The Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR):
Improving Seismic Monitoring in Brazil
by Marcelo B. Bianchi, Marcelo Assumpção, Marcelo P. Rocha, Juraci
M. Carvalho, Paulo A. Azevedo, Sérgio L. Fontes, Fábio L. Dias, Joaquim
M. Ferreira, Aderson F. Nascimento, Marcos V. Ferreira, and Iago S. L.
Costa
ABSTRACT
The Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR) began operat-
ing in 2011 with the joint effort of four different institutions:
Universities of São Paulo (USP), Brasília (UnB), Rio Grande
do Norte (UFRN), and the National Observatory (ON).
Initially funded by Petrobras (Brazilian State Oil Company) in
a large-scale infrastructure project that started in 2009, RSBR is
now sponsored by Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM).
Station installation began in 2011 in southeast (SE) Brazil and
finished in 2014 in the Amazon. The network is composed of
84 stations (as of December 2017) operated by those four in-
stitutions. CPRM now coordinates the general maintenance
and compilation of the Brazilian Seismic Bulletin. RSBR has
lowered the detection threshold down to mb 3.5 for earth-
quakes in Brazil as a whole, and in some areas, such as northeast
(NE) and SE Brazil, detection thresholds are about mb 3.0.
Besides monitoring Brazilian and South American seismicity,
RSBR serves as a backbone for temporary deployments to
study crustal and upper-mantle structure.
INTRODUCTION
Deployment of seismographic stations in Brazil date back to
1899, when the National Observatory, in Rio de Janeiro,
attempted to install a German Rebeur-Ehlert triple pendulum
(Bianchi et al., 2015). The first station (RDJ) started regular
operation in 1906 with a Bosch-Omori seismograph. Other
instruments (Wiechert, Mainka, and Milne-Shaw) were in-
stalled later. RDJ recorded the famous 1906 San Francisco
earthquake and the 1922 mb 5.1 São Paulo earthquake, felt in
most of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states. Despite this prom-
ising early start, seismographic recordings were discontinued in
1944. Running seismographic stations in a country with low
seismicity has always been a difficult task. When the two largest
Brazilian earthquakes occurred in 1955 (mb 6.2 on 31 January
and mb 6.1 on 1 March), no Brazilian stations were operating.
RDJ resumed operation in 1957 in collaboration with the
Lamont–Doherty Geological Observatory (now Lamont–
Doherty Earth Observatory). A more detailed history of
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seismological stations in the country can be found in Bianchi
et al. (2015).
Seismology restarted in Brazil in the late 1960s with the
installation of the station NAT in 1965 by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS), as part of the WWSSN, and the T-shaped ar-
ray station in Brasilia in 1967 by the British Geological Survey.
Another boost to seismological research in Brazil occurred in
the 1970s due to a need of seismic hazard studies related to
nuclear power plants and several occurrences of dam-induced
seismicity (Assumpção et al., 2002). That helped consolidate
the first four seismology groups (University of Brasília [UnB],
University of São Paulo [USP], Federal University of Rio
Grande do Norte [UFRN], and the National Observatory
[ON]). Even though collaboration and data exchange occurred
among the four groups, each one developed independently
with local projects to monitor natural and induced seismicity.
International partnerships with the global monitoring system
were also established to install the stations BDFB (USGS
network), SPB (GEOSCOPE), PTGA, RCBR, and SAML
(Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology).
With financial support from Petrobras and the long-term
vision of its directors, Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR;
see Fig. 1) was born as an effort to better integrate the four nodes
(ON, UnB, UFRN, and USP) and establish a network of seismic
stations to (1) monitor Brazilian seismicity with improved capa-
bilities and (2) serve as a base network with open data to support
new research projects in Brazil. Each member is responsible for
installing, operating, and maintaining their stations, as well as
sharing data and exchanging technologies and experience in
building this network in such a large country. Other institutions
have joined the effort, such as São Paulo State University
(UNESP, Rio Claro), Institute of Technological Research (IPT,
Sao Paulo), University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), and
University of Montes Claros (Unimontes, Minas Gerais).
