ObsPy MCP Server

MCP server enabling Claude Desktop to download earthquake and waveform data via ObsPy.

This server exposes ObsPy functionality as MCP tools, enabling Claude to:

• Search earthquake catalogs (FDSN)
• Find nearby seismic stations
• Download waveforms, metadata, and plots
• Estimate phase arrival times (TauP)

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• obspy - Seismic data processing library
• fastmcp - MCP server framework

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Fahim-Azwad/simple-obspy.git
cd simple-obspy

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configure Claude Desktop

Go to Claude → Settings → Developer → Edit Config and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obspy-mcp": {
      "command": "/FULL/PATH/TO/simple-obspy/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/FULL/PATH/TO/simple-obspy/server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace /FULL/PATH/TO/simple-obspy with your actual path (e.g., /Users/Fahim-Azwad/simple-obspy)

Restart Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q → reopen).

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Tools

Tool	Purpose
diagnose_environment	Health check
find_recent_m7	Search earthquake catalog
get_nearby_stations	Find stations near epicenter
download_waveforms	Download & save seismic data
estimate_arrival_times	Calculate P/S wave arrivals
calculate_distance	Great-circle distance
auto_download_study	One-shot automated workflow

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Prompt Examples

🏥 Health Check

Run diagnose_environment

🌍 Find Earthquakes

Find recent M7+ earthquakes from the last 30 days

Find M6+ earthquakes from the last 90 days, limit 10

Search for large earthquakes in the past 2 months

📡 Find Stations

Find seismic stations within 3 degrees of latitude 35.0, longitude 139.0

What broadband stations are near the Japan earthquake epicenter?

List stations within 500 km of 41.0, 142.0

📥 Download Waveforms

Download waveforms from station IU.MAJO for the earthquake at 2025-12-08T14:15:10Z, epicenter 41.0, 142.0

Get seismic data from II.ERM for the M7.6 Japan earthquake, include 5 minutes before and 30 minutes after

Download BHZ channel data from network IU, station ANMO for origin time 2025-12-08T14:15:10

⏱️ Arrival Times

Estimate P and S wave arrival times for an earthquake 45 degrees away at 30 km depth

What are the expected phase arrivals for a teleseismic event at 80 degrees distance?

Calculate when P, S, and PKP waves arrive for distance 120 degrees, depth 600 km

📏 Distance

What is the distance from Tokyo (35.68, 139.65) to Los Angeles (34.05, -118.24)?

Calculate distance between earthquake at 41.0, 142.0 and station at 42.0, 143.0

🚀 One-Shot Automatic Study (Most Powerful)

Use auto_download_study for the last 60 days, M7+, 5 degree radius

Run an automatic earthquake study: find a recent M6.5+ event, locate nearby stations, download waveforms

Automatically download seismic data for any M7+ earthquake in the past 30 days

Do a complete seismic study - find earthquake, pick station, download data, show me the files

auto_download_study with min_magnitude 6.0, days 90, maxradius 10 degrees

🔬 Advanced Workflows

1. Find M7+ earthquakes from last 60 days
2. For the first one, find stations within 5 degrees
3. Download waveforms from the closest station
4. Calculate distance and estimate P/S arrival times

Find the recent Japan M7.6 earthquake, download data from station II.ERM, then tell me when the P and S waves should arrive

Search for deep earthquakes (depth > 300 km) in the last 90 days, download waveforms from a nearby station

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Output Files

Downloads saved to ./obspy_downloads/:

obspy_downloads/2025-12-08T14-15-10Z_II.ERM/
├── waveforms.mseed    # Seismogram data (MiniSEED)
├── station.xml        # Instrument response (StationXML)
├── event.json         # Earthquake parameters
└── quickplot.png      # Waveform visualization

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Channel Codes

Code	Meaning
BH?	Broadband high-gain (default)
HH?	High broadband
LH?	Long-period
BHZ	Broadband vertical only
BH1, BH2	Horizontal components

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References

• ObsPy Documentation
• IRIS Web Services
• MCP Protocol

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Acknowledgments

Developed at the request of Professor Weiqiang Zhu, Earth & Planetary Science, UC Berkeley.