EarthScope Consortium explained

EarthScope Consortium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit geophysical science support organization.^{[1] [2]} EarthScope Consortium operates two of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) major research facilities, the NSF Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE) and the NSF Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE),^{[3] [4]} which provide geophysical instrumentation, data access, and services to support geoscience research and education.^[5]

EarthScope Consortium's corporate headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., and an instrument facility is located in Socorro, New Mexico.^[6]

Background

EarthScope Consortium was formed on January 1, 2023 through the merger of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and UNAVCO.^{[7] [8] [9]} Both founded in 1984, IRIS and UNAVCO supported the U.S. scientific community's access to data, instrumentation, and educational resources within seismology and geodesy, respectively.^{[10] [11]}

The "EarthScope Consortium" name is connected to IRIS and UNAVCO’s previous collaboration in the 2003–2018 NSF-funded EarthScope Program, which included operation of the USArray and Plate Boundary Observatory components.^{[12] [13]}

Membership and Governance

EarthScope Consortium has two categories of membership: Voting Members and Associate Members.^[14] Voting Members include U.S.-based educational and research institutions with research programs in geodesy, seismology, or related fields. These institutions have a direct role in setting priorities for the consortium.

Associate Members include other educational and research institutions in the U.S. that do not qualify for voting membership, U.S.-based or foreign-based government entities that participate in geodetic or seismological research, and foreign-based educational and research institutions that participate in geodetic or seismological research.

EarthScope Consortium currently has over 175 Voting Members and 220 Associate Members.^[15] A Board of Directors elected by Voting Members serves as non-profit governance to EarthScope Consortium, and multiple Advisory Committees provide input on activities.^[16]

Services

Data services include:^[17]

• Archiving data from continuously operating geophysical sensor networks and from temporary sensor deployments.
• Generating derived data products.
• Making data available for research, education, hazard monitoring, and other applications.

Instrumentation services include maintaining geophysical instruments for finite duration research projects (driven by Principal Investigators) and permanent geophysical networks.^[18]

Engagement services include support for geoscience and geophysics education, skills training, outreach, and internship programs.^[19]

EarthScope Primary Instrument Center

The EarthScope Primary Instrument Center (EPIC) (formerly known as the IRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center)^[20] is located in Socorro, New Mexico at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and houses central instrumentation maintenance and engineering activities.^[21]

EPIC supports geophysical network operations in global and regional scientific networks, including:

• The Network of the Americas (NOTA)
• Global Seismographic Network (GSN)
• Global GNSS Network (GGN)
• Borehole Strainmeter Network (BSM)
• The Polar Network Operations funded by the NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP)

NSF GAGE Facility

EarthScope Consortium is the operator of the NSF's Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE), previously operated by UNAVCO since the facility's creation in 2013.^[22] The NSF GAGE Facility funding is designated to support:^[23]

• The Network of the Americas (NOTA), an international geophysics sensor network of more than 1,200 continuously operating instruments. These instruments include geodetic GPS/GNSS stations and borehole strain, seismic, and tilt instruments. NOTA integrates stations from pre-existing GPS networks, including the Plate Boundary Observatory (which spans a range including Alaska, Continental U.S., and Puerto Rico), TLALOCNet (Mexico), and COCONet (Caribbean and the neighboring area).^[24] Data from this network are used for various fields of Earth science research, hazard monitoring (including the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory^[25]), and precision positioning applications like surveying or agriculture.^{[26] [27]}
• Stations in the NASA Global GNSS Network (GGN),^[28] which contributes to the International GNSS Service (IGS) responsible for the International Terrestrial Reference Frame.^{[29] [30]}
• Instrumentation and data access for geodesy research driven by Principal Investigators.
• Maintenance of some United States Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program GPS/GNSS stations.
• Data operations for the GPS/GNSS component of the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system.^{[31] [32] [33] [34]}
• Education, workforce development, and outreach related to geodesy and geoscience.^[35]

NSF SAGE Facility

EarthScope Consortium is the operator of the NSF's Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE), previously operated by IRIS since the facility's creation in 2013.^[36] The NSF SAGE Facility funding is designated to support:^[37]

• Operation of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) (jointly with the USGS). The GSN is a globally distributed seismic network of over 150 stations. The NSF SAGE Facility provides for maintenance of approximately one third of the GSN stations.^[38] The USGS, via the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, operates the remainder of GSN stations.^[39] Data from this network are used for earthquake detection and research, imaging of the Earth's interior, and contribute to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization's (CTBTO) International Monitoring System.^[40]
• Archiving and distribution of seismological and other geophysical research data and data products.
• Maintenance and deployment of seismic, magnetotelluric, and other portable instrumentation for Principal Investigator-led research projects.
• Education, workforce development, and outreach related to seismology and geoscience.

