THE RADIATION OF ACOUSTIC WAVES FROM AN AIR-GUN*

A theoretical model is developed for predicting three important parameters of the pressure pulse radiated by an air-gun, namely the rise time, the amplitude of the initial pulse, and the period of the bubble pulse. A knowledge of these three parameters is essential for the efficient design of air-guns arrays. The prediction of the amplitude of the initial pulse is based on the assumption that the initial pulse is radiated by a spherical source with surface area equal to that of the air-gun ports and not by a spherical source with initial volume equal to that of the air-gun chamber, as has been assumed previously. A simple equation is obtained for predicting the period of the bubble pulsation, taking into account the effect of the air-gun body, boundaries such as the sea-surface and seabed and the presence of a number of identical air-guns placed at the same depth and fired simultaneously.     

CALIBRATION OF MARINE SEISMIC SOURCES USING A HYDROPHONE OF UNKNOWN SENSITIVITY*

The absolute amplitude of the pressure pulse radiated by a marine seismic source is one of the prime criteria used in evaluating its performance. A technique for this measurement is proposed which is applicable to all sources which radiate a bubble pulse. The technique is described with reference to an air-gun array in which the pulse radiated from a single gun is compared with that radiated by the full array. The advantage of the method is that absolute values of pressure are obtained without any need for a calibrated hydrophone. In theory this may seem a trivial advantage but in practice sensitivity factors for the hydrophone channel cannot always be relied upon. The proposed technique is illustrated by an example.     

AN EFFICIENT METHOD OF OPERATING THE AIR-GUN*

A new technique is developed for generating a short seismic pulse from the bubble pulses which are radiated by an air-gun. The new technique, which is useful in well velocity surveys and vertical seismic profiling, can be implemented by firing a single air-gun several times at the same depth but with different chamber pressures. A record obtained by this procedure from a well-geophone clamped at a depth of 2450 m gave a maximum peak-to-peak amplitude within the first 100 ms of the effective seismic pulse at least ten times any later peak-to-peak amplitude.     

立体气枪阵列延迟激发震源特性及在浅海区OBS探测中的应用

利用中、小容量气枪组成的立体气枪阵列延迟激发震源和海底地震仪(OBS)在我国北部浅海海域开展了人工地震深部地球物理探测试验.基于水深条件和压制水体虚反射、提升低频能量的需要,使气枪震源有足够的输出能量和高品质子波特性,研究了立体气枪阵列延迟激发震源工作机理,经远场子波理论模拟优选了组合参数并进行了海上试验工作.结果表明,中、小容量气枪组成的立体气枪阵列延迟激发震源,适应了浅水海域的激发环境,降低了由虚反射造成的局部陷波和干扰作用,有效地改善了OBS信号的品质,获得了Ps,Pg,PmP,Pn等多种震相.创新了由中、小容量气枪组成的立体气枪阵列延迟激发震源在浅海区OBS探测中的应用,也填补了南黄海海域深地震探测数据的空白,为南黄海、渤海深部地壳结构研究及含油气盆地形成演化研究提供了重要的基础资料.     

SYSTEM APPROACH TO AIR-GUN ARRAY DESIGN *

To specify intelligently a nondynamite source in a marine seismic data-collection system, it is important to use all known parameters of the system—source, receiver, and recording-system characteristics. A technique has been developed to design the far-field pressure pulse of an air-gun array by taking these parameters into account. Important source variables to consider are interaction among guns in the array and the depth of the array. Near-field pressure signatures of individual guns, which are relatively unaffected by boundaries, have been used to‘construct’the far-field pressure pulse of the array by considering these variables. Comparison between constructed pulses and measured far-field pulses shows substantial agreement. Streamer depth and recording-system bandpass should also be considered when designing an air-gun array. Comparison of far-field pressure pulses for several bandpasses clearly shows the importance of considering this variable; e.g., the initial pulse is severely attenuated when a high-cut filter is used. Likewise, an additional filtering effect due to the streamer's proximity to the surface should be taken into account. Design of an air-gun array using the principles just outlined are illustrated by an example.     

