Development of a User-Friendly, Low-Cost, Low-Power, Low-Noise, Lightweight, Self-Contained Infrasound Logging System

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Boise State University will develop a new geophysical instrument to help study volcanoes, earthquakes, and mass movements such as landslides. These events create seismic waves in the ground and pressure waves in the air, which contain valuable information that can be analyzed to understand these often-hazardous processes. However, data gathering in these fields are currently impaired by an instrumentation gap: available recording instrumentation is typically expensive and can be burdensome to install as it is usually specialized to record waves either in the ground or air but not both. Although recording ground and air propagating waves using many spatially dispersed sensors could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the geophysical processes that create them, it is currently not practical due to lack of affordable instrumentation. In this project, we propose to develop an instrument to facilitate simultaneous recording of seismic and pressure waves that is easy and economical to install in large numbers. Additionally, we will disseminate the benefits of this instrument by operating an instrument lending pool for the duration of the project. This will help geophysicists record more comprehensive datasets that yield a clearer understanding of powerful, hazardous events. Our project will include 4-6 undergraduate and graduate assistants in roles like electronics construction and repair, instrument testing, programming, documentation, and fieldwork.The geophysical data logger will have an integrated sensors to simultaneously record seismic and infrasound signals; its low cost, low power consumption, and ease of use will permit users to install dense recording networks and perform detailed analyses. Infrasound studies may elucidate many phenomena in earth science including volcanoes, explosions, earthquakes, debris flows, lahars, and avalanches. However, most infrasound studies are limited by instrumentation due to its high cost, high power requirements, and specialized training needed to deploy them. These issues are particularly problematic for “large-N” campaigns (where excellent resolution is achieved by recording very large numbers of sensors), as well as projects in sites that are remote, sensitive, hazardous, or theft-prone. The Gem infrasound logger-- the only available integrated infrasound sensor-logger--addresses these issues and has supported several field projects that would not have been practical with other instruments. Additionally, the Gem’s ease of use helps non-specialists incorporate infrasound study into multi-disciplinary projects, leading to innovative new applications. Developing a next-generation Gem model with simultaneous seismic and acoustic recording capabilities (2 channels, with 200 Hz and 24 bits/channel) will result in another one-of-a-kind instrument that will provide infrasound scientists with seismic context with no additional effort, and vice-versa. The proposed instrument lending pool will satisfy an unmet need in infrasound science: unlike the related field of seismology in which field campaigns can borrow instruments from PASSCAL, no institution currently lends infrasound sensors. Our proposed lending pool will promote infrasound science and recording possibilities for scientists that don’t have their own field instrumentation and for infrasound specialists conducting large-N campaigns.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.