See also

• Seismology
• Geodesy
• Geophysics
• IRIS Consortium
• UNAVCO
• EarthScope

Notes and References

1. Web site: EarthScope Consortium . www.earthscope.org/ . 2024-04-02.
2. Web site: Nonprofit Explorer . ProPublica . 9 May 2013 . 14 October 2024.
3. Web site: NSF Research Infrastructure List: Major Facilities - Revised 1/31/2024 . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
4. Web site: Facilities and Infrastructure . NSF . 14 October 2024.
5. Web site: Facilities and Infrastructure . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
6. Web site: EarthScope Contact Us . www.earthscope.org . 2024-06-04.
7. Web site: Joining Forces . sites.google.com/ . 2024-04-02.
8. Zawacki . E.E. . Bendick . R. . Woodward . R. . 2023 . Advancing geophysics: IRIS and UNAVCO merge to form EarthScope Consortium. . Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists . 4 . 1 . e2023CN000227 . 10.1029/2023CN000227 . 2024-04-02. free .
9. Web site: Carnegie's Lara Wagner elected board chair of the newly founded EarthScope Consortium . Carnegie Science . 14 October 2024.
10. Smith . Stewart W. . 1987 . IRIS—A university consortium for seismology. . Reviews of Geophysics . 25 . 6 . 1203–1207 . 10.1029/RG025i006p01203 . 2024-04-02.
11. Ware . Randolph H. . 1995 . The University NAVstar COnsortium: global positioning for geosciences research. . IGS Workshop "Special Topics and New Directions" . 2024-04-02.
12. Feder . T. . 2014 . Scoping out the North American continent, 10 years on. . Physics Today . 67 . 1 . 19 . 10.1063/PT.3.2237 . 2014PhT....67a..19F . 2024-04-16.
13. Book: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . 2020 . A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030: Earth in Time. . Washington, DC . The National Academies Press . 10.17226/25761 . 978-0-309-67600-7.
14. EarthScope Consortium Inc. . February 2023 . Bylaws . 5-18 . 2024-06-04.
15. Web site: EarthScope Membership . earthscope.org . 2024-06-04.
16. Web site: EarthScope Governance . earthscope.org . 2024-06-04.
17. Web site: EarthScope Data . 2024-06-04 . earthscope.org.
18. Web site: EarthScope Instrumentation . earthscope.org . 2024-06-04.
19. Web site: EarthScope Education . earthscope.org . 2024-06-04.
20. Aster . R. . Beaudoin . B. . Hole . J. . Fouch . M. . Fowler . J. . James . D. . 2005 . IRIS Seismology Program marks 20 years of discovery. . Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union . 86 . 17 . 171–172 . 10.1029/2005EO170002 . 2005EOSTr..86..171A . 2024-04-02.
21. Web site: About the EPIC EarthScope Primary Instrument Center . 2024-06-16 . www.passcal.nmt.edu.
22. Web site: Award Abstract # 1261833 2013-2018 UNAVCO Community Proposal Geodesy Advancing Geosciences and EarthScope: The GAGE Facility . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
23. Web site: Award Abstract # 2314379 Enabling Discoveries in Multiscale Earth System Dynamics: Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE) - EAR Scope . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
24. Herring . T.A. . Melbourne . T.I. . Murray . M.H. . Floyd . M.A. . Szeliga . W.M. . King . R.W. . Phillips . D.A. . Puskas . C.M. . Santillan . M. . Wang . L. . 2016 . Plate Boundary Observatory and related networks: GPS data analysis methods and geodetic products . Reviews of Geophysics . 54 . 4 . 759–808 . 10.1002/2016RG000529 . 2016RvGeo..54..759H . 2024-04-16. free .
25. Web site: YVO includes nine partner agencies . YVO . 14 October 2024.
26. Mattioli . G.S. . Phillips . D.A. . Hodgkinson . K.M. . Walls . C. . Mencin . D.A. . Bartel . B.A. . Charlevoix . D.J. . Crosby . C. . Gottlieb . M.J. . Henderson . B. . Johnson . W. . Maggert . D. . Mann . Doerte . Meertens . C.M. . Normandeau . J. . Pettit . J. . Puskas . C.M. . Rowan . L. . Sievers . C. . Zaino . A. . 2020 . The GAGE Data and Field Response to the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence . Seismological Research Letters . 91 . 4 . 2075–2086 . 10.1785/0220190283 . 2020SeiRL..91.2075M . 2024-05-24.
27. Response of Crustal Deformation in Lake Mead due to Current Drought of 2021 . Oyedele . E. . Fu . Y. . Martens . H. . Doyle . B. . Xue . L. . December 2021 . American Geophysical Union . 2021AGUFM.G15C..09O.
28. Web site: Jet Propulsion Laboratory Space Geodesy Task . www.jpl.nasa.gov/ . 2024-05-25.
29. Web site: Contributing Organizations . International GNSS Service . 14 October 2024.
30. NASA Global GNSS Network (GGN) Status and Plans . Doelger . S. . Sklar . J. . Blume . F. . Meertens . C.M. . Mattioli . G.S. . December 2015 . American Geophysical Union . 2015AGUFM.G33A1123D.
31. Reddy . E. . Valenzuela . J. . Yavorsky . N. . Guizzetti . N. . Schroeder . C. . 2024 . Earthquake Early Warning Riskwork: ShakeAlert's Operation with Institutionalized Uncertainties . Natural Hazards Review . 25 . 2 . 10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1750 . 2024-04-16. free .
32. News: Faster alerts for California megaquakes: Early-warning system gets major upgrade . LA Times . 5 June 2024 . 14 October 2024.
33. Web site: Real-time satellite data improves earthquake early warning system in the United States . USGS . 14 October 2024.
34. Web site: Home . ShakeAlert . 14 October 2024.
35. Web site: Discovering earthquake hazard regions of California using GPS data and code . Concord Consortium . 7 October 2024 . 14 October 2024.
36. Web site: Award Abstract # 1261681 Seismological Facilities for the Advancement of Geoscience and EarthScope . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
37. Web site: Award Abstract # 2310069 Enabling Discoveries in Multiscale Earth System Dynamics: Seismological Facility for the Advancement of GEoscience (SAGE) . www.nsf.gov/ . 2024-04-16.
38. Web site: Project IDA Background . ida.ucsd.edu . 2024-04-02.
39. Web site: Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory . www.usgs.gov . 2024-04-02.
40. Davis . P. . 2024 . Development and operation of a global-scale seismographic network: The IRIS/USGS GSN. . Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists . 5 . 1 . e2023CN000225 . 10.1029/2023CN000225 . 2024-04-02. free .