The contribution of the NEMO-SN1 seafloor observatory to improve the seismic locations in the Ionian Sea (Italy)

The Western Ionian Sea is characterised by an active and diffuse seismicity, directly related to the convergence of the European and African Plates and by gravitational sinking and rollback of the oceanic lithosphere. In this area, the location of earthquakes is characterised by considerable uncertainties due to large azimuthal gaps, resulting in notable location errors. This problem was partially overcome with the use of data recorded by NEMO-SN1 seafloor observatory (October 2002 February 2003; June 2012 - May 2013). We relocated 1130 crustal and sub-crustal earthquakes using land network and NEMO-SN1 data. As most events occurred on Mt. Etna, we focused on 358 earthquakes in the offshore area and near the coasts of Sicily and Calabria. The use of the combined land-marine networks has improved the earthquake locations in terms of azimuthal GAP, as well as in horizontal and vertical errors. The comparison between locations performed with and without NEMO-SN1 data shows that differences in latitude, longitude and depths are more evident in the Western Ionian Sea and in the coast of Sicily, where values of the differences over 5 km correspond to structural heterogeneities. The increased number of seismic stations deployed on land from 2003 to 2012 did not influence the location of events occurring offshore, where NEMO-SN1 continued to be the distinctive tool in the location process. Moreover, the new 73 focal mechanisms computed with P-wave polarities from NEMO-SN1 and land stations are in agreement with the regional structural model, showing a prevalent normal, normal/oblique, and strike-slip kinematics. The similarity of two new focal solutions with the mechanisms of the main shock and aftershock of the 1990 earthquake demonstrates that the seismic structures are still active and potentially dangerous. The P-wave travel- time residual analysis confirms the activity along the main structural alignments. A single point of observation in the Ionian Sea can significantly improve the quality of locations, giving an opportunity to focus on the seismogenic structures responsible for the occurrence of medium-to-high magnitude earthquakes.

Black Sea Methane Flares From the Seafloor: Tracking Outgassing by Using Passive Acoustics

The Black Sea bottom is well known to be earth’s largest anaerobic methane source, hosting a huge amount of cold seeps releasing significant volumes of methane of both thermogenic and biogenic origin. Taking into account the well-known effects of methane concerning global warming, including the warming up of the oceans, an effective monitoring of its output from the Black Sea is nowadays an essential target for interdisciplinary studies. We discuss the results achieved during monitoring campaigns aimed to detect and track methane flares from the seafloor of the Romanian sector of the Black Sea, in order to better constrain the possible mechanisms responsible for its injection from the marine sediments, through the water column, into the atmosphere. In the mainframe of the ENVRI-Plus project, we deployed a multidisciplinary seafloor observatory for short, mid and long time monitoring and collected samples of the water column. The multidisciplinary seafloor observatory was equipped with probes for passive acoustic signals, dissolved CH4 and chemical-physical parameters. The collected data showed a high concentration of dissolved methane up to values of 5.8 micromol/L. Passive acoustics data in the frequencies range 40–2,500 Hz allow us to discriminate different degassing mechanisms and degassing styles. The acoustic energy associated with gas bubbling is interpreted as a consequence of the gas dynamics along the water column while the acoustic range 2–20 Hz reveals vibration mechanisms generated by gas dynamic’s along the cracks and inside the sediments.

Approbation of the Method for Examining the Performance of Seafloor Observatory Sensors Using Distant Earthquakes Records

An algorithm is presented for testing the calibration accuracy of both z-accelerometers and pressure gauges (PG) installed in seafloor observatories. The test is based on the linear relationship between the vertical acceleration component of the seafloor movement and variations of the seafloor pressure, which is a direct consequence of Newton's 2-nd law and holds valid in the frequency range of “forced oscillations.” The operability of the algorithm is demonstrated using signals registered by 28 observatories of the DONET-2 system during 4 earthquakes of magnitude Mw ~ 8 that took place in 2018-2019 at epicentral distances from 55° up to 140°.

An Object Model for Seafloor Observatory Sensor Control in the East China Sea

Seafloor observatories enable long-term, real-time, and continuous observation that marks a new way for oceanographic measurements. In terms of seafloor observatory research, sensor control is a key issue for the stable and effective operations of functional observatories. In this paper, an object model is proposed to standardize seafloor observatory sensor control and data acquisition. The object model is conceptionally designed as a set of sensor resource objects, based on the attributes and operations of which a client–server sensor control architecture is enabled for bidirectional information flow of control commands and observation data. The object model-based architecture is implemented with a prototype control system for plug-and-play enablement. The prototype system was put into a series of tests before applied to the East China Sea Experimental Seafloor Observatory, performing consistently with all the project requirements. Given the successful experiment, the object model design and prototype implementation are feasible to resolve seafloor observatory sensor control and beneficial for ocean observatory sciences.

Seafloor observatory capable of automatically adjusting attitude and maintaining the fixed position for observation

Seafloor observatory are becoming more and more important in multidisciplinary observations of the seabed, but real-time, long-term and fixed locations observation are still difficult to achieve. This paper describes a new technology that divides the seafloor observatory into three modules: mobile docker, scientific instrument cabin and in-situ gravity station and uses buoys or photoelectric composite cables to meet the above three requirements. After design and manufacture, the workflow of the seafloor observatory was simulated through a pool test. The handling performance of the mobile docker, the reliability of the docking between the three modules and the performance of the in-situ gravity station to adjust its attitude were proved. It has been preliminarily proved that this seafloor observatory has application value.

A Sensor Web Prototype for Cabled Seafloor Observatories in the East China Sea

Seafloor observatories enable continuous power supply and real-time bidirectional data transmission, which marks a new way for marine environment monitoring. As in situ observation produces massive data in a constant way, the research involved with data acquisition, data transmission, data analysis, and user-oriented data application is vital to the close-loop operations of seafloor observatories. In this paper, we design and implement a sensor web prototype (ESOSW) to resolve seafloor observatory information processing in a plug-and-play way. A sensor web architecture is first introduced, which is information-oriented and structured into four layers enabling bidirectional information flow of observation data and control commands. Based on the layered architecture, the GOE Control Method and the Hot Swapping Interpretation Method are proposed as the plug-and-play mechanism for sensor control and data processing of seafloor observatory networks. ESOSW was thus implemented with the remote-control system, the data management system, and the real-time monitoring system, supporting managed sensor control and on-demand measurement. ESOSW was tested for plug-and-play enablement through a series of trials and was put into service for the East China Sea Seafloor Observation System. The experiment shows that the sensor web prototype design and implementation are feasible and could be a general reference to related seafloor observatory networks.