Sercel’s QuietSea marine mammal monitoring system was specifically designed to provide clear and accurate mammal detection and localisation information to PAM operators (photo: Sercel)

Sercel has announced that its revolutionary QuietSea™ Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) system, which is seamlessly integrated into seismic streamers to detect the presence of marine mammals during seismic operations, has passed two major milestones.

Most recently, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) authorised the use of QuietSea for seismic survey operations in the US waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The US authorities recognised that the ability to use geophysical survey streamers for PAM was a great step in the future development of effective PAM systems. Another milestone was achieved when QuietSea was deployed commercially for the first time, on a proprietary 3D seismic survey CGG conducted offshore Morocco late last year. For nearly three months of continuous use throughout the survey, QuietSea’s integrated architecture enabled smooth and safe deployment and unimpeded productivity.

Sercel’s QuietSea marine mammal monitoring system was specifically designed to provide clear and accurate mammal detection and localisation information to PAM operators having to make rapid and well-informed decisions during seismic surveys. Used by an operator during the night or at times of poor visibility, QuietSea also provided automatic mammal detection during the day, which complemented the regular visual sightings by the marine mammal observer. Anna Katarzyna Leszczynska, PAM operator with Hydenlyne, who operated QuietSea on CGG’s Geo Caspian vessel, says, “I must say that I am truly impressed with QuietSea. It’s an amazing mitigation tool and it’s a pure pleasure to work with. No downtime was experienced as a result of PAM equipment failure or human errors.”

Pascal Rouiller, Sercel CEO, says, “These two important milestones confirm the industry’s recognition of QuietSea as an effective marine mammal monitoring system for environmentally responsible marine seismic acquisition. Its accuracy and reliability, combined with its ease of deployment and user-friendliness, make it the ideal mitigation tool for optimising marine mammal detection while eliminating any potential related safety risks.”

Tags: Sercel