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Adam Ringler, Ph.D.

I am a scientist at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory.  I like to work on problems related to instrumentation and data quality.  If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact me.

Publications

Ringler, A. T., R. E. Anthony, R. C. Aster, C. J. Ammon, S. Arrowsmith, H. Benz, C. Ebeling, W. -Y. Kim, H. C. P. Lau, V. Lekić, P. G. Richards, D. P. Schaff, M. Vallée, and W. Yeck (2021).  Achievements and prospects of global broadband seismic networks after 30 years of continuous geophysical observations, in review.

Ringler, A. T., R. E. Anthony, P. Davis, K. Hafner, R. Mellors, S. Schneider, and D. C. Wilson (2021).  Improved resolution across the Global Seismographic Network: A new era in low-frequency seismology, in review.

Anthony, R. E., A. T. Ringler, and D. C. Wilson (2021).  Seismic background noise levels across the Continental United States from USArray Transportable Array: The influence of geology and geopgraphy, in review.

Yang, Y., X. Song, and A. T. Ringler (2021).  An evaluation of the timing accuracy of global and regional seismic stations and networks, Seis. Res. Lett., in press.

Wilson, D. C., E. Wolin, W. Yeck, R. E. Anthony, and A. T. Ringler (2021).  Modeling seismic network detection thresholds using production picking algorithms, Seis. Res. Lett., in press.

Ringler, A. T. and R. E. Anthony (2021).  Local variations in broadband sensor installations: Orientations, sensitivities, and noise levels, Pure Appl. Geophys., in press.

Zürn, W., T. Forbriger, R. Widmer-Schnidrig, P. Duffner, and A. T. Ringler (2021).  Modeling tilt noise caused by atmospheric processes at long periods for several horizontal seismometers at BFO - A reprise, Geophys. J. Int., DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggab336 [Link]

Ringler, A. T., D. B. Mason, G. Laske, T. Storm, and M. Templeton (2021).  Why do my squiggles look funny? A gallery of compromised seismic signals, Seis. Res. Lett., DOI: 10.1785/0220210094 [Link]

Ringler, A. T., R. E. Anthony, C. A. Dalton, and D. C. Wilson (2021).  Rayleigh-wave amplitude uncertainty across the Global Seismographic Network and potential implications for global tomography, Bull. Seis. Soc. Amer., 111 (3), 1273-1292. [Link]

Ringler, A. T., R. E. Anthony, D. C. Wilson, D. Auerbach, S. Bargabus, P. Davis, M. Gunnels, K. Hafner, J. F. Holland, A. Kearns, and E. Klimczak (2021).  A review of timing accuracy across the Global Seismographic Network, Seis. Res. Lett., 92 (4), 2270-2281 [Link]

Anthony, R. E., A. T. Ringler, M. DuVernois, K. R. Anderson, and D. C. Wilson (2021).  Six decades of seismology at South Pole, Antarctica: Current limitiations and future opportunities to facilitate new geophysical observations, Seis. Res. Lett., 92 (5), 2718-2735. [Link]

Tape, C., A. T. Ringler, and D. L. Hampton (2020).  Recording the Aurora at seismometers across Alaska, Seis. Res. Lett., 91 (6), 3039-3053. [Link]

Alejandro, A. C. B., A. T. Ringler, D. C. Wilson, R. E. Anthony, and S. V. Moore (2020).  Towards understanding relationships between atmo

Science and Products

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Auroras and Earthquakes: Strange Companions

Release Date: JULY 6, 2020In 1722 and 1723 a London clockmaker, George Graham, observed daily and consistent variations on one of his instruments, a “Needle upon the Pin” (a compass), for which he had no explanation. Swedish scientists obtained some of Graham’s instruments to record what is now known to be the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. In 1741, they noticed a significant deflection of...
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geomagnetism
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Auroras and Earthquakes: Strange Companions

Release Date: JULY 6, 2020In 1722 and 1723 a London clockmaker, George Graham, observed daily and consistent variations on one of his instruments, a “Needle upon the Pin” (a compass), for which he had no explanation. Swedish scientists obtained some of Graham’s instruments to record what is now known to be the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. In 1741, they noticed a significant deflection of...
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Filter Total Items: 54

