ANSIR builds on the Major National Research Facility founded in 1997 by RSES and Geoscience Australia that has provided reflection seismic profiling and portable recording instrumentation for use in major field experiments. In 2009 The University of Adelaide joined the two founders to include electromagetic equipment. The current configuration started at the start of 2015.  

RSES is a member of the ANSIR consortium of 10 Universities in Australia and New Zealand, together with Geoscience Australia.  RSES houses the Portable Seismic Instrument component.

The broad-band seismic equipment includes 60 sets of portable broad-band seismometers and high-fidelity, solar-powered recorders and 100 LPR-200 solid-state recorders with internal batteries that are suitable for deployments up to 3-4 months without servicing. Also, Lennartz LE-3Dlite 3-component 1Hz seismometers (1 Hz); 50 Trillium Compact broadband sensors (3-component, up to 120s); 50 new TerraSAWR recorders with internal batteries and compact solar panels.

The equipment pool includes Silixa iDAS Distributed Acoustic Sensing interrogator and 5 km of single-mode fibre optic cable.  It also includes 200 SmartSolo 3-component nodal seismometers.

The equipment pool includes 10 sets of Guralp and 2 Nanometrics Abolones 6000 broadband ocean bottom seismometers (OBS). Users must be able to support trained technical personnel, and have scientific personnel with prior OBS experience on hand. Ship-time and insurance of the equipment while in transit and on seafloor is the responsibility of the proponents of experiments.

ANSIR equipment has been used extensively in Australia and overseas (Papau New uinea, New Zealand, Indonesia and Antarctica). RSES is currently involved with experiments using broadband equipment in Western Australia and South Australia, an OBS experiment at the Macquarie Ridge, and nodal experiments in ACT and Western Australia.

Equipment from ANSIR Facilities is available to all researchers on the basis of merit, as judged by the ANSIR Access Committee on the basis of a short proposal. Researchers have to meet the project operating costs and a modest mobilisation fee. Training is provided in the use of the portable equipment.

Applicants for access to ANSIR equipment and services should contact the appropriate Scientific Coordinators to first discuss their needs for prospective projects, and then prepare a formal proposal which is submitted to the Chair of the ANSIR Access Committee, Dr Ron Hackney.

Related information

https://www.auscope.org.au/ansir