An Ocean Bottom Seismic Instrument Center at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

地震学是科学家用来研究地球结构和动态过程的主要工具，如地震和火山活动。大约70%的地球表面被水覆盖，虽然陆地地震仪的数据可以告诉我们许多关于海洋下的大尺度结构和地震活动的信息，但许多与大洋中脊、热点、俯冲带和大陆边缘的性质有关的问题只能通过海底地震仪(OBS)获得的数据来解决。OBS的建造、运营和维护需要专门的设施和技术专长，这超出了大多数调查人员的能力范围。伍兹霍尔海洋研究所(WHOI)的海底地震仪仪器中心(OBSIC)将向所有由美国国家科学基金会资助的研究人员提供仪器和操作这些仪器的熟练人员，他们的研究将受益于海底地震观测。WHOI拥有40多年开发和运营海底地震仪器的经验。海底地震仪器中心(OBSIC)将为社区提供最先进的OBS仪器，同时也向最佳、稳定和战略状态发展OBS操作。当设施的数据质量和可提供的数据量最大化时，设施的状态是最佳的；当设施不受干扰(如人员变动或用户需求的波动)影响时，设施的状态是稳定的；当预期和无缝结合新技术和程序以及卓越标准不断提高时，设施的状态是战略的。OBSIC的关键组成部分包括仪器的标准化、加强部件跟踪和将仪器维持在高度待命状态、通过联合使用OBSIC的长期工作人员和来自联合国后勤基地海洋技术库和美国地质调查局的训练有素的技术人员，以经济的方式最大限度地提高业务能力，并遵循一项人员配置和雇用计划，以促进专业知识的持续转移，减少对设施健康的风险。将地震能力扩展到海洋环境已经并将是必要的，以满足国家和国际需求，如减轻地球灾害、环境监测和海洋资源开发。OBSIC将为一名博士后研究员以及几名工程本科生提供OBS科学和仪器方面的培训。外展和信息将通过OBSIC网站和美国地球物理联盟秋季年会的公开会议提供。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Seismology is the primary tool that scientists use to investigate Earth's structure and dynamic processes, such as earthquakes and volcanism. About 70% of Earth's surface is covered by water, and while data from land seismographs can tell us much about large-scale structure and seismicity under the oceans, many questions related to the nature of mid-ocean ridges, hot-spots, subduction zones, and continental margins can only be addressed by data acquired with ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS). The construction, operation and maintenance of OBS requires specialized facilities and technical expertise that are beyond the ability of most individual investigators to maintain. The Ocean Bottom Seismometer Instrument Center (OBSIC) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will provide instrumentation and the skilled personnel to operate these instruments to all NSF-funded investigators whose research would benefit from seafloor seismic observations. WHOI has over 40 years of experience developing and operating ocean-bottom seismic instrumentation.The Ocean Bottom Seismometer Instrument Center (OBSIC) will provide state-of-the-art OBS instrumentation to the community while also evolving OBS operations toward an optimal, stable and strategic state. The state of the facility is optimal when data quality and the quantity of data that the facility can deliver are maximized for the available funding; it is stable when it is immune to perturbations (such as personnel changes or fluctuations in user demand), and it is strategic when new technologies and procedures are anticipated and seamlessly incorporated and standards of excellence are continuously rising. Key components of OBSIC include standardization of instrumentation, enhanced component tracking and the maintenance of instrumentation at a high readiness state, economical maximization of operational capacity through a combination of permanent OBSIC personnel and trained technicians from the UNOLS Marine Tech Pool and the USGS, and following a staffing and hiring plan that promotes continuous transfer of expertise, reducing risk to the health of the facility. Expansion of seismic capabilities to the marine environment has and will be necessary for national and international needs such as Earth hazards mitigation, environmental monitoring and marine resource exploitation. OBSIC will provide training in OBS science and instrumentation for a postdoctoral researcher, as well as for several engineering undergraduates. Outreach and information will be provided through an OBSIC website and through open meetings at the American Geophysical Union Annual Fall Meeting.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.