The Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiative to modernize and broadly expand earthquake monitoring and reporting in the U.S., encompassing national, regional, urban, and structural monitoring networks. In its first five years (2000-2004), significant progress has been made, with over 500 new seismic sensors installed nationwide, primarily in and near high-risk urban areas. Three buildings have also been extensively instrumented, complementing the existing inventory of the National Strong Motion Program (NSMP). Software and hardware upgrades are nearing completion at the National Earthquake Information Center, and have begun with NSMP. Moreover, ANSS has energized broad segments of the earthquake community to use rapid notifications and new products like ShakeMap to respond faster and more effectively to damaging earthquakes.

The USGS plan to provide the needed structural response data to the community is detailed in this Guideline for ANSS Seismic Monitoring of Engineered Civil Systems, which provides basic guidance for implementing the structural monitoring portion of ANSS.