Patent ID: 8077547

Claim:
A method of land-based seismic exploration, comprising the acts of: positioning a plurality of vibratory seismic sources in a source array at the earth surface, the plurality of vibratory seismic sources including first and second vibratory seismic sources; establishing the relative locations of said first and second vibratory seismic sources in reference to a desired energy beam propagation axis; positioning a plurality of seismic receivers in a receiver array proximate the earth surface; determining first and second initiation times for said plurality of seismic sources in reference to the established positioning of said first and second seismic sources, wherein a first seismic source is initiated at a first initiation time, and a second seismic source is initiated at a second initiation time; initiating said plurality of vibratory seismic sources, where the initiation of said first and second seismic sources results in the creation of an energy beam propagating along an axis, and wherein the difference between said first and second initiation times is determined in a reference to the desired angular offset of said energy propagation axis relative to an axis extending generally perpendicular to the earth's surface supporting said first and second seismic sources; and receiving seismic data at the receivers, such data generated in response to the initiation of the plurality of seismic sources.