SEISMOGRAPHS IN SCHOOLS: COLLABORATIONS IN CRITICAL MONITORING OF EARTHQUAKES

Seismograph networks have established a tradition of collaboration with public and government institutions. Recent developments in the use of the Internet for data collection have motivated extensive collaborations between seismograph networks and school systems. Such collaborations provide significant opportunities for science education in the classroom. Students are often excited by the presence of functional scientific equipment within their school and this can invigorate student interest in the earth sciences. Educators often report that students develop a more meaningful understanding of local geologic processes when their school hosts a seismograph.

As a case study we will examine our use of Pacific Northwest schools in hosting Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) seismographs operated by the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN). Goals and responsibilities of the ANSS and PNSN require data from high quality modern digital seismic instrumentation. It is critical that the data be collected in real time through reliable telemetry systems. Traditional telemetry methods, such as dedicated phone lines or spread spectrum radio systems, exceed the limits of current budgets and resources. Thus we have recently turned to extensive use of the Internet for data collection. School systems have a reliable and extensive Internet backbone infrastructure making them ideal for hosting seismographs.

Schools have access to the seismic data in the form of real-time seismogram displays on the Web called "Webicorders". Additional information on earth science materials for education as well as descriptions of digital seismographs in the Pacific Northwest are available online at the PNSN Education Resources homepage: http://www.ess.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/EDHOME.