RAN- National Accelerometric Network

The Italian Strong Motion Network (Rete Accelerometrica Nazionale - RAN) is the monitoring network of the seismic response of Italian territory, based on ground acceleration.

Recorded data allow to describe the shaking in epicentral area in detail and to estimate expected effects on constructions and infrastructures. Moreover, they are useful for seismology and seismic engineering studies, and can help defining seismic actions to be applied in structural calculations for the reconstruction.

The RAN is distributed across the Italian territory, and more densely in high seismicity zones. The network is managed by specialized technicians of the “Seismic and Volcanic Risk” Office – “Seismic monitoring of territory” Service of the Italian Dept. for Civil Protection.

2014 – Present configuration
The RAN includes at present 528 digital stations provided with an accelerometer, a digitizer, a modem/router with antenna for transmitting computerized data via GPRS, and a GPS receiver for associating  the UTC universal time to the shakeand for obtaining the station latitude and longitude. Out of 528 stations, 198 are located into electric transformation booths of the Italian electric company ENEL Distribuzione, and 330 are built in free field, on plots of land owned by public bodies (2014 update).

Data reach the central RAN server in the headquarters of the Italian Department of Civil Protection, where they are stored and automatically processed  in order to get an estimate of the main parameters describing the seismic shake.

Data from other accelerometric networks owned by public bodies reach RAN database as well, based on special programme agreements and contracts with DPC. Waveforms and parameters are stored automatically in the central RAN database; then they are made available for download on the website: ran.protezionecivile.it/EN.

This link provides access to the archive page on our website, where the RAN bulletins and main recordings published from January, 2008 to December, 2012 are stored.

The updated RAN database can be found at: ran.protezionecivile.it/EN.

Highlight:

Terremoto Pollino del 25 ottobre 2012: primo rapporto “Strong motion dataset”
Terzo rapporto "The Emilia thurst earthquake of May 2012 (Northern Italy) - strong motion dataset"
Secondo rapporto: "The Ferrara arc thrust earthquakes of May-June 2012 (Northern Italy): strong motion and geological observations"
Primo rapporto “The Emilia thrust earthquake of 20 May 2012 (Northern Italy): strong motion and geological observations”
Evento sismico del 29 maggio 2012 delle ore 7:00 di Ml 5.8 nella Pianura Padana
Evento sismico del 20 maggio 2012 delle ore 2:03 di Ml 5.9 nella Pianura Padana
Evento sismico del 20 maggio 2012 delle ore 13:18 di Ml 5.1 nella Pianura Padana