EMScope Overview

EMScope is the magnetotelluric component of the National Science Foundation's EarthScope USArray program. This site serves as a community reference for planning and operations of USArray MT activities, as well as a portal to other resources available to the MT and seismic communities.

EMScope operates seven permanent MT Backbone magnetotelluric stations in the continental USA. These were installed by Oregon State University, with the collaboration at specific sites of Missouri State University, Virginia Tech University, and University of California at Riverside. The MT Backbone stations record data autonomously, and following a development effort real-time telemetry is being implemented.

The MT Transportable Array comprises shorter-period investigations at hundreds of sites in the continental USA. Data from these sites are collected on a regular schedule through recovery of data storage modules. MT Backbone and MT Transportable Array activities are supervised by Oregon State University, through a subcontract between OSU and the IRIS Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. MT Transportable Array operations are subcontracted to industrial and academic partners, with opportunities for student involvement in MT field operations. Overall USArray magnetotelluric program management is by Dr. Adam Schultz of OSU. Data quality control and management of data flow to the IRIS Data Management Center is by Dr. Gary Egbert of OSU. Oversight of EMScope activities is provided by the IRIS Electromagnetic Working Group (EMWoG).

A set of MT instruments is available for higher-resolution campaign-style investigations broadly equivalent to seismic FlexArray operations. Through 2009 these have been operated for the US magnetotelluric community by the EMSOC consortium. It is planned that in January 2010 the 25 EMSOC long-period MT instruments will be transferred to the EMScope instrument center at Oregon State University, where they will continue to be made available to US investigators for MT investigations around the world.

For Backbone and Transportable Array operations, or for questions related to using former EMSOC MT pool instruments from 2010 onward, please direct questions to Dr. A. Schultz at Oregon State University

(email: adam <at sign> coas.oregonstate.edu)

Information about the USArray seismic, geodetic and magnetotelluric facility is available on the USArray web site (see navigation frame to the left).