GrandSPAN II
Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore 2019
GX Technology Canada Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ION Geophysical Corporation) (“ION”) is continuing its 2D BasinSPAN™ survey offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, between early June and late fall 2019. The survey is similar to ION/GXT's 2018 work in methods, ships and equipment.
This year the survey lines (long, very widely spaced like 2018) are planned within the GrandSPAN Project Area shown on the map, and inside the shaded area which encloses the maximum extent of lines planned this year. A total of approximately 13,000 km has been approved for 2019, with about 6,000 km of this outside Canada's 200-mile EEZ (yellow line on the map). The map also shows the location of planned lines for the next week or so (see Acquisition Look-Ahead, below for details) and will be kept updated as the survey moves forward.
More details about the 2019 survey operation click here.
For project contact information click here.
2019 Project Area (red), NAFO Divisions (orange)
Current Status updated 2300 on 21 October:
GXT 2019 Survey was completed today.
Acquisition Line Plan Look-Ahead
Survey finished. Many thanks to agencies, stakeholders and others for helping us complete another safe and successful Program this year.
** Lines and times may change because of factors such as weather and fishing in those areas at the time. Check back here often. We will continue to update this site about the specific line shooting sequence as these decisions are made. **
NOTE TO FISHING INTERESTS: If you have any information you can share with us about planned harvesting activities – particularly the locations of set/fixed gear – please contact us as noted below. If at sea, please hail the survey vessel and contact the Fisheries Liaison Officer (FLO) or other available bridge personnel. Although we have a FLO on board at all times, identifying specific locations can often be challenging. We want to avoid any gear or fisheries conflicts.
How It’s Done
GXT's seismic ship, the Hai Yang Shi You 760 (see below) travels at about 8 - 9 km/hr when surveying, and tows a compressed air sound source (a 4860 cubic inch array) at a depth of ~10 m, and a single hydrophone receiving streamer (buoyant cable) ~12 km long, towed at ~9–15 m. The end of the cable is marked with a tail-buoy and flashing light.The array will activate every 50 m (about every 20 seconds depending on ship speed). The survey ship also records gravity and magnetic data at the same time and has an echo-sounder for depth readings. About 11,500 km of acquisition (full fold) is planned for 2019, over 26 individual lines, spaced typically 50 to 100 kms apart, except where they cross each other. A support vessel (the Polar Prince) is used, when needed, to scout for fishing gear or hazards. No helicopter use is planned. Ports calls happen about every six weeks.
Seismic exploration works by using the sound waves (created by the compressed air array) that echo back to the streamer’s hydrophones (sensitive underwater microphones) from under the sea floor. These data are processed to build a picture of the different layers of rock and other materials, much like a medical ultrasound. These images can be interpreted to identify structures where oil and gas might be trapped. ION BasinSPAN programs are a bit different from typical 2D surveys in that they look to define very large (basin wide) and often very deep structures, creating unique views of our offshore resources. This is why the ION lines are so long and wide apart, and why we wait a relatively long time (~20 seconds) between the sound impulses.
Sample result - Processed imaging from one of ION's BeaufortSPAN 2D Seismic Lines
“MOHO” = The Mohorovičić discontinuity, which is the boundary between the earth's crust and the earth's mantle.
Project Ships
The ships for the project are
Survey Ship: R/V Hai Yang Shi You 760 (“HYSY 760”), 85 m, Call Sign 3FJH7
Support Ship: M/V Polar Prince, 73 m, Call Sign CFK9552
The ships monitor VHF Channels 16 and 74.
Survey Ship - Hai Yang Shi You 760 (HYSY 760)
Support / Scout Ship - Polar Prince
