A deep towed explosive source for seismic experiments on the ocean floor
A new seismic source for carrying out high resolution measurements of deep ocean crustal structure has been constructed and successfully used in a number of ocean bottom refraction experiments on the Mid Atlantic Ridge near 23 degree N. The source is towed within 100 m of the ocean floor on a conven...
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| Published in: | Marine geophysical researches Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 345 - 361 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
01-01-1986
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | A new seismic source for carrying out high resolution measurements of deep ocean crustal structure has been constructed and successfully used in a number of ocean bottom refraction experiments on the Mid Atlantic Ridge near 23 degree N. The source is towed within 100 m of the ocean floor on a conventional 0.68" coaxial cable and is capable of firing, upon command from the research vessel, up to 48 individual 2.3 kg explosive charges. The explosive used was commercially available Penta-Erythritol-Tetra Nitrate (PETN) that was activated by 14.9 gm m super(-1 Primacord and DuPont E-97 electrical detonators. For safety reasons each detonator was fitted with a pressure switch that maintained a short until the source was at depth in excess of approximately 300 m. In addition, a mechanical protector isolated the detonator from the main charge and was only removed by the physical release of the explosive from the source package. These and other safety precautions resulted in several misfires but three experiments were successfully completed during the summer of 1985 at source depths of 3000-4000 m. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0025-3235 1573-0581 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/bf02084018 |