It's like taken directly from a medieval armor...
The role of wind and thermal shield (WTS) deployed over the seismometer is in its name - protecting it from noise and thermal changes. This is fairly clear - and achievable by classic means; a rigid protective shell on the outside, possibly a padding on the inside, the "bellow" skirt to align it with the uneven ground... but I just don't see where the chain mail and scale mail skirts come into the picture. Other than being rather heavy (pulling the kapton skirt to the ground) - which could be achieved by other (admittedly less cool looking) means, I don't see their role. Especially that neither was famed for being particularly good against heat, cold or wind.
How do they help in thermal and wind protection?
chainmail
tag? I'll advocate for that if you advocate for a Gilligan's Island tag. $\endgroup$ – uhoh Feb 11 '19 at 11:47