Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory
The mission of the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) is to support the operation and maintenance of seismic networks. As part of this mission, the ASL is responsible for the USGS-portion of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) and the ANSS backbone network.
The ASL has a small outreach program. As part of this program, ASL staff host tours at the ASL, visit classrooms in the Albuquerque area, participate in festivities such as the New Mexico State Fair, and support IRIS/USGS earthquake displays at the Smithsonian Institution, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the Carnegie Institution, IRIS Headquarters in Washington, DC, and USGS Headquarters in Reston, Virginia.
Contact ASL Outreach
The ASL operates the USGS-portion of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) and the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) backbone network. The ASL also runs the ANSS depot, a facility to support ANSS networks. Along with the ANSS backbone network the ASL also operates the Central Eastern U.S. Network, the Intermountain West Network, and the New England Seismic Network.
The ASL was established in 1961 as a seismological observatory and instrumentation laboratory in the Seismology Division of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS). In 1972, the Laboratory was transferred together with the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). At nearly the same time as ASL was being established it was decided it would be a good location to base operations for the World-Wide Standardized Seismograph System Network (WWSSN) and quickly became the installation and maintenance depot and data collection center as well. The ASL occupies a 160-acre site located in a remote area of the Isleta Pueblo adjacent to the south boundary of Kirtland Air Force Base, about 15 miles southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The location in the Manzanito Hills is relatively isolated, where seismograph instruments can be operated and tested without major disturbance from manmade noise sources. The ASL consists of 15 structures, 2 subsurface vaults mined into a granite hill, over 20 boreholes, and several surface vaults. The extremely low-noise seismometer test facilities at ASL are quite important in evaluating and further developing seismic instrumentation for the GSN, the ANSS, and the greater seismological community.
Over the years, the ASL has been the installation, maintenance and data center for various global seismic networks including the WWSSN, the High Gain Long Period (HGLP) network, the Seismic Research Observatories (SRO), the Digital version of the WWSSN (DWWSSN), and the Modified High Gain Long Period (ASRO) network. During the 1980s and 1990s, ASL developed and deployed the 9 stations of the China Digital Seismic Network (CDSN) and the 9 stations of the Global Telemetered Seismograph Network (GTSN). In 1984, the ASL began working closely with EarthScope in developing and installing the GSN. More recently, the ASL collaborated with the USGS NEIC to install 35 backbone stations of the ANSS/Earthscope USArray project and 9 new stations in the Caribbean. Along with the operation of permanent stations the ASL maintains a small pool of aftershock systems.
