Third party borehole seismic experiments during the Ocean Drilling Program [poster] 

Abstract

Third party borehole seismic experiments on the Ocean Drilling Program began with an oblique seismic experiment on Leg 102 at Site 418 in the Western Atlantic. Upper ocean crust here is characterized by a normal seismic layer 2 vertical velocity gradient, lateral velocity variations, azimuthal anisotropy, and azimuth dependent scattering. A normal incidence VSP was run on Leg 118 in the gabbro sequence at Hole 735B on the Southwest Indian Ridge. The vertical seismic velocity inferred from arrival times is similar to that observed horizontally by refraction in ocean layer 3, but attenuation is anomalously high, which prompted the hypothesis that the gabbro cored may not actually represent the bulk of Layer 3 material. The VSP data acquired at Hole 504B in the eastern equatorial Pacific on Legs 111 and 148 helped to constrain the P and S velocity structure at the site and showed that upper layer 3 at this site, at a depth of over 2 km into the crust, consisted of the lower portion of the sheeted dikes rather than gabbro. Both offset and normal incidence VSPs were run on Leg 164 to study the seismic velocity structure of gas hydrates on the Blake Ridge. A new innovation on ODP was the deployment of broadband seismometers in boreholes. Whereas the conventional VSPs and offset VSPs mentioned above operate in the frequency range from 1 to 100Hz, broadband seismometers are used in earthquake seismology and operate in the range from 0.001 to 10Hz. The first broadband seismometer test was carried out from the drill ship on Leg 128 in the Japan Sea. Subsequently 4 permanent broadband borehole seismic observatories were installed in the Western Pacific and Japan Trench on Legs 186, 191 and 195. The ODP era also saw the development of systems for re-entering boreholes from conventional research vessels after the drill ship left the site. Borehole seismic experiments and installations that used this wireline re-entry technology were carried out in DSDP Holes 534 (Blake-Bahama Basin) and 396 (Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 23degr north) and ODP Hole 843B (south of Oahu). The latter experiment (Ocean Seismic Network Pilot Experiment) carried out a test of 3 configurations of broadband seafloor seismic installation in preparation for extending the Global Seismic Network to the deep ocean.