Overview

Temporary seismic vaults were constructed at 26 sites from Florida to Alberta. They were all installed near to AC power so that solar panels or wind generators were not needed. This part of North America often has clay soil which does not drain water well. Since the flatness of the terrain usually prohibits the installation of a drain into the vault, flooding is a significant possibility. In order to render the sites virtually flood-proof, we used an inverted barrel over the sensor within the vault. When this barrel is weigted down from the top, it acts like an old diver's bell jar. The air pressure inside the barrel will not let water enter from the bottom. We think this design could dramatically reduce the frequency of flooding for temporary deployments such as FLED.

Construction Stages with Photos

The design shown here works well with the STS-2 broadband seismometer, but it should work well with other similarly-sized instruments.

Materials List

Contact Information

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