Seismic, Volcanic, and Geodetic Networks in Ecuador: Building Capacity for Monitoring and Research

The Instituto Geofisico of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IGEPN) is in charge of the monitoring and study of seismic and volcanic activity in the Ecuadorean territory. This institution currently maintains the Servicio Nacional de Sismologia y Vulcanologia (The National Seismology and Volcanology Service), which includes monitoring via modern seismic, volcanic, and geodetic networks with 81 seismic stations, 117 strong-motion sensors, 85 Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, and 8 first- and second-level volcano observatories (at least 2 independent monitoring techniques). This system is supported by a real-time transmission network that relies on different and independent technologies (satellite, microwave, fiber-optic, and digital radio). It also maintains the National Processing Center for Issuing Seismic and Volcanic Alerts (TERRAS center), which operates 24/7 and supplies the information by email, fax, radio, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, website, and SMS, and the national seismic and volcanic data center, which maintains raw and processed seismic, volcanic, and geodetic data. Evolution, coverage, and characteristics of these networks are described in this article.