Download Diagram of Vault (jpg)

Construction of the vault for broadband seismometers has a direct impact on data quality. Before construction can begin there are two other important considerations as well; location, and setting. A short discussion of these topics precedes the construction details because you should really pick the right site before going to all the work of building a vault. It takes a long time to find good sites which balance the competing requirements of low noise, access, security, position within the array, power, permission, etc. Finding one site per day is fairly productive.

All equipment, especially dataloggers, sensors and cables, are cleaned and comprehensively tested when they arrive at the PIC, regardless of whether the equipment are newly delivered from the manufacturer or being returned from an experiment.  EPIC makes every effort to ensure that all equipment are operating to the manufacturers specifications, and that all on-board consumables (such as betteries, etc) are fresh.

This article contains links to pages on procedures and metrics employed in the routine certification of:

Sensors Dataloggers

Data that is recorded locally, as opposed to telemetered must be offloaded and stored.  The actual procedures for offloading data depend on type of DAS and the type of media that the data is recorded on.  Offloading should be done as soon as possible after visiting the site in order to secure the data.  If possible offloading and data review should be done close enough to the site so that, if a problem is detected, the site can be revisited.

In general the offload procedure is as follows.

1. Verify that there is the expected amount of data on the media.  If there is not the expected amount of data there may be a problem at the site.

2.  Offload the data.

3.  Verify that the size of the offloaded data corresponds to the amount of data that was on the media.

4.  Review the data for indications of station problems and for data integrity.

This checklist is a list of items to consider while preparing for a new field project.  It is aimed at providing a list of things to think about while making preparations for and assessments of possible seismic sites. This checklist is also appropriate for the initial installations and for the removal of the equipment at the end of the project. These guidelines are fairly general but focused for polar regions.  It applies more to the Arctic and Sub-arctic regions rather than Antarctica, because for Antarctic projects, a lot of these issues are dealt with by the US Antarctic Program.

  

Site Assessment: Climatic conditions:Wind, snow, temperature, altitude, ... Access: On foot: conditions (all year, seasonal), roughness of terrain, safety, man power, ... By wheeled/tracked vehicle: conditions (all year, seasonal), roughness of terrain, ... By fixed wings aircraft: airstrip conditions (all year, seasonal), typical weather conditions,cost, availability, safety, permitting, ... By helicopter: landing zone conditions, typical weather conditions, cost, availability, safety, permitting, ... By boat:land base vs. ship base, ease of access to land, protection from storms, issues of accidental introductions of rats and other non-native species to protected islands, cost, availability, safety, ... Permitting (Public land, private land, restricted land, fees, monitored access, limited access to certain dates, etc). Type of ground: Rock, mud, snow, ice, vegetation, sand, gravel, etc. Hazards to the equipment: Wildlife: Bears (very destructive!), rodents, foxes, cows, etc. Humans: Theft, vandalism, etc. Hazards to crew personnel: Climatic conditions. Access (steepness of terrain, crevasses, isolation, volcanic area, etc). Wildlife (Bears, moose, etc). Humans (locals with guns, etc). Site Installation: Dates: Choice of dates to simplify logistics and installation. Take into account climatic conditions. Personnel, transport and equipment availability. Maximize data return. Minimize cost. Permitting: For land use. For access. For use of vehicle or aircrafts Transport: Personnel:customs issues, ... Equipment:customs issues, potential HazMat, ... Housing: Food: Contingencies:Things rarely all go as planned. Site Removal and Equipment Regrograde: Permitting:land reclamation requirements. Transport:Methods, customs issues, potential HazMat, scheduling. Returning equipment to EPIC: