Automated geophone deployment on pavement for high resolution seismic reflection investigations in support of transportation infrastructure projects

Abstract

Conventional seismic methods have long been used to image the near surface. However, deployment of equipment is labor intensive and time consuming. In many instances these factors combine making seismic reflection techniques uneconomical. To reduce the time requirements associated with seismic imaging, automated seismic surveying technology, the “autojuggie”, has been developed at the University of Kansas. The autojuggie quickly deploys geophones for 2D or 3D seismic reflection surveys allowing for efficient high-resolution shallow imaging of geologic materials and allows 3D surveys to be conducted nearly as quickly as a traditional 2D survey. Transportation engineers routinely address maintenance of aging infrastructure and planning new development. When assessing these conditions information pertaining to the subsurface can be crucial. Traditionally subsurface information is obtained by boreholes. High resolution seismic imaging can be used to map lateral changes and heterogeneity of the subsurface and can be of great significance to transportation engineers in discerning conditions between wellbore locations. In an effort to help address these problems the University of Kansas geophysics group adapted the autojuggie with the ability to deploy geophones on paved surfaces. A seismic reflection survey was undertaken on the west campus of the University of Kansas to test the applicability of these methods. Results show that high quality, high resolution seismic reflection images can be produced by deploying geophones mounted to iron base plates on paved surfaces. Additional results show that the autojuggie can significantly reduce acquisition times and be used to apply seismic reflection techniques to transportation related research.