Revised version of the New Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice

A revised edition of the New Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice (NMSOP) has been compiled and is now available online. This manual is a project of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI). Over the years IASPEI introduced a manual to ensure that the data from the different seismology observatories around the world is of a set standard. The manual establishes protocols for all aspects of observatory operation which may effect the seismological data itself. In addition, the manual provides competent guidance for the different stages, from planning, bidding, procurement, site-selection, and installation of new seismic observatories and networks.

---

 

The front cover of the Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice published in 1979 as Report SE-20 of the World Data Center A for Solid Earth Geophysics

Inside the front cover of the Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice published in 1979.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

The manual, originally called Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice, was first produced in 1979 as Report SE-20 of the World Data Center A for Solid Earth Geophysics. It was reprinted in 1982, but has been long out of print. For many years the Manual has been effectively impossible to obtain. Later,  in 1996, the the Commission on Seismological Observation and Interpretation of IASPEI initiated a project to produce a new edition of the Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice. This project is under the overall guidance of Prof. Dr. Peter Bormann. The new edition has been published in 2002, and a slightly revised/corrected version made available on the internet as NMSOP-1 in 2009. The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences are now maintaining the NMSOP website in collaboration with the International Seismological Centre and the IASPEI.

The new Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice (second Edition NMSOP-2, 2012) has 4 new and 13 substantially amended topical chapters, and many new or significantly revised/amended Information Sheets, Data Sheets,  Exercises, Tutorials, educational animations, programs and the largest ever published glossary of seismological and related earth scientific and engineering terms. NMSOP-2 is the largest seismology e-book currently available. It is accessible via the website http://nmsop.gfz-potsdam.de.

 

 

Planning and Managing Scientific Research

Scientific research is in no way an easy task and it should be comparable to entrepreneurship. This is because it not only has to be original and exciting to be established but it involves a lot of effort, money and many men hours. Such work and preparation is sometimes (or most of the time!) placed on the table of researchers without them having the energy or know-how on how the administer projects. Typical projects would require collaborations, applying for funds, human resources, purchasing of equipment, auditing, tons of report writing, publications, public relations, and so forth. No academic course can prepare enough someone to take such a task, and it will take time for one to get familiar and get a grips of the entire cycle.

A new open access book discussing the preparation for developing and running research projects has just been published: Planning and Managing Scientific Research : A guide for the Planning & Managing beginning researcher by Brian Kennett. The author, a seismologist and who has extensive scientific research and management experiences, writes about the importance of understanding the nature of scientific research, and the way in which research projects can be developed, planned and managed to a successful outcome.

“Many researchers are unhappy with the concept of research management, since they wish to concentrate solely on the research component, and see management as purely associated with administrative chores. In fact most people employ informal management techniques when they make decisions about where to put in their next effort on a project. As we shall see, even modest projects can benefit from clear planning and tracking using simple tools.”

The book is designed to help the transition from being a member of a research team to developing a project and making them work. It should be of value to researchers in the later stages of Ph.D. work and post-doctoral workers. The book is published by ANU Press and is available for free download in PDF format.

Science for kids

Fancy helping translate the latest science into something for kids? Get in touch!

We’re on the hunt for a few people to help review Planet Presses (http://www.egu.eu/education/planet-press/), bite-sized press releases for kids. One of the problems with a non-expert taking something and turning it into kids’ speak means that some key details could be lost. This is where you come in!

If you, or someone you know would be interested in reviewing Planet Presses, send an email detailing your interest and areas of expertise to Bárbara Ferreira at media@egu.eu.

The Continental Drift Controversy

For many, the theory of continental drift is a proven and understood concept. Few are aware that the debate has been decades-long process. A recently published, multi-volume book is re-going through the whole story on how the theory evolved, detailing the views of how scientist perceived it over time.

The debate is between fixism and mobilism which the author, Henry R. Frankel, describes in a three-phase process. “Fixism was almost universally assumed until Frank Taylor in 1910 and Alfred Wegener in 1912 introduced their mobilist theories of continental drift and inaugurated the first or classical phase“. The second phase of the controversy, the subject of Volume II, is marked by the rise in the early 1950s of paleomagnetism. The third and final phase of the controversy, the subject of Volume III, began in the mid-1950s when there was a massive influx of new information about the seafloor obtained through the use of new geophysical techniques and instruments. This phase began in earnest about a decade after World War II and intensified during the early stages of the Cold War. Volume IV is about the evolution into plate tectonics

Cambridge.org describes the book as “the first complete history of the origin, debate and gradual acceptance of this revolutionary theory” on the continental drift controversy, “based on extensive interviews, archival papers and original works. Frankel weaves together the lives and work of the scientists involved, producing an accessible narrative for scientists and non-scientists alike. This first volume covers the period in the early 1900s when Wegener first pointed out that the Earth’s major landmasses could be fitted together like a jigsaw and went on to propose that the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass, which he named Pangaea.”

• The most thorough account ever written of the most fundamental theory in the geosciences
• Includes material from first-hand interviews with many of the leading scientists involved
• Frankel’s accessible writing style will appeal to Earth scientists of all disciplines, as well as historians and philosophers of science

---

Author:

Henry R. Frankel, University of Missouri, Kansas City was awarded a PhD from Ohio State University in 1974 and then took a position at the University of Missouri, Kansas City where he became Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department (1999–2004). His interest in the continental drift controversy and the plate tectonics revolution began while teaching a course on conceptual issues in science during the late 1970s. The controversy provided him with an example of a recent and major scientific revolution to test philosophical accounts of scientific growth and change. Over the next thirty years, and with the support of the United States National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society, Professor Frankel’s research went on to yield new and fascinating insights into the evolution of the most important theory in the Earth sciences.

---

Links:

The Continental Drift Controversy: Wegener and the Early Debate
The Continental Drift Controversy: Paleomagnetism and Confirmation of Drift
The Continental Drift Controversy: Introduction of Seafloor Spreading

Feedback to EGU

The EGU General Assembly 2014 was again a great success with 4,829 oral, 9,583 poster, and 483 PICO presentations as well as 12,437 scientists attending from 106 countries. Please find more details at: http://www.egu2014.eu

A special survey has been set up to give everyone the chance to report back their feedback about this year’s EGU. For those who have not already completed the Survey please consider to provide your feedback and help improve the quality of the conference.
Those who did not attend the General Assembly are also invite (as members) to take the survey.

The questionnaire can be found at: http://egu2014.eu/feedback

The survey will close on 24 June 2014.