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GEOPHYSICAL MONOGRAPH SERIES

David V. Fitterman, Series Editor
William H. Dragoset Jr., Volume Editor
DOI:10.1190/1.9781560801863.fm

NUMBER 7

A HANDBOOK FOR SEISMIC DATA

ACQUISITION IN EXPLORATION
By Brian J. Evans

SOCIETY OF EXPLORATION GEOPHYSICISTS

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To my wife, Margaret, who not only typed for endless

weekends to complete the earlier versions of this text but
who waited at home for many months in anticipation of
my returning from the field. The good thing about going
away is coming home again.
DOI:10.1190/1.9781560801863.fm
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Contents

Preface................................................................................................ xi

1 Seismic Exploration...................................................................1
1.1 Introduction ........................................................................1
1.2 Seismic Data Acquisition ..................................................2
1.2.1 Historical Perspective ............................................2
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1.2.2 Modern Data Acquisition......................................5

1.3 Seismic Wave Fundamentals..........................................12
1.3.1 Types of Elastic Waves ........................................13
1.4 The Common Midpoint Method....................................28
1.4.1 Source/Receiver Configuration and Fold ........31
1.4.2 Stacking Diagrams ...............................................34
1.5 Survey Design and Planning ..........................................38
1.5.1 Seismic Resolution ...............................................39
1.5.2 Survey Costs and Timing....................................40
1.5.3 Technical Considerations ....................................42
1.5.4 Special Considerations ........................................44
Exercise 1.1.................................................................................45
Exercise 1.2.................................................................................46

2 Receiver Design and Characteristics ...................................47

2.1 Land Receiver Systems (Geophones and Cables)........48
2.1.1 Frequency Response and Damping...................49
2.1.2 Electrical Characteristics .....................................52
2.1.3 Physical Characteristics.......................................52
2.1.4 Special Geophones ...............................................55
2.1.5 Geophone Response Testing ..............................59
2.1.6 Cables.....................................................................61
2.2 Marine Receiver Systems (Hydrophones and

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Streamers)..........................................................................64
2.2.1 Hydrophones ........................................................64
2.2.2 Streamers ...............................................................67
2.2.3 Depth Control .......................................................69
2.2.4 Streamer Depth Indicators..................................71
2.2.5 Streamer Heading ................................................71
2.2.6 Streamer Noise .....................................................71
2.3 Fundamentals of Array Design ......................................73
2.3.1 Synthetic Record Analysis ..................................75
2.3.2 Receiver Array Design.........................................77
2.4 Symmetric and Asymmetric Recording........................93
2.5 Receiver Ghosting ............................................................94
Exercise 2.1.................................................................................95
Exercise 2.2.................................................................................95
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Exercise 2.3.................................................................................95
Exercise 2.4.................................................................................97

3 Seismic Energy Sources..........................................................99

3.1 Source Array Design......................................................101
3.2 Land energy sources .....................................................103
3.2.1 Land Explosives .................................................104
3.2.2 Vibroseis ..............................................................110
3.2.3 Other Land Energy Sources..............................126
3.3 Marine Energy Sources..................................................132
3.3.1 Air Guns ..............................................................134
3.3.2 Sparker.................................................................136
3.3.3 Flexotir .................................................................136
3.3.4 Maxipulse ............................................................137
3.3.5 Detonating Cord.................................................137
3.3.6 Gas Gun ...............................................................137
3.3.7 Water Gun ...........................................................138
3.3.8 Steam Gun ...........................................................139
3.3.9 Flexichoc ..............................................................141
3.3.10 Vibroseis ..............................................................141
3.4 Marine Air-Gun Arrays.................................................141
3.4.1 Far-Field Testing.................................................145

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3.4.2 Shot Timing .........................................................147

3.4.3 Relative Energy Source Levels .........................148
3.5 Source and Receiver Depth (Ghost Effect) .................149
3.6 Determining Optimum Air-Gun Specifications ........155
Exercise 3.1...............................................................................155
Exercise 3.2...............................................................................156
Exercise 3.3...............................................................................156
Exercise 3.4...............................................................................157

