Ocean bottom seismograph

The ocean bottom seismograph described in this paper has been developed primarily for recording earthquakes on the mid-oceanic ridges. The instrument is suitable for dropping onto the most rugged areas of the ocean floor. Acoustic tracking with the ship's precision echo sounder enables it to be located there relative to both the topography of the sea bed and the ship. The outputs of a 3-component seismometer and a hydrophone are recorded in FM form on a low-power magnetic tape recorder designed specifically for the instrument.     

An ocean bottom,microprocessor based seismometer

We describe the design and construction of an ocean bottom seismometer configured as a computer, based on an Intersil IM6100 microprocessor plus appropriate peripheral devices. The sensors consist of triaxial 1 Hz seismometers and a hydrophone, each sensor channel being filtered prior to digitizing so that typical noise spectra are whitened. Digital data are recorded serially on magnetic tape. The instrument is placed on the ocean bottom by allowing it to fall freely from just below the surface. An acoustic system allows precise determination of instrument position, acoustic recall, and transmission of operational information to the surface. Release from an expendable anchor is accomplished by redundant pyrotechnic bolts which can be fired by acoustic command or by precision timers.The operational flexibility provided by the micro-computer, which executes the DEC PDP8/E instruction set, enables optimum use of the 6-hr recording capacity (at 128 samples/second/channel) in the context of the particular experiment being performed.

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A sea bottom multichannel hydrophone array

The PUMA (Pull-Up Multichannel Array) is a sea-bottom instrument for remotely recording data from a 12 channel hydrophone array. Its purpose is to achieve (i) denser data coverage, leading to (ii) improved velocity analysis and (iii) multichannel processing of wide angle seismic data collected on the continental shelf. The instrument consists of a 1.2 km array terminating with a pressure case in which 8 FM cassette recorders, a power supply, microprocessor controller and internal clock are housed. It can be pre-programmed to switch on during shot windows for a total of four hours recording time.The PUMA was successfully used in an experiment west of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, U.K. in August–September 1984. We show an example of PUMA data from this experiment. Indications are that the instrument will provide improved constraints on seismic velocities in the lower continental crust and uppermost mantle.     

Cambridge deep Ocean geophone

We describe recent mechanical andeelectronic modifications to the Cambridge Ocean Bottom Hydrophone system, enabling it to record in addition three geophone channels from a deployed, disposable geophone package. Examples of data from seismic refraction experiments show good correspondence between records of ground motion detected by the hydrophone and the vertical geophone. Seismic signals are undistorted by noise from instrument related sources. Clear examples of P to S conversions just below the receiver are observed. Improved recording conditions are achieved by deploying the geophones in a small pressure vessel as far away as possible from the main instrument package.     

The evolution of deep ocean pressure measurements in the UK

This paper is a brief review of the work carried out by the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) in measuring tides and sub-surface pressure variations in the deep water of the ocean basins using Bottom Pressure Recorders (BPRs). It deals particularly with the work of David Cartwright which he began in the early 1970s and carried out until he left POL in 1986 but is continued by his co-workers of that time.The paper mentions the early work in the north Atlantic when instrument deployments were limited to one month duration and describes what was achieved from the measurements. It concentrates mainly on measurements that were made since the early 1980s when it became possible, because of developments in instrument technology, to achieve individual measurements lasting for one year or more. The results obtained from these measurements are described and some interesting features of the spectrum of the pelagic sub-surface pressure are discussed.As instrument technology further improved, it became possible to study low frequency variations in sub-surface pressure. The contributions made by POL to studies of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the contribution to ocean circulation studies during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment are discussed. This led to the development of an instrument capable of operating continuously at ocean depths for five years. The preliminary results from a four year deployment of this instrument which was completed in November 1996 are included.     

The vertical response of an ocean bottom seismometer: Analysis of the Lopez Island vertical transient tests

A lumped-parameter model was developed to predict the response of an ocean bottom seismometer, resting on relatively non-stiff sediments, to vertical ground-motion. The model predictions were compared with the response of an instrument on a foundation of foam rubber to a sinusoidal input. Comparison of the model data to the measured Lopez Island vertical transient test data showed that bearing pressure of the instrument in a nonuniform vertical soil profile causes certain instruments to experience a shear modulus higher than the mean.     

