By assessing its quality, SED ensures that the data are ready to use to produce an Earthquake Catalogue and in downstream research.

The strongest earthquake in Switzerland so far had a magnitude of approximately 6.6 and destroyed large parts of the city of Basel in 1356.

90 percent of the buildings in Switzerland are not built to a seismic code, and it is not clear to what extent they could withstand a strong earthquake.

In case of earthquakes that cause major damage worldwide, the SED additionally informs the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA).

The main aim of research conducted at the SED is to gain a clearer understanding of earthquakes and their consequences and thereby contribute towards improving the response to such natural hazards, which pose a threat worldwide.

At the same time, SED seeks novel ways of using seismological methods to find out more about fundamental processes that shape the Earth.

This is done with lectures and seminars that are integral parts of the teaching program at ETH, as well as through the supervision of master's and doctoral theses.

The SED contributes by supplying the authority in charge in Vienna with data recorded by the seismic station in the Davos region, which was constructed for exactly this purpose.

For example, the seismic station already recorded the corresponding ground shaking twelve minutes after the nuclear test in North Korea in 2013.