PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE “AIRPULSER” AS A SEISMIC ENERGY SOURCE*

Abstract

AbstractDuring the last few years the airpulser, or air gun, has become very common as an energy source for marine seismic surveys. This paper describes the physical processes which take place during the operation of the pulser and develops theoretical results concerning the energy and frequency of the radiated signal and the amplitude decay of the secondary bubble pulses. The theory takes into account the presence of the airpulser itself which is assumed to be a rigid sphere within the bubble of released air. The theoretical results are combined and compared with measurements made of the pressure within the airpulser, the acceleration of the body of the pulser, and the amplitude and frequency of the signal radiated into the surrounding water. A formula for calculating the bubble frequency is given and a diagram made of the energy partition between mechanical losses, radiated energy, etc. Finally, a comparison is made of the energy release from the airpulser with that from TNT.