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| U.S. Geological Survey's National Seismic System | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Seismic System |
| Agency | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Formed | 1970s–1990s |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia |
| Parent agency | U.S. Geological Survey |
U.S. Geological Survey's National Seismic System The National Seismic System is a coordinated network for detecting, locating, and characterizing seismicity across the United States. It integrates regional and national networks, scientific research, and operational agencies to provide near‑real‑time seismic information for hazard assessment, engineering, and emergency management. The System interfaces with federal, state, and local institutions to support earthquake monitoring, public safety, and resilience.
The System provides continuous seismic monitoring to support hazard mapping and early warning for stakeholders including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It supplies authoritative earthquake catalogs used by the Paleoseismology community, Seismological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, and agencies such as the National Science Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture for risk analysis. Outputs inform building codes administered by the International Code Council, retrofit programs overseen by the Federal Highway Administration, and lifeline planning by the Department of Transportation. The System supports collaborations with regional organizations like the California Geological Survey, Alaska Earthquake Center, Nevada Seismological Laboratory, and academic partners including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Development traces to instrumental seismology advances at institutions such as Harvard University and the Carnegie Institution for Science in the early 20th century, and to network expansion following the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake and the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Federal coordination increased after seismic events that engaged the President's Science Advisory Committee and prompted work with the United States Geological Survey and the United States Weather Bureau. The System evolved through initiatives tied to the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, legislation influenced by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, and projects funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. Technological progression from analog seismographs at sites like the U.S. Geological Survey Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory to broadband digital arrays and real‑time telemetry reflects contributions from research centers including the Southern California Earthquake Center, the Deep Carbon Observatory, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The National Seismic System integrates regional networks—such as the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, Network of the Eastern United States, and the Central United States Earthquake Consortium—with national assets including the Advanced National Seismic System facilities and the National Strong Motion Project. Partner institutions include state geological surveys like the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, university labs such as the University of Washington Seismology Laboratory, and federal laboratories such as the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center. Coordination resides among entities including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of the Interior, with data exchange across systems like the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and the Global Seismographic Network. The System also interoperates with international bodies such as the International Seismological Centre and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Instrumentation spans broadband seismometers from manufacturers used by Paleomagnetic Records labs, strong‑motion accelerographs deployed for structural monitoring at sites in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, and ocean‑bottom seismographs used in studies tied to the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Networks use telemetry systems developed with partners like Cisco Systems and satellite services coordinated with NOAA satellites. Seismic stations feed waveform data into processing centers that host software such as SeisComP3, ObsPy, and research tools from Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. Geodetic instrumentation—GPS networks maintained with help from the National Geodetic Survey and interferometric synthetic aperture radar studies by the European Space Agency and NASA/JPL—complement seismic measurements for source characterization.
Real‑time systems provide automated hypocenter locations and magnitudes for rapid dissemination to agencies like the United States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center and alerting services such as the ShakeAlert system used in the West Coast United States. Analysts employ waveform inversion techniques developed at centers like the Lamont‑Doherty Earth Observatory and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to determine rupture processes and focal mechanisms. Products include shake maps, intensity estimates calibrated to Modified Mercalli intensity scale conventions used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and exposure models used by FEMA and insurers including Risk Management Solutions. Data and bulletins are archived through repositories such as the IRIS DMC and referenced in publications in journals like Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America and Journal of Geophysical Research.
Research supported by the System spans earthquake source physics studied at Caltech, seismic hazard analysis used by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, site response investigations for Los Angeles Unified School District projects, and tsunami generation models in partnership with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Applied projects include seismic monitoring of critical infrastructure coordinated with the Federal Highway Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, loss estimation studies by insurers such as Munich Re and Swiss Re, and urban resilience efforts led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Scientific collaborations extend to global initiatives like the Global Earthquake Model and paleoseismic research in regions such as the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
The System underpins emergency response by providing rapid earthquake information to first responders in agencies like the American Red Cross and state emergency management offices. It supports public preparedness campaigns modeled on programs by the FEMA National Preparedness Directorate and school drills inspired by Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Information flows to transportation agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration and utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric Company to enable immediate operational responses. Training and outreach are conducted with partners including the Seismological Society of America, universities, and state geological surveys to improve community resilience and to integrate scientific outputs into mitigation, recovery, and policy planning.
Category:Seismology Category:United States Geological Survey Category:Earthquake engineering