Marine vs. Land: Advancements in Seismic Deployments

Abstract:

Over the past decade, seismic installations in both marine and land settings have benefited from modern sensors, innovative techniques, as well as newly available technology in power, data media, materials, and timing. However, typical sensor emplacements in the marine environment have not evolved much. In contrast, sensor emplacement methods on land have been explored, refined, and more widely adopted as a result of the reduced logistical challenges. These advances in sensor emplacement for both temporary and permanent stations on land have resulted in better ground coupling, reduced temperature variation, and improved background noise levels. We examine the performance of recent large ocean bottom seismograph experiments (e.g., Alaska Amphibious Community Seismic Experiment) and compare these to analogous land seismic deployments to quantify the differences in data quality and station performance. The goal of this work is to investigate what will be required in order to record comparable signals on both marine and land stations in future amphibious deployments.