ANSS

ANSS stands for the Advanced National Seismic System, a United States Geological Survey (USGS) program designed to coordinate nationwide seismic monitoring, data management, and rapid information delivery about earthquakes. The system brings together data from a variety of networks, including national, regional, and university-seismology networks, as well as international partners. Its aim is to provide timely, reliable earthquake information to scientists, emergency managers, and the public.

The ANSS integrates real-time and near-real-time seismic data from seismometers, accelerometers, and other sensors. Data are processed by a distributed set of processing centers to detect events, determine preliminary locations and magnitudes, and generate hazard and notification products. Key outputs include rapid earthquake catalogs, event parameters (time, location, depth, magnitude and uncertainties), and hazard maps used for response planning. The system also supports specialized products such as ShakeMap, which estimates ground shaking, and ShakeCast, which helps critical facilities prepare for shaking.

A central component of ANSS is the Comprehensive Catalog (ComCat), which provides a standardized, long-term earthquake catalog and data services. ComCat and related ANSS data feeds are accessible to researchers, developers, and government agencies via web portals and APIs, enabling programmatic access to event data, waveforms, and related products. Additional programs, such as Did You Feel It?, offer crowdsourced intensity reports to augment scientific data.

Since its inception in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, ANSS has evolved through collaboration among USGS regional centers, universities, and international partners, aiming to improve situational awareness, scientific understanding, and public safety through standardized, rapid seismic information.