4 Seismic Instrumentation ......................................................159

4.1 Introduction ....................................................................159
4.2 Basic Concepts ................................................................160
4.2.1 Basic Components ..............................................161
4.2.2 Instrument Noise and Sampling ......................163
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4.3 Filtering............................................................................165
4.4 Amplification ..................................................................171
4.5 A/D Conversion.............................................................172
4.5.1 Converter Operation..........................................174
4.6 Dynamic Range ..............................................................175
4.7 Recording ........................................................................176
4.7.1 Formats ................................................................176
4.7.2 Recording Channels...........................................179
4.8 Miscellaneous..................................................................180
4.8.1 Telemetry.............................................................180
4.8.2 Sign-Bit Recording .............................................181
4.8.3 Field Computers .................................................183
Exercise 4.1...............................................................................184

5 Survey Positioning ................................................................187

5.1 Introduction ....................................................................187
5.2 Maps and Projections.....................................................189
5.3 Geodetic Datuming........................................................192
5.4 Land Surveying ..............................................................195
5.5 Satellite Surveying .........................................................198
5.5.1 Global Positioning System (GPS).....................200
5.6 Radio Navigation ...........................................................201

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5.6.1 Phase Comparison .............................................204

5.6.2 Range Measurement ..........................................206
5.6.3 Other Radio Navigation Systems.....................209
5.7 Navigation Systems .......................................................211
5.8 Navigation Planning for an Offshore Program
Using Radio Positioning Systems ................................214
5.8.1 Distance ...............................................................214
5.8.2 Accuracy ..............................................................214
5.8.3 Timing..................................................................215
5.8.4 Cost.......................................................................215
5.8.5 Number of Vessels .............................................215
Exercise 5.1...............................................................................216
Exercise 5.2...............................................................................217
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6 Establishing Field Parameters.............................................221

6.1 Survey Planning .............................................................221
6.2 Noise Analysis ................................................................222
6.2.1 Spread Types.......................................................223
6.3 Experiments for Designing Parameters ......................226
6.3.1 Array Performance Analysis Using 2-D
Frequency Transforms ....................................227
6.3.2 Crude f-k Plotting ...............................................228
6.4 Dip Recording and Beaming Effect .............................230
6.5 Parameter Optimizing ...................................................231
6.5.1 Receiver Frequency............................................231
6.5.2 Energy Source Parameters ................................232
Exercise 6.1...............................................................................241

7 Three-Dimensional Surveying ...........................................243

7.1 Three-Dimensional Procedures....................................243
7.2 Three-Dimensional Marine Surveying Method.........249
7.3 Three-Dimensional Land Surveying Method ............254
7.4 Other Marine Survey Methods.....................................258
7.4.1 Circular Shooting ...............................................259
7.4.2 Two-Vessel Operations .....................................261

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7.4.3
Reconnaissance Surveying (3-D or 2.5-D
Surveys).............................................................262
7.5 Three-Dimensional Survey Design..............................262
7.5.1 Sampling..............................................................263
7.5.2 CMP Binning.......................................................263
7.5.3 Migration .............................................................265
Exercise 7.1...............................................................................268
Exercise 7.2...............................................................................270

Appendices .....................................................................................273
Appendix A .............................................................................273
The Decibel Scale............................................................273
Appendix B..............................................................................276
Computing Array Responses .......................................276
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Exercise B.1......................................................................278
Exercise B.2......................................................................278
Appendix C .............................................................................279
Weighted Arrays ............................................................279
Appendix D .............................................................................282
Fourier Analysis .............................................................282
Exercise D-1.....................................................................288

Index.................................................................................................295

