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jAmaseis: Seismology Software Meeting the Needs of Educators
Ben Coleman (Moravian College)
jAmaseis is a piece of educational software that replaces and updates Amaseis, the current standard program IRIS supports
through "Seismographs in Schools." jAmaseis allows users to send and receive seismic data in realtime, filter data, fit a seismogram
to travel time curves, triangulate event epicenters on a globe, estimate event magnitudes, and generate images showing
seismograms and corresponding calculations. Users accomplish these tasks through an interface specifically designed to
enhance education.
Beyond providing educators with an improved version of AmaSeis with new features, jAmaseis offers a number of benefits.
Most importantly, the scope of the educational seismology program is significantly larger because jAmaseis allows an educator
to use the wealth of resources already developed for AmaSeis without actually possessing a seismometer. In addition, new classroom
pedagogies are possible. With jAmaseis, a user can view and manipulate multiple streams of data simultaneously and produce
visual representations of the results. Using these capabilities, an educator can instruct students to compare or combine the
analysis of various seismic records, providing a deeper learning experience. Finally, because jAmaseis untethers the seismometer
from the viewing computer, new applications are possible. For example, jAmaseis can be used to create engaging displays in
public spaces simply by mounting a computer monitor.
Work on jAmaseis is a productive collaboration between IRIS and Moravian College. At Moravian, a large percentage of the
computer science students are involved in the design and implementation of jAmaseis as either a project within a computer science
course or as a summer research experience. These students interact with members of the IRIS Education and Outreach
group and see the complete development process from design through implementation. This type of hands-on experience is
rarely found in undergraduate computer science programs, and consequently the students have the opportunity to publish at
peer-reviewed conferences, have stronger resumes upon graduation, and can draw on their experience during interviews for
perspective jobs.
jAmaseis is currently under active development, with plans for release to beta testers in August 2010 and release to the general
public during the summer of 2011.
Acknowledgements: This work is supported by an NSF sub-award from the IRIS E&O program and through the Student Opportunities for
Academic Research (SOAR) program at Moravian College.
The scope of educational seismology
is expanded because users have access
to realtime data over the Internet.
The users in Texas and Pennsylvania
send data to the data server. Users
in Michigan, Alaska, California, and
Pennsylvania receive the data from
Texas from the server. Similarly, users in
Alaska, California, and Nevada receive
the data sent from Pennsylvania.
2010 IRIS Core Programs Proposal | Volume II | education and outreach | II-41