Nodal technology has revolutionised the process of land seismic acquisition around the world, with the ability to acquire high quality seismic data in a quicker, easier, and more cost-effective way than ever before.
Traditionally, to effectively image the subsurface, exploration teams had to deploy hundreds or thousands of complex geophone arrays on the ground typically connected to a bulky central recording unit through expensive auxiliary boxes and long, intrusive cables. Gathering ultra-high density seismic data has now been made a lot more achievable with the development of versatile nodal technology systems, eliminating many common challenges previously experienced with land seismic.
In this blog post, STRYDE, shares the 4 key benefits that nodal technology has over traditional methods, and how it is transforming the future of land seismic acquisition…
1. Greater flexibility
“Nodal technology allows for much greater flexibility in seismic data acquisition. With small, battery-operated nodes that are lightweight, easy to move around and use a wireless connection, it eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming cable laying and line checking.
“A STRYDE Node™ weighs only 150g - by far the lightest node on the market, by at least 75% - this unlocks the ability to conduct seismic surveys across a broad spectrum of some of the most challenging terrains. Exploration crews can now collect high-quality seismic data from hard-to-reach areas, such as steep slopes, urban environments, densely forested regions or rocky mountain ranges with minimal disruption to the surrounding environment.
“Additionally, nodal systems can be rapidly deployed and receiver point deployment can be reconfigured easily in the field through the systems bespoke software, making them ideal for surveying large or complex areas with many data points, and obstructions.
“The portability of nodal systems also means that they can be used on a wider range of projects, reducing the need for specialised equipment and heavy vehicles required to transport them to their destination for deployment.
“The nodes were designed to be deployed by foot, with specifically designed ergonomic deployment backpacks, capable of carrying 90 nodes or receiver points, created for rapid and environmentally friendly deployment - which has been proven to support permitting processes.”
2. Cost savings related to survey operations
“Nodal technology is also transforming land seismic operations by reducing the overall cost of exploration and subsurface monitoring projects, a concern which is always front of mind for management teams, no matter which industry they’re operating in.
“Traditionally, land seismic acquisition required a lot of transportation vehicles, complex apparatus and large teams to transport and deploy heavy, expensive equipment, all of which added up to a lot of time and a lot of money through machinery and labour costs.
“Nodal technology such as STRYDE’s has already proven to cut land seismic survey costs for a number of our customers, on top of the savings related to the equipment costs. On one project alone, our client noted a 50% reduction in crew costs when compared to a cable survey and significant time savings through the removal of technical downtime typically experienced with line checking on cable surveys.”
3. Improved data quality
“The ability to deploy dense receivers combined with improved signal and noise recording presents exciting new opportunities for processing and imaging in land seismic acquisition. The reduced price point of our nodal technology also enables companies to increase receiver density, without incurring any additional costs. By enabling companies to deploy more sensors and gather seismic data from more data points, we increase the reliability and quality of the data acquired. The nodes have also been cleverly designed to deal with up to 22ng/sqrt(Hz) @ 16dB in noise density, making them less sensitive to surface noise than alternative methods available.”
“The nodes work effectively with any seismic source, vibroseis, dynamite or low impact weight drop or impact sources, making survey design more flexible and an uplift in image quality by reducing data gaps typically found on land seismic due to complex terrains or infrastructure limitations.”
4. More environmentally friendly
“Nodal technology is also a much more environmentally friendly method of seismic data acquisition, as it reduces the environmental impact of traditional cable-based methods. With wireless connectivity, nodal systems eliminate the need for disruptive cable laying which can disturb the surrounding environments.
“Conventional methods of land seismic acquisition using cabled geophones typically require line clearing of vast areas for transporting heavy equipment and conducting source operations, meaning that exploration in environmentally sensitive areas would not usually be permitted. Seismic nodes are much more compliant with strict environmental footprint conditions in certain regions like Australia and Europe, unlocking the ability for exploration crews to gather data from a broad range of terrains and locations, with minimal impact or disruption to the environment.”
“The nodes also work effectively with any seismic source, vibroseis, dynamite or low impact weight drop or impact sources, making survey design more flexible and an uplift in image quality by reducing data gaps typically found on land seismic due to complex terrains or infrastructure limitations.”
Overall, nodal technology has transformed land seismic acquisition by providing greater flexibility, cost savings, improved data quality, and environmental benefits and this concept has been proven on over 140 seismic surveys where STRYDE Nodes™ have been used.