US 12,248,112 B2
Frame with acoustic sources for marine survey
Angus James Stephen Ogilvie, Aberdeen (GB)
Assigned to Fugro Technology B.V., Leidschendam (NL)
Appl. No. 16/644,145
Filed by Fugro Technology B.V., Leidschendam (NL)
PCT Filed Sep. 28, 2018, PCT No. PCT/NL2018/050642
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 3, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/066654, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 4, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2019642 (NL), filed on Sep. 29, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0408944 A1, Dec. 31, 2020
Int. Cl. G01V 1/38 (2006.01)
CPC G01V 1/3808 (2013.01) 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A marine survey system for ultrahigh resolution mapping of a marine bottom below a body of water, the system comprising:
a frame to be towed as a unit by one or more towing cables at a distance behind a marine vessel moving over the water in a first direction, the frame comprising:
a rigid framework and a plurality of independent acoustic sources, wherein each acoustic source is controllable to emit a separate acoustic wave propagating through the water and reflecting off bottom regions at or inside the marine bottom for the mapping thereof, wherein the acoustic sources are rigidly affixed to the rigid framework, and the acoustic sources are arranged in a linear array and the linear array is arranged perpendicular to a movement direction of the marine vessel by the rigid framework at a constant source-to-source distance of equal to or greater than one meter and less than two meters in the transverse direction for distinguishing the bottom regions with a resolution of less than two meters at least in the transverse direction, and
a plurality of floatation devices arranged to keep the acoustic sources at a source depth below a surface of the body of water; and
at least two streamers attached to the frame at a distance equal to a number of acoustic sources multiplied by the source-to-source distance, each streamer comprising a string of acoustic receivers towed in a line behind the marine vessel, wherein the acoustic receivers are linearly arranged at less than four meters apart in the movement direction of the marine vessel.