Field Volunteers for the Los Angeles BASIN Seismic Experiment – Phase IV

Patricia Persaud, Robert W. Clayton, Marine A. Denolle, & Jascha Polet

Published August 14, 2019, SCEC Contribution #9559, 2019 SCEC Annual Meeting Poster #285

In mid-November 2019, we will launch the fourth and final phase of the BASIN seismic deployments in the greater Los Angeles area. We are seeking further volunteers to help make the deployment of an additional 262 compact seismic units called nodes possible, thus setting a record for the largest seismic experiment of this type in the study area. In less than one day, volunteers will gain hands-on training and valuable field experience while contributing to the real-world problem of how to improve earthquake hazard assessment in this region.

The success of the 2017-19 BASIN Seismic Experiments has in part been due to the efforts of 60 volunteers that range from high-school and college students to retirees. Our volunteers have installed and picked up 482 nodes over the last ~2 years. The data from the BASIN surveys will be used to construct a 3D seismic velocity model that should better predict the strong ground motions in downtown Los Angeles from events on the San Andreas fault. These surveys use nodes that contain a standard 5-Hz 3-component geophone, a battery and a GPS clock. For the BASIN surveys, the nodes are typically deployed in private residences or businesses, or else in median strips along roads. These surveys are a new type of deployment that might be called urban seismology. One deployment strategy is to divide lines into segments of about 16 stations that are each deployed by a two-person team. The teams are given a 1-hour training and a set of “dots” on a map with instructions to place the instrument within a ½ block radius of that point. They look for private residences, or if there are none available then median strips along roads or open fields. The sensors are completely buried in a 20 cm hole. Each team is in the field for about half a day and volunteers are encouraged to participate in the node pick-up that takes place one month after the installation.

Key Words
Seismology, Los Angeles Basin, Nodal Array

Citation
Persaud, P., Clayton, R. W., Denolle, M. A., & Polet, J. (2019, 08). Field Volunteers for the Los Angeles BASIN Seismic Experiment – Phase IV. Poster Presentation at 2019 SCEC Annual Meeting.

Related Projects & Working Groups
Seismology