Abstract: There is provided herein a system and method of seismic exploration that produces improved locations and timings for ocean bottom seismometers. The instant method utilizes linearized inversion in conjunction with a conventionally accurate clock to provide both time and positioning for each OBS unit with high accuracy as compared with the prior art approach. Inversion is one mathematical tool that effectively performs the requisite triangulation. Furthermore, the clock drift can be accounted for in the inversion scheme. The inversion not only determines the OBS position and shot timing errors, but also estimates the accuracy of the position and timing determination.

Abstract: This is a method of acquiring marine wide azimuth towed streamer seismic data. Preferably, a recording boat which tows a plurality of seismic streamers and at least one source may be accompanied by a plurality of source boats that each tow at least one source. The source boats may preferably activate their respective sources such that the subsurface reflections generated by each source interfere. The time separation between successive shots may preferably be a random variable related to the lowest frequency of interest in the data. Additionally, the source boats may preferably be alternatively fired from the head and tail of the recording streamers.

Abstract: There is provided herein a system and method of seismic exploration that produces improved locations and timings for ocean bottom seismometers. The instant method utilizes linearized inversion in conjunction with a conventionally accurate clock to provide both time and positioning for each OBS unit with high accuracy as compared with the prior art approach. Inversion is one mathematical tool that effectively performs the requisite triangulation. Furthermore, the clock drift can be accounted for in the inversion scheme. The inversion not only determines the OBS position and shot timing errors, but also estimates the accuracy of the position and timing determination.

Abstract: The instant invention is generally directed toward methods of using an AVO-type analysis on unstacked seismic data to identify subsurface exploration prospects. More particularly, a new method of identiflying and displaying converted mode seismic reflections is provided that has significant advantages over that in the prior art. Additionally, the instant invention can be used to attenuate or eliminate seismic reflections such as multiples that are not flattened by conventional velocity analysis. Further, a method is disclosed that provides for identification and display of only those seismic reflections deemed consistent with the usual or expected AVO behavior. Finally, another aspect of the instant invention involves the use of statistical goodness of fit measures, such as the Coefficient of Determination, to create a seismic display that is indicative of the degree to which each time slice in a gather conforms to a proposed AVO model.