Created: 6/17/00 Last Updated: 02/14/2017
The PSN Type 3 format is documented here: www.seismicnet.com/info/format.txt
The event file is broken up into 4 sections. They are:
Structures used to hold data:
Volume files contain two or more event files.
The file StaLta.zip contains source code in "C" to read the new PSN Type 4 format. Readme file.
Structure Length: 154 bytes
Field Name
Type / Length
Explanation
File ID and Version
8 byte
Contains the following characters: "PSNTYPE4". Variable Header Length
long
Length in bytes of the variable length section of the header. Start Time
Start time of the event file. See below for the format of DateTime structure. Start Time Offset
double
Offset in seconds between the Start Time above and the first sample point. Start time = Start Time + Offset Sample Rate
double
Sampling rate in samples per second. Sample Count long Number of data points in the sample data section. Flags long General purpose flags: 1 = NO_CRC16, 2 = NO_MINMAX Timing Ref. Type 3 byte Timing reference used; GPS = GPS, WWV=WWV, WVB=WWVB, DCF=DCF77,NTP=NTP Server Timing Ref. Status 1 byte Timing reference status: 0 = Unknown, 'L' = Locked, '?' = Was locked within last 24 hours Sample Data Type 1 byte Specifies the sample data format (0=16 bit integer , 1=32 integer, 2=float, 3=double) Sample Compression 1 byte 0=None, 1=???? Component Incident double Sensor's incidence angle in degrees with respect to the vertical. Set to -12345.0 if unknown. Component Azimuth double Sensor's azimuth angle in degrees with respect to the north through east. Set to -12345.0 if unknown. Component Orientation 1 byte Origination character: Z, N or E. Set to 0 if unknown. Sensor Type 1 byte 0 = Unknown, 1=Acceleration (cm/s/s), 2=Velocity (cm/s), 3=Displacement (cm) See Note 1. Sensor Latitude double Sensor's latitude, in decimal degrees. Sensor Longitude double Sensor's longitude, in decimal degrees. Sensor Elevation double Sensor's elevation in meters above or below sea level. Set to -12345.0 if unknown. Sensor Name 6 bytes Sensor's 3 to 6 letter designation. Channel Identifier 4 bytes Sensor's channel identifier. e.g. BHZ, LHZ Sensor Network 6 bytes Sensor's network affiliation. Sensitivity double Sensitivity of the sensor. See Note 1. Magnitude Correction double WinQuake magnitude correction number. A/D Bit Resolution short Number of A/D converter bits e.g. 8, 12, 16 etc... Sample Minimum double Minimum amplitude of the sample data. See Note 2. Sample Maximum double Maximum amplitude of the sample data. See Note 2. Sample Mean double Mean amplitude of the sample data. See Note 2. Notes:
- The sensitivity field number depends on the Sensor Type field. If the sensor output is acceleration sensitivity is in cm/sec/sec per A/D bit, if the output is velocity cm/sec per bit and if the output is displacement in cm per bit. This web page can be used to calculate the sensitivity field number.
- If these fields are not calculated the NO_MINMAX flag should be set in the Flags field above.
This section would contain variable length header fields. It can also be used to add new fields not supported in the fixed section of the header. The last field would have a descriptor and data length of 0 (zero) indicating end of header. The length of this section is located in the fixed section field "Variable Header Length".
Each field would have the following format:
Name
Length
Explanation
Descriptor Check 1 byte Set to 0x55 hex (85 decimal); Used to verify beginning of descriptor. Descriptor ID 1 byte Field descriptor ID number; See table below. Field Length long Field data length in bytes. Field Data variable Data for the field.
Descriptor ID
Field Type
0 End record mark. Last variable length header record. Data length must be 0. 1 Sensor location string (NULL terminated). 2 Sensor information string; e.g. Lehman, 4.5 hz geophone etc (NULL terminated). 3 Comment string (null terminated). 4 Event information stored in a EventInfo structure. More then one event can be stored in the header by saving multiple type 4 blocks. 5 Phase pick stored in a PhasePick structure; See below for the format of PhasePick. 6 Sample filtering and integration operations. Used to hold what operations have been done to the original data. 7 Datalogger ID string. Used to hold information about the hardware and software used to collect data. 8 9 10 11 12 13 SEED and MINISEED Information. Used to store the Network and Location information from WinSDR, SEED and MINISEED files. Data is stored in a SeedInfo structure. ... Other data fields.....
