Submerged marine streamer locator
An apparatus is described for use in determining relative to known geographic locations on a sea floor the position of a moving submerged marine seismic streamer while being towed through the sea by an exploration vessel, which comprises: spaced apart acoustic receivers and at least one acoustic transducer-receiver carried by the streamer. The transducer-receiver is capable of emitting acoustic command signals when triggered by means controllable from the moving vessel and the receivers are capable of receiving and distinguishing distinctly different acoustic frequencies to transmit distinguishable signals responsive thereto along the streamer to recording means on the vessel; at least three sea floor transponders spatially displaced from each other at known positions relative to the sea floor and each of the transponders being capable of responding to a single acoustic command signal from the transducer-receiver in the moving streamer while being towed by the vessel. Each of the transponders emits signals of a distinctly different frequency; and means for recording the time interval from initiation of a command signal from the streamer transducer to the receipt of each signal relayed along the streamer from each of the receivers in response to the signals from the transponders. In this way, the distance of each of the streamer receivers from each of the known positions of the transponders may be calculated.
- Assignee:
- Chevron Research Co., San Francisco, CA
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4635236
- OSTI ID:
- 6955573
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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DATA ACQUISITION
DATA PROCESSING
EXPLORATION
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
GEOGRAPHY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
MARINE SURVEYS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
POSITIONING
PROCESSING
RECORDING SYSTEMS
RESOURCES
SEA BED
SEISMIC ARRAYS
SEISMIC DETECTORS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SHIPS
SIGNALS
SPACE DEPENDENCE
SURVEYS
TIME MEASUREMENT