DAS Project

This project contains all research code for DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) seismology conducted using fiber-optic cables as arrays of seismometers. Two cables are used: TERRA and KKFLS, both deployed in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska.

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Project Details:

Task #1: Parallelization/Concurrency
Task #2: State Saving

Installation

Prerequisites: Conda, Miniconda, Mamba, or equivalent.

# 1. Clone / download the project, then cd into it
cd Final_Project

# 2. Create the environment (first time only — takes a few minutes)
conda env create -f environment.yaml

# 3. Activate it
conda activate dasenv

# 4. Verify the key packages loaded correctly
python -c "import dascore, obspy, cartopy; print('All good!')"

To update the environment after changing environment.yaml:

conda env update -f environment.yaml --prune

To fully remove the environment:

conda deactivate
conda env remove -n dasenv

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Directory Layout

Final_Project/
├── README.md                         ← this file
├── environment.yaml                  ← conda environment definition
└── das/                              ← main project directory
    ├── ms-das.py                     ← primary research pipeline script
    ├── event_metadata_cache.json     ← event lat/lon/depth cache used
    │                                    by mapview_TERRA_events.py
    ├── das_coords_bathymetry/        ← cable geometry and seafloor data
    │   ├── TERRA_coords.xycz         ← TERRA cable coordinates + depth
    │   ├── KKFLS_coords.xycz         ← KKFLS cable coordinates + depth
    │   └── PW24.xyz                  ← regional seafloor bathymetry grid
    ├── das_records/
    │   └── good-events-3.2-up/
    │       └── <event_id>_TERRA.h5   ← HDF5 event files (user-downloaded due 
    │                                    to extremely large filesizes)
    ├── das_figures/                  ← auto-created on first run,
    │                                    stores figures & caches
    └── minor_das_scripts/
        ├── URL_table.py
        ├── USGS_file_renaming.py
        ├── das_bathymetry.py
        ├── raw_noise_files.py
        ├── mapview_TERRA_events.py
        ├── ETI2_slide_maker.py
        ├── noise_analysis.py
        ├── taup_spaghetti_maps.py
        ├── uberfigure_TERRA_only.py
        └── uberfigure_combined.py

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Scripts

ms-das.py — Main Research Pipeline

The primary working script. Loads DAS event files, computes TauP-predicted P and S arrival windows, plots observed strain data against those windows, and exports results as a multi-page PDF and CSV. This is the main testing ground for core analysis functionality, particularly for selecting time windows used to calculate wave amplitudes. The name is a nod to MS-DOS — because the correct pronunciation of DAS rhymes with the OS.

minor_das_scripts/

Script	What it does	How	Why
URL_table.py	Prints a formatted table of USGS events for a given URL query	Queries the USGS FDSN event service for M ≥ 3.2 earthquakes within 150 km of lower Cook Inlet, Jun–Dec 2023	Useful as a manual check on query results and as a reference when renaming downloaded files
USGS_file_renaming.py	Renames downloaded DAS files from the old date-based naming scheme to USGS event ID-based names	Maps old filenames to their USGS IDs (e.g. ak0237eejw69_TERRA.h5) using a hardcoded lookup table; set DRY_RUN = False to apply	Standardizes filenames to match keys in event_metadata_cache.json
das_bathymetry.py	3-D wireframe and surface bathymetry map with both cable tracks overlaid	Reads .xycz coordinate files and renders a 3-D matplotlib figure of the seafloor with KKFLS and TERRA routes plotted	Visualizes the physical layout of both cables relative to the seafloor of lower Cook Inlet
raw_noise_files.py	Per-event raw noise profiles for both cables	Loads the final 45 s of each event file and plots absolute median phase/strain amplitude vs. distance along the cable	Used to characterize the raw background noise floor of each cable independently
mapview_TERRA_events.py	Albers Equal Area map of the TERRA cable and earthquake epicenters	Reads event_metadata_cache.json and the TERRA coordinate file, then renders a cartopy map with an Alaska overview inset	Originally produced for a conference presentation
ETI2_slide_maker.py	Single-channel waveform plot for a specific event and distance	Loads one event file, isolates the channel nearest a target distance, high-pass filters above 1 Hz, and saves a PDF	A quick script for generating introductory waveform figures for presentations
noise_analysis.py	Heatmap of pre-event noise floors sorted by earthquake magnitude	Extracts median absolute strain amplitude for the first 5 s and last 20 s of each event, fetches live magnitudes from the USGS API, and renders a log-scale heatmap with bathymetry	Active working script for understanding noise patterns and deviations across different event magnitudes
taup_spaghetti_maps.py	Per-channel TauP moveout curves for each event, saved to a multi-page PDF	Computes P and S travel times from the ak135 model for every cable channel and plots predicted arrival time vs. channel number alongside a map of the event geometry	Visualizes expected moveout across the cable — the resulting plots have a tendency to look like spaghetti
uberfigure_TERRA_only.py	Full TERRA reference wiggle plot with labelled zoom insets and a red-highlighted channel	Renders a decimated reference wiggle for the entire TERRA cable, then draws dashed zoom boxes and expands each as a separate high-resolution sub-panel	Produced the primary visual outputs during early data exploration
uberfigure_combined.py	Dual-cable reference wiggle combining KKFLS (negative distances) and TERRA (positive distances) with zoom insets for both	Merges the two cables into a single sorted distance axis, renders the combined reference wiggle, and produces labeled zoom panels for user-defined regions of both cables	Used to compare waveforms across both cables in a single figure

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Typical Run Order

conda activate dasenv

# 1. Browse available events and identify files to download
python minor_das_scripts/URL_table.py

# 2. Download files from Data Archives (under Event Data) and place them
# in the folder das_records/good-events-3.2-up/
# https://dasway.ess.washington.edu/gci

# 3. Rename downloaded files to USGS ID format (set DRY_RUN = False first)
python minor_das_scripts/USGS_file_renaming.py

# 4. Explore geometry and data quality
python minor_das_scripts/das_bathymetry.py
python minor_das_scripts/raw_noise_files.py
python minor_das_scripts/mapview_TERRA_events.py

# 5. Main analysis
python das/ms-das.py
python minor_das_scripts/noise_analysis.py
python minor_das_scripts/taup_spaghetti_maps.py
python minor_das_scripts/uberfigure_TERRA_only.py
python minor_das_scripts/uberfigure_combined.py
python minor_das_scripts/ETI2_slide_maker.py

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Notes

• Caching — ms-das.py, noise_analysis.py, and taup_spaghetti_maps.py all write .npz and .json cache files into das_figures/. Delete the relevant cache files to force a full reprocess.
• das_records/ — HDF5 event files are not included in the repository and must be downloaded separately from the DAS data portal at https://dasway.ess.washington.edu/gci and placed in das_records/good-events-3.2-up/.