Patent ID: 8000168

Claim:
A method of acquiring seismic data in a seismic survey wherein seismic energy is emitted into the earth from a seismic vibrator at each of a plurality of survey locations wherein a first plurality of seismic vibrators are deployed to various of the survey locations within a survey area and where each seismic vibrator, after emitting its sweep of seismic energy at a survey location, moves to another of the survey locations within the survey area to emit a subsequent frequency sweep of seismic energy into the earth until all of the survey locations have had seismic energy emitted thereupon and further wherein each sweep of seismic energy from each seismic vibrator is source separable from all other sweeps of seismic energy from all other survey locations, wherein the first plurality of seismic vibrators while at the survey locations have at least one geometrical relationship between each of the vibrators as a function of real-time survey locations, the method comprising: a) selecting, from the first plurality of vibrators, a second plurality of seismic vibrators as a function of the at least one geometrical relationship; b) selecting source parameter data for the second plurality of seismic vibrators; and c) activating the second plurality of seismic vibrators to propagate seismic energy into the earth.