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New Seismic Survey Techniques for Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) Exploration
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 23rd European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Sep 2017, Volume 2017, p.1 - 5
Abstract
The Cabinet Office, Government Japan started “Next-generation technology for ocean resources exploration” project as one of Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP). In this project, the exploration target is seafloor massive sulphide (SMS), especially buried deposits. Very high resolution images are required in seismic survey.
We introduce the new concept of seismic data acquisition in the vicinity of ocean bottom using autonomous recording systems, in order to preserve high frequencies and achieve higher vertical and horizontal resolution. We have developed two types of surveys, the Vertical Cable Seismic (VCS) and the deep-towed autonomous cable seismic (ACS). VCS is a survey using vertical cables set on seafloor and gives the high resolution 3D image of the subsurface structure of the local area. On the other hand, the deep-towed ACS is a more efficient survey to explore the wider area. Through the actual surveys conducted in the hydrothermal area, it was demonstrated that these systems work well to achieve our objectives.