Swarm is a Java application designed to display and analyze seismic waveforms in real-time.

Swarm is a Java application designed to display and analyze seismic waveforms in real-time. Swarm can connect to and read from a variety of different static and dynamics data sources, including Earthworm waveservers, IRIS DMCs, SEED and SAC files, and simple ASCII. Swarm has both time- and frequency-domain analysis tools, along with a simple but powerful mapping platfrom. A full-screen kiosk mode can act as a low-cost, low-maintenance replacement for paper drum recorders. Swarm was written by and for scientists and provides fine control over many different program settings and variables. The code is open source, freely available, and in the public domain.

Swarm was developed in 2004 and 2005 at the Alaska Volcano Observatory by Dan Cervelli, Peter Cervelli, Thomas Parker, and Thomas Murray. Swarm development has been in hiatus for a few years, but has recently become a priority again.
 

Download the Current Release

A .zip package of Swarm 3.0 is available.

• swarm-3.1.0-bin.zip

In order to run, Swarm requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 8 intalled on the target system. The latest Java JRE can be downloaded from the official Java website or the Oracle Technology Network Java website.

If needed, previous builds of Swarm are available for download:

• swarm-3.0.0-bin.zip
• swarm-2.8.13-bin.zip
• swarm-2.8.11-bin.zip

USER MANUAL

A .pdf version of a Swarm user manual is available here.

VISION STATEMENT

DISCLAIMER: what follows is a draft document that is to be intended as a guideline and set of goals for possible future program development and improvement. By no means, none of the features hinted or listed below is guaranteed to be implemented any time soon, if ever at all.

What is Swarm for?

SWARM, Seismic Wave Analysis and Real-time Monitoring tool, is an application created to make easily accessible to the public (amateur seismologists and students in particular) the most used tools used in seismology to study and monitor seismic waves, yet offer all the power and fine tuning needed by scientists and professionals in this field.

In a panorama of complex, often fragmentary tools with command-line interfaces, SWARM offers, to the limits of what is possible for such a complex field without hindering power and functionality, a graphical user interface-only approach prioritizing rapid deployment and ease of use. In other words, untrained people should be able to quickly (less than one minute) set up a typical SWARM view and start being productive (monitoring/analysis) during seismic crises.

Monitoring

The monitoring aspect of SWARM is intended to offer a clear real-time clear of seismic data in for widely different target groups: the analyst, who will perhaps favour smaller and more detailed time windows; the amateur, who will probably find more appealing a broader, yet still detailed big picture of seismic activity in a certain area; the general public, for whom automatically operated, simpler kiosk views will be of more interest. Ultimately, since usage needs especially among the more skilled people might vary, configurability and the ability to display detailed information remains a priority in all views.

Analysis

The analysis aspect of SWARM is geared mainly toward seismologists (professionals and amateurs) and students. A wide palette of tools of which the main scope is making the identification of signals easier, is provided. Special care is made to audio analysis, which takes advantage of human ears' advantage in pattern recognition over eyesight. This is strongly reflected in the user interface, which where applicable, will be familiar to people with experience with audio editing applications. Seismic signals are waveforms as audio signals, therefore the same principles and possible operations are applicable.

The map

An important feature that increases ease of use, deployment speed and analysis capabilities is the map view. The map provides a view of the Earth, on which earthquakes from a number of catalogues updated in real-time are plotted. In addition to these, volcanoes (either active or inactive) and seismic stations from loaded seismic networks are also plotted. In case of earthquake swarms, or otherwise noteworthy seismic and volcanic events it is possible to select one or more seismic stations and plot their data either directly on the map (in various reduced formats) or in new windows. Being able to quickly select and open many seismic stations at once is one of the strong points of this feature. Other than quick selection of seismic stations, the map also features several tools for a quick and rough estimation of earthquake locations.

And more

In addition to monitoring and analysis functionalities, SWARM also provides a batch of automation tools and common operations in seismology such as waveform retrieval, batch format conversion, data import&export, integration with the most widely used applications in the field.

[...]

