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Urban Seismology: Installing a BASIN Seismic Array in Yangon, Myanmar During COVID-19

Based on experience from the 744-station BASIN (Basin Amplification Seismic Investigation) experiment that was carried out by volunteers in 2017-2019 in the greater Los Angeles area to help improve ground motion estimates from a large earthquake on the San Andreas fault, a large seismic installation was planned in early 2020 in Yangon, Myanmar. This project would involve the in-person training of participants from 19 universities around Myanmar. Yangon, one of the fastest growing cities in Myanmar has a population of over seven million and is located in close proximity to the Sagaing fault, a major fault in Southeast Asia that has historically produced magnitude >7 earthquakes. Accurate estimates of the ground motions that may occur in this region during a large earthquake rupture are critical and can lead to better city planning and management to help prevent the loss of life and property. This requires an understanding of the subsurface and geologic structures that underlie the city and presents an opportunity for capacity building in geophysics in Myanmar. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fieldwork for the Myanmar Universities Seismic Experiment (MUSE) was modified and included 11 professors and students in Yangon who were remotely trained on the installation of nodal seismic stations.

The installation began in March 2020 and took 2.5 days with 3-4 teams. We have recorded data at 110 three-component nodes from the IRIS PASSCAL instrument center (X1 network) that were installed along three seismic profiles with a station-spacing of ~300 m in one of the first US-based international efforts of this kind. Most instruments were hosted by homeowners. Myanmar went into a lockdown and retrieval of the nodes occurred in June 2020. Despite severe monsoon flooding, no nodes were lost or damaged. We will present best practices in fieldwork and international collaborations and how this project benefitted from lessons learned during the Los Angeles area BASIN experiment.

Session: Earthquakes in the Urban Environment II

Type: Oral

Room: Grand A

Date: 4/22/2022

Presentation Time: 10:00 AM Pacific

Presenting Author: Patricia Persaud

Student Presenter: No

Additional Authors