Active Steering for Marine Seismic Sources

A seismic survey system for use in water, comprising:

• a source array;
• a steerable deflector device coupled to the source array, the deflector device having a body and a wing that is positioned laterally adjacent to the body, wherein the wing controls the position of the source array and is adjustably attached to the body in such a way that the hydrodynamic drag of the source array acts as a stabilizing force;
• and
• a positioning system to determine a location of the source array.

A seismic survey system for use in water, comprising:

• a first source array;
• a second source array;
• a first steerable deflector device coupled to the first source array for controlling a first position of the first source array, the first deflector device having a first body and a first wing that is offset from the first body in a crossline direction, wherein the first wing controls the position of the first source array and is adjustably attached to the first body in such a way that the hydrodynamic drag of the first source array acts as a stabilizing force;
• a second steerable deflector device coupled to a second source array for controlling a second position of the second source array, the second deflector device having a second body and a second wing that is offset from the second body in a crossline direction, wherein the second wing controls the position of the second source array and is adjustably attached to the second body in such a way that the hydrodynamic drag of the second source array acts as a stabilizing force;
• and
• a positioning system to determine a location of the first and second source arrays.