Single-sensor acquisition without data jitter:a comparative sensor study

Seismic sensors are key components of the acquisition chain. Geophones have been used since the early days of seismic acquisition. Although still based on a moving coil detector, there have been improvements over time, such as higher sensitivities, lower resonant frequencies or rare-earth magnet technologies.

However, the benefits of dense, single-sensor acquisitions are now well recognized by major names in our industry. Whereas high-trace densities have proven to make a significant contribution to processing in order to produce clearer images and more detailed reservoir characterization, the weak signal associated with single- source, single-sensor acquisition is becoming the input data for processing.

After further investigations into sensor performance, it has been possible to identify several shortcomings inherent in geophones, and their impact on the data acquired that exhibit a clear sensor-related jitter.