GPS/GNSS Solutions

Marine Seismic

Seismic marine surveying aims to reveal the location of hydrocarbon resources, somewhere from 0 to 5000 meters below the seabed. Data collection is carried out ultimately to build a 3-dimensional image, which can be analyzed by petroleum reservoir engineers.2-dimensional surveys provide data by imaging multiple vertical sections several hundreds of meters away from one another, but more and more these surveys are being replaced by those employing 3-dimensional techniques, giving data in all 3 axes with significantly improved resolution. In surveys of this kind, surveying configurations are becoming ever more powerful and sophisticated and now consist of up to 12 streamers, each between 3 to 5 kilometers in length and roughly 25 meters apart.

The level of quality assurance and productivity required by oil companies, and marine seismic exploration missions, leads to the use of the most advanced and high-performance techniques available for positioning. Navigation systems must ensure that the entire area to be explored has been covered. Efficient seismic data collection also needs accurate coordination of the source position and all the hydrophone groups along the streamers. Surveyors need to take advantage of the most sophisticated and diverse positioning techniques available, such as acoustic techniques, laser or flux gate compass (for hydrophones). Differential GPS is now being used extensively for this type of operation and is preferred for positioning the most critical components within the system.

DGPS accuracy for seismic survey vessels is typically better than 5 meters, with corrections usually provided by a satellite link. Featuring high data measurement quality, the Magellan Marine survey range is the ideal one for these systems.

GPS is commonly used to provide the position of the tail buoys relative to the absolute position of the seismic vessel, with meter-level accuracy. This technology involves a high-speed UHF bi-directional data link along with a high-grade GPS core, which is part of our know-how and is available to system integrators.

Magellan offers a wide range of professional GPS solutions, ideal for Marine Seismic Exploration applications.

• ADU5

  Setting a new standard for attitude determination and real-time positioning, the advanced ADU5^TM delivers unsurpassed accuracy in a rugged, full-function system. ADU5 provides precise heading, pitch and roll along with three-dimensional position and velocities at a rate of up to 5 Hz for both static and dynamic platforms.  More

  Featured Highlights

  • 14-channel receiver
  • Embedded 2-channel 300 KHz beacon receiver
  • Instantaneous 3-D attitude information
  

• Aquarius

  Aquarius^® is the ultimate answer to the expectations of the rigorous and demanding world of Marine Surveying. With the dual-frequency LRK^® technology, the standard for outstanding performance, you get fast, real-time centimeter-level positioning and fully operational radio link up to 40 kilometers. Aquarius also comes in a single-frequency version featuring KART^TM technique.  More

  Featured Highlights

  • Fast, real-time centimeter-level positioning
  • High performance UHF link
  • Relative OTF mode
  

• Aquarius²

  Aquarius² provides a new dimension to marine surveying: precise heading, up to 0.01°, at the same time as LRK kinematic positioning for unrivalled levels of performance. With the dual-frequency LRK® technology, you get fast, real-time centimeter-level positioning and fully operational radio link up to 40 kilometers. With LRK, you will be able to work at greater distances than conventional RTK.  More

  Featured Highlights

  • Real-time centimeter-level accuracy and precise heading
  • Long range kinematic positioning
  • Backup™ feature for extreme position availability.