EarthScope Consortium

Last updated
EarthScope Consortium
FoundedJanuary 1, 2023 (January 1, 2023)
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Services Research, Education
Website www.earthscope.org

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]

Contents

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]

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]

The EarthScope Primary Instrument Center (EPIC, formerly the IRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center) at the New Mexico Tech campus. Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Program for Array Studies of the Continental Lithosphere Instrument Center.jpg
The EarthScope Primary Instrument Center (EPIC, formerly the IRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center) at the New Mexico Tech campus.

EPIC supports geophysical network operations in global and regional scientific networks, including: [22]

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]

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The EarthScope project (2003-2018) was an National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Earth science program using geological and geophysical techniques to explore the structure and evolution of the North American continent and to understand the processes controlling earthquakes and volcanoes. The project had three components: USArray, the Plate Boundary Observatory, and the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth. Organizations associated with the project included UNAVCO, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), Stanford University, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Several international organizations also contributed to the initiative. EarthScope data are publicly accessible.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate Boundary Observatory</span>

The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) was the geodetic component of the EarthScope Facility. EarthScope was an Earth science program that explored the 4-dimensional structure of the North American Continent. EarthScope was a 15-year project (2003-2018) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in conjunction with NASA. PBO construction took place from October 2003 through September 2008. Phase 1 of operations and maintenance concluded in September 2013. Phase 2 of operations ended in September 2018, along with the end of the EarthScope project. In October 2018, PBO was assimilated into a broader Network of the Americas (NOTA), along with networks in Mexico (TLALOCNet) and the Caribbean (COCONet), as part of the NSF's Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geosciences (GAGE). GAGE is operated by EarthScope Consortium.

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The U.S. National Science Foundation's Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience(NSF SAGE) is a distributed, multi-user national facility that provides support for state of-the-art seismic research. It is operated by EarthScope Consortium. Its previous operator was the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), until its merger with UNAVCO to become EarthScope Consortium. NSF SAGE is one of the two premier geophysical facilities in support of geoscience and geoscience education of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The other premiere geophysical facility is NSF GAGE, the Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience.

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The EarthScope Primary Instrument Center is a research center at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology for geophysics research in Earth system science. The facility provides instrumentation and support services for seismology experiments around the world, as well as those for the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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