Standing Committee Meeting Report PASSCAL

March 2005

Action Items from PASSCAL Standing Committee Meeting

SC Members present:

John Collins, Matt Fouch, John Hole (secretary), David James (chair), Camelia Knapp, Stephane Rondenay, Bill Stephenson, Bill Walter, Colin Zelt

Others present:

Marcos Alvarez, Rick Aster, Bruce Beaudoin, Bob Busby, Jim Fowler, Steve Harder, Shane Ingate, Ray Willemann

Action Items

• Request of IRIS headquarters that they actively pursue (or continue to pursue) discussions with USGS concerning active source issues (shooting and permitting) per recommendations of the active source working group report chaired by John Hole.

• Busby, Fowler and Alvarez to work with Frank Vernon to develop  comprehensive quality control standards for assessing the transportable USArray data.  The SC also endorses Busby’s call for an IRIS-wide web forum to document known issues related to specific USArray stations.

• Post PI evaluation forms for instrumentation performance and data recovery on the IRIS/PASSCAL website. These evaluations will be compiled into an annual synopsis by the PIC.

• Prepare a  “field staffing policy” to codify PIC field operations (Beaudoin, Fowler, Alvarez). 

• Develop a Policy on Mixed PASSCAL/Earthscope Instrumentation: The SC recognizes the need for guidelines from NSF on (1) use of Earthscope Flexible component equipment in PASSCAL experiments within the U.S. – i.e., those funded by other NSF programs or by other federal agencies, and (2) use of PASSCAL instrumentation in Earthscope experiments either to supplement the number of Flex component instruments or to enlarge the pool to allow an increased number of experiments, particularly active source experiments. 

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  • Recommendation on Instrument Use:  The PASSCAL Standing Committee recommends that instruments from the regular PASSCAL pool and from the Flexible Array pool should be available to any “EarthScope-like” experiments within the U.S. on a non-interference basis.  If instruments from one pool are available to support the other pool and the experiment is in the US they should be able to be used, the source of funding should not be the only deciding factor.   The underlying goal is to maximize effective use of the instrument pool.  The present CD Parkfield experiment is an appropriate test case.

• Budget  for 2005-6 approved

• Prepare recommendations for loan of surplus 72 series instruments for COCOM.  The SC recommends that the surplus 72 series data loggers be loaned out long term rather than donated, at least initially.  Fowler and others will develop criteria as the basis for an RFP.  One requirement may be that data are to be archived at the DMC.

• Tasks for 5-yr proposal:
  • Fowler et al. will compile demographics of PASSCAL support: number of experiments; number of PIs; number of graduate students; number of foreign PIs.
  • Establish website for one-pagers
  • Completion of PASSCAL Themes and Overview sections before BoD meeting in early April 2005.

• Evaluate costs of acquiring data-logging gravimeters and satellite phone systems for inclusion in PASSCAL instrument pool.