Methods of Range Selection for Positioning Marine Seismic Equipment

A method for selecting a signal arrival for determining an accurate position of seismic equipment, comprising:

• transmitting a signal from a pinger;
• predicting a direct arrival and a reflected arrival of the signal at a receiver, wherein each arrival is the time between the transmission of the signal to reception of the signal;
• measuring arrivals of the signal at the receiver;
• selecting the measured signal arrival that is similar to the predicted direct arrival as a preliminary signal arrival;
• defining a confidence interval for the actual direct arrival of the signal based on the predicted direct arrival and the predicted reflected arrival;
• and
• finalizing the signal arrival, wherein the selected preliminary signal arrival is the finalized signal arrival if it is within the confidence interval.

A method for selecting a signal arrival for determining an accurate position of seismic equipment, comprising:

• transmitting a signal from a pinger;
• measuring arrivals of the signal at a receiver, wherein each arrival is the time between the transmission of the signal to reception of the signal;
• selecting one of the signal arrivals as a preliminary signal arrival;
• estimating a direct arrival of the signal;
• calculating a confidence interval for the estimated direct arrival of the signal;
• and
• selecting a final signal arrival from the signal arrivals, wherein the selected preliminary signal arrival is the selected final signal arrival if it is within the confidence interval.