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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has asked that institutions monitoring earthquakes in the U.S. organize into regional groups in order to provide for coordinated and comprehensive coverage of the US. In response to this request a workshop will be held in early June, 2000, at a site yet to be determined. The purpose of the workshop is to explore the creation of a Pacific Northwest earthquake monitoring region. The exact boundaries of the region, the institutions to be included in the monitoring effort and the structure or organization of the region have not yet been determined. Your organization is being invited to this workshop as a potential participant in the monitoring or potential recipient of products from the monitoring. Please respond to this invitation by filling out the questionnaire at the end of this note and returning it via e-mail, FAX, or regular mail by April 10, 2000. We hope a representative of your organization can attend.
As required by Public Law 105-47 the USGS undertook a review of the state of seismic monitoring in the US. A workshop was held in Colorado in the summer of 1998. Major seismic network operators and selected recipients of network products participated in this review. A report was drafted based on this workshop and published in USGS Circular 1188, "An Assessment of Seismic Monitoring in the United States" (http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/circulars/c1188). In addition to a review of the current monitoring status, this report provides recommendations for the modernization of seismic networks and their infrastructure.
In the reauthorization act for the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP), Congress responded to the receipt of the report by requiring the USGS to provide them with a management and implementation plan for an "Advanced National Seismic Research and Monitoring System" (ANSS). At a one-day meeting in New Mexico this past February, representatives of a dozen different seismological organizations outlined such a management plan. An over-riding theme of this plan is that seismic monitoring of the US should be implemented within regions representing the major physiographic and tectonic parts of the country. No more than six to ten regions or groups should be so defined, one of which is a national group to provide linkages between the actual regions as well as to provide broad coverage of the whole US and include global monitoring.
The management plan provides for a national ANSS coordinator who would be a USGS employee with a staff. The coordinator will be responsible to the Director of the USGS and to an independent National Steering Committee made up of representatives of seismological organizations providing and using monitoring data products. The national coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the regions which in turn will implement a high-quality, comprehensive monitoring system. Each region will have its own regional coordinator (not necessarily a USGS employee) and its own oversight or steering committee to reflect the unique characteristics of their region. Individual regions should have a strong management structure, but this directive does not necessarily imply that all activities reside in one physical location. Regions are expected to organize within themselves but operate with other regions in a coordinated manner to form a national, uniform system. The exact number and boundaries of these regions or groups are are not yet defined. Formal participation in one of the regions is required to obtain USGS support, and it is hoped that all seismic monitoring groups of any size, whether or not they receive USGS support, will become part of a regional group. Within a region, the organizations with needs for earthquake monitoring products should have a strong influence on operating standards and policy.
1) To operate a region-wide system to monitor earthquake motions, both in the free-field and in structures, with multiple centers and components for reliable and robust operations based on national performance standards and using common equipment and software where possible.
2) To provide a common, seamless interface for user access to network data, information products and resources.
3) To distribute information about an earthquake rapidly after its occurrence for emergency response, engineering and public information.
4) To provide an easily accessible database of historical PNW earthquake data for engineering and seismological research, including waveform and parametric data.
5) To engage in an aggressive public education and outreach program to better inform the population at risk from earthquakes and about mitigation efforts to reduce that risk.
6) To operate as part of an early warning system for volcanic and slope failure activity in the Cascade range, tsunamis along the coast, and possibly for strong ground shaking at a distance from very large earthquakes.
Seismic network operators in northern and southern California are already organizing into a California based region called the "California Integrated Seismic Network". It is desirable for seismic monitoring north of California to be organized into a separate region. Characteristics of the tectonics, geography and populations at risk suggest that the PNW region be monitored with different goals than those in California. At this point no specific monitoring goals, other than those outlined in USGS Circular 1188, have been defined. No management structure nor specific participants have been chosen. The main goal of the workshop is to begin the dialog and planning to establish the regional structure. Day one of the workshop will be for all participants, first to get background on the ANSS plan and the proposed national management structure, then to hear from the organizations interested in the products of seismic monitoring and to develop plans for a steering committee. The second day will primarily be devoted to the seismograph network operators for the purpose of exploring a management structure for developing and operating an integrated regional network.
· Area to be included in the PNW
region
· Client organizations to receive monitoring
information products
· Development of a regional steering
committee
· Seismograph operators to become part of the
region
· Management structure for developing and
implementing plans
· Management structure for coordinating
operations
Seismograph networks are usually multi-purpose, cross-jurisdictional, and jointly-funded. While the USGS has the congressionally assigned responsibility to monitor seismic activity in the US (Public Law 101-614), there are many other organizations, including federal, state and private ones who have specific monitoring needs and thus operate seismographs independently of those supported by the USGS. The ANSS plan is to be administered by the USGS, but many parts of it will be operated by other organizations. Non-USGS supported organizations significantly contributing to the ANSS can expect some assistance from the USGS. This assistance would be based on individual considerations but could be in the form of direct financial support, equipment and supplies, computer software, and/or technical assistance including contract field technicians.
A two day workshop is being planned for sometime during the first two weeks of June. It will probably be held, somewhere in the Seattle or Portland area. Some participants need only attend the first day. Some financial assistance to attend the workshop may be available for those with limited resources. Please fill out the following form and return by April 10, 2000 via e-mail to <bill@ess.washington.edu> or via FAX (206-543-0489), or regular Mail to Bill Steele, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
Organization:
_____________________________________
Representative:
___________________________________
E-mail: _________________
FAX: ____________________
Mailing address:
__________________________________
Do you feel your
organization has a role to play in the PNW region of the ANSS?_____
Would you want to participate in the PNW region workshop?
_______
What dates would you NOT be available between May 30
and June 17: ________________
Would you need travel and
per-diem assistance? ________
Suggestion for a venue:
_______________________________
Any relevant comments?
University of Washington Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195-1310
This is file /SEIS/ANSS/anss.region.note.html modified 2/7/2001-
If you see any problems or have comments about these pages send e-mail: bill@ess.washington.edu