In September 1993, the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR) has carried out in cooperation with Sevmorneftegeofizika (SMNG), Murmansk a 2D-seismic survey of the eastern part of the Laptev Sea shelf. The data format is Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG Y. During the survey with a total length of 3189 km the 70 km wide New Siberian Basin and two other basins were mapped. In the central part of the New Siberian Basin, a Tertiary sediment thickness of more than 4 km overlying older sediments was observed. Further to the east, a large area covered by lava flows of unknown thickness was investigated. There are no indications of a propagation of real seafloor spreading into the Laptev Shelf and thus the Asian continental crust. Therefore seafloor spreading seems impossible at total spreading rates below 0.7 cm/year, at least for crust of the character which is present here.

The 3rd cooperative BGR/SMNG Arctic cruise was designed to acquire new scietific data for a better understanding of temporal and spatial lithospheric variations during rifting and its influence on the tectonic and structural evolution of the continental crust of the Laptev Sea undergoing extension since at least the Early Tertiary, and for tackling open questions regarding the evolution of the submarine permafrost zone. Although conditions for seismic measurements were worse in 1997 than in 1993 and 1994, along 4,622 km of seismic traverses reflection seismic data and wide angle reflection/refraction data from 23 OBH-(ocean bottom hydrophone) stations were collected in the Laptev and East Siberian Sea. The most prominent rift basin is the Ust' Lena Rift, which is at least 300 km wide at latitude 75°N. The Cenozoic sedimentary cover exceeds 3 km everywhere, increasing up to 14 km at two locations. In the northern part of the shelf, the complex mainly N–S-trending Anisin Basin has a basin fill of up to 10 km thickness. The New Siberian Basin which is located in the northwestern part of the study area shows an up to 9 km thick graben fill. The Laptev Horst crust is locally subdivided into several tilted blocks by deep-reaching faults and there are several half grabens of smaller extent which divide the Laptev Horst into three parts: the North, the South and the East Laptev Horst. A major west dipping listric fault of at least 250 km length separates the Laptev Horst from the Ust' Lena Rift. Results from the seismological investigation indicate that recent extension is concentrated within the narrow rift basins of the eastern Laptev Sea. From wide-angle reflection/refraction seismic measurements the seismic velocities of the crustal layers were estimated along five profiles. The layers with velocities of up to 3.5 km/s apparently consist of predominantly Cenozoic sediments. The sedimentary section showing relatively high seismic velocities of 4.5 to 5.2 km/s might be interpreted as Late Paleozoic to Mesozoic deposits or overcompacted/cemented syn-rift deposits. In the eastern shelf area a layer beneath the acoustic basement was interpreted to represent Ordovician to Early Mesozoic carbonates. The lower crust in the area under study shows relatively uniform seismic velocities of about 6.0-6.8 km/s and the velocities estimated for the crust-mantle transition are in the range of 8.0 to 8.2 km/s. The origin of a several 100 m thick layer with a relative high velocity of 3 to 3.5 km/s directly beneath the seafloor was inferred as sub-sea permafrost.

Between 08.11.1999 and 02.12.1999 the active convergent margin off Costa Rica was investigated using the S/V Professor Polshkov. The cruise had three scientific targets. Several seismic profiles in the dip-direction of the subduction zone were acquired to map the general variability of the accretionary wedge. Near the Jaco Scarp, a dense net of seismic profiles using a smaller seismic source should deliver information about the amount of gas hydrates within the shallow sub-surface. In an area of this wedge south of the Quepos Plateau densely spaced seismic lines were measured to prepare an ODP campaign (which was finished in 2011 as IODP Expedition 334).

