Upgrading the Python Version within Anaconda

 The upgrading of Python within Anaconda is complicated by the planned obsolescence of Python versions in the Anaconda software.  As of 02/16/2023, Anaconda has support for Python 3.7 and higher.  As a result, simply upgrading

conda install python=3.9

might work if you have 3.7 or 3.8 already installed.  However, I had my obspy environment set up with Python 3.6, and the version would not update automatically.  This prevented me from updating obspy and many other packages.  My solution is to create a new environment for the upgrade, and install Python 3.9 directly into it.  From the webpage:

https://www.geophysik.uni-muenchen.de/~megies/installation2.pdf

Create a new environment within Anaconda

conda create -n obspy39 python=3.9

conda activate obspy39

conda info --envs

assuming that you are in the obspy39 environment . . .

conda install -c conda-forge obspy

conda install jupyter

conda install cartopy

Note that I installed cartopy, rather than basemap.  The latter would not install properly, and it is the older version anyway.  At the end of this exercise, I had two obspy environments, obspy and obspy39.  One can delete the older creakier version once you are certain that the new one works.