Department of Interior: Grant for Western Great Basin Seismic Network

Notice of Intent to award a cooperative agreement to the University of Nevada Reno pursuant to the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) in support of the project entitled “Western Great Basin Seismic Network”. The main objectives of the agreement are: operation and maintenance seismic stations and associated station metadata of the University of Nevada Western Great Basin Seismic Network, that meet ANSS standards, ensuring delivery of station waveform data and accurate station metadata to other ANSS networks and ANSS designated archives, adhering to the implementation of ANSS approved software standards to ensure efficient flow of data and information for robust delivery of ANSS products and services and interoperability, producing authoritative catalogs of earthquake source parameters and other ANSS products and services that meet ANSS standards, contributing to the operation and development of the Station Information System (SIS), working with ANSS and the ANSS National Implementation Committee (NIC) toward using or populating SIS for station inventory control and description and maintenance of station metadata and coordinating seismic monitoring activities with ANSS management and ANSS participants. 

UNR’s unique qualifications are essential to the successful and efficient accomplishment of the continuing monitoring of earthquakes in the Intermountain West region, with particular emphasis on seismicity in Nevada and in Eastern California. The principal investigators have unique and superior expertise regarding seismicity and deformation in their regions. UNR has a well-developed network staff that is also of great benefit to this proposed study. The PIs have been extensively involved with this effort as seismic network operators. In addition, specialized equipment is needed for monitoring and has been deployed by UNR in the regions of monitoring. Some of the field sensors and central recording and computing equipment is university-owned and would not be available to another source. Furthermore, data from the instruments is transmitted to the universities’ facilities and relocation of the data receiving point and telemetry equipment would be costly and time-consuming.