Air Gun Arrays: Setting the Scene for a New Era

Most 3D marine seismic surveys have either towed two source arrays (dual-source shooting) each built from three sub-arrays of air guns or three source arrays (triple-source shooting) each built from two sub-arrays of air guns, and all arrays were towed between the innermost two streamers. After describing how air guns function and operate, I discuss the ways in which the sound levels recorded from seismic sources can be used in the environmental management of surveys in sensitive areas. Array configurations to enable broadband source wavefields is considered, before I then set the scene for the next Industry Insights newsletter to discuss a variety of creative deployments of so-called compact source arrays. This evolution is variously being driven by a combination of environmental, survey efficiency and data quality ambitions.