Long-period acoustic and seismic measurements and ocean floorcurrents

Pressure fluctuations caused by a strong ocean floor current are evident during most of an eighty-day-long record of very-low-frequency acoustic ambient noise measured by an instrument on the seafloor in the western Atlantic in the framework of the HEBBLE (High Energy Benthic Boundary Layer Experiment). The differential pressure gauges on the instrument produce useful measurements over a wide frequency band extending from 0.0005 to 16 Hz. The spectrum of current-induced pressure fluctuations is red with a power-law dependence on frequency with an exponent of -1.5. Turbulence in the ocean floor boundary layer is the source of these pressure fluctuations rather than the effects of flow around the transducers. This record of boundary-layer pressure fluctuations is used to predict the effect of seafloor currents on long-period seismograph measurements from the seafloor and from under the seafloor in boreholes     

Altimeter Signal-to-Noise for Deep Ocean Processes in Operational Systems

The ocean signal for this study is the sea surface height due to the slowly varying (greater than 5-day) ocean processes, which are predominantly the deep ocean mesoscale. These processes are the focus of present assimilation systems for monitoring and predicting ocean circulation due to ocean fronts and eddies and the associated environmental changes that impact real time activities in areas with depths greater than about 200 m. By this definition, signal-to-noise may be estimated directly from altimeter data sets through a crossover point analysis. The RMS variability in crossover differences is due to instrument noise, errors in environmental corrections to the satellite observation, and short time period oceanic variations. The signal-to-noise ratio indicates that shallow areas are typically not well observed due to the high frequency fluctuations. Many deep ocean areas also contain significant high frequency variability such as the subpolar latitudes, which have large atmospheric pressure systems moving through, and these in turn generate large errors in the inverse barometer correction. Understanding the spatial variations of signal to noise is a necessary prerequisite for correct assimilation of the data into operational systems.     

Altimeter Signal-to-Noise for Deep Ocean Processes in Operational Systems

The ocean signal for this study is the sea surface height due to the slowly varying (greater than 5-day) ocean processes, which are predominantly the deep ocean mesoscale. These processes are the focus of present assimilation systems for monitoring and predicting ocean circulation due to ocean fronts and eddies and the associated environmental changes that impact real time activities in areas with depths greater than about 200 m. By this definition, signal-to-noise may be estimated directly from altimeter data sets through a crossover point analysis. The RMS variability in crossover differences is due to instrument noise, errors in environmental corrections to the satellite observation, and short time period oceanic variations. The signal-to-noise ratio indicates that shallow areas are typically not well observed due to the high frequency fluctuations. Many deep ocean areas also contain significant high frequency variability such as the subpolar latitudes, which have large atmospheric pressure systems moving through, and these in turn generate large errors in the inverse barometer correction. Understanding the spatial variations of signal to noise is a necessary prerequisite for correct assimilation of the data into operational systems.     

On the nature of microshocks recorded by ocean bottom seismographs

The results of the study of short impulsive signals (microshocks) which constitute a specific type of noise on the records of ocean bottom seismographs are given. Various possible causes of their origin have been analysed. It is shown that the great majority of microshocks are produced by external causes: bottom displacements under an instrument at the deployment site and the mechanical action of marine organisms on OBSs. To cope with this kind of noise the use of parallel recording at two seismometers some distance apart is suggested.     

Seasat altimeter sensor file algorithms

The Seasat altimeter is designed to measure three parameters important to oceanography: height of the spacecraft above the ocean surface (h), significant wave height (H_{1/3}), and ocean backscatter coefficient (sigmadeg) from which surface winds may be inferred. Since the measurement process is indirect, and the measurement environment is complicated by many factors affecting the instrument readings, corrections to the raw data are needed before they are used to compute geophysical parameters. These corrections are accomplished by the Seasat altimeter sensor file algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to describe these algorithms, why they are needed, how they are implemented, and their evaluation using in-flight data.     

