CalREN - UCB Digital Seismic Network

Table of Contents

Introduction

 In 1993, Pacific Bell created the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a $25 million program to stimulate the development of new applications for high-speed communications services. Through a competitive selection process, CalREN funds collaborative projects whose applications may revolutionize the ways organizations communicate and share information. Caltech received one of these grants in 1994 for a "Pilot Study for Use of Digital Data Communications for Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring". The success of this project led CalREN to consider expanding it to northern California and in July of 1995, the UC Berkeley Seismographic Station received a grant for the study "Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring in Northern and Central California".

Project Description

The UC Berkeley Seismographic Station operates a network of broadband, high dynamic range, three-component seismometers in northern and central California to monitor seismic activity for the rapid dissemination of earthquake information and for research. Data from the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN) has been transmitted to UC Berkeley via continuous telemetry through radio, microwave, and telephone links, often with transmission delays and errors. The CalREN grant allows UC Berkeley to replace these analog circuits with 56 Kbit frame relay connections, providing rapid, robust, and reliable data for earthquake analysis and research. The high- speed network telemetry will allow UC Berkeley to experiment in several new directions:

Transmission of high-frequency seismic data
The Seismographic Station is deploying a network of borehole seismometers in the San Francisco Bay Area, focused on monitoring of the Hayward Fault. These Hayward Fault Network sensors will provide data for high-resolution fault studies and rapid earthquake notification. The use of frame relay connections to these sites will allow real-time detection and control from a central processor, utilizing very high frequency data (100-1000 Hz).

Real-time telemetry of Global Positioning System (GPS) data
The Seismographic Station has deployed GPS receivers at several of their seismic facilities for precise measurements of crustal movement which are part of the Bay Area Regional Deformation Network (BARD). Frame relay telemetry will allow the transmission of the GPS data simultaneously with the seismic data on a single circuit. Continuous telemetry of these data will permit rapid estimates of ground displacement useful for emergency response operations.

Collection of electro-magnetic data
The Seismographic Station is installing electro-magnetic sensors at three BDSN sites. These instruments will be used to look for signals in the electric and magnetic fields that may precede earthquakes. These high sample rate data cannot be acquired over the current analog telemetry links and frame relay connections will provide the necessary capacity to transmit these signals.

Cooperative seismic monitoring in northern California
The CalREN grant will provide a testbed for cooperative earthquake monitoring and notification in northern and central California. The physical distance between the USGS/Menlo Park and UC Berkeley has impeded these groups from working together to provide earthquake information in the past. The proposed T1-link between the Seismographic Station and the USGS/Menlo Park will provide bi-directional data exchange and form the basis of a collaborative earthquake response system for northern and central California.

Cooperative statewide seismic monitoring
The installation of frame relay telemetry for the Caltech and UC Berkeley seismic networks provides the opportunity to integrate these systems pending an interstate frame relay link. Both laboratories provide rapid earthquake information to public and private agencies and both are vulnerable to damage during significant earthquakes. The frame relay infrastructure establishes a regional framework for data transmissions to multiple host sites without routing through these facilities, providing the basis for a redundant statewide earthquake notification system.
The benefits of this project will extend beyond the Seismographic Station, as rapid access to reliable earthquake information is critical for emergency mitigation operations. The mobilization of local, state, and federal disaster response in the first few hours after a major earthquake can be greatly enhanced by dependable near real-time estimates of location, magnitude, mechanism, and extent of strong-ground shaking.

We anticipate that participation in the CalREN project will significantly improve the earthquake response capabilities of the UC Berkeley Rapid Earthquake Data Integration (REDI) Project, which automatically distributes information to public safety agencies, utilities and transportation companies moments after an earthquake occurs. The use of high-speed digital telemetry will make it possible to provide earthquake information within seconds after a major event, and lay the groundwork for the development of a system which could warn the public of imminent shaking, before the seismic waves arrive. Furthermore, the robust and reliable digital telemetry ensures that a complete archive of seismic data will be available to scientists and engineers for future study.

Seismic Network diagram

Project use of Pacific Bell Services

 We plan to use Pacific Bell Frame Relay Services to address these aspects of our rapid earthquake response. The installation of 56 Kbit frame relay connections to each of the 21 UC Berkeley stations will provide rapid and reliable data acquisition, while the installation of a 1.5 Mbit T1 frame relay link between UC Berkeley and the USGS Menlo Park will facilitate the real-time data exchange between these centers of earthquake monitoring. The services provided by the CalREN grant include: UC Berkeley will arrange for the long-distance portion of the connections for circuits that are outside LATA-1.

Project Plan

 Due to the relatively short duration of this project, it is necessary to develop an efficient plan for the utilization of these services. The essential first step in this program is the installation of a test 56 Kbit line in Haviland Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus and the installation of the T1 link to UC Berkeley. These two actions will allow Seismographic Station personnel to test equipment on campus, prior to field deployment. In particular, the campus connection will be used to assess the tradeoffs between asynchronous communication and TCP/IP protocol, guiding the design of the remote links. The Seismographic Station will acquire the appropriate hardware for the remote sites and the central hub to access the frame relay service. Once the necessary equipment is acquired, CalREN will coordinate the installation of frame relay service to the sites of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network and install the T1 link between the Seismographic Station and the USGS in Menlo Park.

Proposed Schedule
09/95
Installation of 56 Kbit test line in Haviland Hall on the UC Berkeley campus
09/95
Installation of T1 link to McCone Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus
09/95
Testing of UC Berkeley hardware
09/95-12/95
Installation of frame relay service to the sites of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network
09/95-12/95
Deployment of new hardware for the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network
12/95
Installation of the T1 link between McCone Hall and USGS Menlo Park
Thus, by the end of 1995, we plan to have frame relay service to all of the seismic instruments currently operated by the Seismographic Station. 6 additional sites (planned, but not currently installed) will be brought on-line as the seismic instrumentation is deployed, for a total of 21 systems. We will test and evaluate the service for speed and reliability, providing a written report at the termination of the project.

Current Status

Project reports

Project leader and participants

UC Berkeley

CalREN Foundation

  • CalREN Project Manager -- Ms. Debby Kucharik
    • For additional information, please contact Lind Gee -- lind@seismo.berkeley.edu
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