RSBR data are freely open to anyone, not just its founding
members, a policy established in the very beginning. RSBR is
more than simply a project to run a network of stations; it is a
national project of combined efforts to build seismological
infrastructure and knowledge for the country.
March/April 2018 doi: 10.1785/0220170227
 −75° −70° −65° −60° −55° −50° −45° −40°
5°
0°
−5°
−10°
−15°
−20°
−25°
−30°
RSBR Operators
500 km
▴ Figure 1. Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR) composed
of four subnets: BL (run by University of São Paulo [USP]), BR (by
University of Brasilia [UnB]), NB (by Federal University of Rio
Grande do Norte, UFRN), and ON (by National Observatory
[ON]). Most BR stations have direct satellite link, the others trans-
mit data in real time using various methods (wireless internet ser-
vice providers, mobile links, etc.). White lines are country borders
outside Brazil and state boundaries inside Brazil. The flag indi-
cates the location of the four operators.
THE BRAZILIAN SEISMIC CATALOG AND THE
NEW RSBR NETWORK
A major compilation of all historical and instrumental seismic
activity up to 1981 was published by Berrocal et al. (1983,
1984). Since then, joint efforts by the four main institutions
have allowed an update and completion of the Brazilian earth-
quake catalog. Other groups such as IPT and UNESP also
joined the effort. Events until 1995 were published in the Bra-
zilian Geophysical Journal, but are now available at UnB, USP,
and ON websites (see Data and Resources). Currently, infor-
mation on Brazilian earthquakes is also compiled by Brazilian
Geological Survey (CPRM), which publishes daily bulletins.
Figure 2 shows all epicenters of the Brazilian Catalog with
both historical and instrumental data, which is called the raw
catalog. The magnitude scale adopted in the Brazilian Catalog
is the Brazilian regional magnitude mR measured with the
maximum P-wave particle velocity in the whole P wavetrain
(Assumpção, 1983) and equivalent to the 1-s teleseismic mb
scale in the 3.5–5.5 range (Assumpção et al., 2014). Historical
events had their magnitudes inferred from felt area or maxi-
mum intensity. The gray line in Figure 2 is the catalog limit
defined by the original compilation of Berrocal et al. (1984).
Completeness of the Brazilian Catalog varies in space and
time. Figure 3 shows the time distribution of the magnitudes,
which can be used to infer completeness thresholds. Based on
the magnitude distribution (Fig. 3) and the history of station
Seismological Research Letters
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−35° −30°
USP (23)
UnB (26)
UFRN (17)
ON (18)
Satellite
▴ Figure 2. Epicenters of the Brazilian catalog with magnitudes
m b ≥ 2:8 from 1767 to 2016. The gray polygon indicates the limit of
the catalog. Circles are shallow events (depth < 60 km), squares and
diamonds are deeper events related to the Nazca subducted slab.
deployment in Brazil, the following magnitude thresholds
(solid and dashed gray lines in Fig. 3) can be approximately
defined. The global network of stations in the 1940s and
1950s should have been capable of recording any magnitude
6 in Brazil. The two largest events in Brazil in 1955
(mb 6.2 and 6.1) were recorded by more than 100 stations
worldwide. The deployment of the global WWSSN stations
in the early 1960s should have enabled detection of events
above mb 5.0. This is indicated by the lower detectability near
1962, letter W in Figure 3. The installation of the WWSSN
station NAT (Natal) in 1965 and the highly sensitive array
station in Brasilia, around 1967, together with renewed interest
in seismological research in Brazil, lowered the detectability
down to magnitude around mb 4.5 (letter S in Fig. 3). In
the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Universities of Brasilia
and São Paulo installed several stations, mostly in southeast
(SE) and northeast (NE) Brazil, mainly to monitor dam-
induced seismicity. In 1980, UnB installed five stations in the
Amazon. This increased coverage led Assumpção et al. (2014)
to infer a detectability improvement down to mb 3.5 around
1980 (letter A and dashed gray line, Fig. 3). Although this de-
tectability improvement may be adequate for most of Brazil, it
is probably optimistic for the Amazon region. Figure 3b shows
that the number of events detected in the Amazon increased
significantly after 2014, when most RSBR stations in that re-
gion were installed. For the Amazon, the solid gray threshold in
Figure 3 may be more realistic.
Volume 89, Number 2A March/April 2018 453
 (a) W S A 1980 − 2011

