IRIS Request Methods
and Data Repositories
Introduction
IRIS has a variety of new tools for requesting and viewing data, including
DHI clients and mapping tools. An easy way to find these tools is shown
on the chart for Request
Methods and Data Repositories.
Organization
The chart is organized into five
categories: DHI Clients, DHI Servers, Waveform Repositories, Request
Tools, and Mapping Tools.
Below each category are the related data resources and request tools.
For example VASE is listed under DHI Clients, and IEB (IRIS
Earthquake Browser) is listed under Mapping Tools. You can click
on a topic to go to the related information or request form.
The following information highlights some of the tools available in
each category.
DHI Clients
Three of the widely used DHI Clients are JWEED, SOD and VASE.
JWEED is a DHI utility that allows users to seamlessly retrieve seismic
data using arrival time selections relative to cataloged earthquake events
from sensing stations around the globe. Written in Java, JWEED can run
on most computer platforms.
SOD is a program that automates tedious data
selection, downloading, and routine processing tasks in seismology.
VASE is a Java-based client application designed for viewing and extracting
seismic waveforms from the DHI waveform repositories.
For more information
visit the IRIS DHI Clients page.
DHI Servers
The DHI Servers provide fast access to data (green), with the
exception of the IRIS_ArchiveDataCenter (red).
These servers provide for the retrieval of seismograms from the IRIS
DMC:
IRIS_DataCenter The IRIS_DataCenter is the primary
source of waveform data at the DMC. The DataCenter accesses data that
is either in the Tier 1 RAID (which has almost all the data managed by
the IRIS DMC) as well as data we have received in near real time in the
BUD System. With the exception of Tier 2 data, the IRIS_DataCenter provides
access to all SEED data the DMC has.
IRIS_BudDataCenter Use the BudDataCenter directly if
you know that you only want a current data stream since it is a little
faster than the IRIS_DataCenter. There is approximately a 6 week moving
window of data available in the BUD. This varies slightly from station
to station. Use this server if you want to have seismograms streaming
onto your computer.
IRIS_PondDataCenter The PondDataCenter contains windows of data around
significant earthquakes, normally those of magnitude 5.5 and larger.
IRIS_ArchiveDataCenter The ArchiveDataCenter can be
used to access IRIS's tier2 data. Tier2 data are data streams which are
very large in volume, infrequently accessed or both.
Learn more about IRIS
DHI Servers.
Waveform Repositories
 Metadata • Waveforms • Event Products • Products
The online metadata and waveform repositories highlighted in green have
fast access, while the Tier 2 Tape Archive and Assembled Products (red)
have slower access.
Tier 1 RAID contains almost all the data managed by the IRIS DMC. Since
this is a disk-based archive, access to the online data is fast.
Tier 2 Tape Archive is the comprehensive data archive at IRIS. It includes
all the Tier 1 data plus data which
are very large in volume or infrequently accessed. This includes 4kHz
SAFOD data and high sample rate engineering data. Access to the Tier
2 data on tape is relatively slow compared with the Tier 1 RAID.
Assembled Products - data sets in non-SEED format. Many of these data
sets are from active source experiments.
FARM (Fast Archive Recovery Method) - event-focused volumes in SEED
format.
SPYDER® (System to Provide You Data from Earthquakes Rapidly) is
a near-real time seismic data acquisition system.
BUD (Buffer of Uniform Data) provides
a single point of entry into the DMC for (real time) data from disparate
sources. Data flowing out of the BUD system include data from SPYDER® and
LISS.
SPADE (Searchable Product Archive and Discovery Engine) provides
a coherent system to manage the submission of, searching, and access
to USArray and other data products.
Request Tools
 Metadata • Email • Web • Real
Time Feeds • Events • Products
MDA - The MetaData Aggregator (MDA) returns metadata summaries from
the IRIS DMC database including data availability and links to further
services.
SeismiQuery is a set of pre-formatted database queries that allow users
to access data and information stored in the DMC Oracle database.
BreqFast - Batch access to the IRIS DMC archive can be obtained by emailing
a specially formatted file to the IRIS DMC.
WebRequest - The WebRequest tool allows users to compose breq_fast-style
requests and send them directly to the DMC.
WILBER II - a Web interface for browsing and requesting event related
data. WILBER allows you to group networks together into one file or several
files, depending on your chosen output format. This is the preferred
method for requesting FARM and SPYDER® data.
Learn more about IRIS
Data Request Tools.
Mapping Tools
 GeoWS • GMS • Google
Earth • IEB • MDA • SeismiQuery
Google Map Service - The Google Map generator creates maps based on
IRIS DMC metadata holdings. Requesting data directly from the IRIS DMC
Oracle database the GMS creates dynamic station maps that can be panned
and zoomed.
Google Earth - A new feature in the IRIS Google Map Service
generates KML files to view networks using Google Earth.
IEB - The IRIS Earthquake Browser combines the DMC's large database
of earthquakes with the popular Google Maps web interface.
SeismiQuery has a new mapping tool called CAT - Coordinate Acquisition
Tool. CAT provides an easy way to fetch geographic coordinates
from a simple map interface.
Learn more about IRIS
Mapping Tools.
Additional help is available at:
Data Access Tutorial -
a starting point for accessing IRIS data
IRIS Request Tool
Wizard - find a request tool
IRIS Data Wizard -
find data at IRIS
Request Methods
and Data Repositories at IRIS
Submitted by Tim Knight, IRIS DMC |
