Fidelity of ocean bottom seismic observations

Abstract

The often poor quality of ocean bottom seismic data, particularly that observed on horizontal seismometers, is shown to be the result of instruments responding to motions in ways not intended. Instruments designed to obtain the particle motion of the ocean bottom are found to also respond to motions of the water. The shear discontinuity across the ocean floor boundary results in torques that cause package rotation, rather than rectilinear motion, in response to horizontal ground or water motion. The problems are exacerbated by bottom currents and soft sediments. The theory and data presented in this paper suggest that the only reliable way of obtaining high fidelity particle motion data from the ocean floor is to bury the sensors below the bottom in a package with density close to that of the sediment. Long period signals couple well to ocean bottom seismometers, but torques generated by bottom currents can cause noise at both long and short periods. The predicted effects are illustrated using parameters appropriate for the operational OBS developed for the U. S. Office of Naval Research. Examples of data from ocean bottom and buried sensors are also presented.