TEST RESULTS OF A NEW TYPE OF EFFICIENT SMALL AIRGUN ARRAY*

Recently the author developed and demonstrated (Safar 1980) an efficient method for operating the airgun. The method involves the generation of a short seismic pulse from the pressure bubble pulses radiated by an airgun when fired several times at the same optimum depth but with different chamber pressures. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the test results obtained when implementing the same method using a two-dimensional airgun array. The array consists of seven 0.65 liter airguns fired simultaneously at the same depth but with different chamber pressures. It is shown that the far-field pressure pulse radiated by the seven 0.65 liter airgun array is similar to that radiated by the Flexichoc seismic source. It is concluded that the proposed airgun array can be used as a subarray to form an extremely powerful super-long array suitable for deep seismic exploration. The author would like to thank the Chairman and Board of Directors of the British Petroleum Co. Ltd for permission to publish this paper. Thanks are also due to Mike Symes and Lovell Cox for carrying out the field tests and Seismograph Service (England) Ltd for providing the airguns.     

Fired Models of Air-gun Source and Its Application

Air-gun is an important active seismic source. With the development of the theory about air- gun array, the technique for air-gun array design becomes mature and is widely used in petroleum exploration and geophysics. In order to adapt it to different research domains, different combination and fired models are needed. At the present time, there are two fired models of air-gun source, namely, reinforced initial pulse and reinforced first bubble pulse. The fired time, space between single guns, frequency and resolution of the two models are different. This comparison can supply the basis for its extensive application.     

ON THE CALIBRATION OF THE WATER GUN PRESSURE SIGNATURE*

A simple field method was proposed by the author in 1976 for measuring the absolute amplitude of the pressure pulse radiated by marine seismic sources which radiate a bubble pulse. The proposed method involves the recording of the near-field pressure signature radiated by the water gun using a wide-band hydrophone. The key feature of the proposed method is that a knowledge of the hydrophone sensitivity and its distance from the water gun are not required. It is shown that the absolute amplitudes of the pressure pulses radiated by the S80 and P400 water guns obtained using the proposed method are in agreement with those obtained using a Ref-Tek hydrophone.     

沉放深度对气枪震源激发信号影响的试验研究

以2014年11月福建街面水库气枪震源激发试验观测数据为研究对象,利用基于互相关的时延估计法对不同沉放深度及不同水深的气枪激发展开研究,分析沉放深度及激发环境水深对气枪震源激发信号到时的影响。结果显示:激发位置不变,气枪沉放深度在8—30 m范围内变化时,震中距为13 km的测震台站记录到的气枪信号的首脉冲到时差异很小,而气泡脉冲到时则有明显差异,且随着沉放深度的增加,气泡脉冲信号到时提前,8 m沉放深度与30 m沉放深度气泡脉冲的到时差近80 ms,这种变化与布设在库底的海底地震仪记录到的信号变化相一致,分析认为这种变化与气枪沉放深度增加引起的气枪激发信号的周期减小有关;在不同水位开展的相同沉放深度的激发信号差异不大。因此,应用气枪震源监测地壳介质变化时需注意气枪震源沉放深度变化所带来的影响。      

大容量气枪震源子波激发特性分析

大容量气枪水库激发作为陆地震源的可行性与有效性已经得到成功验证.为进一步提高气枪震源激发效果,本文通过水库气枪激发试验对单枪容量为2000 in³的气枪震源激发子波特征及规律进行了研究.依据近场水听器和远场短周期地震仪记录数据,分析气枪震源沉放深度、工作压力等不同激发条件对压力脉冲和气泡脉冲的影响.有助于人们根据不同尺度地下结构探测对震源激发信号的要求,调整气枪激发参数和激发环境,获得最佳激发效果.试验结果表明：（1）沉放深度对压力脉冲波形影响较小,其优势频率不随沉放深度而改变;（2）随着沉放深度从5 m增加到11 m,气泡脉冲的优势频率由5 Hz增加至7 Hz,其最大振幅亦近线性递增;（3）工作压力越大,激发压力脉冲能量越强,而对气泡脉冲的影响主要体现在主频降低.适合远距离深穿透地下结构探测的低频信号主要来自大容量气枪所激发气泡的反复振荡,由于气枪振荡过程非常复杂,本文通过较为简洁的数学和物理模型进行了解释.     

EXTENDED MARINE ARRAYS VERSUS SIMULATED EXTENDED ARRAYS*

Two factors are responsible for the fact that an extended marine source array performs better than a point source: 1. a higher degree of transmission of the radiated seismic energy through the water-sediment interface providing a better penetration; 2. filtering effects. The higher degree of transmission is due to: (a) the directivity of extended sources, (b) the lower reflection coefficient at the water-sediment interface for seismic waves radiated from an extended source array than for spherical seismic waves radiated from a point source, (c) the lower amplitude decay of the pulses from an extended source than from a point source. In addition, signature characteristic of an extended source array and Fresnel zone of waves generated by such a source differ from those corresponding to a point source. The propagating wavelet radiated from a point source array may not be, in a sedimentary sequence below the sea-floor, the linear combination of wavelets emitted from point sources. In such cases, there is a noticeable difference between the performance of a field-implemented source array and that of the corresponding simulated source array. The performances of the field-implemented and simulated extended receiver arrays can be identical if the recording system is adequate and the processing technique appropriate.     

