IESE Deep Borehole Instrumentation
The Institute of Earth Science and Engineering (IESE) is a world leader in deep borehole instrumentation. Our research focuses on designing seismic instruments to withstand high-pressure and high-temperature for permanent installation within variable and extreme borehole environments.
Based on our extensive experience, seismometer designs feature passive sensors which provide long term reliability for micro-earthquake monitoring.
We have installed borehole instruments worldwide, with seismometers functioning for 20 years in high-temperature environments.
Borehole installation projects include:
USGS Volcano Hazards Program, Long Valley Exploration Well Observatory, USA: installed seismometers and strain meters for a 2.7km main hole seismic instrument string in California
The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), USA: 32 level, 2.1km pilot -hole and 3 level, 2.7km main hole seismic observatories in California.
Borehole Seismic Network, Basel, Switzerland: 6 seismometer and accelerometer network at 0.4 and 2.7kms with temperatures of 135°C.
Continental Drilling Program, Taiwan: designed and installed 7 seismometers in a Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) at a depth of 1.3kms.
The Borehole Instrument Centre for Eden Park (BICEP), New Zealand: seismic observation at a 400 metre depth under the South Stand at Eden Park stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
Deep Fault Drilling in Central Alpine Fault, New Zealand: instrumented a 150m deep borehole through the Alpine Fault and carried out geophysical studies from the well-logs to a Fault Zone Guided Wave Experiment.
Research Advancements
Cableless Seismometer: With one of our industrial partners, we have co-developed a cableless, downhole seismometer and data acquistion array. Since data recording is within each sonde of the array, data losses due to transmission noise are elminated. This new tool is especially well suited to the recording of the faintest of seismic signals, perhaps the smallest ever detected in deep boreholes.
Geophysical Observatory and Exploration System (GOES) is a multi-purpose magnetotelluric, seismic and microseismic recording system that is self-contained, rugged and can be handled like a large geophone. Its innovative design supports the joint geophysical imaging method used by IESE in geothermal exploration and well targeting.