The nimble node — Million-channel land recording systems have arrived

Abstract

A new nodal land acquisition system is being developed with successful field tests in both cold- and hot-weather settings and is being compared against several existing industry acquisition systems. This nodal system differs from others in that it has been designed to deliver affordable high-quality seismic data with the lightest, smallest, and lowest-cost seismic channel system in the industry by significant margins. There are three main drivers for this innovation. First, it will significantly improve data quality by reducing the current cost barriers to acquiring high-density seismic surveys (i.e., full sampling in space, azimuth, and offset). Second, it will reduce the environmental footprint of land operations (less line clearance required). Third, it will improve the safety of land operations (fewer people and vehicles required per channel). All three have been achieved by dramatically reducing both the capital expenditure to build a one-million-channel highly portable recording system and the operational expenditure needed to operate such a system in the field.