A learning tool, too

Ultimately, a catalog of typical textbook-quality seismic events with peer reviewed commentary is also provided. This is of course not intended to be a seismology handbook or course, but rather a quick reference and starting point for the interpretation of seismic signals. One of the main goals of SWARM is to make access to seismic data easier; the consecutive step from that is to clear out confusion and common misconceptions on the matter among the general public (or even the seemingly informed); in other words, to also work as a learning assist tool.

What SWARM is

• A tool for analysis, monitoring and public outreach of seismic data
• A program that can be deployed quickly and effortlessly
• A program completely operated through a graphical user interface
• [...]

What SWARM is not

• A collection of command-line tools
• A clone of existing applications (although it might take many ideas from them)
• A program requiring manual configuration file editing for fine tuning and advanced options
• [...]

RELEASE NOTES

## Version 3.1.0 - February 18, 2020

• Allow decimals for one bar range and clip value in helicorder settings
• Allow decimals in min/max amp in wave settings for small values
• Fix plot tick labels for really small values
• Fix display of really small values in status area
• volcano-core dependency to 3.0.2
• use new hypo71 1.0.0 and quakeml 1.0.0 libraries
• Migration of source code from github.com/usgs to code.usgs.gov

## Version 3.0.0 - November 18, 2019

• Support import of QuakeML without onset, polarity, and uncertainty
• Improve loading of wave clipboard upon QuakeML import
• Remove includeavailability option in FDSN query statement
• Support QuakeML timestamp with six decimal places for seconds
• Fix issue opening wave view from helicorder on Windows 10 against Winston 1.3.x
• Require Java 8 or higher (previously supported Java 7)
• volcano-core dependency to 2.0.0 * wwsclient dependency to 2.0.0

## Version 2.8.13 - October 2, 2019

• Use Swarm config Vp/Vs for Hypo71 Control Card POS
• Fix map display issue introduced in 2.8.12

## Version 2.8.12 - September 23, 2019

• Add option to hide stale channels in Data Chooser
• Add color-blind friendly spectrum option for spectrogram
• Indicate event classification color in tag menu
• New default colors for default event classifications
• Fix start time precision in Seisan file export
• Fix wrong year in wave panel when date is Dec 31
• Handle error when map view selected for station with no lat/lon in metadata

## Version 2.8.11 - June 3, 2019

• Fix hypocenter display error for high magnitudes
• Winston client to version 1.3.7 (fix issue against Winston 1.3 on Windows)

## Version 2.8.10 - May 31, 2019

• Add legend for events on map
• Option to plot event colors based on depth
• Manual scale of y-axis for spectra view
• Add option to apply helicorder view settings to all open helicorders
• Read/write picks in SAC header on import/export
• Set B & E fields in SAC header on export
• Fixes for non-integer sample rate
• Separate log power and min/max frequency option for spectra and spectrogram views

## Version 2.8.9 - March 14, 2019

• Fix waveform export issue in clipboard
• Fix QuakeML date parse precision problem

## Version 2.8.8 - February 19, 2019

• Fix SeedLink stream break issues

## Version 2.8.7 - December 13, 2018

• Bundle user manual into zip file (under docs)
• Bundle Hypo71 manual into zip file (under docs)
• Add tooltips for Hypo71 TEST settings.
• Fix Pick menu Hide option
• Fix memory error when retrieving old helicorder data from FDSN
• Don't hide Event Dialog after plotting hypocenter
• Handle null timezone when writing to config
• Fix gap issues when reading seed files

## Version 2.8.6 - August 8, 2018

• Addition of map option to hide station icons
• Add RSAM value of selected wave panel period to status bar
• Fix issue with streaming failing on loss of data
• Fix issue using WWS instrument time zone
• Fix multiple event dialog showing up under Window menu
• Fix problem parsing server response from CWB
• Support height metadata for FDSN data source
• Position real-time wave viewer and RSAM viewer when opening layout
• Updated WWS Client to 1.3.5

