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Challenges Ahead for the Global Seismographic Network

Twenty-five years ago, a new global digital seismic network was identified by the National Academies' Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy as one of five research areas in which significant dividends could be expected as a result of incremental federal investment. That recommendation, through coordinated planning and support by scientists, mission agencies, and international partners, spawned the development of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN). The GSN is a joint program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The NSF program is implemented by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD); the USGS program is implemented by the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory.

Network completion is a beginning, not an end, and there is a need for continual rejuvenation of such a network, both to improve operational capabilities and to open new avenues for scientific exploration.

 

The GSN has now far exceeded initial plans and expectations, both in terms of its operational scope and performance and the scientific applications of the data it produces. Originally envisioned as a 100-station network to gather data mainly for research applications, the network has evolved into a real-time Earth-observing system also supporting earthquake alerts, tsunami warning, nuclear treaty verification, and other uses.

Several recent publications have documented the GSN's remarkable successes. Butler et al. (2004) emphasized that the GSN had exceeded its original technical design goal of 128 globally distributed stations—last year the core network plus affiliates reached 150 stations, strategically scattered across continents and islands from the Arctic to the South Pole. One in four of these stations has evolved into a cooperative "geophysical observatory," which may include a range of sensor types (gravimeters, GPS receivers, magnetometers, microbarographs, etc.) in addition to the broadband and very-broadband seismometers that are . . . [Full Text of this Article]

William Leith

Global Seismographic Network Program
U.S. Geological Survey
wleith@usgs.gov