Content :

Objectives
Description
   background
   research activities
   expected results
Management information
   planning
   costs
   report schedule
References

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this proposal are:

•    digital retrieval of the old analog photographic records acquired in the former-SU countries, with regard to Ukraine and Russia;

•    design and realization of a semi-automatic processing procedure, using quality software packages, easy available on the software market;

 
•  optimization of the network technologies, in order to make these seismic data available to the international scientific Community, interested in future research collaborations.

3. DESCRIPTION
 

3.1 Background

During the '60-'70s, the Ministry for Geology in the former-SU committed vast funding to the investigation of the continental crust and upper mantle by seismic methods (mainly refraction and wide angle reflection). In some cases the energy sources were nuclear. The former-SU is criss-crossed by a network of seismic lines more detailed than in any other part of the world and an extremely valuable database for future research is available. Unfortunately, most of the seismic records do exist only in analogue form and many only on photographic paper. The on-going deterioration of these data is a source of much concern in the geoscience Community. The seismic lines that have been measured using nuclear explosions will be probably never be repeated; the other measurements have been carried out in such detail that their repetition in the coming decades is unthinkable. The urgent need of this work is also underlined because the vast knowledge of the huge projects carried out in the past by the researchers of the former SU is fading, due to the retirement age reached by most of them.
 

3.2 Research Activities

The proposed research activity could be described as follows:
 

            Additional information:

1. Original (paper) data selection

This is an optional stage that can become essential in the future, when the retrieval work will be planned in the two East. Institutions and the West. Partners involved. Due to the huge amount of the available data (only for the UA '66-'67 experiments the available records are about 650), the interested Geophysical centres will have to make a first selection of the data, on the base of priority criteria according to the geophysical (re)interpretations requested.
 

2. Digital acquisition of the selected data

In order to realize the digital acquisition of the old photographic papers, the ad-hoc EDP centres will be equipped with at least a digital scanner of adequate format, a Workstation with large memory and the necessary acquisition software. The hardware and software quality are of strategic importance for the quality of the final result; the digital images will be saved on some medium (DAT tapes, CD, etc.), using a standard format.
 

3. Digital quality-check of the acquired images

Before extracting the single seismograms from the digital image of point 2 ("vectorizing" the seismograms), this preliminary digital analysis is necessary as a quality check before starting vectorization and processing of the available data.
 

4. Seismogram Vectorization

Computer Aided Vectorization (C.A.V.) is the core of the whole process, and the final results derive mainly from its accuracy. The software package can be chosen from the several ones available on the market to achieve optimum simplicity, efficiency and reliability. In any case, in choosing such software package, one must remember the export-format option, for the following processing: one of them should be the ASCII-format.
 

5. Graphical Processing

It could be useful to proceed with a graphical editing and/or processing, using a standard software like AutoCAD^®, in order to correct the single seismograms in the X-Y coordinates, if necessary. Also, in this optional stage, one can add some alphanumeric information, to complete the description of the record-section under process.
 

6. Numerical Processing

The numerical processing step is the most heavy one, from a programming point of view. In this step, using some modules of the MATLAB^® package and dedicated developed modules, the disordered numerical sequence of each seismogram from the X-Y coordinates will be converted into a well-ordered set of equally-spaced samples (in time). Also any trend removal is performed. The final result is the corrected "record-section" numerical file, which is the base chart for any subsequent digital processing for new and more detailed study on crustal structure.
 

7. Seismic Database and Networking

Such final digital "record-sections" will be used for the realization of seismic Databases, which will be realised in the two Countries: Ukraine and Russia.
 
 

3.3 Expected Results
 

The final digital record-sections will be used to perform (re)interpretations of crust and upper mantle structure in many regions of joint interest of Russian, Ukrainian and western European geoscientists. The new database will allow the interpretation of the old DSS profiles by updated geo-software (ray-tracing and/or synthetic seismograms) thus reaching a higher detail and reliability in respect to the original results. Such new interpretations will be useful in projects like those by Europrobe to plan new surveys for natural resources (hydrocarbons and others) and to study the areas prone to natural hazards.
 
 

4. MANAGEMENT   INFORMATION
 

4.1 Division of tasks
 

The division of tasks between the participants in the project is as follows:

The Research Institute for Seismic Risk, IRRS, Milan, Italy

Scientific officer responsible for the project: Mr. Mariano MAISTRELLO will be responsible for:

- management of the project
- reporting on the project
- all financial aspects of the project, including money transfer to participants
- selection of hardware and software for the project
- set up practical arrangements for the project in a project manual.

Scientific officer responsible for the project: Mr. Hermann ZEYEN will be responsible for:

- participation in selection of appropriate hardware and software
- support in trial period
- communication with project co-ordinator.

Scientific officer responsible for the project: Mr. Valentin GEYKO will be responsible for:

- participation in selection of appropriate hardware and software
- training of local collaborators
- implementation of results of trial period in Kiev
- communication with project co-ordinator

Scientific officer responsible for the project: Mr. Yuri YUROV will be responsible for:

- set up of starting meeting
- proposition of hardware and software for the project
- set up of trial system in Moscow (research activities 3.2: 1-7)
- training of local collaborators
- management of the first trial period
- communication with project co-ordinator

4.2 Planning

The duration of the project will be 12 months:

A    |                                                                                ______                                                               ______
C    |                                                                                        6                                                          7
T    |                                                                                                             _____________________
I     |                                                                                                                                      5
V   |                                                                     _________________________
I     |                                        ______________         4
T   |                 ____________                3
I   |   _____       2
E  |       1                                                                                                                                     months
S  | _____________________________________________________________________
       0        1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        9        10       11      12      13

Legend :

Task  1 = starting meeting
    "    2 = selection and purchase HW and SW
    "    3 = set up of pilot system in Moscow (research activities 3.2: 1-7)
    "    4 = testing and modifying of pilot system (research activities 3.2: 1-7)
    "    5 = implementation in Kiev
    "    6 = interim report
    "    7 = final report to INTAS

4.3 Costs

The expected costs are :

Legend :

participant    1 = CNR–IRRS, Milan
        "           2 = University of Uppsala,
        "           3 = Spetsgeofizika, Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, Moscow
        "           4 = Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Geophysical Institute, Kiev
 

4.4 Report Schedule

An annual report for the project must be submitted to the INTAS Secretariat after the first six (6) months, followed by a final report within two (2) months of the completion of the project.

References:

Maistrello M., De Franco R., Schettini R., Mazzon L., Floris B., Geyko V.:
"Digitization of photographic records: an example from Carpatian old DSS data"
poster and oral presentation at Europrobe PANCARDI workshop held in Stará Lesná, Slovakia, October 21-25, 1995