Overview

VDAPSEISUTILS is a set of (mostly) Python code that provides easy methods for common tasks in operational volcano seismology.

At the moment, core tasks include:

• VolcanoMap: Plot a basic map and cross section of earthquakes around a volcano.
• ObsPy Catalog & Inventory IO: Import/Export ObsPy Catalog & Inventory formats from Swarm, Earthworm, and NonLinLoc.

Sandbox tasks: (These routines are available, but I may change them significantly before they are stored in core. I am still working on them.)

• Velocity: Load, save, and plot velocity models.
• SwarmMPL: MatPlotLib routines for Swarm-like plots (Helicorders, waveform traces, spectrograms, spectra).

Pending tasks:

• CCMatrix: Create, save, load, and plot cross correlation matrices.
• Waveform statistics: E.g., compute Frequency Index for a list of Stream objects and compare results across events.
• DataSource: A wrapper for ObsPy Clients with a more universal usage (automatically determines Client type).

Installation

This package is not yet on PyPI. Clone the repo and use uv to create the environment and install the package (Python 3.11+).

One-time setup

This project uses a named environment vseis311. Set the env path, then sync:

git clone https://github.com/jwellik/vdapseisutils.git
cd vdapseisutils
export UV_PROJECT_ENVIRONMENT=vseis311
uv sync

To make that permanent in this repo (optional), use direnv: run direnv allow once; the project’s .envrc will set UV_PROJECT_ENVIRONMENT=vseis311 whenever you cd here.

Activate and run Python

source vseis311/bin/activate
python

You activate by sourcing the script inside the environment directory (vseis311/bin/activate). There is no global activate command that takes a name—that’s Conda’s interface. With Python’s venv (and uv), the environment is just a folder; you always run source <env-dir>/bin/activate (e.g. source vseis311/bin/activate or source .venv/bin/activate if you didn’t set a custom name).

Optional: run without activating: uv run python ..., uv run pytest, etc.

Optional: PyTables (HDF5)
The package does not require tables (PyTables) by default. If you need it, install the system HDF5 library first, then the extra:

• macOS (Homebrew): brew install hdf5, then export HDF5_DIR=$(brew --prefix hdf5) and pip install ".[tables]" (or uv sync --extra tables).
• Conda: conda install hdf5 then pip install ".[tables]".

Usage

This package is still in development. If you have trouble with these codes, let me know.

source vseis311/bin/activate
cd gallery
python
>>> from vdapseisutils.gallery import Mapping_tutorial
>>> Mapping_tutorial.main()   # graphics forwarding if remote

This runs a script that reads .arc files from Wy'East/Mt Hood, Oregon and plots them on a map and cross sections. See the Gallery for more examples and usage.

Maps imports (API v1)

Map classes are implemented under vdapseisutils.core.maps (e.g. map.py, volcano_figure.py). The module vdapseisutils.core.maps.maps is deprecated: importing it emits DeprecationWarning and re-exports the same symbols for now; it will be removed in a future release. Prefer from vdapseisutils.core.maps import Map (and from vdapseisutils.core.maps.utils import prep_catalog_data_mpl, etc.). Backend-neutral compute lives under vdapseisutils.compute (see the package docstring there).

Catalog points and origins: Use vdapseisutils.compute.catalog.prepare_catalog_points (or prepare_catalog_points_from_time_format for legacy time_format strings) for matplotlib-free tables of hypocenter data. vdapseisutils.utils.obspyutils.catalog.origin.get_primary_origin selects the QuakeML preferred origin when present, otherwise the first origin—the same rule used for VCatalog event-rate extraction, scatter maps, and catalog2txyzm by default. Pass origin_policy="last" to catalog2txyzm if you need the old “last origin in the list” behavior.

Maps matplotlib style (no import-time rc): Pure style dicts live in vdapseisutils.core.maps.defaults_constants. Importing that module does not load Matplotlib or change rcParams. To apply the maps theme globally, call vdapseisutils.core.maps.defaults.register_maps_mpl_style() once (e.g. at app startup). Map constructors (Map, CrossSection, VolcanoFigure, TimeSeries) call ensure_maps_mpl_style() so figures still get the intended defaults when those classes are used without a prior explicit registration.

Maps / volcano layout (narrative + examples, API v1 §11): See docs/maps_volcano_api_v1.md for how Map, VolcanoFigure, CrossSection, TimeSeries, and MagLegend fit together, import paths, register_pyplot() (plt.eqmap / plt.volcano), and catalog compute via vdapseisutils.compute.catalog.prepare_catalog_points. Runnable offline examples from the repo root: python examples/map_minimal.py, python examples/volcano_figure_layout.py, python examples/cross_section_standalone.py (or uv run python …).

Waveform and spectrogram compute: Shared, backend-neutral helpers live in vdapseisutils.compute.waveforms: prepare_waveform_series returns a WaveformSeriesResult (time axis and data); compute_spectrogram returns a SpectrogramResult (frequency, time offset, power) using the SciPy spectrogram path aligned with Swarm-style plots. vdapseisutils.core.swarmmpl (including the v3 time-axis stack) calls these helpers then draws; use the same APIs if you need arrays without Matplotlib.

Upgrading from pre–API v1 layouts

If you still use older import paths (e.g. core.maps.maps), read CHANGELOG.md and the policy sections §8–§9 (and §13.4–§13.5) in .local/api-v1-coord/API_V1_CANONICAL.md if you keep a local copy of that doc.

Pyplot helpers (register_pyplot)

You can attach VDAPSeisUtils figure constructors to Matplotlib’s pyplot module (API v1 section 3 in .local/api-v1-coord/API_V1_CANONICAL.md):

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import vdapseisutils.plot.mpl as vsmpl

vsmpl.register_pyplot()
fig = plt.helicorder(...)   # or plt.clipboard / plt.eqmap / plt.volcano / plt.swarm

After register_pyplot(), those names construct the corresponding project types (Helicorder, clipboard / SwarmFigure, Map, VolcanoFigure; plt.swarm matches plt.clipboard—see vdapseisutils.plot.mpl).

Swarm imports (API v1)

Swarm-style plotting (multi-trace clipboard, helicorder, time axes / panels) has one canonical import path: vdapseisutils.plot.swarm. Implementations live under vdapseisutils.core.swarmmpl (clipboard.py, panel.py, timeaxes.py, heli.py, …). Policy notes are in .local/api-v1-coord/API_V1_CANONICAL.md §8 (Swarm consolidation).

Canonical (new code):

from vdapseisutils.plot.swarm import (
    Helicorder,
    Clipboard,          # legacy factory → ClipboardClass / SwarmFigure
    ClipboardClass,
    SwarmFigure,        # alias of ClipboardClass (API v1 §3)
    TimeAxes,
    Panel,
    SwarmClipboard,     # v3 panel clipboard (distinct from the legacy Clipboard factory)
)

Core module (same types as plot.swarm):

from vdapseisutils.core.swarmmpl.clipboard import Clipboard, ClipboardClass, SwarmClipboard
from vdapseisutils.core.swarmmpl import Panel, TimeAxes

Prefer clipboard_figure if you want an explicit name for the legacy factory; it is the same callable as Clipboard.

Swarm runnable on-ramp (API v1 §11-style): For a short, offline script that constructs Helicorder and SwarmClipboard on synthetic waveforms (no FDSN), run from the repo root: python examples/swarm_clipboard_minimal.py (or uv run python …). That mirrors how map workflows point to examples/map_minimal.py and friends; deeper layout and naming notes remain under Pyplot helpers (register_pyplot) and vdapseisutils.plot.swarm / core/swarmmpl source.