Sample data begins after the fixed and variable sections of the header. Data can be 16 bit integer, 32 bit integer, floating point or double. Data will be stored in PC (Intel) byte order.
The last two bytes of the event file contain the CRC-16 (Cyclic Redundancy Check). This can be used to verify the integrity of the headers and data. If the NO_CRC flag is set in the Flags section of the fixed header the last two bytes of the file should be set to 0 (zero).
Structure Length: 12 bytes
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Year word Year e.g. 2000. Month 1 byte Month, Jan=1, Dec=12. Day 1 byte Day of the month, 1 to 31. Hour 1 byte Hour of the day, between 0 and 23. Minute 1 byte Minute of the hour, between 0 and 59. Seconds 1 byte Second of the minute, between 0 and 59. Unused 1 byte Used to align to even byte boundary. Nanosecond long Nanosecond of the second, between 0 and 999,999,999.
Structure Length: 62 bytes
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Event Time DateTime Absolute time of origin of the event. Event Latitude double Event latitude. Event Longitude double Event longitude. Event Depth double Event depth in km. Event Magnitude - Ms short Event Ms magnitude; magnitude = data field / 100 Event Magnitude - Mb short Event Mb magnitude; magnitude = data field / 100 Event Magnitude - Mw short Event Mw magnitude; magnitude = data field / 100 Event Magnitude - Ml short Event Ml magnitude; magnitude = data field / 100 Event Magnitude - Md short Event Md magnitude; magnitude = data field / 100 Event Magnitude - Other short Magnitude other then above; magnitude = data field / 100 Other Magnitude Type 4 bytes Magnitude type if Event Magnitude - Other is used. Event Type Code 1 byte Event Types: 0 = unknown, 1 = earthquake, 2 = nuclear explosion, 3 = quarry blast, 4 = other explosion Event Location Quality 1 byte Location quality. Flags word General purpose flags: 1 = Auto generated information. Reporting Agency 6 bytes Reporting agency code.
Structure Length: 42 bytes
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Start Time DateTime Absolute time of the phase pick. Phase Name 8 bytes Phase name e.g. P, S, Pp etc. Flags word Flags: 1 = Regional Table, 2 = Teleseismic Table, 4 = IASP91 Table Display Y Location short Used to position the marker on the screen. Travel Time File Name 16 bytes Table used for phase travel time calculation. Table Depth short Depth used for phase travel time calculation; in km.
Structure Length: Variable
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Language ID 17 bytes Language Identifier according to RFC 1766 (ISO 639/ISO 3166) e.g. EN-US, EN, DE-AT, unused characters padded with NULL (0) String bytes Text (Null terminated)
Structure Length: 24 bytes
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Sensor Output Voltage double Output voltage of the sensor in volts per cm. Amplifier Gain double Gain of the amplifier between the sensor and the A/D converter. A/D Input Voltage double Analog to Digital converter input voltage.
Structure Length: Variable
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Number of Zeros word Number of Zeros Real and Imaginary pairs. Number of Poles word Number of Poles Real and Imaginary pairs.
The following are repeated Number of Zeros times Zeros - Real Number double Zero Real Number. Zeros - Imaginary Number double Zero Imaginary Number.
The following are repeated Number of Poles times Poles - Real Number double Poles Real Number. Poles - Imaginary Number double Poles Imaginary Number.
Structure Length: 8 bytes
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Network 4 bytes 2 character NULL terminated string. Byte 4 should be NULL. Location 4 bytes 2 character NULL terminated string. Byte 4 should be NULL.
A volume file would contain one or more PSN Type 4 event records.
Field Name Type / Length Explanation Volume ID and Version 10 bytes Contains the following characters: "PSNVOLUME1". Number Event Records word Number of event records in the volume file.
Event records.... Variable One or more event records follow the 12 byte header.
Type Length Explanation byte 8 bits Unsigned 8 bit integer or ASCII character. short 2 bytes Signed 16 bit integer in PC (Intel) byte order. word 2 bytes Unsigned 16 bit integer in PC (Intel) byte order. long 4 bytes Signed 32 bit integer in PC (Intel) byte order. float 4 bytes IEEE format floating point number in PC (Intel) byte order. double 8 bytes IEEE format double in PC (Intel) byte order.