Seismic acquisition has undergone a revolution over the last few decades. The volume of data acquired has increased exponentially, and the quality of seismic images obtained has improved tremendously. While the total cost of acquiring a seismic survey has increased, the cost per trace has dropped precipitously. Land surveys have evolved from sparse 2D lines acquired with a few dozen receivers to densely sampled 3D multiazimuth surveys. Marine surveys that once may have consisted of a small boat pulling a single cable have evolved to large streamer vessels pulling multiple cables and air-gun arrays and to ocean-bottom detectors that require significant fleets to place the detectors, shoot the sources, and provide support. These surveys collect data that are wide azimuth and typically fairly well sampled.
