USGS ScienceSearch

USGS · 70230594

An International Virtual Workshop on Global Seismology and Tectonics (IVWGST‐2020)

Abstract

An International Virtual Workshop on Global Seismology and Tectonics (IVWGST‐2020) was organized by the Geoscience and Technology Division of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research—North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, India from 14 to 25 September 2020. This workshop predominantly catered to undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. students, scientists, and academicians from across the globe. The primary motive of IVWGST-2020 was to inspire the participating students, perturbed by the unprecedented situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, with quality lecture sessions, so as to lift their spirits. The virtual workshop served as a conduit for the students and researchers to directly interact with several pioneers and prominent geoscience researchers from around the world. Lectures, via Microsoft Teams, were given by 15 eminent speakers from diverse geoscience forums and institutions, and were attended by more than 1000 participants, mostly students and researchers, from 30 different countries. This report briefly summarizes the agenda, describes our experiences hosting the virtual workshop, and documents the challenges faced.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Santanu Baruah, Chandan Dey, Prachurjya Borthakur, G. Narahari Sastry, Andrew J. Michael. 2021-06-23. An International Virtual Workshop on Global Seismology and Tectonics (IVWGST‐2020). https://doi.org/10.1785/0220200402

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

Digitizer Suite: The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory Digitizer Testing Suite

Laboratory testing of digitizers and seismometers helps ensure that prior to deployment the instrumentation can produce high quality data and is operating within specifications. In this work we detail the software package called: the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) Digitizer Test Suite. This Java software package provides several algorithms to verify various performance parameters of digitizers commonly used for recording analog seismic instruments. The goal of these tests is not to be exhaustive, but to identify common failures that could compromise the integrity of seismic data being recorded on the digitizer. For example, Sandia National Laboratories (e.g., Slad and Merchant, 2018) routinely do comprehensive testing of digitizers for various monitoring missions. While these tests reports are valuable for comprehensively characterizing a recording system, it would be resource intensive to conduct such tests on every seismic recorder used in a network. We focus on tests that include ways to estimate the sensitivity, timing, self-noise, and clip-level of the digitizer, as well as the fidelity of the signal being recorded. The software is publicly available and provides a way for the community to verify the integrity of a digitizer using a minimum amount of outside equipment.

Seismological Research Letters

The digital archivist: Automating legacy macroseismic data processing using large language models

Macroseismic data are a key resource to investigate shaking and damage from preinstrumental and early instrumental eras. However, data are often stored as inconsistently formatted reports describing observed shaking and damage, making manually parsing and interpreting accounts labor‐intensive. We introduce a novel workflow using Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro large language model (LLM) to automate the extraction and structuring of macroseismic observations from summary reports. We apply this workflow to the 22 March 1957 M 5.3 Daly City, California, earthquake as a case study. We used Gemini to extract addresses, originally assigned modified Mercalli intensity values, and descriptions from each report. To address coordinate precision limits, addresses were geocoded via Google’s Geocoding application programming interface. This workflow yielded over 2300 geocoded intensity reports for the Daly City earthquake. We use the geocoded accounts, with the original report intensity assignments, to develop a shaking intensity map that in some respects rivals modern Did You Feel It? Maps. We also extract and present data for the 9 February 1971 M L 6.7 Sylmar, California, earthquake. Our results demonstrate the potential of LLMs for reliably extracting and analyzing large, unstructured macroseismic datasets. LLMs offer a scalable solution for rapidly digitizing macroseismic archives, enabling their broader use to constrain ground‐motion models in modern seismic hazard analysis and to improve our understanding of site effects in urban areas. The concepts explored here may also be applied to the handling of other legacy seismological and earth science data.

Seismological Research Letters