Im Rahmen des weit gespannten SPOC-Projektes (Subduction Processes off Chile) wurden zwischen dem 16.10. und 29.11.2001 vor Zentralchile zwischen 28° und 44°S die SONNE-Fahrten SO161 Leg 2 und 3 durchgeführt. In diesem Zeitraum wurden etwa 5.300 km mit vielkanal-/reflexionsseismischen (MCS), magnetischen, gravimetrischen, hochauflösenden bathymetrischen und echographischen Methoden vermessen. Hinzu kamen etwa 3.900 km mit denselben Verfahren, jedoch ohne MCS. Die Gesamtzahl der 2D-Profile betrug 48. Auf vier Ost-West-Traversen wurden amphibische (d. h. in Land-/See-Kombination) weitwinkel-/refraktionsseismische Beobachtungen durchgeführt. Darüber hinaus wurden die ausgesandten marin-seismischen Signale an Land von einem zweidimensionalen seismischen Mobilstationsnetz, das zwischen 37° und 39°S aufgestellt war, aufgezeichnet. Ziel der Untersuchungen war die Veränderlichkeit der Subduktionseigenschaften zwischen den konvergenten Nazca (ozeanisch) und Südamerika (kontinental) Platten sowie die verschiedenen Begleiterscheinungen, die den Subduktionsprozess beeinflussen können wie: (1) Alter der ozeanischen Kruste, (2) ihre Struktur und ihr Aufbau, (3) ihre sedimentäre Bedeckung, (4) ihr thermischer Zustand, (5) Subduktionswinkel und -schiefe sowie (6) der terrigene Sedimentzufluss von der Kontinentseite. Weiterhin waren die Subduktionsfront, die Subduktionsflächen, die Struktur des Kontinenthanges ebenso wie Struktur und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Forearcbecken und die Verteilung von Gashydrat anzeigenden "Meeresboden simulierenden Reflektoren" (BSRs) Gegenstand der Untersuchungen. Die Ergebnisse sollen mit früheren Studien am aktiven chilenischen Kontinentalrand in Vergleich gesetzt werden, z. B. mit CONDOR (SO101 und 103) und CINCA (SO104). Das SPOC-Zielgebiet war in zwei Untergebiete A und B unterteilt. A erstreckt sich von 36°S bis 40°S und war ausersehen für eine detaillierte Untersuchung mit Hilfe eines engabständigen Profilnetzes sowie für eine enge Verbindung mit den landseitigen Aktivitäten des Sonderforschungsbereichs SFB 267 ("Deformationsprozesse in den Anden") der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), des GeoForschungsZentrums Potsdam, der FU Berlin und anderer Partner. Dieses Gebiet ist charakterisiert durch einen deutlich anderen Kontinentrandtyp und andere Eigenschaften des Tiefseegrabens als die Gebiete nördlich davon. Gebiet B wurde ausgewählt, weil in diesem Bereich eine Übergangszone oder eine Grenze zwischen dem subduktionserosiven Kontinentrandtyp vor Nordchile und dem Typ, der im Süden vorherrscht, vermutet wird. Darüber hinaus tritt in dieser Region der Juan Fernandez Rücken in die Subduktionszone ein, der ebenfalls ein wichtiges Erkundungsziel des Projektes ist. Günstige Umstände erlaubten die Vermessung eines Ost-West-Profils südlich von Chiloé zwischen 43°S und 44°S, das über die abgesunkene Küstenkordillere bis in das geflutete Valle Longitudinal verläuft. Dieses Gebiet wird als "C" bezeichnet. Anhand einer ersten an Bord durchgeführten Interpretationen ergeben sich für Fahrtabschnitt 2 und 3 folgende Resultate: In beiden Gebieten A und B konnte kein "Subduction Bulge" (Outer High) festgestellt werden. Möglicherweise reichen die Profile hierfür nicht weit genug. Die sedimentäre Bedeckung der ozeanischen Kruste ist sehr dünn und die ozeanische Krustendicke im allgemeinen sehr "normal" mit ungefähr 7 km, abgeleitet aus relativ schwachen Moho-Reflexionen. In Gebiet B konnte eine bis jetzt magnetisch unkartierte Region vermessen werden, woraus sich recht sichere Alter für die ozeanische Kruste ergeben sowie starke Anhaltspunkte dafür, dass die Challenger Fracture Zone westlich des Untersuchungsgebietes aufhört. Die Arbeiten im Gebiet "C" erbrachten wertvolle Information über die Trench-Morphologie und das bis jetzt einzige MCS-Profil südlich von Chiloé, welches einen sehr breiten Trench anzeigt und weitgehend die Extrapolation der Eigenschaften, die im Gebiet A angetroffen wurden, nach Süden bis etwa 44°S erlaubt.

On the M/V Akademic Nemchinow multichannel seismic measurements were carried out on 34 lines with a total length of 4,000 km. The area covered was the Laptev Sea. The data format is Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG Y.

During the cruise with S.V. EXPLORA within the Ross Sea on the second marine-geophysical expedition of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) to Antarctica, in total 6,745 km of magnetic, gravity and digital reflection seismic lines and additionally 1,400 km gravity lines were acquired in the period from January 10th to March 2nd 1980. On 43 stations sonobuoy refraction measurements have been carried out. The main results are: (1) In the eastern part of the Ross Sea Shelf two striking discontinuities have been identified in the reflection seismics representing gaps in the sediments at the turn-over of the Upper Miocene to the Pliocene (ca. 7 mio years B.P.) and between the Middle and Upper Miocene (ca. 11.5 mio. years B.P.) according to results of DSDP boreholes. (2) In the southern part of the Ross Sea Shelf the basement is uncovered at depths over 700m due to a thrust of the shelf ice recently. (3) A structural unit extends alongside the meridian of 180° separating the Ross Sea into two different geologic regions. This unit is characterised by two basement highs with seismic velocities exceeding 5 km/sec. (4) In relation with the GANOVEX expedition two profiles have been measured off northern Victoria Land which indicate two large faults with a faulting amount of 2 km. Another area is characterised by intrusive and volcanic bodies.

