Fluid Flow Seabed Observatory (FluSO)

Latitude and Longitude: 38°12.403'N, 21°42.022'E

Depth: 35m (operating depth for trial)

Oceanographic Region: East Ionian Sea, Mediterranean

History of the Site:

The observatory, in its current instrumentation, is designed to measure and monitor the effect of earthquakes on subsurface fluid migration. In its first attempt we measure fluid/water escape within an active pockmark directly, then use the local seismicity to calibrate changes in fluid migration to earthquake activity. In its current figuration, the seabed structure has sufficient battery power for almost 8 months.

Parameters measured:

Parameter	Depths measured (m)	Sensor(s) used

Seismicity	35m (sea floor)	3-component seismometer K/MT210 4.5Hz
fluid flow (vertical or horizontal)	35m (sea floor)	OceanLine water current/flow meter (HS-2x series)

Planned within EuroSITES:

Initiation: 2 test deployments in 2009 on an active, fluid emitting pockmark outside Patras Harbour, Eastern Ionian Sea, Greece.

Future enhancements: The instrumentation on the observatory can easily be changed or re-figured allowing for additional equipment and battery packs (e.g. chemical sensors to provide qualitative information about the fluids rather than just the quantitative measurements), making it a multi-purpose tool for seabed measurements. The depth rating of the seismometer (rated to 6000m) and the current/flow meter (rated to 1000m) allow deployments in greater depths than at the trial site I the future. This would require ROV operations for servicing and recovery are required.

Contacts:

Principal Investigator(s): Veit Hühnerbach (vhh@noc.soton.ac.uk); Christian Berndt (cberndt@ifm-geomar.de)
Data manager: Maureen Pagnani (mred@noc.soton.ac.uk)

EuroSITES is a FP7 Collaborative Project coordinated by the
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK

Call FP7-ENV-2007-1, grant agreement N° 202955
Sub-Activity 6.4.1. Earth Observation; Monitoring the ocean interior, seafloor, and subseafloor