Binning of three dimensional seismic data

Three dimensional seismic survey data are acquired and processed using a hexagonal sampling grid. The seismic data are grouped into hexagonal bins defined by the hexagonal grid instead of into rectangular bins defined by a rectangular grid. Method and apparatus which bin the data, although described for square and regular hexagonal grids, are also applicable to rectangles and hexagons of any shape. Because hexagonal binning requires fewer gridpoints than rectangular binning, survey source or receiver interval may be increased, which may help reduce survey cost.