The coil-spring geophone remains one of the linchpins in the modern seismic toolkit. The predecessor to today’s geophone was introduced in World War I, reportedly by German and Allied engineers who triangulated enemy positions by interpreting the acoustic reverberations from both fired artillery and the sounds of picks and shovels being used to dig trenches.
While a transition to digital 3C sensors based on MEMS accelerator technology is taking place in many regions, geophone-based surveys account for 90+% of onshore seismic projects around the world. As a result, innovations to the fundamental geophone technology are still required to squeeze out additional improvements in performance, reliability, and cost. In the case of Sensor, these innovations are taking place and being made available to seismic contractors worldwide.
Sensor BV, a subsidiary of ION located just outside The Hague, was founded more than 40 years ago as an offshoot of an R&D collaboration with a technical team from Shell. Sensor went on to establish itself as the global technology leader for geophones, with its SM-24 flagship setting the standard for engineering excellence, performance, and reliability in the field.
Sensor has ‘turned the crank’ on geophone design once again and, as we enter 2010, has released the SM-24XL. The XL stands for “eXtended Life,” an attribute that Sensor has brought to life by rethinking the fundamental design and manufacturing processes for geophones. You can learn more about these in the narrated PowerPoint slideshow below:
What I find most intriguing about the SM-24XL story is the testing it underwent with Sensor’s long-standing commercial partner, Geofizyka Torun (GT) of Poland. For those not familiar with GT, the company was established in 1966 and is a highly reputed international geophysical contractor with an excellent track record in all onshore and transition zone environments. GT employs over 1000 professionals, including 500 geophysicists, geologists, petrophysicists and electronic engineers. Apart from Poland, GT has provided its 2D/3D services in over 30 countries including India, Germany, Thailand and Denmark.
GT served as Sensor’s field trial partner for the SM-24XL and has entered into a volume purchase agreement to become the first commercial customer for the ‘XL version.’ But the story goes back further than that, to the 1970′s when the then-President of Sensor, Mr. Fred Witrynga, would fly to Poland in his private aircraft with only himself at the controls. Given that Poland was still behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ at the time, you can imagine the stir that this ‘crazy geophone executive from Holland’ created when he touched down.
Our partnership with GT continues today, more than 30 years after Fred’s wheels first touched down on Polish soil (though not with quite as much ’007′ intrigue, unfortunately)! Long-standing customer relationships like the one Sensor has with Geofizyka Torun are what ION strives for. We’re honored that GT’s staff claims that the SM-24 geophone is “the best in the world.” Thanks GT for your cooperation on the SM-24XL field trial — here’s to another 30 years of collaboration and success!