IMP was created to display earthquake information on a PC screen as an alternative to the mainframe programs which were currently used. It was intended to be used by anyone needing such a capability and was widely distributed to research facilities and Universities around the world.
IMP plots your data points on a Mercator map. Its' default format is the NEIC "compressed" file but it can be set to read any ASCII file containing the epicenter information. Quakes are plotted as imploding white dots, size depending on magnitude, so watching it plot gives you a feel for patterns (if any exist) provided your data file is in chronological order.
There are too many settable options to list here. If you can use such a program, download it and see for yourself.
It was originally sold to the general public. When I retired there was no one to support the users, so the USGS started giving it away. It's available here by clicking on the link in the Download page.
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