## Version 2.8.5 - July 13, 2018

• Support real-time wave viewer in layouts
• Support RSAM viewer in layouts
• Add audio alarm for RSAM
• Add 6 and 8 week time span for RSAM viewer
• Fix issue with zoom/scroll for cached data source
• Add event classifier
• Fix loading of groups from SwarmMetadata.config
• Fix tooltip for Particle Motion shortcut
• Fix URL for Imagery Topo map
• Fix earth button on map to show full extent

## Version 2.8.4 - April 6, 2018

• Allow input of Vp/Vs ratio under File->Options
• Add option to save configuration file through File menu
• Correct excessive CPU consumption when using seedlink

## Version 2.8.3 - February 2, 2018

• Update seisFile library to 1.8.0
• Read blockette100 sample rate in SEED file if it exists
• Add xmlns:q and xmlns attributes to exported QuakeML files
• Allow 2 decimal places for Butterworth Filter corners
• Support Hypo71 KSING option
• Fix printing of 5 char station names in Hypo71 output
• Display start date on clipboard waveforms

## Version 2.8.2 - November 9, 2017

• Save clipboard to layout
• RSAM plot screen capture
• Use S-picks in location algorithm
• Fix Hypo71.config read

## Version 2.8.1 - November 6, 2017

• Upgraded seedlink library
• Corrected reliability of wave display of gappy data
• Fix loading of crustal model file
• Fix hypo71 bug when checking for hemisphere
• Fix FDSN WS opening on Swarm launch
• RSAM ratio feature
• Removal of RSAM filtering option

## Version 2.8.0 - August 16, 2017

• Hypo71 support
• RSAM filtering option
• Fix NullPointerException bug on Swarm config load

## Version 2.7.4 - August 4, 2017

• Fix clipboard image issue
• Fix filter (f) and rescale (r) hot keys

## Version 2.7.3 - July 7, 2017

• Fix pick time zone on export to QuakeML
• Add 'Clear All Picks' to pick menu bar
• Stream line pick menu (right-click)
• Add ability to use P pick for coda calculations
• Add optional comment field for event export
• Add clipboard button to event viewer
• Fix sort button on event viewer
• Update basemap URLs to https
• Center map on imported events

## Version 2.7.2 - June 6, 2017

• Read WIN files
• Add option to turn off S-P plot for a station
• Remove $ from channel name display in pick wave panels
• Fix problem with file type option when opening files from clipboard

## Version 2.7.1 - May 22, 2017

• Pick Mode enhancements:
  • Add ability to select pick uncertainty
  • Plot S-P in map
  • QuakeML import/export
  • Add key stroke shortcut
• Fix bug in map line color selection

## Version 2.7.0 - May 10, 2017

• Add pick mode to Wave Clipboard
• Add ability to import QuakeML files
• Fix error saving config on exit
• Fix error reading/writing channels in Seisan files
• Fix incorrect time in status bar
• Add general/debug info to particle motion plot for user

## Version 2.6.3 - April 24, 2017

• Enable refresh of data source
• Addition of initial capabilities for particle motion plot
• Allow status bar to expand vertically to display entire text

## Version 2.6.2 - March 3, 2017

• Write multiplexed Seisan files
• Use UTC for clipboard "go to time" button
• Use 6 digits for the fraction portion of frequency status lines
• Correct station encoding in SAC headers

## Version 2.6.1 - February 21, 2017

• write SAC files with correct headers
• Use HTTPS for earthquake summary files
• Fix error saving Layouts
• code cleanup

## Version 2.6.0 - February 6, 2017

• Add option to plot hypocenters from NEIC summary files on map
• Add event inspector dialog
• Expand maximum time span of inset wave window
• Quote command line args before passing them to java
• Fix wave close buttons
• Fix kisok enter/exit keys

## Version 2.5.9 - March 11, 2016

• Bug fixes

## Version 2.5.8 - February 26, 2016

• Bug fixes

## Version 2.5.2

• Remove obsoleted DefaultMetadata Class.

## Version 2.5.1 - October 14, 2015

• Add missing libraries
• Correct overflow when working with long waves

## Version 2.5 - October 14, 2015

• SCM migrated from in-house subversion to git hosted at GitHub
• Build migrated from Ant to Maven
• IRISWS client upgraded to support FDSNWS. (Thanks to Ivan Henson!)