Universidad Autónoma de Santo DomingoFacultad de Ciencias

Instituto Sismológico Universitario

The Past, Present, and Future of Seismology in the Dominican Republic

Ing. Rafael Pujolsrafaelpujols@hotmail.com

17th Caribbean Geological Conference

ObjectivesProvide an overview of the national seismic network of the Dominican Republic

Discuss its history and evolution

Describe current instrumentation

Outline ongoing collaborations

Discuss our plans for the future

Outline

• Founding of the Instituto Sismológico Universitario (ISU)• Descriptions of seismic stations installed in

19481984199619982002

• Collaboration with institutions in the Dominican Republic• International collaborations

The Founding of ISU• ISU was founded on the 26th

of February 1948

• It was created following a magnitude 8.1 earthquake that occurred on August 4, 1946

• ISU’s first director was Father Joseph Lynch

• Two three-component stations were installed in 1948: one short-period and one long-period instrument

• Seismograph installed in 1948 Short-period Sprengnether seismograph, 1948

Short-period seismogram, 1970 Long-period Sprengnether seismograph

Seismic Stations Installed in 1984

• The map (right) shows the 1984 stations

• The 1984 stations were installed with the support of the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University

• Teledyne Geotech Model S13 sensors were used in this network (left)

• These data formed the basis of Dr. William McCann’s PhD research at Lamont

SantiagoSan Fco. Nagua

RepeaerCotui

RepeaterHato Mayor

Central StationSto. Dgo.

Juan DolioRomana

Sabana Gde. De Boya

Seismic Stations Installed in 1996

Three short-period, vertical-component, telemetered stations were installed. Each station consisted of one:

• Kinemetrics SS1 Ranger sensor

• Kinemetrics TH-11 enclosure

• Monitron analog radio

• Teledyne Geotech analog helicorder

ISU Seismic Network 1996

Bani SDD

Hato

ISU Network 1998

Map showing the locations of stations in the San Francisco network

Moca

Bonao

SamanaSanchez

Monte Plata

Cabrera

Villa Altagracia

Cotui

San Fco.

Villa Rivas

Telemetry Field Station

Central Recording Station Data Aquisition System

Accelerograph Network 1998

Puerto Plata

SantiagoSamana

Santo Domingo

San Juan

• Digitizer: Kinemetrics Altus K2• Sensor: Kinemetrics FBA 23• Triggered recording• 6MB PCMCIA card• Power from the electrical grid, with 12-volt, 7 amp-hour battery backup

ISU Network 2002• Six short-period, vertical-component stations• Geotech S13J sensors• Viseis 64-channel digitizer at ISU.• Software DSPA64 and Smartquake.• Monitron UHF NBFM analog radios.• Broadband, three-component KS2000.• Geotech DL-24 digitizer.

Collaborations with Institutions in the Dominican Republic

•CNE (National Emergency Management Commission)

•Defensa Civil (Civil Defense Authority)

•SEOPC (Ministry of Public Works and Transportation)

•CDEEE (Electricity Production and Distribution Cooperative)

•DGM (National Directorate of Mining and Minerals)

•CODIA (a professional society of engineers, architects, and surveyers)

•Private businesses•Universities

International Collaborations

Puerto Rico Seismic Network

Universidad Complutense Madrid

The National University of Mexico (UNAM)

The University of Texas at Austin

…and others

The Puerto Rico Seismic Network

Earthworm Data Aquisition Display Realtime Internet Seismograms

http://midas.uprm.edu/waveforms/welcome.html

Project GEOPRICO-DO 2005

The Future of ISUImprovements to Infrastructure

• Rehabilitate the stations that are currently not working

• Replace stations that were vandalized and stolen

• Collaborate with the PRSN to install and maintain broadband stations in Punta Cana and Samaná, in the eastern Dominican Republic.

• Collaborate with the USGS to install and maintain a broadband station near the center of the island of Hispaniola.

• Install three broadband stations in the Dominican Republic as part of the ISU Seismic Network: One in the north and two in the south.

• Convert the vertical-component, short-period stations at Hato Mayor and Montecristi to three components.

• Install a new three-component, short-period station in Pedernales.

The Future of ISU

Improvements to Operations

• Train additional personnel to maintain the network and its stations.

• Seek support from an international agency to obtain software training for seismic analysts at ISU.

• Improve our data analysis system

• Make ISU’s waveform data available to the public via the internet

• Improve ISU’s quality control procedures to ensure that the data are of consistently high quality.

Other improvements

• Send students to study seismology outside the Dominican Republic, then return.

• Construct a new building to house ISU.

Muchas Gracias.