de Kleine, M.

Kruiver, P.

Missiaen, T.

Zurita Hurtado, O.

Open Marine Archive

Posters
104
Theme 2: A new era in environmental monitoring and assessment: what is at stake?
Missiaen Tine
Ghent University, Dep. Geology
Author(s): Tine Missiaen1 , Oscar Zurita Hurtado1, Pauline Kruiver2, Marco De Kleine2 
Affiliation(s) :
1 Ghent University, Dep. Geology, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Ghent, Belgium
2 Deltares, Dep. Geology, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Development of an efficient survey methodology for the prospection of 
buried palaeolandscapes and archaeology in the southern North Sea
Within the framework of the SeArch project (www.sea-arch.be) an efficient, generic survey methodology was developed for the prospection of buried palaeolandscapes and archaeological features in the southern North Sea. Standard geophysical techniques, such as 
marine seismic reflection, are mainly used on an ad hoc basis (if at all) and these techniques are often not well adapted for archaeological investigations. Detailed acoustic imaging is 
often hindered by the (hard) sandy seafloor which induces strong echo’s that obscure the image, and the presence of large sand banks which absorb the sound waves. Moreover the 
widespread occurrence of shallow (biogenic) gas limits the acoustic penetration, especially in the nearshore area. For this study a wide range of seismic sources and receivers were 
tested over the past 3-4 years, including different multichannel configurations. Where possible, different sources and receivers were used simultaneously in so-called ‘one-sweep’ surveys. The results show that sparker sources generally provide the best trade-off between 
image resolution and penetration depth. Surprisingly, multichannel recording significantly improved the image resolution already for shallow target depths. Special attention was 
also paid to acoustic imaging in gassy areas, using not only conventional (P-)waves but also non-conventional surface waves and refracted waves. This highly unique test involved the 
simultaneous use of 2 research vessels (RV Belgica and RV Simon Stevin). The preliminary results indicate that relevant sub-bottom information can be obtained in gassy areas using a ‘smart’ acquisition and processing design. This opens important perspectives for the prospection of nearshore areas with regard to engineering and environmental projects.
Keywords: buried palaeolandscapes, seismic imaging, non-conventional techniques


Development of an efficient survey methodology for the prospection of buried palaeolandscapes and archaeology in the southern North Sea

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