NOAA/ OERD
T-Phase Project: Real-Time Monitoring System

For this part of the project, started in 1993, I have written 2 IDL programs to perform the Real-Time Data Transfer and Display. The 2 program are run together. The Data Transfer (DT) program is run at the background to copy Navy's SOSUS T-Phase data from Whidbey Island, State of Washington to the NOAA/ OERD's office in Newport, Oregon, U.S.A. The Display program reads the data transfered by DT and display the data on a monitor screen as shown in the following picture. On September 1, 2001, the same programs are used to transfer and display Pioneer SeaMount data for California.

In the picture, each column on the screen is the specturm of the T-Phase data collected by an individual channel or hydrophone of an array of hydrophones. Each channel (or beam that we like to call it) is designed to record signals from a particular direction. A different direction for each channel. The Display program shows the specturm with all the arrival times synchronized. The program is designed to display an hour of data per one full screen. When an even hour is reach, a hardcopy of the hourly displayed image will be made.

The DT and the Display programs are runing 24 hours a day. This provides a Real-Time T-Phase Monitoring System. When an operator finds a potential seismic signal such as the row of pointing arrow sharps at the lower part of the screen that are shown in the picture, the operator can then use other T-Phase processing programs to perfrom more in-depth data analysis.