Thread: Mapping of Instrument Identifier in SEED to StationXML

Started: 2015-07-13 21:31:30
Last activity: 2015-07-22 17:10:42
Topics: Web Service Developers
Chad Trabant
Mapping of Instrument Identifier in SEED to StationXML
2015-07-13 21:31:30

Hi all,

In SEED blockette 52, the information described in field 6 is the "Instrument dentifier". This is a free form string up to 50 characters. Historically this has been used to identify the sensor and sometimes the sensor and data logger.

In StationXML there is a much richer set of fields to describe equipment installed at a site. For example both the Sensor and DataLogger have fields of Type, Description, Manufacturer, Vendor, Model, SerialNumber, InstallationDate, RemovalDate, and CalibrationDate.

In mapping the SEED information the DMC receives from operators into StationXML we are putting the blockette 52, field 6 "Instrument Identifier" into the Sensor::Type element. In the future, as more operators start producing StationXML directly, we anticipate that the Type element may be used for some other meaning such as "Velocity transducer" or "Temperature". To mitigate this future change in meaning for users we are considering moving the SEED "Instrument Identifier" into the more generic Sensor::Description element.

We would like to know the impact of changing the location of this information in the XML on other users and developers so please speak up if you have an opinion. The DMC will need to change our StationXML-SEED converter and make sure our IRIS-WS library works as expected.

thanks,
Chad
  • Philip Crotwell
    Re: Mapping of Instrument Identifier in SEED to StationXML
    2015-07-14 19:35:30
    Hi

    That change should not cause any problems with my codes. Seems like a
    reasonable change.

    thanks,
    Philip

    On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 5:32 PM, Chad Trabant <chad<at>iris.washington.edu>
    wrote:


    Hi all,

    In SEED blockette 52, the information described in field 6 is the
    "Instrument dentifier". This is a free form string up to 50 characters.
    Historically this has been used to identify the sensor and sometimes the
    sensor and data logger.

    In StationXML there is a much richer set of fields to describe equipment
    installed at a site. For example both the Sensor and DataLogger have
    fields of Type, Description, Manufacturer, Vendor, Model, SerialNumber,
    InstallationDate, RemovalDate, and CalibrationDate.

    In mapping the SEED information the DMC receives from operators into
    StationXML we are putting the blockette 52, field 6 "Instrument Identifier"
    into the *Sensor::Type* element. In the future, as more operators start
    producing StationXML directly, we anticipate that the *Type* element may
    be used for some other meaning such as "Velocity transducer" or
    "Temperature". To mitigate this future change in meaning for users we are
    considering moving the SEED "Instrument Identifier" into the more generic
    *Sensor::Description* element.

    We would like to know the impact of changing the location of this
    information in the XML on other users and developers so please speak up if
    you have an opinion. The DMC will need to change our StationXML-SEED
    converter and make sure our IRIS-WS library works as expected.

    thanks,
    Chad


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  • Chad Trabant
    Re: Mapping of Instrument Identifier in SEED to StationXML
    2015-07-22 17:10:42

    Hi all,

    With the most recent update of our fdsnws-station service the sensor description previously contained in StationXML element Sensor::Type has been moved to Sensor::Description.

    For those of you using the IRIS-WS library, the move in this information means that calls to:
    edu.iris.dmc.fdsn.station.model.Channel.getSensor().getType()

    should be changed to:
    edu.iris.dmc.fdsn.station.model.Channel.getSensor().getDescription()

    Another consideration: StationXML contains room for relatively detailed equipment description, the Sensor, DataLogger, and other equipment can be described with Model, Manufacturer, Description, Type, and more. This is much richer than the single, 50-character string called an "instrument identifier" in SEED. As StationXML adoption increases and network operators being using these new fields developers should consider how to use the information.

    If simply looking for something similar to what dataless SEED contained, one suggestion would be to check for sensor descriptions in a couple of elements, using the first populated entry out of these fields:

    Sensor::Model
    Sensor::Description
    Sensor::Type

    Chad


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