RSBR
6

100.0
Magnitude mb

10.0

Events/Year
4

1.0

1940 1960 1980 2000 0.1

(b)
RSBR

6
0.0
2 3 4 5 6
Magnitude mb

5
2012 − 2016

100.0
4

10.0
Events/Year

2010 2012 2014 2016

1.0
▴ Figure 3. Temporal distribution of the catalog magnitudes,
showing evolution of the detectability limits. Circle sizes are
scaled according to the magnitude. (a) 1940–2016 and (b) a close
0.1
up of recent years, 2010–2016. W indicates installation of the
WWSSN enabling earthquakes in Brazil with magnitude m b ≥ 5
to be detected by the global net as from about 1962. S, indicates
installation of the array station in Brasília and increased interest 0.0
in seismology in the country, enabling events m b ≥ 4:5 to be de- 2 3 4 5 6
tected. A, increased number of stations in Brazil, especially in Magnitude
northeast, southeast, and the Amazon, lowering the magnitude
threshold to about 3.5. RSBR indicates installation of RSBR sta- ▴ Figure 4. Magnitude distribution (number of events per year)
tions in the Amazon in 2014, which increased the number of in the Brazilian Catalog. (Top) Between 1980 and 2011, before in-
events detected in northern Brazil. Dashed gray line indicates stallation of the RSBR network began; and (bottom) 2012–2016,
detectability thresholds as inferred by Assumpção et al. (2014) after installation of RSBR had begun. Note twice as many events
and solid gray line indicates more realistic detectability for in the magnitude range 3.5–4.5 in recent years. (Inset) The main
northern Brazil. stations operating in each period.

Figure 4 shows that the installation of RSBR improved the
detectability down to mb 3.5 for Brazil as a whole. Since 2012,
RSBR has been detecting twice as many events per year in the
3.5–4.0 magnitude range. For some regions, such as SE and NE
Brazil, where station density is higher, detectability is near
mb 3.0 or less. Although in the past cooperation and data ex-
change among all seismology institutions enabled monitoring
of the seismicity all over the country, each institution had its
own network of stations, both for long-term operation as well
as for temporary deployments in aftershock studies. The estab-
lishment of RSBR has made cooperation more efficient in
detecting and locating epicenters, both in Brazil and abroad.
The events above the threshold lines in Figure 3, which we
call the uniform catalog, are more useful to show the spatial
variations of seismicity in Brazil. Figure 5 compares the RSBR
stations with epicenters of this uniform catalog.
THE BRAZILIAN SEISMOGRAPHIC NETWORK
Instrumental Characteristics
The RSBR is composed of four FDSN subnets: (1) network
BL operated and maintained by USP, (2) network BR by UnB,
(3) network NB by UFRN, and (4) network ON by National
Observatory, as seen in Figure 1. The 84 stations were installed

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 (a) BR BL
−100
ON NB

Median dB value
−120

−140

−160

−180
Archean –
Mesoproterozoic
(b)
Neoproterozoic
fold belts
−100

Median dB value
Phanerozoic
basins −120

−140

−160

−180

▴ Figure 5. Epicenters (red circles) of the Brazilian catalog fil- (c)

−100
tered for completeness thresholds, according to the solid gray
limits in Figure 3 (called the uniform catalog). Green triangles Median dB value −120
are the RSBR stations. Gray squares are stations of the
international networks (GT, G, and IU). Colors indicate main geo- −140
logical provinces: pink, cratons; gray, Neoproterozoic fold belts;
yellow, intracratonic basins. The solid blue line in the ocean is the −160
200 m bathymetry indicating the continental shelf.
−180
between 2010 and 2016. Stations were distributed according to (d)
different needs: more stations in areas with higher seismicity, −100
Median dB value

