The Carnegie Quick Deploy Box (QDB) for use with broadband and intermediate period sensors
Abstract
Recent data processing advances have increased the call for dense recordings of teleseismic data. However, traditional broadband field installations typically comprise 1) a sensor vault 2) a field box to hold the recording and power systems, and 3) a solar panel mount. The construction of these installations is time consuming and requires bulky construction materials, limiting the number of stations that can be installed from a single vehicle without repeated trips to a storage facility. Depending on the deployment location, watertight containers for both vault and field box can be difficult to find, resulting in a loss of data due to flooding. Recent technological improvements have made possible the direct burial of sensors (no vault required) and a reduction in the size of the solar panels needed to run a station. With support from the Brinson Foundation, we take advantage of these advances to create a field box/shipping container that will greatly simplify these types of seismic deployments. The goal of the Carnegie Quick Deploy Box (QDB) is to have everything needed for an intermediate period station install (except battery and shovel) contained in a single box for shipment, and to be able to leave everything (except the shovel) in that box when the station is deployed. The box is small enough ( 13"x13"x21") and lightweight enough (< 35 lbs) to be checked as airline luggage. The solar panel mount can be attached securely to the top of the box, but it can also be pole mounted with U-bolts or hose clamps. The sensor can be direct-buried. The sensor cable and solar panel cable plug into watertight bulkhead-fitted plugs on the outside of the box that are in turn plugged into the digitizer and power regulator inside the box. Our prototype boxes (Pelican Cases) have proved watertight when submerged for days. This equipment has been tested in Alaska in winter and Nicaragua in summer without failure due to flooding or power. The cost for parts for a single box (not including sensor cable, sensor, or digitizer) is $500. The setup is simple, and can be completed in a matter of minutes once the sensor is installed. QDBs such as ours will make possible a dramatic increase in the number of stations that can be installed, while also significantly decreasing the cost of deployment per station by reducing vehicle time, fuel, personnel time, and shipping costs.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.S11C0614W
- Keywords:
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- 7299 General or miscellaneous;
- SEISMOLOGY