IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) was a university research consortium dedicated to exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data. It operated the U.S. National Science Foundation's Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE Facility) until 2023. IRIS programs contributed to scholarly research,

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

hazard mitigation, and the verification of a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Support for IRIS came from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, other federal agencies, universities, and private foundations. IRIS supported five major components: * The Data Management Center (DMC) * The Portable Array Seismic Studies of the Continental

Lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time ...

( PASSCAL) * The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) * The Transportable Array ( USARRAY) * Education and Public Outreach Program (EPO) IRIS maintained a corporate office in Washington, D.C. IRIS's Education and Public Outreach Program offered animations, videos, lessons, software, posters, and fact sheets to help teachers and the general public learn more about seismology and earth science and understand it better. The goal is to get more people interested in careers in geophysics. IRIS is listed in the Registry of Research Data Repositories re3data.org. On January 1, 2023, IRIS merged with UNAVCO to form the EarthScope Consortium that now operates both the U.S. National Science Foundation's SAGE and GAGE Facilities through 2025.

History

In 1959, the United States Government launched a research effort aimed at improving national capabilities to detect and identify foreign nuclear explosions detonated underground and at high altitudes. The resultant World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) was a program successful beyond its original remit. It provided seismological data for its intended purpose as well as for the emerging concept of

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

. Initially operated by the Defense Department, by 1973 operations were transferred to the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS). A collaboration with the IRIS Consortium began in 1984 as a result of a need to expand and succeed the WWSSN with the Global Seismographic Network (GSN). The GSN, originally funded entirely by the USGS under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), is now jointly supported by the

References

External links

* {{Authority control Seismological observatories, organisations and projects Research organizations in the United States

History

See also

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Further reading

External links