Artificial Offshore Seismic Sources

Synonyms

Marine seismic sources; Seismic energy sources

Introduction

Artificial Offshore Seismic Sources are instruments that are used for generating short-duration pressure pulses in the marine water column, usually with constant repetition rate. They provide the acoustic energy for marine seismic surveys. Marine seismic surveys are performed in order to image geological structure (layers and faults) beneath the seafloor and to characterize rocks and rock strength in terms of seismic wave velocity or dynamic elastic constants. Therefore, short pressure pulses are applied to the water column that travel as acoustic waves down to the sea bottom where they are converted into seismic body and interface waves (elastic waves). These seismic waves penetrate deeper into the underground and are partially reflected at geological interfaces and/or refracted back to the surface (Fig. 1, right). This returning part of the wave field is recorded either at the seafloor with seismographs or in the...