Shallow water seismic surveys for site investigation in the Haifa Port Extension area, Israel

摘要

A shallow water seismic study was recently carried out as a part of a site investigation project in the Haifa Port Extension area near the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The objectives of the study were estimating P- and S-wave velocity distribution below the seabed and detecting recent faulting at the site. An additional target was testing the presence of a hard rock with P-wave velocity of more than 3000 m/s within the depth range down to 700 m. To achieve the objectives, specially designed refraction and high resolution reflection surveys were carried out at the site. The data acquisition was performed using bay cables and hydrophones placed at the seabed. The source of seismic energy was a single air gun for the reflection survey and explosives for the refraction survey. The P-wave velocities estimated from the shallow refraction data vary in a narrow range of 1800-2200 m/s, hampering the depth interpretation of the data. No indication of the presence of a high-velocity (hard rock) layer within the depth range of 700 m was found. The S-wave velocities were estimated on the basis of the dispersion analysis of Scholte waves contained in the refraction records. The resulting S-wave velocity distribution correlates well with the result of the land refraction survey carried out in the vicinity of the investigated site. The reflection time sections display a sequence of reflections from various stratigraphic units down to the depths of about 800 m. Although some evidence of deformation may be found in the deep part of the sections, there is no indication of the existence of faults in the shallow part of the sections (upper 250-300 m). The results of the surveys show that acquiring shallow water seismic data at the sea bottom may be a relatively simple and effective way to derive information regarding the structure and properties of the shallow subsurface below the seabed. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. [References: 23]