The cruise leg MSM09/3 was conducted as a cooperative project between the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Resources (BGR), the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and Dalhousie University. The data format is Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG Y. A geophysical survey covered areas of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait between Greenland and the Canadian Baffin Island. A component of the IPY 2007/08 Lead Project Plate Tectonics and Polar Gateways in the Earth System (PLATES & GATES), this project DAVIS GATE is aimed to develop a tectonic and sedimentary reconstruction of the opening process of this oceanic gateway. Baffin Bay and Davis Strait play an important role in the shallow water exchange from the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean. The plate-tectonic evolution as well as the magmatic history of this region has been sparsely known and required a careful geophysical investigation in order to construct a set of gridded detailed paleotopographic maps for a complete geodynamic reconstruction of this gateway. With a set of three seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles, using ocean-bottom seismometers on 62 stations, as well as multi-channel reflection seismic recordings with a 3000-m long streamer, data were acquired from the sedimentary cover to the deep crust and even from parts of the uppermost mantle. Additional seismic data supplement these profiles and provide insights into the structures of the basement and dominant fault zones such as the Ungava fault system. A parallel running magnetic survey aimed to resolve the temporal evolution of the oceanic crust of Baffin Bay. The extension and subsidence of the continental and transitional crust in the Davis Strait and the evolution of oceanic crust in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay could be investigated with dataset to which continuously recorded gravity anomaly data and sub-bottom profiler data also contribute. This dataset provides the basis of geometrical and physical properties of the crust required for a realistic geodynamic model which will describe the break-up and the ocean basin evolution between Greenland and Canada in terms of detailed paleo-topography.

The BGR Antarctic cruise 1996 from 29th December 1995 to 6th February 1996 with M.S. AKADEMIK NEMCHINOV was designed to acquire new marine geophysical data for a better understanding of the geological processes, timing, occurrence and location of rifts of the initial break-up of southern Gondwanaland. A total of 3,836 km of multichannel seismic reflection data have been collected in the areas of the Cosmonaut Sea, the Astrid Ridge, the Lazarev Sea and the southern Agulhas Plateau in parallel with magnetic and gravity measurements. In addition magnetic and gravity measurements were carried out on transit. Major new observations of the collected MCS data include: (1) Volcanic rocks play a major part in the construction of the Astrid Ridge and also of the Agulhas Plateau. (2) The early opening of the Lazarev Sea was associated with excessive volcanism resulting in the emplacement of a voluminous volcanic body characterized by an internally divergent pattern of seaward-dipping reflectors. (3) The Astrid Fracture Zone continues in form of a sediment-filled basement depression flanked by distinct basement highs into the Lazarev Sea, and apparently swings to the west parallel to the coast of Queen Maud Land. (4) The thickness of sediments in the Cosmonaut Sea overlying oceanic crust of inferred Early Cretaceous age is in excess of 4s (twt), i.e. about 6,000 m. Three regional seismic markers of inferred Cretaceous, Late Eocene-Oligocene and Middle Miocene ages subdivide the sedimentary column.

A geophysical reconnaissance survey was carried out in the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait between July and September 1977 by BGR. The data format is Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG Y. The survey was executed on the research vessel MS Explora. The seismic, magnetic and gravity data from 5931 line-kilometers on 21 lines were recorded on magnetic tape. A 24-fold coverage technique was used with 48 seismic channels (traces), with a 2400m streamer cable, and 23.45 l airgun array. A full integrated computerized satellite navigation system (INDAS III) served as positioning system. Based on a preliminary interpretation of the seismograms, the Labrador Sea was devided into an eastern (Greenland) and western (Canadian) area, seperated by the Mid Labrador Ridge. Within the eastern part of the Labrador Sea the Pre-Cenozoic sediments show three distinct layers, traceable over the entire Greenland area of the sea. In the Cenozoic layer olisthostromes occur. The highest apparent velocity determined from sonobuoy data was 9.26 km/sec. The calculated refractor lies at a depth of approximately 13 km. The seismic section from the sediments on the Canadian side of the Labrador Sea show a uniform series of thick sediments below the Cenozoic cover. The highly disturbed basement is often masked by the multiple reflections from the seafloor. Statements about the nature and structure of the basement can only be made after processing data.

The major pre-alpine tectonic lineaments as the Glückstadt Graben and the Avalonia-Baltica suture zone run across the southern Baltic. The BalTec-expedition aimed at the gapless imaging of these fault systems from the seafloor down to the Paleozoic basement. Scientifically the expedition was motivated by two hypotheses. We postulated that advances and retreats of ice-sheets during the glacials initiated and reactivated faulting of the Post-Permian succession, thereby generating several kilometers long near-vertical faults and anticlines. We further postulated that – in contrast to the generally accepted text book models – deformation of the initially up to 1800 m thick Zechstein salt started already during salt deposition as the consequence of salt load induced basin subsidence and resulting salt creep. The profile network was further designed to allow for linking the stratigraphy between previously generated local underground models in the frame of the TUNB project. Altogether we collected 62 reflection seismic profiles of an entire length of 3500 km. Parasound and multibeam data were collected along 6000 km each. The marine gravimeter collected data along the entire ship’s track of 7000 km. Two wide-angle reflection / refraction profiles have been measured in order to image the deep structure of the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone off Poland and to investigate North-South striking fault systems in the Bay of Kiel.