Techniques for surface exploration and monitoring are presented. In
representative embodiments, a system is provided that can perform
multiple types of measurements of a surface. For example a single system
of survey probes and one or more survey controllers can be used to offer
both seismic and electrical measurements. A survey controller can be
configured to automatically poll survey probes to obtain identifiers of
the probes and determine a relative order the probes. Survey probes can
be configured to: (a) collect signals associated with a surface; (b)
digitize the signals to form digital data; and (c) store the digital data
for later transmission to the survey controller. Relative positions of
survey probes can be automatically determined using a transmitting beacon
or other techniques. Survey probes can automatically disconnect from a
power conduit while measuring a surface property and operate using an
internal source of power when disconnected, to reduce noise. The survey
controller can be remotely accessible through a computer network for
remote control of the survey probes.