声学地层剖面深水探测研究与开发

深水浅部地层精细探测是深海地质勘探与资源开发的重要调查内容。与浅水海域声学地层剖面探测相比,深水地层剖面探测会遇到严重的能量衰减、大数据量长时间反射序列采样、纵向地层分辨率降低以及横向空间覆盖率偏稀等问题,为解决这些问题,国外仪器商采用了不同的方法。采取重采样减少数据量会严重影响纵向分辨率;采取MultiPing技术可以很好解决横向空间覆盖率问题,但多Ping接收采用海底追踪变深度范围采集会造成反射同相轴跳跃突变,或采用短时间间隔采集会造成回波数据无法准确计算海底深度。为了解决这些技术问题,作者研究开发了相关的技术处理方法,解决MultiPing技术反射同相轴拼接改正处理和海底深度记录延迟处理,这些问题的解决为深水浅部地层精细探测提供了技术保障。     

A fixed receiver for recording multichannel wide-angle seismic data on the seabed

Previous experiments to record seismic data at wide angle on the continental shelf have generally been unsuccessful in determining velocity structure in the lower crust; either the lines were too short or shot-receiver density too sparse to identify lower crustal arrivals. In contrast, deep normal incidence profiles show good structural resolution in the crust and uppermost mantle. A sea-bottom multichannel instrument has been developed to record datasets containing closely spaced traces, in order to improve the resolution of reversed wide-angle experiments on the continental shelf.The Pull-up Multichannel Array (PUMA) is a 1200 m, 12-channel hydrophone array for remotely recording seismic data on the seabed. It consists of 12 short hydrophone sections linked by 100 m-long passive sections. A pressure case is attached to the array at one end, in which recording electronics, cassette tape recorders and a battery power supply are housed. The PUMA is designed for deployment in water depths less than 200 m from a research ship and is moored to buoys for recovery.The instrument, which was successfully used in an experiment west of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, UK (Powell and Sinha, 1987) was specifically designed to provide a reliable determination of the velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle over part of the BIRPS WINCH deep normal incidence profile. Because the traces are closely spaced it is easy to correlate phases across the record section and to monitor changes in amplitude. A velocity structure for the continental crust and uppermost mantle has been devised from these data, using amplitude modelling.     

Instrument calibration of ocean bottom seismographs

To increase the accuracy of measuring sea floor motion with ocean bottom seismometers, we calibrate the seismometer system on the ocean floor. Data from the sea floor calibration, augmented with electronic and land calibration data, enables us to find the OBS transfer function to an accuracy of 0.5% in the frequency range of 0.1 to 32 Hz. We are able to distinguish between temperature, instrument and OBS ground coupling effects, all of which alter the transfer function. This paper reviews our method of calibration and discusses the effects of temperature and some of the instrument design features on the vertical seismometer transfer function.     

船载CTD仪与自动剖面浮标观测资料质量初探

海洋科学的发展离不开精确的数据,然而各种海洋观测仪器在复杂的海洋环境中作业难免产生测量误差,导致观测数据需要进行实时(或延时)质量控制。中国Argo计划在搭载多个航次布放剖面浮标的同时,对航次中获取的船载CTD(conductivity, temperature, and depth)仪观测资料、自动剖面浮标观测资料以及实验室高精度盐度计测量数据进行了实时比对。分析结果显示,利用实验室高精度盐度计对现场观测数据尤其是船载CTD仪观测资料进行质量控制,于温盐数据(特别是深层)的实时/延时校正非常重要;如某航次未经标定的船载CTD仪所测1000dbar以深范围内海水盐度,与实验室高精度盐度计的差值达到±0.1左右,远远落后于国内海洋调查规范对盐度准确度±0.02的一级测量要求,该具体实例更加突显了船载CTD仪在航次前后送往权威部门进行检测的必要性和重要性,从而确保每个航次获取的CTD资料的质量。建议有条件的情况下,在进行深海大洋船载CTD仪观测时要进行现场实验室高精度盐度计的质量控制工作及比对试验,以提高我国深海大洋观测数据的质量。     

