Güralp Aquarius: A New Generation of Free-Fall Ocean Bottom Seismometers with Acoustic Telemetry

Session: Ocean Bottom Seismology – New Data, New Sensors, New Methods [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/30/2020
Time: 08:00 AM
Room: Ballroom
Description: 

Current cabled Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) solutions are financially and logistically challenging, while typical free-fall OBS do not provide users with high-quality seismic data until after the system has been recovered and leave doubt surrounding deployment conditions. The Güralp Aquarius family provides the solution: an ultra-low-power, free-fall system, operational at any angle on the seafloor and with the ability to transmit data in near-real-time.

Güralp has addressed these barriers by removing the dependence on cables by using acoustic telemetry of seismic data, eliminating external power sources with ultra-low power sensors and allowing the user to check site quality remotely during installation. Proven Güralp technology allows operation of the system at any angle without the use of a gimbal system, thereby reducing the risk from deploying on uneven surfaces without introducing mechanical component noise into the system.

During operation, the operator can extract notable seismic data efficiently via ship, wave-glider or buoy-based receivers thereby providing options to recover data without needing to visit the site. An automated calendar of events and associated peak signal strengths is transmitted to allow the operator to download only the desired events minimising ship time and maximising instrument battery life. Alternatively, data can be downloaded from a specified time window. After recovery, full deployment data can be downloaded over fast ethernet link while simultaneously recharging the battery allowing the unit to be redeployed immediately without returning to port.

The seismic community are highly motivated to perform transportable array style projects on land. Now Güralp can support the community with Aquarius: financially viable, portable, off-the-shelf systems for marine-based seismological research ventures.

The Aquarius family bridges the gap between real-time and delayed recovery ocean bottom systems and continues the trend of Güralp supporting the research community in supplying innovative OBS designs to meet operational requirements.

Presenting Author: Will Reis

Authors