HR: 0830h
AN: U11B-0003 [PDF]
TI: Third Party Borehole Seismic Experiments During the Ocean Drilling Program
AU: Swift, S A
EM: sswift@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geol and Geophys Dept., Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: * Stephen, R A
EM: rstephen@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geol and Geophys Dept., Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Hoskins, H
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geol and Geophys Dept., Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Bolmer, T
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geol and Geophys Dept., Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AB:
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.
DE: 0915 Downhole methods
DE: 0930 Oceanic structures
DE: 0935 Seismic methods (3025)
DE: 7294 Instruments and techniques
SC: U
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting