Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics

Airgun arrays are by far the most commonly used offshore seismic survey sound sources and, despite ongoing attempts to develop alternatives, are likely to remain so well into the future. Although designed to produce their highest sound levels in the vertically downward direction, these arrays also e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Duncan, Alec
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65858
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author Duncan, Alec
author_facet Duncan, Alec
author_sort Duncan, Alec
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Airgun arrays are by far the most commonly used offshore seismic survey sound sources and, despite ongoing attempts to develop alternatives, are likely to remain so well into the future. Although designed to produce their highest sound levels in the vertically downward direction, these arrays also emit considerable acoustic energy in other directions, thus making them a potential hazard for marine animals. Each airgun array produces a complicated sound field, determined by the array layout (positions and sizes of its airguns), in which both the waveform and spectrum of the signal vary strongly with direction. This paper examines the relationship between the array layout and the directional characteristics of the sound field it produces with a view to providing guidance on how changes in array layout can be used to reduce the environmental impact of an array while retaining its utility as a seismic survey source.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-658582018-02-19T07:59:57Z Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics Duncan, Alec Airgun arrays are by far the most commonly used offshore seismic survey sound sources and, despite ongoing attempts to develop alternatives, are likely to remain so well into the future. Although designed to produce their highest sound levels in the vertically downward direction, these arrays also emit considerable acoustic energy in other directions, thus making them a potential hazard for marine animals. Each airgun array produces a complicated sound field, determined by the array layout (positions and sizes of its airguns), in which both the waveform and spectrum of the signal vary strongly with direction. This paper examines the relationship between the array layout and the directional characteristics of the sound field it produces with a view to providing guidance on how changes in array layout can be used to reduce the environmental impact of an array while retaining its utility as a seismic survey source. 2017 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65858 restricted
spellingShingle Duncan, Alec
Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title_full Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title_fullStr Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title_short Airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - Physics and directional characteristics
title_sort airgun arrays for marine seismic surveys - physics and directional characteristics
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65858