developers in a forum to exchange information on research system operational needs and technology solutions that have been successful in polar environments.  This exchange of knowledge helps to address issues of design, implementation, and deployment for systems that are to achieve their research goals in the Polar Regions.

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40Hz High Frequency Sensor

Salient Features:

EPIC owns two types of 40Hz vertical geophones.

The 40Hz geophones for the Multichannel Digitizer Systems are manufactured by Sercel and Geospace.  These vertical geophones are critically damped at 0.555 and have a sensitivity of about 21 V/m/s. The 40Hz geophones for the Texan Digitizers these geophones are manufactured by Sercel.  These vertical geophones are critically damped at 0.555 and have a sensitivity of 35.3 V/m/s

Uses primarily include active source studies.

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Transantarctic Mountains Deployments

 

Audrey Huerta, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at Central Washington University, has graciously provided some videos of recent installations and deployments in the Transantarctic Mountains. They include footage of using a chain saw to deploy solar panels in the ice, a time lapse of a polar seismic system installation, and thermochronology sampling while rappelling.

(Photograph courtesy NSF)

Power Box

The Power Box is a combination of enclosure, solar charge controller, and connectors which ensure the battery is charged and the instrumentation is powered. Below are some pictures of the EPIC power box (and below that is the old standard EPIC power box) . All the power boxes have a 12-15 amp load capacity and a Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD) to prevent damage to the battery. These boxes are designed to work with any nominal 12 volt solar panel and any deep cycle gel-cell lead acid battery.

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Batteries

Batteries are PI Supplied.

Batteries come in two main types, primary which are single use and secondary which are rechargeable.

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Huddle testing feedback-sensors and dataloggers

Introduction

“Huddle”-testing sensors before field deployment is a key part of any seismic experiment.  Huddle-testing involves testing almost all components of the field station, for many stations, in parallel.  The number of stations that can be tested at one time is limited only by availability of personnel and lab space.

Huddle-testing potentially reduces crew time spent in the field, cost of the experiment, and the need to revisit sites.  Huddle-testing improves crew consistency and most importantly, the likelihood of successful station deployments and survival.