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Water gun vs air gun: A comparison

January 1, 1984

The water gun is a relatively new marine seismic sound source that produces an acoustic signal by an implosive rather than explosive mechanism. A comparison of the source characteristics of two different-sized water guns with those of conventional air guns shows the the water gun signature is cleaner and much shorter than that of a comparable-sized air gun: about 60-100 milliseconds (ms) for an 80-in3. (1.31-liter (I)) water gun compared with several hundred ms for an 80-in3. (1.31-1) air gun. The source spectra of water guns are richer in high frequencies (>200 Hz) than are those of air guns, but they also have less energy than those of air guns at low frequencies. A comparison between water gun and air gun reflection profiles in both shallow (Long Island Sound)-and deep (western Bermuda Rise)-water settings suggests that the water gun offers a good compromise between very high resolution, limited penetration systems (e.g. 3.5-kHz profilers and sparkers) and the large volume air guns and tuned air gun arrays generally used where significant penetration is required. ?? 1984 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Publication Year 1984
Title Water gun vs air gun: A comparison
DOI 10.1007/BF00286531
Authors D. R. Hutchinson, R. S. Detrick
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Marine Geophysical Research
Index ID 70014085
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center