G-LEFMTOMO: a Graphical User Interface for performing Local Earthquake Tomography using the FMTOMO code

Recent improvements in seismic data acquisition (such as enhanced network coverage, near-real-time analysis, and machine learning data processing) have significantly increased the availability of data. However, due to a lack of time and/or analysts, they are often partially processed and not utilized to their full potential. The rapid development of new tools for analyzing earthquake records can help, but may also decrease the stability achieved from the widespread use of tried and tested software. Additionally, robust codes developed in the literature often rely on efficient but rigid programming languages, such as Fortran, which may not accommodate new and variable data formats. In this context, it becomes crucial to revitalize and enhance existing software by making it more accessible and user-friendly for a broader community across various applications.

One of the possible solutions for addressing this issue is the development of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for terminal-only software. Here, we developed a Python GUI designed to simplify tomography applications using local earthquakes, based on FMTOMO (Rawlinson and Urvoy, 2006), an iterative non-linear Fast-Marching seismic tomography code. Despite its well-documented usage, FMTOMO suffers from the requirement for strictly formatted input files, which are not compatible with the various storage formats commonly used for seismological data. We leverage the toolbox Obspy (Beyreuther et al., 2010) to enable the reading and/or downloading of seismic data in multiple formats and convert it to the FMTOMO format.

The graphical interface, called G-LEFMTOMO, also facilitates the setup process for both the direct and inverse problems by automating repetitive steps that were previously manual. This includes the creation of trade-off curves for tuning damping and smoothing parameters. Additionally, we implemented a feature for the pre-analysis of the source-receiver distribution by generating seismic ray hit-maps before the full tomography process. We also aim to simplify the output format and visualization to facilitate easy sharing of results.

G-LEFMTOMO enables users to manage the entire workflow, from data input to the visualization of tomography models, all within a single interface. For more complex configurations or specific requirements, users can still run the original FMTOMO code through the terminal, allowing the GUI to be utilized for only part of the project if desired.

The introduction of graphical user interfaces in the software community enables scientists to access a wider range of software for data analysis, overcoming the limitations of complex and inflexible software. This development not only expands the resources available to researchers but also enhances the value of raw data, helping to prevent its under-utilization.

References

  Rawlinson, N. and Urvoy, M.: Simultaneous inversion of active and passive source datasets for 3-D seismic structure with application to Tasmania, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L24313, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL028105, 2006.
   Beyreuther, M., Barsch, R., Krischer, L., Megies, T., Behr, Y., and Wassermann, J.: ObsPy: A Python Toolbox for Seismology, Seismological Research Letters, 81, 530–533, https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.81.3.530, 2010.