Workflow and strategy

The AIMBAT workflow is easiest to understand next to the manual process it replaces.

Without AIMBAT

MCCC¹ needs a narrow time window centred on the arrival to give accurate results. Without a tool like AIMBAT, that means picking the phase arrival on every seismogram by hand:

flowchart TD
  A@{ shape: circle, label: "Start"} --> B>Import seismograms];
  B --> C[Select suitable filter parameters]
  C --> D[Choose high quality seismograms to use for MCCC]
  D --> E@{ shape: processes, label: "Individually pick phase arrival for seismograms 1...N"}
  E --> F[Choose time window for MCCC]
  F --> G>Run MCCC to align seismograms]

With AIMBAT

AIMBAT² replaces the manual middle of that process with ICCS. After import, the work is a loop: adjust parameters, run ICCS, inspect the alignment, repeat. MCCC is an optional final pass that adds formal timing errors.

flowchart TD
  A@{ shape: circle, label: "Start"}
  A --> B>Import seismograms containing initial picks t0];
  B --> F
  E[Adjust AIMBAT parameters];
  E --> F>Run ICCS with initial/updated parameters]
  F --> G[Inspect results of alignment];
  G --> H{"Continue
          with
          MCCC?"}
  H ---->|Yes| M>"Run MCCC for final alignment"];
  H -->|No| E;

The loop is not run once. Snapshots record the state at any point, so ICCS and MCCC can be repeated or reordered, and results exported from any snapshot. Running MCCC before the final export is usual but not required.

Strategy

• Change one parameter at a time. Run ICCS after each change to see its effect before adjusting anything else.
• Snapshot often. Snapshots are lightweight and easy to roll back to.
• Let the algorithm handle outliers. Use autoflip and autoselect rather than hand-fixing individual seismograms. Delete one that stays poorly aligned across many runs.
• Export from any useful state, not only at the end. ICCS picks are usable as they are; MCCC adds formal timing errors when they are needed.

For the ICCS options (autoflip, autoselect) and the MCCC --all flag, see Aligning with ICCS and MCCC Alignment.