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

EPIC supports Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP)

Six EPIC staff members were in Southern California this March to support the Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP).  The project is funded by NSF through both the MARGINS Program (now GeoPRISMS) and the EarthScope Program, and funded by the U. S. Geological Survey through the Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project. The project includes researchers from Virginia Tech, Caltech, the USGS, and Mexican partner institutions CICESE and UABC, Mexicali.

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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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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.

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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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.

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.

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