Publications

The choice of seismic acquisition kit can have a significant impact on the safety and cost of a seismic survey, particularly in onshore complex terrains and difficult environments. Autonomous seismic nodes, a technology that has been developing for decades, can offer significant advantages for land acquisition, especially in difficult and environmentally sensitive areas such as the jungles of Indonesia. Technology is no longer a barrier to wide spread use of seismic nodes, but rather the seismic industrys hesitance to accept the operational particulars of autonomous node acquisition, and the industrys hesitance to make large scale investments to re-equip existing crews. The large scale application of autonomous seismic nodes is often perceived as a new development, however, nodes have been employed for centuries considering the first seismoscope (an instrument used to detect seismic events) was invented in 132 AD. Autonomous seismic node technology has advanced significantly, especially since the 1960s and 1970s. The technology challenges then were strikingly similar to the challenges seismic nodes face today: weight reduction, rapid deployment and recovery, reliability, production costs, production of sufficient numbers, and real time data delivery and processing. Today many scientific communities have joined the effort to improve and apply seismic type nodal technology, ranging from marine biology to industrial plant monitoring. The intent of this discussion is to raise awareness in the seismic industry that seismic node technology is currently available that meets or exceeds the basic technological challenges for safe, reliable and cost efficient seismic acquisition. Recent autonomous node field tests and data acquisitions by BP and others in the oil and gas industry provide evidence of the technologys readiness. However, the perceived immaturity and limitations of the technology appear to be a barrier to rapid global commercialization. It is hoped that by communicating the true maturity of the technology and increasing understanding of where to apply the technology to maximize benefit, autonomous and related seismic nodes will become readily available alternatives to cabled acquisition systems in the near future.