Managing Large Data Sets for British Columbia Earthquake Early Warning

Date: 4/25/2019

Time: 04:30 PM

Room: Elliott Bay

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has been developing and installing an earthquake early warning system (EEW) for southwestern British Columbia since February 2016 for the Government of BC. The project leverages on ONC’s experience operating real-time sensor networks underwater and on land using an advanced data management system, “Oceans 2.0”. A unique aspect of this network is the existence of underwater accelerometers and tilt meters, strategically positioned with respect to the Cascadia subduction zone. The land-based system comprises of joint Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and ONC sites, as well as ONC-only sites, with stations having accelerometers and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) instruments. As of December 2018, the EEW system has 25 on-land and 7 seafloor sites, with a total number of approximately 96 instruments. Data transmission and reliability is a concern for remote sites, which is alleviated by having high quality satellite communications. Those sites that have a reliable and acceptable bandwidth are suitable for streaming raw acceleration data, while the remaining ones stream only the data indispensable to the EEW system (JMAs, Pd, Pgd, etc). Each instrument type follows a specific workflow best suited for the tasks required for its optimal metadata and data integrity. For most instruments installed at an EEW site, the metadata is stored in a PostgreSQL database accessible to users via Oceans 2.0, including calibrations, receiving and installation dates, coordinates, calibration formulas, manufacturer, model, serial numbers, and more. To guarantee metadata and data curation standards, all data stewardship tasks are reviewed by another team member. The Data Search tool in Oceans 2.0 and the API web services encourage EEW data use for research purposes. This presentation will share the challenges and current efforts in managing data for an EEW system, from deployment to issuing an earthquake event notification.

Presenting Author: Nadia Kreimer

Authors