Multi-Source Seismic Vessel Deployment With Wavefield Deblending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seismic survey technologies are limited by the need for separate vessels to deploy different seismic source technologies, such as air guns and marine vibrators, which increases costs and survey duration due to the requirement for time delays between source activations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables the deployment of multiple seismic source technologies, including air guns and marine vibrators, from the same vessel, allowing simultaneous shooting and subsequent deblending of wavefields to create equivalent datasets from different surveys, reducing survey time and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate vessels are used to deploy different seismic source technologies, then each source can be deployed with optimized configuration, but survey time and cost increase due to sequential deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple different seismic source technologies (air guns and marine vibrators) on a single vessel, allowing simultaneous deployment of diverse source types without requiring sequential vessel operations. This merging approach maintains adaptability while eliminating time loss from sequential deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The vessel is designed with multi-functional capability to deploy and operate different types of seismic sources (both air guns and marine vibrators) using the same mechanical resources and infrastructure. This universal deployment platform eliminates the need for separate specialized vessels while maintaining optimized configuration for each source type.
2Reliability
If time delays are imposed between source activations, then signal interference is reduced, but survey efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous data acquisition by allowing multiple seismic sources to operate simultaneously without mandatory time delays. The deblending technology processes overlapping signals in real-time, maintaining continuous useful action from all sources while preserving signal quality through advanced signal separation algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical time-delay mechanism (sequential source activation) with a computational approach (deblending algorithms). Instead of physically separating signals in time, the system captures overlapping signals and separates them through software processing, thereby maintaining productivity while ensuring signal quality.
3Productivity
If multiple seismic sources operate simultaneously, then survey speed increases, but signal separation and data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex physical signal separation mechanisms with computational deblending algorithms. By using software-based signal separation instead of hardware-based temporal separation, the system achieves simultaneous multi-source operation while managing processing complexity through efficient algorithms rather than complex mechanical systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the signal separation problem from a temporal domain challenge to a frequency domain challenge, where deblending algorithms operate on frequency components of the overlapping signals. This parameter transformation (from time-based to frequency-based processing) enables simultaneous source operation while managing data processing complexity through Fourier transforms and frequency-domain filtering.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for more efficient and cost-effective seismic surveys by combining different seismic source technologies on a single vessel, enabling faster data acquisition and improved seismic imaging through deblending techniques.
Implementation Method 1
The source generates acoustic waves that propagate in the water and in the subsurface, to then reach the receivers where the wavefields are measured
Implementation Method 2
Marine vibrators may be appropriate sources for applications and technologies such as full-waveform immersion that use high quality ultra-low frequency signals
Data Source
AI summary
A method to perform a seismic survey using one or more source vessels includes enabling shooting from at least two seismic sources at pre-selected time intervals or pre-selected locations. The at least two seismic sources are on the one or more source vessels, and the at least two seismic sources include source technologies that differ from each other. The method also includes measuring wavefields received from the at least two seismic sources. The method also includes associating energy from the wavefields generated by each source with different seismic traces. The method also includes obtaining data from the different seismic traces that are equivalent to different datasets acquired in different surveys using the source technologies that differ from each other.