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Community-based Seismic Monitoring Network of Papua New Guinea

Created 16/10/2025

Updated 16/10/2025

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The Papua New Guinea (PNG) region has been formed within an oblique convergence zone between the north-northeasterly moving Australian plate and the Pacific plate. The region is subject to most types of tectonic activity, including active folding, faulting and volcanic eruptions and hence is arguably one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Given its high level of seismic activity, PNG would benefit from a dense monitoring network to enhance the efficiency of the earthquake emergency response operations. A program to densify the earthquake monitoring network of PNG by utilizing low-cost sensors has been developed by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management in PNG. To verify the performance, trial low-cost sensors were co-located with observatory-quality instrumentation for a period of one month in Port Moresby and Rabaul observatories. The comparisons demonstrated comparable recording results across a wide seismic frequency range. Once this proved successful, the first deployments were undertaken recently, with sensors installed in the Bialla International School, Kimbe International School and the Earth Science Division of the University of PNG. Educational institutions are ideal for the installation of these sensors as they can provide guaranteed internet and electricity, allowing for continuous monitoring of earthquakes. The data acquired by these stations will feed into the existing networks for national earthquake and volcano monitoring, thus expanding the national seismic network of PNG. This work is being undertaken as part of the Australian Aid program. Presented at the 2020 Seismological Society of America (SSA) Annual Meeting

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Community-based Seismic Monitoring Network of Papua New Guinea
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/7cd7fa70-55d9-4f89-8841-a9388382c5d1
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 08/04/2019
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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      ],
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      [
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      ],
      [
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      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Community-based Seismic Monitoring Network of Papua New Guinea". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/community-based-seismic-monitoring-network-of-papua-new-guinea