Two layers are present in real operations:
- Pre-catalog measurement state (early, operational, evidence-bound).
- Catalog state (curated, revised, scientifically improved over time).
Both are valuable. They serve different governance purposes.
Evidence Block
- Reference event:
Chile M6.2 (t5903010) - Reference day for live metrics:
2026-02-18 - Corroboration sample (latest sealed day):
5.54km · 0.64s · 0.03Δmag - Replay hash:
e8204eeda103d7c714d61df637816a69cc6944af32687ecca1f1b8c96ceadaf0 - Verification surface: seismic lane · verification · glossary
What Pre-Catalog State Is For
Pre-catalog state is an evidentiary control surface. It captures declared measurements, provenance, and corroboration under deterministic rules before downstream interpretation.
This gives counterparties a known acquisition boundary, a reproducible computation path, and sealed artifacts that can be replayed independently.
What Catalog State Is For
Catalog state is a scientific reference stream. It is expected to improve with additional analysis and may include revisions that are both correct and valuable.
The governance boundary is direct: scientific revision is not equivalent to trigger finality.
Design Pattern That Reduces Dispute Risk
Use pre-catalog sealed evidence for deterministic trigger-state evaluation under declared scope. Use catalog data as interpretive reference with explicit revision policy.
This preserves both evidentiary determinism for operations and scientific quality improvements over time.
Implementation Signal
If exact declared pre-catalog computation cannot be replayed from published artifacts, the system does not provide deterministic evidence. It provides a trust dependency.
FAQ
Is pre-catalog data more accurate than catalog data?
Not necessarily. Pre-catalog emphasizes evidentiary timing and replayability, while catalog emphasizes scientific refinement over time.
Why separate trigger evaluation from catalog interpretation?
Separation reduces revision-induced ambiguity in settlement workflows. Trigger-state evaluation can remain deterministic while catalog interpretation continues to evolve.
Can counterparties independently verify pre-catalog evidence?
Yes. Artifacts must include reproducible hashes, signatures, and replay instructions so independent verification is possible.