Crowd-Sourcing Seismic Data for Education and Research Opportunities with the Quake-Catcher Network

The Quake Catcher Network (QCN; quakecatcher.net) uses low cost micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensors hosted by volunteers to collect seismic data. Volunteers use accelerometers internal to laptop computers, phones, tablets or small (the size of a matchbox) MEMS sensors plugged into desktop computers using a USB connector to collect scientifically useful data. Data are collected and sent to a central server using the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) distributed computing software. Since 2008, sensors installed in museums, schools, offices, and residences have collected thousands of earthquake records, including the 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile, the 2010 M7.1 Darfield, New Zealand, and 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquakes. In 2016, the QCN in the United States transitioned to the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Consortium and the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), which are facilities funded through the National Science Foundation and the United States Geological Survey, respectively. The transition has allowed for an influx of new ideas and new education related efforts, which include focused installations in several school districts in southern California, on Native American reservations in North Dakota, and in the most seismically active state in the contiguous U.S. - Oklahoma. We present and describe these recent educational opportunities, and highlight how QCN has engaged a wide sector of the public in scientific data collection, particularly through the QCN-EPIcenter Network and NASA Mars InSight teacher programs. QCN provides the public with information and insight into how seismic data are collected, and how researchers use these data to better understand and characterize seismic activity. Lastly, we describe how students use data recorded by QCN sensors installed in their classrooms to explore and investigate felt earthquakes, and look towards the bright future of the network.