It is common practice to use large crews and heavy equipment for seismic operations in remote and almost inaccessible country. The required camps are commonly very large and equipped with the most modern appliances providing for living habits expected in more civilized areas. Considerable supplies, fuel, and spare parts are required to operate the crew and maintain vehicles and machinery. This creates immense logistics problems, which in turn affect the economy of the seismic survey adversely.

Phoenix Ventures Ltd., a Calgary-based company, has introduced the MINI-CREW, a new concept in seismic operations. This crew was designed and built by Phoenix and used successfully to record 200 mi of seismic reflection data in the ice-covered waters of the Canadian Arctic Islands during the spring of 1972. This compact, lightweight, and highly mobile crew minimized operational and logistic problems, resulting in considerable cost savings over conventional methods used in the same areas.

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The Arctic presents one of the world's most hostile environments, and any of man's enterprises in this area are subject to formidable logistical and operational problems. MINI-CREW proved to be very successful in this environment, and with modification lends itself to practical and efficient seismic operations in other parts of the world.

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