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A Beginner's Guide to Retrieving Data from the SCEDC

Getting Station Metadata

The SCEDC hosts the archive of site instruments and metadata installed by the Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN). Station metadata is necessary for seismic analysis to determine event location and to determine ground information from digital waveforms. There are a number of ways to retrieve station metadata. We present two straightfoward methods to get metadata:

  • Tutorial 1: retrieve station metadata using the Clickable Station Map,
  • Tutorial 2: obtain instrument response from SCSN Instrument Response Report.
    • Those who have a background in seismological software, analysis and formats may want to refer to the Advanced Topics section at the bottom of the page for programmatic access.

    Tutorial 1: Finding Station Information using the Clickable Station Map

    Let's look for SCSN broadband stations near Caltech (Pasadena, CA) that were online during the Jan 25, 2023 Malibu event highlighted in the Gettting Event Information tutorial. One way to visually inspect is to use the Clickable Station Map.

    • Step 1. Navigate to the Clickable Station Map.

      From the navigation bar at the top of any web page, click on "Access Data" and choose the "Station Metadata and Maps" item.

    • Click on the link for "Clickable Station Map"

    • Step 2. Select SCSN broadband stations active in Jan 2023.

      The Clickable Station Map by default will show every seismic station that has a reading in the SCEDC archive. Use the "Control Panel" to window to stations that were installed during our event of interest (January 2023). Choose network = "CI" to only show SCSN stations. Because we are looking for sites with broadband seismometers, we also check the "BB" checkbox under "Sensor Types".

    • Step 3. Zoom into area of interest and get station information.

      Zoom into the Pasadena area and click on a station marker (red triangle). You will now see some basic information about the site such as its site code "PASC", and its latitude and longitude.

    Finding Station Response Information using the SCSN Instrument Response Report

    • Step 1. Navigate to the SCSN Instrument Response Report.

      From the Station Metadata Index page click on "Instrument Responses"

    • The report shows the overall gain for each seismic channel in the SCEDC metadata repository. Be aware that a channel may have several epochs. Epochs ending in "3000/01/01" are currently online.

    Now we have selected a station, go to the Getting Seismic Waveforms tutorial to retrieve a seismogram from this event.

    Advanced Topics
    Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences | California Institute of Technology
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