such as NE Brazil where felt events are relatively more fre-

quent, and along the south and eastern coast to better monitor
earthquakes in the oil-rich continental shelf (Figs. 1 and 5).
Average station spacing varies from about 100 km along the
SE and eastern coast, roughly 200–300 km in central Brazil,
to about 500 km in the Amazon. The fewer stations in
northern Brazil are due to logistical difficulties in the Amazon,
but more stations are planned for that region in the near future.
All RSBR stations are broadband (120s – 50 Hz) record-
ing at 100 samples/s. Most stations were installed at the surface
of hard-rock outcrops. The sensor is protected by a small brick
vault, which is then covered by earth to improve thermal
insulation. In some cases, especially in steep terranes, the earth
around the sensor vault is contained by a wooden box. The
datalogger is installed in a small cabin about 5 m away with
modem, antennas, batteries, and solar panels on top. Sensors
include Trillium 120PA (BL, BR), RT131B (NB), and STS2.5
(ON). More details of each station (coordinates, dataless,
photos, and other information) can be found in Data and
Resources.
Almost all stations are online with data transmitted either
by direct satellite link or by other means such as wireless link to
a nearby provider, or by a mobile internet link. Satellite stations
(BR net and some BL stations) have a transmission efficiency
−120
−140
−160
−180
0.1 1 10 100
Period (s)
▴ Figure 6. Power spectral density of station noise, grouped by
subnetwork, as indicated by the line colors. (a,b) Noise levels of
the vertical and (c,d) the two horizontal components. Individual
stations are shown in (a) and (c). (b,d) The median values for each
subnet are shown by the solid line, the 25% and 75% quartiles by
the boxes, and the total range by the whiskers.
over 99.9%. In SE Brazil, BL stations have, on average, 96%
efficiency for 2G/3G transmission and 98% for station con-
nected through local wireless providers. Only a few stations
are still offline, such as Trindade Island (ON.TRI01). Imple-
mentation of internet link for the NB network is under way.

