Patent Document ID: 20130258806
Application ID: 13854223
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of generating and performing a seismic data acquisition mission using a plurality of free-floating subaquatic nodes, said method comprising: generating an a priori model of sea currents, in a survey area, from available atmospheric and oceanographic data; generating a seismic data acquisition operation model based on said a priori model of sea currents; generating a seismic shooting solution to provide illumination and fold of subsurface targets associated with said survey area; launching, from a vessel, a sample portion of said plurality of free-floating subaquatic nodes for collecting preliminary position data associated with said sample portion of said plurality of free-floating subaquatic nodes as they traverse said survey area to confirm sea current drift predicted by said a priori model and refining said seismic data acquisition operation model based on said preliminary position data; launching the remainder of said plurality of free-floating subaquatic nodes based on said a priori model and said seismic data acquisition operation model; firing said seismic shooting solution based on said seismic data acquisition operation model; and recovering said plurality of free-floating subaquatic nodes, individually, as each free-floating subaquatic node exits said survey area.