Patent ID: 8531912

Claim:
A method for acquiring seismic waves in water, the method comprising: towing with a vessel at least one streamer including a plurality of seismic receivers, said at least one streamer being equipped with a plurality of birds for controlling its depth in the water, said plurality of birds being spaced apart along a length of the at least one streamer; adjusting a first set of the plurality of birds such that the streamer comprises a straight line head portion having a first slope in which a depth of the receivers increases with a distance of the receivers from the vessel; adjusting a second set of the plurality of birds such that the streamer comprises a tail portion including at least one straight line section having a second slope different from the first slope, wherein the tail portion comprises at least first and second sections having receivers with a depth that increases with the distance from the vessel, the first section being closest to the vessel and having a slant greater than that of the second section laving furthest from the vessel; and recording the seismic waves, which are reflected and/or refracted by a subsurface to be surveyed, with the plurality of seismic receivers while towing the at least one streamer with the straight line head portion having the first slope and the at least one straight line section of the tail portion having the second slope, wherein the plurality of receivers are distributed on both the head portion and the tail portion.