Dense spatial sampling of ground motion data

A comment by Edward Cranswick

I was impressed by the variability estimate you were able to
obtain from the dense spatial sampling of precipitation.  A
similar scheme of spatially dense seismic data sampling
would be useful for understanding the variability of ground
motions produced by earthquakes in urban areas.  This
information would be very useful in keeping the public
interested in and aware of the phenomena related to seismic
hazard and, more cosmically, natural environmental
fluctuations in general.

Sensitivity of storage gauges

A comment by Julia Fonseca

Let's hear it for dedicated volunteers, without which this
low-tech, low-budget approach would not have been possible!  

I'm interested to know more about the sensitivity of the
oil-filled storage gauge measurements.

Do you know if the storage gauge measures high-volume
rainfalls better than low-volume rainfalls?  I don't think
the effect would greatly affect the variability you see, if
evaporation of "trace" rainfalls that fail to penetrate the
oil occurs, it could diminish low-volume rainfall
observations even more (relative to the highs).

Also, I know from experience that it is easier to measure
the rainfall in these gauges when the change is large, but
I'm not sure that this error would always be biased to
reduce the low-volume rainfalls.

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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