Two relevant questions on the processing of seismic data streamed in real time from field acquisition are, ‘How can real-time processing make a difference in operations and decisions and what are the current bottlenecks?’ and ‘How do data acquisition systems shape real-time processing workflows?’ I address some background issues in the context of towed streamer marine seismic operations where streaming is dependent upon available geostationary satellite bandwidth.

Scenarios covered address marine seismic surveys acquired with towed streamer operations and processed in near-real time using office-based resources.

Onboard computing and human resources are large enough to perform various testing flows but are insufficient in scale to process the full data in real time. This rate is hypothetically achievable in the office—if the data could be streamed each day from the vessel to the office.

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