Signal Fidelity of Multicomponent (4C) Towed Streamer

A multicomponent (4C) towed streamer that measures not only scalar pressure wavefields, but also the three components of P-wave particle motion, was proposed by Robertsson et al. (2008). Because particle motion can easily be converted to a pressure gradient by using the equation of motion, such a streamer would enable acquisition of both pressure and the 3D gradient of pressure simultaneously. To be able to put these proposed applications in practice, good fidelity of the 4C measurement is required. We study the effects of the mechanical design of the streamer on the signal fidelity, review the sensor requirements, and present data examples from a 4C streamer demonstrating the possibility to record high signal fidelity with such a 4C towed streamer.