Abstract:
Unmanned fluid stations are a critical component of China’s earthquake monitoring system for observing regional geophysical fields. The stable operation and data quality of these stations are significant for regional short-term and imminent earthquake prediction and forecasting. This study systematically analyzed the key aspects of station operation and maintenance, addressing common issues such as power supply, communication, and equipment failures in unmanned fluid stations. Five modular operational strategies are proposed to ensure stable station operation and improve data quality: establishing a multimodal station power supply and lightning-protection system, optimizing the communication-link configuration, standardizing the design of fluid wellhead equipment, achieving rapid and accurate fault diagnosis, and implementing a regular inspection-and-maintenance workflow. Using the operational practices of three fluid stations under the Hebei Xingtai Earthquake Monitoring Center Station as examples, the effective implementation of these measures has improved the operational rate and quality of observation data for unmanned fluid stations. This can provide valuable experience and a reference for the operation and maintenance of similar stations at other provincial earthquake monitoring centers.