When vibrating every 100 m, this type of seismic reflection crew covers approximately 10 km per day. Measuring the time it takes the energy to follow the various paths allows the transitions to be mapped. The vibrating trucks, which resemble dancing elephants , stamp in unison and stop at intervals of about 100 metres to do their work. They normally vibrate on a road bed or road shoulder. At any one time as many as 10,000 geophones may be connected along the road over a 20-km distance.
Scientists then analyze the collected data on computers.
The vibroseis trucks produce a seismic signal that shakes the ground at a level much weaker than a conventional jackhammer but comparable to large trucks or bulldozers. Dancing elephants have worked safely throughout the country in both remote and populated areas. A 1978 report prepared by Hardy Associates, an engineering firm, noted that vibroseis will not affect basements or wells located more than 25 feet away. Nor do they damage roads. But dancing elephants can slow down local traffic.