Quarterly Report to the Harry Reid Center

UCCSN-DOE Cooperative Agreement

Task 12: Seismic Monitoring

PI: James N. Brune

UNR Seismological Laboratory

Report Period: 04/01/2003 – 06/30/2003

Progress:

During this reporting period (Jan.-Mar. 2003), we have maintained seismic operations with 30 real-time SGBDSN stations under the QA procedures that have been established with the HRC. Network uptime has been 97.1% overall. A few hardware failures and software changes at the lab have resulted in downtimes. The eight untelemetered strong-motion stations were visited in this past quarter for maintenance and data downloading.

The FY02 seismicity report has been reviewed. Technical comments have all been resolved, and we are completing work on resolving QA comments.

At the end of this quarter, we have completed analyzing the earthquakes in the YM vicinity through April 10. This is 80 days behind real time; we have decreased the backlog only slightly in this past quarter. The entire set of station triggers is reviewed within 2-3 days and all events larger than roughly M 2 are always analyzed within 2-3 days also.

We have solved the system check problem with the borehole accelerometers. The first set of system checks under the procedure IPR-021 were done in June, and we will now be making routine system checks.

Loop back tests have been conducted by the TCO for the Opticom Internet devices that will handle time communications for the REFTEK seismic data acquisition systems. These units have been tested in Reno. The REKTEK units were sent back to the manufacturer at the manufacturer's request to fix an issue in the firmware that handles the True-Time GPS data formats.

A draft of the kappa report was completed June 30. It will be sent out for review in early July. The status of several datasets used in the kappa study has been clarified.

A candidate has accepted our Post-Doc position, but will not be available until approximately October 1.

A planning session for the focal mechanism software was held on June 23. The functional requirements were defined and an implementation plan devised.

The PSHA catalog update records have been assembled through the year 2002. There are some remaining magnitude issues which are being investigated.

Problems:

The June 14, 2002, earthquake is still impacting our ability to analyze earthquakes in near-real-time. We have been working to reduce this backlog. New computer hardware was ordered to provide the analysts with optimum data retrieval time during their analysis work.

We have not yet received (July 10) the environmental approval for our planned refraction-migration surveys at the SGBDSN sites on NTS and Area 25. A window of opportunity exists for our staff in late July, but they will be unable to do the surveys if the approvals are not completed.

Considerable technician time in June was taken up in the rearrangements at Building 4314.

Status of Funds:

We have been notified that we can continue our work with a no-cost extension through September 30, 2003. We have expended approximately $957K of our FY03 funding of $1336K through June 30. This is 72% of the funds, while a straight-line projection would be 75% (9 of 12 months). We are thus slightly under-running. The reasons for this are largely due to two unfilled job positions (seismic technician, and a post-doc). Also, fieldwork originally planned in support of the kappa project has been postponed repeatedly.

Plans:

Subject to approvals, we would begin construction at Alice Ridge and at Skull Mountain for telemetry relays. These relays will allow us to transmit the WHB borehole data and the ESF data to Reno. They are the first facilities in a planned upgrade of the entire seismic monitoring network to IP packet transmission.

The equipment for three ESF accelerometer sites will be installed in the current quarter. This requires that TCO install the time converters in Alcove 5, in ECRB Niche 5, and near the strainmeter. Since UC Berkeley is out of Niche 5, we have located a pad where we will install the sensors. The electronics will be mounted on the side of the niche. UNR personnel will meet with TCO personnel in July to finalize sites for equipment installation.

We intend to close out the FY2002 seismicity report in this quarter and also the kappa report and submit all new data sets associated with them.

Refraction microtremor (ReMi) surveys in support of the kappa project will begin if environmental approvals are finally given.

Development work on the focal-mechanism program will begin in this quarter, with a functioning program expected by September 30.