Patent ID: 8416644

Claim:
A system for acquiring seismic data over sand dune surfaces, the system comprising: a seismic wave generator for emitting a plurality of seismic signals into Earth in an area covered by sand dunes; a sand streamer for acquiring seismic data over an area of a sand dune surface, wherein the sand streamer comprises: a plurality of geophones for receiving a plurality of wave signals transmitted from the subsurface of the area of a sand dune surface in response to the plurality of seismic signals emitted to the area of the sand dune surface; a panel for mounting each geophone of the plurality of geophones; and at least one rigid plate loosely coupled to the panel, wherein each of the at least one rigid plate is loosely coupled to at least one side of the panel, whereby the at least one rigid plate imparts mobility and stability to the panel and a geophone of the plurality of geophones mounted on the panel, over the area of the sand dune surface; mobility strips attached to a bottom side of each panel to provide stability and decrease friction in sand; a processor for receiving and processing the seismic data from the sand streamer, wherein the processor is configured to: perform correction over the seismic data; and estimate a stacking velocity associated with each wave signal of a set of wave signals of the plurality of wave signals, wherein the each wave signal of the set of wave signals corresponds to a common mid-point (CMP) of a plurality of CMPs, wherein the stacking velocity is a function of a travel time of a wave signal of the set of wave signals and a travel time of a seismic signal of the plurality of seismic signals corresponding to the wave signal, a ray parameter, and a CMP interval, wherein the CMP interval is a distance between two consecutive CMPs of the plurality of CMPs.