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 was set up during the EuroSITES programme as a testbed for measuring and monitoring the effect of earthquakes on subsurface fluid migration. During the EuroSITES science mission fluid/water escape was measured directly within an active pockmark, then the local seismicity was used to calibrate changes in fluid migration to earthquake activity. The seabed observatory was designed to have sufficient battery power for almost 8 months deployment. Two deployments were carried out in 2009 with the latest recovery in February 2010.

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)

Raw data from the FluSO deployments are available here

Completed within EuroSITES:

2 test deployments in 2009 on an active, fluid emitting pockmark outside Patras Harbour, Eastern Ionian Sea, Greece. The FluSO observatory was recovered in February 2010 and data are now being analysed.

This work contributes to EuroSITES Task 4.3: Pore water pressure (fluid flow) monitoring and slope stability in seismically active regions.

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