A scientific gateway for real time geophysical experiments

The aim is to develop an open-access, automated, web-based platform for real-time data collation, analysis and information exchange for geophysical experiments. This scientific gateway should enable competing physical hypotheses and statistical methods for forecasting rock failure to be tested and developed in fully prospective mode in an open, testable environment comparable to say daily weather forecasts. To do this will require applying state-of-the art statistical methods to the data in a high-performance computing environment, including formal quantification of model uncertainties and their effect on forecast consistency and quality.

The scientific gateway should cover a broad set of experiments. In this project we will start with one specific experiment as a pilot to show real time analysis in this area is possible. In this pilot will test predictive power of geophysical measurements in forecasting brittle failure events in real time. Current data from a NERC PhD studentship is available to use in the pilot to simulate input from planned future lab experiments, for example to test protocols that involve changing rates of data acquisition and analysis, and to test the limits of the system prior to application in a live test.