Performance evaluation of Wied Dalam (WDD) seismic station in Malta

Abstract

The continual operation of a permanent seismograph, now exceeding a couple of decades in some cases, naturally involves changes of hardware and software over time. Nonetheless, the long-term, consistent performance of the seismic station, and the good quality of its data, is very important for national seismic studies investigating the local seismicity, and also important for the international seismological community researching regional tectonics and deep Earth structures. Here we investigate the data availability and quality of the currently only seismic station on Malta (WDD) since its installation in 1995, and establish spectral patterns in the seismic data that may be influenced by diurnal variations, seasonal weather changes, and/or site-specific settings. The results are important for the future deployment of permanent seismic stations on the Maltese islands, and for the analysis of local seismic hazard and ground motion studies.