PyCKSTER: An open-source Python tool for interactive processing and analysis of active near-surface seismic data

Active seismic methods are widely used in near-surface geophysics for subsurface characterization, but existing processing softwares often present significant limitations. Proprietary packages are expensive, lack transparency in their processing algorithms, and often include extensive features unnecessary for near-surface applications, while open-source alternatives frequently suffer from limited file format support, slow performance when handling large datasets, complex installation procedures, and dependence on specific configuration files. We present PyCKSTER, an open-source PyQt5-based graphical user interface designed to address these challenges by providing an efficient and user-friendly solution for active seismic data workflows.

PyCKSTER uses ObsPy (Beyreuther et al., 2010; https://www.obspy.org) to handle standard seismic file formats (SEG2, SEGY, Seismic Unix), and relies on pyqtgraph (https://www.pyqtgraph.org) for optimized visualization. The software provides comprehensive data editing capabilities including batch header modification (source and trace coordinates,, delay, topography integration), trace manipulation (move, swap, mute, delete), and interactive quality control. Intuitive mouse-driven picking tools with multiple visualization options (source/geophone diagrams, hodochrones) facilitate traveltime analysis. Picked traveltimes are saved in pyGIMLi's unified format (Rücker et al., 2017; https://www.pygimli.org), enabling direct velocity model reconstruction through the integrated pyGIMLi inversion module or advanced processing using pyGIMLi's extended capabilities.

PyCKSTER also includes a surface wave processing module, addressing a common gap in near-surface seismology where body wave and surface wave analyses are typically performed separately due to limited tool availability and specialized expertise requirements. While both wave types are recorded in the same dataset, their joint processing enables comprehensive characterization through combined Vp and Vs analysis, ultimately allowing investigation of Vp/Vs and Poisson's ratio for improved lithological and hydrogeological interpretation. The software computes dispersion images using phase-shift transform developed in PAC (Cunha Teixeira et al., 2025) and offers interactive picking capabilities with windowing options. The tool also supports importing dispersion curves from the MATLAB package SWIP (Pasquet & Bodet, 2017; https://github.com/spasquet/SWIP), facilitating integration with existing workflows. Advanced dispersion windowing, stacking, and inversion capabilities are currently under development.

PyCKSTER is distributed under the GPLv3 license and available via PyPI, requiring no configuration files for standard use. We demonstrate the software's capabilities through field data examples and discuss ongoing developments.

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Cunha Teixeira, J., Burzawa, A., Bodet, L., Hallier, A., Decker, B., Lin, F., Dangeard, M., Boisson Gaboriau, J., Dhemaied, A., 2025. Passive and Active Computation of MASW (PAC). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17639980

Pasquet, S., Bodet, L., 2017. SWIP: An integrated workflow for surface-wave dispersion inversion and profiling. GEOPHYSICS 82, WB47–WB61. https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2016-0625.1

Rücker, C., Günther, T., Wagner, F.M., 2017. pyGIMLi: An open-source library for modelling and inversion in geophysics. Computers & Geosciences 109, 106–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2017.07.011