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

Shipping Logistics for Polar Programs

Antarctica Shipping

The EPIC arranges shipping for equipment used by Antarctic experiments.  EPIC can also arrange for shipment of your equipment along with the EPIC equipment to the Antarctic. Please contact passcal [at] passcal [dot] nmt [dot] edu if you wish to have your equipment included with your EPIC equipment Antarctic shipment.

For further information on the United States Antarctic Program logistics and shipping, visit http://www.usap.gov/logistics/#IntercontinentalAirliftSchedule

06/28/2009
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Equipment Photographs for Polar Programs

Data Acquisition Systems:

Quanterra Q330
Quanterra Q330S
Packet Baler PB14F

06/27/2009
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Computer Best Practices

Hard drives and disk space Drives and partitions

EarthScope EPIC prepared laptops all come with a separate partition for user and experiment data that can be accessed at /data

EPIC linux laptops (PCs) come with two hard drives.  On each drive is a complete, tested installation of Fedora linux and a current version of PASSOFT. Each drive is bootable and provides a redundant system. On each drive space is allocated for data and is RAIDed together as the /data directory accessible from either installation.

If you are having a problem and want to try using the backup installation, start tapping the Escape key after the BIOS has finished loading in order to see the GRUB menu.  Then select one of the installations of Fedora to boot into it.  If you saved your data in /data, you will still have access when booted from the backup installation.

06/25/2009
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Active Seismic Sources Committee Charge

Charge of the Advisory Committee on EPIC Active Seismic Sources

The Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology (EarthScope) currently provides seismic recording instruments to the academic and government seismology research community. Although much of the community’s seismology research is carried out in a “passive” mode of operation, in which researchers are recording seismic signals from natural or ambient seismic sources, a subset of the EarthScope community relies on “active” seismic sources in which the researchers generate seismic signals using a variety of mechanical and chemical sources.

06/22/2009
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SiRF Clocks in the Field as of August, 2008

Number of SiRFs Exp. Number Experiment Name 4 200551 Costa Rica Subduction (Nicoya) 2 200559 HLP-lite (aka pre-HLP) 2 200604 Anatahan Volcanoes 1 200609 CAFE 3 200611 CRB-Wallowa 2 200617 PIRE 1 200622 Carpathians 1 200655 Mexico ETS
06/17/2009
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Teledyne Geotech S-13 Short Period Sensor

Teledyne Geotech S-13 Short Period Sensor

This passive 1-Hz sensor is seldom used because there are not many in the EPIC fleet and they have essentially been replaced by the CMG-40T-1Hz feedback seismometers. Information about S-13's from the old website can be found here.

The S-13's are heavy and awkward. The three components are separate units (about 20lbs each). They have strong magnets (passive seismometers), so they require about 12-inch spacing between each component.

05/19/2009
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Mark Products L-4C

Mark Products L-4C

 EPIC has very few of these 1-Hz passive seismometers, and does not have plans to replace parts that fail. Thus, they are likely to be discontinued, as they are cannabalized for spare parts and lost to attrition. Information from the old website can be found here and the cable drawings can be found here.

05/19/2009
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EarthScope Primary Instrument Center
New Mexico Tech
100 East Road, Socorro, NM 87801