Recording the aurora borealis (northern lights) at seismometers across Alaska

We examine three continuously recording data sets related to the aurora: all‐sky camera images, three‐component magnetometer data, and vertical‐component, broadband seismic data as part of the EarthScope project (2014 to present). Across Alaska there are six all‐sky cameras, 13 magnetometers, and >200>200 seismometers. The all‐sky images and magnetometers have the same objective, which is to monit
By
Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geomagnetism, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Magnetic field variations in Alaska: Recording space weather events on seismic stations in Alaska

Seismometers are highly sensitive instruments to not only ground motion but also many other nonseismic noise sources (e.g., temperature, pressure, and magnetic field variations). We show that the Alaska component of the Transportable Array is particularly susceptible to recording magnetic storms and other space weather events because the sensors used in this network are unshielded and magnetic flu
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geomagnetism, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Installation and performance of the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory small-aperture posthole array

The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) has been used extensively by seismologists to characterize large earthquakes and image deep earth structure. While some of the networks design goals have been met, the seismological community has suggested that the incorporation of small-aperture seismic arrays at select sites may improve performance of the network and enable new observations. As a pilot stu
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

How processing methodologies can distort and bias power spectral density estimates of seismic background noise

Power spectral density (PSD) estimates are widely used in seismological studies to characterize background noise conditions, assess instrument performance, and study quasi‐stationary signals that are difficult to observe in the time domain. However, these studies often utilize different processing techniques, each of which can inherently bias the resulting PSD estimates. The level of smoothing, th
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

A brief introduction to seismic instrumentation: Where does my data come from?

Modern seismology has been able to take advantage of several technological advances. These include feedback loops in the seismometer, specialized digitizers with absolute timing, and compression formats for storing data. While all of these advances have helped to improve the field, they can also leave newcomers a bit confused. Our goal here is to give a brief overview of how recordings of seism
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Calibration analysis and noise estimates of WWSSN Station ALQ (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

World‐Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) records contain daily calibration pulses that can be used to retrieve the magnification as well as the response of the instrument for a given day record. We analyze a select number of long‐period vertical (LPZ) records from WWSSN station ALQ (Albuquerque, New Mexico). Although we find that the response of this instrument varies widely throughout
By
Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Using component ratios to detect metadata and instrument problems of seismic stations: Examples from 18 years of GEOSCOPE data

Replacement or deterioration of seismic instruments and the evolution of the installation conditions and sites can alter the seismic signal in very subtle ways, so it is notoriously difficult to monitor the signal quality of permanent seismic stations. We present a simple tool, energy ratios between each pair of the three recorded components, aimed at characterizing and monitoring signal quality,
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Improvements in seismic resolution and current limitations in the Global Seismographic Network

Station noise levels play a fundamental limitation in our ability to detect seismic signals. These noise levels are frequency-dependent and arise from a number of physically different drivers. At periods greater than 100 s, station noise levels are often limited by the self-noise of the instrument as well as the sensitivity of the instrument to non-seismic noise sources. Recently, station opera
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Rapid station and network quality analysis for temporary deployments

Seismic station data quality is commonly defined by metrics such as data completeness or background seismic noise levels in specific frequency bands. However, for temporary networks such as aftershock deployments or induced seismicity monitoring, the most critical metric is often how well the station performs when recording events of interest. A timely measure of station performance can be used
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Characteristics and spatial variability of wind noise on near-surface broadband seismometers

By coupling with the ground, wind causes ground motion that appears on seismic records as noise across a wide bandwidth. This wind-generated noise can drown out important features such as small earthquakes and prevent observation of normal modes from large earthquakes. Because the wind field is heterogeneous at local scales due to structures, diurnal heating, and topography, wind-induced seismic n
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Rayleigh wave ellipticity measurement uncertainty across the IRIS/USGS and New China Digital Seismograph Networks

Long-period Rayleigh wave horizontal to vertical amplitude (H/V) ratios at a station provide information about local earth structure that is complementary to phase velocity. However, a number of studies have observed that significant scatter appears in these measurements making it difficult to use H/V ratio measurements to resolve earth structure. Some of the scatter in these measurements has been
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

A collection of historic seismic instrumentation photographs at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory

The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) has preserved a collection of photographs of seismographic equipment, stations, and drawings used by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) in the early-to-mid-twentieth century. The photographs were transferred to ASL from the US Department of Commerce building in Washington DC after ASL became established as a USC&GS facility for seism
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

ASL Sensor Test Suite

This program is used to analyze various aspects of seismic sensor data in order to determine information about their configuration, such as gain and orientation.

Science and Products