A layer-stripping fast algorithm for reconstructing an elastic medium from its compressional wave reflection response

A fast algorithm for recovering profiles of density and compressional (P) and shear-vertical (SV) wave speeds as functions of depth for the inverse seismic problem in a continuous layered elastic medium is obtained. This algorithm differs from previous fast algorithms for this problem since it requires only the compressional wave P-P reflection response at the surface of the medium, for three different slownesses or angles of incidence. Previous algorithms have required shear stress data in the form of the P-SV and SV-SV reflection responses, making them unsuitable for an ocean environment. This algorithm is thus much more suitable for reconstructing the ocean floor from pressure data taken in the ocean. The algorithm is exact, and it includes the effects of multiple reflections and mode conversions. A computer run illustrates the performance of the algorithm on synthetic data.     

Parametric vertical coordinate formulation for multiscale, Boussinesq, and non-Boussinesq ocean modeling

Two physical parameters are introduced into the basic ocean equations to generalize numerical ocean models for various vertical coordinate systems and their hybrid features. The two parameters are formulated by combining three techniques: the arbitrary vertical coordinate system of Kasahara [Kasahara, A., 1974. Various vertical coordinate systems used for numerical weather prediction. Mon. Weather Rev. 102, 509–522], the Jacobian pressure gradient formulation of Song [Song, Y.T., 1998. A general pressure gradient formation for ocean models. Part I: Scheme design and diagnostic analysis. Mon. Weather Rev. 126 (12), 3213–3230], and a newly introduced parametric function that permits both Boussinesq (volume-conserving) and non-Boussinesq (mass-conserving) conditions. Based on this new formulation, a generalized modeling approach is proposed. Several representative oceanographic problems with different scales and characteristics––coastal canyon, seamount topography, non-Boussinesq Pacific Ocean with nested eastern Tropics, and a global ocean model––have been used to demonstrate the model’s capabilities for multiscale applications. The inclusion of non-Boussinesq physics in the topography-following ocean model does not incur computational expense, but more faithfully represents satellite-observed ocean-bottom-pressure data. Such a generalized modeling approach is expected to benefit oceanographers in solving multiscale ocean-related problems by using various coordinate systems on the same numerical platform.     

基于多参数差分相关的海洋时序观测数据滤波算法

随着海洋研究的不断深入,对观测的数据质量要求越来越高,为了有效降低实测数据的不确定性,该文以海水CO₂分压测算的关键因子温度和盐度的相关实测数据为例,针对仪器平台能够进行多参数同步观测的特点,在假设观测指标的变化在较小的时间空间范围内为一平稳过程的基础上,通过ADF平稳性检验理论证实了大部分原始观测序列满足二阶差分平稳性假设,在此基础上提出了一种基于观测序列差分统计特征的测量数据不确定性的表达方式,以及对离异点数据进行识别和多参数差分相关联合滤波的算法。与常用滤波算法对比分析表明,提出的新算法能够有效融合参数间的相关信息,降低序列的不确定性,并且最大程度地保护原始测量数据。     

投弃式温度/温盐剖面测量仪的应用及其数据处理进展

投弃式温度剖面测量仪 (Expendable bathythermograph, xBT) 以 及 投 弃 式 温 盐 剖 面 测 量 仪 (Expendable Conductivity-Temperature-Depth profiler, xCTD)是观测海洋温深/温盐深剖面的重要仪器,由于其易于操作,成本较低且技 术成熟,因此被广泛地应用于海洋边界流、海洋热含量、气候变化和经向热输送研究。本文首先介绍国内外 xBT/xCTD 仪器 的发展及其现状,然后针对国际上 xBT/xCTD 仪器的误差来源以及数据处理过程中存在的问题进行分析,并对较为先进的数 据校正方案及其应用进行了方案调研和比对。最后,本文总结当前 xBT/xCTD 在国际合作项目中的应用现状,并对国内外相 关的数据处理方法进行总结归纳,对目前 xBT/xCTD 仪器存在的问题以及未来的发展趋势进行进一步的探讨,为国内投弃式 剖面测量仪的数据处理方法的进步和仪器的进一步发展提供了参考。