DEPARTMENT OF EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND PLANETARY SCIENCES

Seismogram Archive Facility

The Department maintains a Seismogram Archive Facility in the basement of the Seabury Building, across the street from the Technological Institute. It holds extensive collections of microfilmed and microfiched seismograms from the World-Wide Standardized Seismographic Network (1963-1985), originally acquired by Professors Stein and Okal, later complemented through the transfer of the full collection owned by the California Institute of Technology (1963-1970).

In addition, we hold complete microfilmed archives of the Southern California (Caltech) network for 1923-1962; and extensive datasets of records at ex-Soviet, North American, and Japanese stations, dating as far back as the 1910's. As a whole, our holdings comprise upwards of 5,000,000 seismograms, covering the pre-digital era of seismology.

The Seismogram Archive Facility includes a modern reader/scanner allowing the production of high-quality digital images from microfilms and microfiches. When combined with 24/7 open access under the responsibility of a Faculty member, Northwestern's facility is unparalleled in the United States in terms of original data for the study of global historical earthquakes.

Additional facilities for the processing of paper seismograms include a Departmental 150 cm x 100 cm digitizing table and access to a full-size (135-cm wide) digital scanner at the nearby University Library.