GEOFON

The operation of the GEOFON network and data center (archive and earthquake service) is largely based on the SeisComP® software package developed by GEOFON in collaboration with gempa GmbH. It has been developed over more than fifteen years and in this time become a widely used package for seismological data acquisition, data processing and data exchange. Its data transmission protocol SeedLink became a de facto world-wide standard.

Major infrastructural developments in European seismology such as EIDA (European Integrated Data Archive) could be achieved by further developing and spreading SeisComP throughout Europe in a series of EC/EU projects coordinated by ORFEUS. In the context of the GITEWS (German Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System) project, initiated after the disastrous Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, additional functionality was implemented to fulfill the requirements of 24/7 early warning control centers. Major changes in the software architecture were necessary, and many new features required a complete re-design of SeisComP resulting in a new highly professional package named SeisComP® 3.

In 2008, GFZ out-sourced a software company called GEMPA GmbH where the main developers offer all kinds of services around the SeisComP® software. GEOFON and gempa coordinate SeisComP developments, but meanwhile several other sponsors have also contributed to it.

In the past some parts of SeisComP 3 required a special license, but with the new version 4 release in April 2020, SeisComP has moved to a completely open source model using the GNU Affero General Public License.

SeisComP® now provides the following features:

• an open source license encouraging contributions from others
• real-time data acquisition (SeedLink) directly from most digitizers
• real-time data exchange with other data centres by SeedLink or other common data exchange protocols
• network status monitoring
• waveform data quality control assessment
• waveform data archival, management of long-term archives
• meta data handling (inventory, routing, QC, event parameters/QuakeML)
• waveform archive data distribution (FDSN web services)
• metadata distribution (dataless SEED, XML)
• automatic picking, event location, amplitudes and magnitudes calculation
• interactive event definition, location and quantification
• messaging system connecting individual modules locally or remotely with each other and a central database
• import/export of pick/origin/event information from/to external SeisComP systems
• exceptional graphics designed for rapid processing review in situation room applications

You can obtain the SeisComP® software from http://www.seiscomp.de/ (maintained by GEOFON together with gempa and the SeisComP community) together with additional information and documentation.

• There is a lively discussion forum able to assist with many common questions.