THE USE OF AIRGUN PRESSURE PULSES FOR CALIBRATING A LOW-FREQUENCY STANDARD HYDROPHONE*

A new technique is developed for calibrating a low-frequency hydrophone. The technique involves the use of pressure pulses radiated by the Par 0.65 liter airgun when fired at a fixed depth but with various values of initial chamber pressure. The sensitivity of a low-frequency hydrophone, when determined by the proposed technique, is found to be in agreement with that obtained by using the so-called “impulse method”.     

PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE “AIRPULSER” AS A SEISMIC ENERGY SOURCE*

During the last few years the airpulser, or air gun, has become very common as an energy source for marine seismic surveys. This paper describes the physical processes which take place during the operation of the pulser and develops theoretical results concerning the energy and frequency of the radiated signal and the amplitude decay of the secondary bubble pulses. The theory takes into account the presence of the airpulser itself which is assumed to be a rigid sphere within the bubble of released air. The theoretical results are combined and compared with measurements made of the pressure within the airpulser, the acceleration of the body of the pulser, and the amplitude and frequency of the signal radiated into the surrounding water. A formula for calculating the bubble frequency is given and a diagram made of the energy partition between mechanical losses, radiated energy, etc. Finally, a comparison is made of the energy release from the airpulser with that from TNT.     

ON THE IMPROVEMENT IN PENETRATIO ACHIEVED BY USING EXTENDED MARINE SOURCE ARRAYS*

In dealing with the problem of large amplitude multiple reflections arising from a hard water-bottom, it has been found that the use of extended source array techniques resulted in a considerably better penetration than that obtained using either computer simulated long arrays or the conventional air-gun array systems. The purpose of this paper is to use the concept of the array directivity factor in discussing the reason for the improvement in penetration achieved by using extended marine source arrays. Examples are given showing that the low frequency power radiated within the so called “penetration window” can be increased by a factor of two by choosing the correct spacing of the point sources forming the extended array. It is concluded that to ensure that most of the low frequency energy is concentrated within the penetration window to achieve deep penetration, a source array with spacing comparable with the wavelength is required.     

ON THE MINIMIZATION OF THE DISTORTION CAUSED BY THE GEOPHONE-GROUND COUPLING *

It is well known that the application of the “bright spot’ technique has been more successful in marine prospecting than in land prospecting. This is due partly to the problem of distortion of the seismic signal caused by the geophone-ground coupling, especially when carrying out high resolution, shallow seismic surveys in swampy terrain. The effect of geophone-ground coupling on the response of a single geophone to the incident compressional waves has been treated by several authors. However, they have always neglected the influence of mutual interaction between an array of geophones on the response of each geophone forming the array. We show that mutual interaction, which results from the re-radiation of the incident compressional waves by the geophones forming the array, can have considerable effect on the response of each geophone. The effect of the geophone-ground coupling on the response of a seismic channel is considered in the absence and presence of mutual interaction between a group of geophones for the case when the shear wave velocity of the soil varies by a factor of three.     

Increasing the vertical resolution of conventional sub‐bottom profilers by parametric equalization

Vertical resolution, i.e. the ability to resolve two close reflectors, is a crucial aspect of pulses used in geo‐acoustic exploration of sea sub‐bottoms. This paper deals with the problem of exploring the shallowest unconsolidated layers of the seafloor with conventional piezo‐electric sonar pulses. Such transducers do not have a sufficiently broad transmission response to enable them to radiate short high‐resolution pulses. Therefore, some kind of equalization process must be applied to broaden the transmission response. Here, inverse filtering is used to calculate the transducer driving waveform so that the subsequent acoustic pulse has a zero‐phase cosine‐magnitude nature. Within a specified bandwidth, this pulse has minimum length, i.e. maximum resolution. The method has been applied to compress the acoustic pulses radiated by two piezo‐electric transducers. In conventional performance, these transducers radiate narrowband pulses which contain several cycles at the natural resonance frequency. Under equalized driving, both transducers emit broadband pulses, with resolving power greatly increased, at the cost of some amplitude loss. That is, the pulses radiated by both transducers have been shortened from 1 ms (low‐frequency transducer) and 0.274 ms (high‐frequency transducer) in conventional performance to 0.13 ms and 0.038 ms in equalized mode, with amplitude losses of 33% and 56%, respectively. The great improvement in the resolution of this technique is demonstrated by comparing the synthetic echograms that should be obtained when exploring a wedge model using zero‐phase cosine‐magnitude pulses with conventional ping pulses.     

