Embargoed until 4 P.M. EST
NSF PR 98-72 - October 28, 1998
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New Instrument "Lending Library" Will Help Researchers
See What's Shaking
An innovative new instrument center to support scientists
in their efforts to study earthquakes and other seismic
data will be dedicated today at New Mexico Tech in
Socorro, New Mexico.
The new center, part of Program for Array Seismic Studies
of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) is a repository
of research tools for seismologists, managed under
the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
(IRIS) program supported by the National Science Foundation
(NSF).
Center director Marcos Alvarez will operate the new
facility in association with New Mexico Tech geophysicists
Rick Aster and Harold Tobin.
The new center will provide a centralized location
for researchers to access a variety of portable seismic
instruments. "Our principal role is as a 'lending
library' for seismic instruments," said Aster. "Researchers
can devote more of their limited resources to research,
and not to maintaining costly equipment that they
need but do not use routinely."
In addition to the consortium's seismic research efforts,
IRIS fosters K-12 and college level educational programs
that highlight the role of seismology and the earth
sciences in society. This role is emphasized through
the consortium's work as an advocate for earthquake
education and hazard mitigation. Since seismologists
can also track the seismic anomalies that nuclear
explosions produce, IRIS holds an important position
as watchdog for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT).
Since 1984, IRIS has worked to explore the Earth's
interior through the collection, distribution and
analysis of seismic data. Currently, more than 90
universities and institutions comprise the IRIS research
consortium, which supports the research needs of earth
scientists in the United States and around the world.
Currently, PASSCAL centers at Stanford University and
the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are phasing out
their operations as equipment and operational responsibilities
transfer to the New Mexico Tech facility. New Mexico
Tech has constructed a 9,000-square foot building
with an adjoining 20,000-square foot warehouse to
house the PASSCAL instrument pool and serve as a hub
of PASSCAL activities.
"A single center can more efficiently handle requests
for instruments and their distribution," said Aster.
"We estimate that we can save IRIS up to $800,000
over the next three years, yet still increase PASSCAL's
capacity to service the seismology community."
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