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I. Introduction

A. Seismic source defined

1. Land seismic sources

2. Marine seismic sources

B. Role of seismic sources in reflection seismology

1. Goal of reflection seismology

2. How seismic sources are used to achieve this goal

II. Land Seismic Sources

A. Impulsive sources

1. Explosive sources

a. theory and technique

1. drilling charge cavity

2. positioning and firing of charges

3. effect of size and depth of charge on reflections

b. standard explosive charges

c. directional charges

d. pros and cons

2. Weight-dropping sources

a. theory and technique

b. pros and cons

3. Land air guns

a. theory and technique

b. pros and cons

4. Air shooting

a. theory and technique

b. pros and cons

B. Nonimpulsive sources

1. Vibrators

a. theory and practice

b. types of sweeps

1. nonlinear

2. pseudo-random

c. pros and cons

2. Sozie

a. theory and technique

b. pros and cons

C. Factors governing use of land seismic sources

1. Economic considerations

2. Feasibility of drilling

3. Transport considerations

III. Marine Seismic Sources

A. Differences from land seismic sources

B. The bubble effect

C. Explosive sources

1. Theory and technique

2. Bubble effect on explosive sources

D. Air guns

1. Theory and technique

2. Bubble effect on air guns

E. Imploders

1. Hydrosein

2. Boomer

3. Pros and cons

F. Other marine sources

1. Aquapulse

2. Vaporchoc

3. Flexotir

4. Maxipulse

G. Factors governing use of marine seismic sources

1. Desired characteristics of reflections

2. Economic considerations

3. Amount of energy required

IV. Conclusion

LINKS OF INTEREST

• British Seismology
• Reflection Seismology Basics
• ProMax for Seismology
• 3-D Using Seismic
• Australian Seismology
• COCORP-Cornell University