SIGNATURE AND AMPLITUDE OF LINEAR AIRGUN ARRAYS *

During the last few years many airgun arrays have been designed with the objective of generating a short signature of high amplitude. For linear arrays of non-interacting airguns two rules have been derived that may help in the design or evaluation of airgun arrays. To achieve a short pressure pulse, the total available air volume has to be distributed over the individual guns in such a way that the tail of the signal, owing to the added bubble signals, becomes as flat as possible. When we think of ordering airguns according to volume, this flat signal tail can be achieved by designing the volumes such that the difference in bubble times of two adjacent guns is proportional to their volume to the power 2/3. The amplitude expected from a linear array of non-interacting airguns is limited by the physical length of the array. A graph of measured values tends to confirm this relation. No relation has been found between the total volume of an array and its amplitude. The graph also detects inefficient use of available array length of existing arrays.     

Making the transition from discrete shot records to continuous seismic records and source wavefields,and its potential impact on survey efficiency and environmental footprint

A marine seismic method based on continuous source and receiver wavefields has been developed. The method requires continuous recording of the seismic data. The source that may consist of multiple source elements can emit signals continuously while moving. The ideal source wavefield to be used with this method should be as white as possible both in a temporal and a spatial sense to avoid deep notches in the spectrum enabling a stable multi-dimensional deconvolution. White noise has such properties. However, equipment that can generate white noise does not exist. In order to generate a continuous source wavefield that is approaching the properties of white noise using existing equipment onboard marine seismic vessels, individual air-guns can be triggered with short randomized time intervals in a near-continuous fashion. The main potential benefits with the method are to reduce the environmental impact of marine seismic surveys and to improve acquisition efficiency. The peak sound pressure levels are significantly reduced by triggering one air-gun at a time compared to conventional marine seismic sources. Sound exposure levels are also reduced in most directions. Since the method is based on continuous recording of seismic data and the air-guns are triggered based on time and not based on position, there are less vessel speed limitations compared to conventional marine seismic data acquisition. Also, because the source wavefield is spread out in time, the wavefields emitted from source elements in different cross-line positions can be designed such that the emitted wavefield is spatially white in this direction. This means that source elements in multiple cross-line positions can be operated simultaneously, potentially improving the cross-line sampling and/or the acquisition efficiency.     

MODELLING OF GI GUN SIGNATURES1

In 1989 a new type of marine seismic source was introduced. This new air-gun, which consists of two air chambers instead of one, is called the GI gun. The main feature of this gun is that the bubble created by the gun is stabilized by an injection of extra air from the second chamber at a later time. This injection mechanism reduces the amplitude of the bubble oscillations, which also means that the acoustic signal from a GI gun shot is characterized by a very clean primary pulse followed by very small bubble oscillations. A method for calculating the acoustic signal generated by a GI gun is presented. Based on the solution of a damped Kirkwood–Bethe equation, the far-field pressure of single GI guns and of arrays of GI guns is calculated. It is shown that the optimal values for injection start time and injection period vary with injector volume and gun depth. It is also shown that the precision in the firing time for the injector should be of the order of 4 ms, while the precision of the injection period should be of the order of 8 ms. Modelled and measured far-field signatures have been compared, and the relative error energy is found to be less than 3.5% for all examples.     

COMPUTATION OF SIGNATURES OF LINEAR AIRGUN ARRAYS*

Far-field signatures from an airgun array are usually obtained by carrying out extensive field measurements. In order to decrease the need for such measurements, we have developed a method for computing signatures from linear airgun arrays where the distances between the airguns are such that the non-linear interaction among the airguns is negligible. The signature from a single airgun of a given type is computed from the following airgun parameters: airgun chamber volume, chamber pressure, airgun depth and position of the waveshape plate within the chamber. For calibration purposes, a recorded signature for one set of airgun parameters has to be provided for each type of airgun. The signatures are computed by using empirical relations between signature properties and the airgun parameters, and by treating the primary and bubble pulses separately. The far-field signature from a linear airgun array can now be computed by summation of the delayed signatures from the airguns in the array. Practical results are shown for an array with different PAR (Bolt) 1500 C airguns.