| Abstract: | A combined reflection/refraction (wide-angle) seismic survey was conducted on the continental shelf north-west of Britain, using a conventional streamer with an airgun source, and static ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) to record wide-angle energy. The shallow structure down to a basaltic layer was reasonably well imaged on the stacked reflection section. The basalts, however, proved to be opaque to the conventional reflection method and prevented the imaging of deeper horizons, where an important velocity inversion was anticipated. This paper reports on the processing, modelling and interpretation of the densely sampled wide-angle OBS data that were coincident with the reflection profile. Eleven OBS instruments were deployed along a 75 km line and recorded signal from a powerful 149 litre (9100 in.3) airgun array fired every 50 m. Data processing was performed using a standard industrial reflection seismic software package prior to first-arrival picking. Processing steps included geometry definition, trace summation and display of the data using various scaling algorithms. An initial model was constructed from 1D velocity-time profiles digitized every 4 km along the stacked section. First arrival traveltime modelling rapidly converged to a detailed model of the structure of the top 5 km of the crust. Modelling revealed the existence of a buried low-velocity Mesozoic sedimentary basin, of a prominent basement horst and of a normal fault penetrating to the basement. |
