System and method for resonator frequency control by active feedback

There is taught herein a system and method for creating an improved seismic source signal by applying a feedback mechanism, active adaptive control, to perturb a resonator device configuration on the fly so as to ensure that the overall trajectory of the sweep is correctly produced, even though the precise details of each oscillation of the source are still not constrained. An embodiment teaches a method for adjusting the squeeze piston or tow depth of a resonant piston seismic source to bring the resonant frequency to a desired value. As a consequence, the resulting seismic signal is improved as compared with seismic signals acquired via resonators that do not utilize the instant teachings.