Borehole and surface applications of distributed acoustic sensing for characterization of the cryosphere and glacial environments

Book section : Chapter

Early borehole and surface distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) experiments have demonstrated the viability of the method in glacial settings and allowed new insights. The importance of good coupling and noise suppression are highlighted, as well as considerations for deployment and field methodology. The power of DAS lies in the high numbers of densely spaced channels that can be deployed with relatively low logistical cost. However, to exploit DAS fully, consideration must be made during experiment design for the method's inherent limitations, through enhanced source strength and frequency content, for example. Data from borehole deployments in Greenland and Antarctica have been used to derive englacial seismic velocity, attenuation, and reflectivity as well as subglacial structure. Due to the relatively simple velocity structure, glaciological settings provide useful environments for evaluating methodologies or analysis techniques, such as the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the huge data volumes. With fiber-optic cables already deployed in glaciological settings for temperature measurements, borehole DAS experiments are possible with a minimal additional logistical overhead. DAS will likely become an integral part of geophysical observations of the cryosphere, being of most value when used in conjunction with conventional methods such as surface geophone arrays or ice-penetrating radar.

Authors: Brisbourne, AM; Hudson, TS; Kendall, JM

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union
• Host title: Distributed Acoustic Sensing in Borehole Geophysics
• Pages: 225-237
• Chapter number: 11
• Series: Geophysical Monograph Series
• Series number: 289
• Publication date: 2024-12-20
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.1002/9781394179275.ch11
• ISSN: 0065-8448
• EISBN: 9781394179275
• ISBN: 9781394179244
• Language: English
• Keywords: borehole drilling methods; distributed acoustic sensing; surface applications; glacial environments glaciological settings; borehole applications; cryosphere
• Subtype: Chapter