Applied Aspects of Different Frequency Bands of Seismic and Water Acoustic Investigations on the Shelf

Abstract

This article focuses on the study of the information value of offshore technologies based on the generation of acoustic signals in water in a wide frequency band: from one-digit Hz to hundreds of KHz. The initial data for the studies were the experimental materials of marine seismic exploration, seismic acoustics and side-scan sonar, obtained in selected areas of the Russian Arctic shelf. This article analyzes applied methods based on the excitation of controlled sources. Authors differentiate them by dominant frequencies as follows: low frequency (digits and double-digits Hz); mid-frequency (hundreds of Hz to the first KHz); high and super high frequency (up to several hundreds of KHz), which form the basis of offshore seismic surveys, seismoacoustics and sonar detection. This article for the first time incorporates research methods which differ in practical application, but are similar in the physical sense. This indicates that there is a need for an integrated multi-disciplinary study of complex natural bodies at different levels of detail and the development of solution approaches for this problem. The authors believe that crucial scientific breakthroughs are feasible at the joint edge of different disciplines providing the exchange of methodologies and toolware applied by cross-experts. The authors also provide examples for each of three frequency intervals. The majority of experimental study results given in the article were obtained with direct involvement of the authors. They present a practical value in the context of the development of an integrated geophysical sedimentary mantle study methodology at different levels of detail aimed at the creation of an unbiased image of the structure and properties of complex shelf bodies.