Thread: Organizing for the Preservation of Analog Seismic Data - SIG at 2018 IRIS Workshop

7 June 2018

Dear 2018 IRIS Workshop Attendees:

Please consider attending a Special Interest Group on Organizing for the Preservation of Analog Seismic Data
13 June 2018, 5-6pm, in the Zuni room

Description
Over a century of analog paper and film seismic recordings acquired in the pre-digital era (1880’s - 1990’s) are at risk. Decades of analog seismic data are physically deteriorating, and the institutional knowledge regarding these collections and how to use them is slowly fading as a generation of seismologists retire. This session brings together researchers who recognized that these unique observations are invaluable and irreplaceable and those who are interested in working towards their preservation. We encourage participation from holders of relevant data, and users, both current and potential, who are interested in addressing important questions regarding preservation, e.g. identification of data sets and institutional contact(s), metadata assessment, prioritization and types of scanning efforts, outreach, and identification of funding sources. Our goal is to identify key elements of a practical framework that will bring holders of analog seismogram archives, researchers, and funding agencies together, to develop a timetable for addressing these issues. We hope to identify a core group who can organize a workshop to seek further input and make progress on these issues.

Conveners
Lorraine Hwang, Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics, UC Davis
Paul Richards, LDEO, Columbia University