Six more IMS stations certified

Six more International Monitoring System (IMS) stations have been certified, primary seismic stations PS21, PS40 and PS46, and infrasound stations IS10, IS33 and IS59. Certification is an important step in building IMS stations which takes place when the station has been shown to meet all Preparatory Commission technical specifications and is sending reliable data to the International Data Centre. After certification, a station becomes an official part of the International Monitoring System. PS21 is a new three-component primary seismic station located near the village of Charan, 45 km northwest of Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. It was constructed under contract to the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) by the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology.

PS40 is a primary seismic array station located in central Spain near the town of Sonseca. It was originally installed more than 40 years ago as part of the United States nuclear test monitoring programme, and had been upgraded several times since then. In November 2001 a final upgrade of the station was made by the PTS in cooperation with the Instituto Geografico Nacional, the current station operator. PS46 is a primary seismic array located located in southwest Texas northeast of the village of Lajitas on the Rio Grande River. It was originally installed in 1980 as part of the United States nuclear test monitoring programme and has been upgraded several times by USA national funding. A Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI) link and data authentication was added by the PTS in 2001.

IS10 is a new infrasound array located near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, Canada. It was constructed by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1998-1999 under the reduced assessment programme, a programme under which the station is built with national funding and the monetary value is deducted for the country's assessed contribution in the year following the certification of the station. The PTS certification visit was conducted in May 2001 and the station was put into IDC operations in October 2001.

IS33 is a new infrasound array located near Antananarivo in the central highlands of Madagascar. It was constructed by the Department Analyse et Surveillance de l'Environment of France between November 2000 and August 2001 under the reduced assessment programme. The PTS certification visit was conducted in September 2001.

IS59 is a new infrasound array located in a dense tropical forest on the slope of the dormant Hualalai volcano on the eastern side of the island of Hawaii, USA. The station was constructed by the Infrasound Laboratory of the University of Hawaii under contract to the University of Mississippi, the coordinating agency for IMS infrasound stations in the USA. The PTS certification visit was conducted in September 2001. A location in a dense tropical forest is ideal for an infrasound station, and this may become one of the most sensitive stations in the infrasound network.