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PH5 web services and Seattle systems retirement

Tags: data services

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As previously announced in July, we are retiring the PH5 web services as part of our cloud migration. The PH5 web service tools and the Seattle-based PH5 archiving systems will be decommissioned on September 1, 2026 while the PH5 datasets are being transformed and migrated to the NSF NGF SEED archive. The PH5 archive is being transformed into FDSN SEED-formatted datasets, which will be loaded into the NSF NGF’s SEED archives and served through our FDSN web services.

Why we’re making this change

Integrating PH5 timeseries data into the miniSEED archive allows PH5 data to be warehoused, queried, and egressed using a common cloud-native infrastructure. This brings several advantages:

  • Standard FDSN dataselect-based workflows.
  • Direct S3 access to datasets and scalable, API-moderated subsetting.
  • Access to experiments and data traces that were previously inaccessible through PH5 dataselect.

Metadata will be extracted as StationXML and made available through our Station Services. Active source shot (event) information will be formatted as QuakeML and served from data.earthscope.org.

What this means for you

If you currently access PH5 data through the PH5 web services, you will need to make adjustments to your workflow:

  • Your new API endpoint will be at https://service.earthscope.org/fdsnws. There will no longer be a separate ph5ws API endpoint.
  • The data conversion for PH5 will take some time. We already have some candidates ready to get started, but our staff are working through each PH5 volume to make corrections and ensure the integrity of the data prior to running it through a conversion workflow. 
  • There will be a period of a few months where much of the PH5-originated data is not available. Due to the volume of data that needs to be reprocessed, these will be restored to availability via web services on a prioritized basis until all are available.
  • SEGY data creation is retired. Future replacement of shot-based selection and SEGY delivery will depend on community demand—let us know at help@earthscope.org if this affects your workflow.

Questions?

If you have questions or concerns about the status of a dataset, please contact help@earthscope.org and include the assembled ID and temporary network code in your message.