Preparation of Drilling Campaigns

Ocean and Lake Drilling

One of our services to the scientific community are pre-site surveys to prepare drilling campaigns, since only very few working groups worldwide operate their own equipment and are flexible to use it on different platforms and for different purposes. Accordingly, we were since 1996 involved in many drilling proposals of international programs and provided data sets to determine drilling locations and determine risks.

Partially, we have developed drilling proposals out of our own existing seismic data sets, but we also have been asked for cooperation and survey support, where our partners then organized cruises and further proposal development. Typically, a strong cooperation arose over many years, leading also to funding proposal for data processing and interpretation. Certainly not all proposal lead to drilling since this business is highly competitive. However, 13 (I)ODP drilling did benefit from our contribution as well as 3 ICDP drilling campaigns. For Lake Issyk-Kul, we are still working on the processing and interpetation of seismic data acquired earlier to feed into a drilling campaign and present results on a new ICDP workshop.

Two amphibious drilling proposal on the Ligurian margin and in the Gulf of Naples are support, but no drilling has yet been approved or scheduled.

MeBo Drilling

MeBo site surveys are unfortunately rarely carried out, leading to high uncertainties towards greater depth, since echosounder signal penetration is typically limited. For M84-2, existing 3D data have been used to select potential drill sites. During SO211 and SO260, extended surveys during the cruises were used to pick optimum drilling locations.

Wind Farm Investigations

To develop wind farms, it is mandatory to carry out an extended survey program in combination with extended geotechnical investigations. Seismic data can in an early phase help to determine selected locations which are representative for the seismic facies types and lithologies throughout a wind farm area.

In a later stage, seismic data are needed to characterize the vicinity of each windmill, which are typically investigated with CPTs (cone penetration tests).

Wind Farm Surveys for Geotechnical Campaigns and Windmills

In the course of our shallow water seismic investigations in German Waters we have investigated numerous dedicated wind farm areas, partially to investigate the soil conditions itself, but also, because they will not be available for further seismic research in the future. Details can be found here.

North Sea: Riffgatt, Delta, Godewind, Kaskasi, Skua, Innogy

Baltic Sea: Arkona Becken Südost, Arcadis, Baltic Eagle,  BSH O1