Deep Ocean Sensor Implantation System

Seismometers deployed on the deep ocean floor are subject to significant noise from interfacial seismic waves, currents, surface waves, ships and marine life. This paper describes an autonomous, battery-powered drilling system designed to deploy a seismometer deep into sediments to reduce noise and provide better coupling to seismic signals. The Deep Ocean Sensor Implantation System (DOSIS) is designed to deploy a 75-mm-diameter penetrator to a depth of 100 m in pelagic clays. An integral geophone sensor package is incorporated into the penetrator. When drilling is complete, the drilling module ascends to the surface leaving behind a data acquisition module.