Standards and methodologies of seismological data generation, processing and archival & guidelines for data sharing and supply

Abstract

The process of dealing with earthquake disasters essentially involves three most important and inter-dependent components - (i) comprehensive understanding of the earthquake generation processes and the interior of the earth, (ii) disaster mitigation and preventive measures, and (iii) work through the ultimate goal of earthquake prediction. The basic and primary requirement towards addressing all these tasks is - high quality seismological data which is homogeneous and complete in time and space. India Meteorological Department (IMD), under the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), is the nodal agency of Government of India for monitoring earthquake activity in and around the country. IMD maintains the national seismological network consisting of a total of 82 observatories spread over the length and breadth of the country. The paper aims at discussing different methods/approaches adopted by IMD and other major agencies in the country for generation of various types of earthquake data products in standard formats, the analyses and archival tools and policy guidelines for supply and sharing amongst the user agencies. The paper also deals with the types of seismic instrumentation/networks in operation, network growth through historical times, data completion aspects, present level(s) of earthquake detection and location, future requirements and plans of upgradation. The policy guidelines being followed for seismological data sharing and supply have also been highlighted.