The Plate Boundary Observatory: Community Focused Web Services

The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), part of the NSF-funded EarthScope project, is designed to study the three-dimensional strain field resulting from deformation across the active boundary zone between the Pacific and North American plates in the western United States. To meet these goals, PBO will install 852 continuous GPS stations, 103 borehole strainmeter stations, 28 tiltmeters, and five laser strainmeters, as well as manage data for 209 previously existing continuous GPS stations. UNAVCO provides access to data products from these stations, as well as general information about the PBO project, via the PBO web site (http://pboweb.unavco.org). GPS and strainmeter data products can be found using a variety of channels, including map searches, text searches, and station specific data retrieval. In addition, the PBO construction status is available via multiple mapping interfaces, including custom web based map widgets and Google Earth. Additional construction details can be accessed from PBO operational pages and station specific home pages. The current state of health for the PBO network is available with the statistical snap-shot, full map interfaces, tabular web based reports, and automatic data mining and alerts. UNAVCO is currently working to enhance the community access to this information by developing a web service framework for the discovery of data products, interfacing with operational engineers, and exposing data services to third party participants. In addition, UNAVCO, through the PBO project, provides advanced data management and monitoring systems for use by the community in operating geodetic networks in the United States and beyond. We will demonstrate these systems during the AGU meeting, and we welcome inquiries from the community at any time.