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 Table 1
ArcLink (Near-Real Time, Archive Data) and SeedLink (Real Time) Internet
Server Addresses Used for Network Data Distribution
Service Internet Port
Node Network Code Server Address
ON All rsis1.on.br
UFRN NB sislink.geofisica.ufrn.br
UnB BR datasis.unb.br
USP BL/BR seisrequest.iag.usp.br
Data are shared among all five institutions. The ON has
been responsible for organizing the waveform database and
redistribution. Data from all RSBR stations are freely available.
USP provides federated (FDSNWS) webservices for down-
loading event parameters and waveforms. ON also provides an
FDSNWS service (see Data and Resources). The other insti-
tutions plan to provide similar webservers in the future.
Noise Characteristics
Figure 6 summarizes the noise levels of all RSBR stations for
the last month of archived data. In some regions, such as in the
Amazon basin, it was difficult to find bedrock in secure places,
or a quiet spot far from forested areas or cultural noise. Some-
what high noise at high frequencies was unavoidable in highly
forested areas. This shows up in the higher ranges of the noise
levels at high frequencies for the BR network. In the micro-
seismic frequency range (about 1–10 s), stations of the BR and
NB network show slightly lower noise: most of BR stations are
in the Amazon far from the ocean and the NB stations in NE
Brazil are near the equator, where sources of microseisms are
fewer than in the South Atlantic (Queiroz et al., 2017).
Although noise at long periods is reasonable for most stations,
there is clearly room for improvement in installation proce-
dures, especially by avoiding steep terranes along the coast (ON
network).
Data Processing
Data from all online stations are collected by USP, UnB, ON,
and CPRM, and processed with SeisComP3 software for au-
tomatic detection of events and determination of epicenters
and magnitudes. A magnitude plug-in was developed to calcu-
late the regional magnitude mR . All automatically detected
events are revised to improve epicenter and magnitudes. In ad-
dition, daily plots of several key stations are visually inspected
to recover regional events in Brazil (usually with magnitudes
less than 3.5) that were not detected by the automatic Seis-
ComP3 system. At present, epicenter and magnitude determi-
nations are regularly published by USP, UnB, and CPRM.
This joint effort is the first attempt at providing a near-
real-time national service for earthquake information. Tests are
being made to improve detection parameters, aimed at reduc-
ing false alarms and the number of missed events. After about
two years, USP analysts also check all located events (both in
456 Seismological Research Letters Volume 89, Number 2A
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Brazil and abroad) to include new picks from
offline stations, which are sent to the Inter-
national Seismological Centre in the United
Kingdom. RSBR real-time data are regularly
used by National Earthquake Information
SeedLink ArcLink Center USGS and other agencies in their mon-
18000 18001 itoring of global seismicity.
18000 18001
18000 18001 CONCLUSIONS
18000 18001
Given the vast size of Brazil and its low seismic-
ity, the development of a national network was
always a big challenge. With Petrobras support
and joint efforts from the four main research institutions, the
RSBR network has become a reality. The CPRM has joined the
team of seismological institutions and now supports the basic
maintenance of the network and disseminates RSBR informa-
tion to the public and government agencies. The network de-
sign fulfilled its initial goal of monitoring Brazilian seismicity
for events larger than magnitude mb 3.5. Besides monitoring
Brazilian and South American seismicity, RSBR serves as a
backbone for temporary deployments to study crustal and
upper-mantle structure.
Major challenges for the future are sustainability of the
present network, deployment of more stations in the Amazon,
and replacement of the present equipment for the next gener-
ation of instruments, such as post-hole sensors, and more
reliable internet links all over the country.
DATA AND RESOURCES
Data from the Brazilian earthquake catalog, as used in
Figures 2, 3, and 5, can be downloaded from University of Bra-
sília (UnB), University of São Paulo (USP), and the National
Observatory (ON) websites: www.obsis.unb.br; www.sismo.iag.
usp.br; www.rsbr.gov.br, respectively (last accessed October
2017). Data from all RSBR stations can be downloaded, using
standard Seedlink or Arclink protocols, from the servers shown
in Table 1. USP provides federated (FDSNWS) webservices for
downloading event parameters and waveforms at http://www.
sismo.iag.usp.br and http://seisrequest.iag.usp.br, respectively
(last accessed January 2018). ON provides an FDSNWS ser-
vice at http://rsbr.gov.br (last accessed January 2018) for all
RSBR waveform data.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR) resulted
from the joint efforts of four institutions and direct financial
support by Petrobras, many other groups also contributed sig-
nificantly to the installation of several stations. The authors
thank colleagues from Institute of Technological Research
(IPT), Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS),
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Unipampa (Universi-
dade dos Pampas, Caçapava do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul), UFRR
(Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista), and Unimontes for
March/April 2018
 help during station installation, as well as all government or- Atlantic, J. S. Am. Earth Sci. 80, 304–315, doi: 10.1016/j.
ganizations, hydroelectric companies, and farm owners for jsames.2017.09.035.
allowing installation of seismic stations on their lands. The au-
thors thank Eletronuclear for allowing Angra dos Reis station Marcelo B. Bianchi
to be part of RSBR. The Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM) Marcelo Assumpção
is now a supporting member of RSBR playing a key role in the Seismology Center, IAG
network maintenance since 2016. The authors thank Edson University of São Paulo
Milani, Gilmar Bueno, and Marco Thoaldo (Petrobras direc- Rua do Matão 1226
tors) for the investment in the RSBR infrastructure, Luis 05508-090 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Gustavo R. Pinto and Marco Túlio N. Carvalho for the marcelo.assumpcao@iag.usp.br
CPRM support. The following colleagues greatly contributed
to the implementation and operation of RSBR: Bruno Col- Marcelo P. Rocha
laço, Cleusa Barbosa, Emília Basílio, Jackson Calhau, José Juraci M. Carvalho
R. Barbosa, Luis Galhardo, Marlon Pirchiner (USP), George Paulo A. Azevedo1
Sand (UnB), Eduardo Menezes (UFRN), Darcy Nascimento, Seismological Observatory
Charles Rite, Ronaldo Carvalho, Stéphane Drouet, and Thiago University of Brasilia
Santanna (ON). 70910-900 Brasilia, Brazil

Sérgio L. Fontes
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