Ocean Bottom Seismic Instrumentation
OBS and OBN’s are instruments equipped with sensitive hydrophones and seismometers and digital recording packages that, when placed on the seafloor, detect and record the very subtle vibrations of the seafloor and sounds propagating through the ocean produced by natural sources like distant earthquakes and local microseisms, storms, or cetaceans, as well as from man-made sources like ship traffic and airguns.
We call OBSs to instruments that are generally larger in size (~1m by 1m by 1m), have sensors capable of responding to lower frequency sources, and operate in shallow to very deep ocean depths (up to ~6,000 m). OBS are generally deployed from ships as free-fall instruments which sink due to the weight of an anchor (click here for a video of a typical deployment). For recovery, an acoustic signal triggers the release of the anchor and the OBS floats back to the surface due to its buoyancy.
We call OBNs to instruments that are smaller in size (~1 foot by 1 foot ~ 6 inches), are sensitive to higher frequency sources, and operate in shallow to intermediate ocean depths (up to ~3,000 m). Due to their reduced size, OBNs lack buoyancy and therefore have to be deployed on, and retrieved from, the seafloor using remotely operated vehicles (ROV).
Relevant links:
Short-period OBS (WHOI)
Short-period OBS (SIO)
Ocean Bottom Nodes