Marine seismic data acquisition system and method

Abstract

A marine seismic data acquisition system and method includes a plurality of hydrophone arrays. A marine cable is towed in the water by a boat. The marine cable includes a plurality of active modules. Each active module is connected to a corresponding hydrophone array and collects seismic data from the geophones. The marine cable also includes a plurality of passive modules interspersed with a plurality of active modules, with each passive module generating, receiving and transmitting signals. The passive modules and the active modules are connected by electrical wires with each other and to the electronic equipment on the boat. The electronic equipment on the boat includes a subsystem for activating the active modules; another subsystem for interrogating the active modules and the passive modules and circuitry connected to the activating subsystem and to the interrogation subsystem which determines the source of transmission errors in signals received over the marine cable.