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Preface
In 1983, like so many other geophysical consultants of the day and the
petroleum exploration industry in general, I experienced a downturn in
exploration activity. In previous years, I had been an electronics engineer, a
well-logging geologist/engineer, a seismic instrument engineer, a seismic
crew party manager and an operations manager, after which I had turned to
consulting. My “doodle-bugging” career in seismic exploration had been
every young and agile person’s dream—getting lost in Mexican bandit coun-
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try, ducking bullets in Angola and the Philippines, playing soccer in Monte-
video, cruising around Singapore in a rickshaw, visiting temples in Thailand,
sitting with maidens in Senegal, dodging limpet mines in Vietnam, losing
streamers in the North Sea, being incredibly inebriated in the Spratley
Islands, getting stuck in the middle of the Kalahari Dessert, driving fast rental
cars along interminable freeways in the United States, experiencing negative
gravity during plane flights over Alberta, being caught in a force-9 gale in the
Shetland Islands, losing all belongings after a “willy-willy” struck our camp
in Central Australia, depositing the grand piano (and pianist) in an upmarket
hotel lobby in Singapore and, in the end, having enough money to buy a fast
car and a house on the same day.
I wanted to learn more about the seismic industry, which had treated me
so well and which I loved so much. I had never had a formal lecture in seis-
mic exploration, so like many others, I turned to the education industry to
learn more about seismic methods so I would be better prepared when the
industry picked up again. When I began studying exploration geophysics at
the West Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) in Perth, I was surprised
to find there was no textbook that gave an up-to-date, in-depth treatment of
seismic data acquisition—the area of geophysics in which I had spent most of
my professional life. There were many good broad textbooks available, but
none was an adequate lecture text. I realized quickly that I knew more about
both land and marine seismic operations than was presented in most of the
available texts. I had worked within and offshore from most countries of the
world during the previous 11 years. The only countries I hadn’t worked in
were the then-communist countries. My initial duties at WAIT were to lecture

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(part time) in seismic data acquisition while I completed my course work. But
how could I lecture without some form of text?
So, I assembled notes I had collected over the years and tried to put them
in some order. I spent three months handwriting a text (there were no per-
sonal computers in those days) which I then had printed at the WAIT press. I
finally started teaching seismic data acquisition to students, and I still am
doing so. Meanwhile, new seismic methods and instruments were being
developed, and I had to keep my notes up to date. I finally converted the
handwritten text to a typed (IBM golf-ball) version, for which I am eternally
grateful to my wife (since I could not type at the time). Each time I updated
my version of seismic data acquisition methods and printed copies for my
students, someone would prove another seismic method successful and I had
to modify the text. The evolution in computing technology and its application
in seismic data acquisition has been so breathtakingly fast that I haven’t been
able to update the text at the same rate. Therefore, dear reader, I apologize if
the text still doesn’t provide you with all the answers you are seeking, but I
DOI:10.1190/1.9781560801863.fm

think it goes a long way toward explaining the fundamentals of our innova-
tive science.
This book is written primarily for the novice—the person (such as me)
who was qualified in another area (engineer, geologist, chemist, accountant,
economist, etc.); it is pitched at students of exploration seismology who want
to know how and why in simple language. I use it as my main text for final-
year geophysics honors students at Curtin University of Technology. It also
can be used as a good basic text for teaching seismic methods.
The text concentrates on seismic data acquisition in hydrocarbon explora-
tion. It is light on mathematical methods but heavy on why we do things.
Consequently, it will be a useful reference book for all those workers on seis-
mic crews the world over who wonder how we possibly could get a profile
through the Earth by firing shots over it. (I am still constantly amazed at what
we can do with seismic.) The text does not cover refraction, shear-wave or
vertical seismic profiling exploration in any detail because other books do a
better job on those topics.
This book was written with Bill Dragoset’s editorship, for which I am eter-
nally grateful. I thank Western Atlas for allowing Bill time to correct a lot of
my written words. I also am indebted to a few others for its publication, such
as my industry colleagues from whom I have learned much, including my
early field associates at Geophysical Service Inc., those at Geoservice, Aqua-
tronics, Shell Australia, and Horizon Exploration. My current associates at
Curtin University, including Norm Uren, John McDonald and Milovan Uro-
sevic, have individually taught me a lot, as well as my colleagues from the
University of Houston including Dan Ebrom, K. K. Sekharan, Bob Sheriff, and
Barbara Murray, with whom I spent most of 1991.

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As for me, I am a great believer in practicing what you preach. Conse-

quently, I continue to run my experimental land crew from Curtin University,
so if you ever need to talk to me on any aspect of seismic data acquisition, call
me. I’m on e-mail—[email protected]—and I’ll do my best to
answer your questions. Oh yes, in return, perhaps you can update me with
your latest best practice, and between us we can keep this volume updated.
Happy doodle-bugging.

Brian Evans
Senior Lecturer in Geophysics
Curtin University of Technology
Perth, Australia
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