Vaults for Summer Only Polar Programs

For summer only deployments, either short-period seismometers and geophones or broadband seismometers are typically installed. In the case of short-period sensors or geophones, a “vault” is not required and the instrument is often buried in the snow at a shallow depth and reasonably leveled.  If broadband seismometers are used, a vault needs to be built to hold the instruments. This involves more work as the sensors have to be accurately oriented, leveled and protected from wind noise and thermal changes.  For a detailed description of broadband seismic vaults for polar environments, see the Specialized Polar Equipment section.