Seismological Research Letters Volume 83, Number 2 March/April 2012 281 doi: 10.1785/gssrl.83.2.281 Listen, Watch, Learn: SeisSound Video Products Debi Kilb, 1 Zhigang Peng, 2 David Simpson, 3 Andrew Michael, 4 Meghan Fisher, 5 and Daniel Rohrlick 1 INTRODUCTION TO SEISSOUND VIDEO PRODUCTS format of how information is distributed and assimilated, high- lighting the importance of including auditory information in videos. Videos that include sound also permeate the research community, as evidenced by their recent increase within online supplements to journal articles. Tapping into this new approach that augment visual imagery with auditory counterparts. We term these “SeisSound” video products (Figure 1). We find the appreciated using these SeisSound products than using just the individual visual or the auditory components independently. Seismology includes the study of a large number of pro- cesses that affect the spectral content of a seismogram including and the differences between abrupt tectonic earthquakes and unusual sources such as volcanic and non-volcanic tremor. With training, we can learn to discern the seismic signatures of these different processes, which can be inferred from the however, subtle differences in these signals can be difficult to A number of our senses include the ability to act as spec- tral analyzers. In the audible sound range we hear pitch, in the visible light range we see color, and in the low- and sub-audi- ble range we can feel the difference between sudden and slow motions using our senses of motion and touch. For most peo- ple, the concepts of high or low pitch (frequency) and volume (amplitude) are innate. When we listen to a symphony orches- tra, we can pick out the sound of individual instruments and decipher the unique spectral content of their tones even though a hundred musicians are playing simultaneously. Similarly, we can teach people how to use these innate abilities to under- stand seismology by having them listen to the frequency con- the auditory can increase the connection between the heard pitch and the visually observed frequency content within paper Peng et al. 2012, this issue, in the EduQuakes column). ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences who have a variety of learning styles and levels. e audible frequency range for humans is roughly 20 (or seven to ten octaves) higher than the frequency content for most recorded earthquake signals. To bring the sub-audible frequency content of earthquake seismograms into the audible range, the seismic data need to be shiſted to a higher pitch. To accomplish this, the simplest and purest method is to time compress the seismogram ( Dombois and Eckel 2011) by increasing the playback speed rel- ative to the recording rate. Time compression also allows us to play back a long record in a reasonable amount of time during a lecture or demonstration. Time compression as a method to convert seismic data to of the general field of “sonification,” which can involve more various sound attributes ( pitch, volume, and timbre). Early advent of magnetic tape recording, which allowed playback at speeds higher than the recorded speed. One of the earliest and teleseismic earthquakes recorded on an early tape sys- using magnetic tape recording also was tested successfully as a recording tape system to record a variety of earthquakes and processing in their analysis. Some of these events were used as part of the “Murmurs of Earth” collection for the “Interstellar 1. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of 2. School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia Electronic Seismologist Debi Kilb et al. S E I S M O L O G I S T E L E C T R O N I C