Sea-floor positioning with global positioning system–acoustic link system

The present study describes a new system designed and developed for observing crustal deformation on the sea floor. The system consists of two parts, the kinematic positioning by global positioning system (GPS) and acoustic ranging techniques. Since the location of a site at the ocean bottom relative to a reference site on land cannot be determined directly, the procedure was divided into two steps. First, the position of a vessel was determined using differential and kinematic GPS techniques, and then the position of a reference point at the ocean bottom was located relative to the vessel using the acoustic ranging technique. Thus, the location of the ocean-bottom station is determined relative to the reference sites on land in the global reference system. The accuracy was tested in several ways. In one experiment, a buoy was used as the surface station which linked the positions of a GPS receiver to the acoustic transponder. Assuming a simple sound velocity profile of the seawater, the position of an ocean-bottom reference point was estimated with an accuracy of several meters. Thus, with the present system, it is difficult to observe ocean-bottom crustal deformations generated by typical plate motions. Methods are being investigated to improve the observation system for more accurate sea floor positioning.