Automatic real-time event detection for seismic networks

A low-power microprocessor-based seismic signal detection system has been developed for monitoring and recording earthquakes detected from multichannel seismic network data. The system operates on-line to the network and may be battery powered for field applications or as a precaution against power failures. The algorithm is designed to cope with varying noise conditions at the network outstations and detects local, regional, and teleseismic events. The sampling rate for each channel is 100 samples/sec. with 10-bit accuracy. The system is operating with the LOWNET network of BGS and is suitable for large or small aperture networks because 20 sec of data for each channel are stored in memory. The system is designed to detect seismic events for recording on either analogue or digital recorders depending on the requirements and preferences of the network management.