New Field Equipment and Techniques for Improving the Quality of Land Seismic Data

A new revolution in land seismic started at the beginning of the 21st century. Cable-based recording systems are gradually being replaced by cableless systems, especially in the Western hemisphere. Several different autonomous and radio telemetry cableless systems were developed and put into operation during the last ten years, but autonomous systems using external geophone groups were initially the most popular. The newest generation of cableless recording system can be characterized as compact nodes using an internally located high-sensitivity geophones and batteries, thus avoiding any external connections. The fully self-contained design makes it easier to bury these nodes at or below ground level which ensures significant advantages both in the fidelity of the recorded seismic signal and consistency of coupling from receiver to receiver. The shape of the node being reviewed is specifically designed to allow manual deployment with a slide hammer or automated deployment with a mechanical / hydraulic machine (ADS or Automator). The Automator is equipped with a powerful hydraulically activated hole puncher for planting the nodes vertically into the ground under various ground conditions. The Automator can be pulled by the appropriate chosen wheeled or tracked (low ground pressure) off-road vehicles based on conditions. Adoption of this new field technology can provide significant reduction of field personnel and will certainly improve the productivity and efficiency of seismic acquisition operations.