The COSMOS Virtual Data Center: A Web Portal for Strong Motion Data Dissemination

• DOI: 10.1785/gssrl.77.6.651
• Publication Date: 2007-12-13T22:24:39Z
• Authors: R. J. Archuleta; J. Steidl; M. Squibb
• Keywords: 0211 other engineering and technologies; 02 engineering and technology

The Constorium of Organizations for Strong-Motion Observation Systems (COSMOS) Virtual Data Center (VDC) is an unrestricted Web portal to strong-motion seismic data records of the United States and 14 contributing countries for use by the engineering and scientific communities (http://db.cosmos-eq.org). As of January 2006, the VDC contains the searchable metadata for 514 earthquakes, 3,052 stations, and 26,708 acceleration traces. A flexible, full range of search methods, including map-based, parameter-entry, and earthquake- and station-based searches, enables the user to quickly find records of interest. A range of display and download options allows users to view data in multiple contexts, extract and download metadata, and download time history and spectra files. Although the portal provides the user a consistent set of tools for discovery and retrieval, the data files continue to be acquired, processed, managed, and for most of the larger providers, archived by the data providers to ensure currency and integrity of the data. COSMOS oversees the development of the VDC through a working group of representatives from both data providers and users, including government agencies, engineering firms, and academic institutions. This article summarizes the VDC content, provides some statistics on its usage, and describes some of its basic search capabilities. The COSMOS Virtual Data Center began as the Strong-Motion Data Base (SMDB) in 1992 at the Institute for Crustal Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), with support from the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). The initial goal of the SMDB was to organize the distribution of strong-motion data in a single “one-stop” shop that provides open access to the data. The global strong-motion dataset was no longer small enough for an individual to know which records were relevant for his/her project. The SMDB was designed so that the strong-motion data could be accessed according to the needs …