Low-Impact Broad-Band Seismic Sources: Field Data Performances and Monitoring

Innovations in marine equipment have mainly concerned receiver technologies over the last few decades. A recent focus on marine sources is nonetheless drawing ever-increasing expectations in the industry to meet two key requirements in marine seismic acquisition. The first is the extension of the signal bandwidth towards the low frequencies, for sub-salt/sub-basalt imaging, full-waveform inversion, high-resolution imaging or improved reservoir characterization purposes. The second is the reduction and monitoring of the seismic energy generated within the audible bandwidth of marine mammals. Indeed, as numerous countries have set constraining regulations on the energy released by marine sources, and as environmental awareness globally increases, it can be expected that such regulations will soon be issued in all sensitive regions.

To address these new expectations and the associated observed demand, two innovative marine sources are proposed, The Bluepulse is an advanced airgun that preserves the low-frequency and mid-frequency output associated with this technology of sources while significantly mitigating the high-frequency one. The Tuned Pulse Source, when compared to any other pneumatic sources, the TPS however emits significantly less sound in high frequencies than conventional airguns, and therefore has a significantly lower environmental impact.