Embedded field-testing single-sensor nodes versus local receiver arrays in 3D shooting

In 2022 and 2024, we embedded test receiver patches within two 3D seismic surveys acquired in Hungary and Croatia, respectively. We extracted the test data, split it into multiple “surveys” for each parameter being tested, and processed the surveys individually. The acquisition industry has evolved away from local receiver arrays toward single-sensor nodes. Our tests quantify the consequences of that evolution, after processing, not just on single-shot-record tests. We show that the local arrays improve high frequency recovery and spatial image coherence. We also show that arrays of single-sensor nodes, even as few as two nodes, yield similar benefits as the 6-phone strings.