A remote, wireless microseismic monitoring system

Henry C. Bland, Robert R. Stewart, Malcolm B. Bertram, Eric V. Gallant, Jeffrey Blair Thurston

We present a design for a remote, wireless network of seismic sensor stations. Each station includes a 3-C 28Hz geophone, signal processing module, power supply, and data communication facility. The seismic information is received by a control centre station and displayed and analysed. Surveys in the test area (Turtle Mountain, southern Alberta), through fractured limestone, indicate P-wave velocities of about 4600 m/s and S-wave velocities of about 2300m/s. Given a 6-station network and reasonable traveltime picking errors (5-20ms), microfracture hypocentres should be locatable to within about 30m in each direction.