Seismic Acquisition in the Arctic

By

J.M. Darnall (Phillips Alaska, Inc.)

Acquiring seismic data in an arctic region presents many challenging and exciting problems. Seismic survey designs are usually a compromise between the geophysics, safety and the environment. The environmental concerns and safety always win. But one cannot let the environment win. We have to be able to acquire data that meet our geophysical objectives. In this talk I will discuss the problems we typically encounter and how we deal with them. Some of the problems we deal with on the North Slope of Alaska are tundra, ice lakes, wildlife and weather. We are charged with protecting the tundra, which controls when we can acquire data. Lakes need to be frozen for the best quality data and to be safe. However, they can be five feet thick and one step later too thin to support a man. Due to snow conditions, it may not be obvious you’re on a lake. We deal with this routinely with procedures to protect the people and data. Twenty below zero F is a good temperature to acquire data but add a little wind and there are many problems. A popular misconception is a cold barren wasteland, but there are bears, caribou, musk oxen, birds, foxes and other small animals, which can present another set of problems. There are people who live in the area and we respect their way of life and their heritage.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90008©2002 AAPG Pacific Section/SPE Western Region Joint Conference of Geoscientists and Petroleum Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, May 18–23, 2002.