Condensed Consolidating Financial Information - Condensed Cash Flow Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	$ (6,706)	$ 62,682
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash invested in multi-client data library	(9,088)	(22,353)
Purchase of property, plant, equipment and seismic rental equipment	(11,994)	(1,997)
Repayment of advances to INOVA Geophysical	0	1,000
Net investment in and advances to OceanGeo B.V. prior to its consolidation	0	(3,074)
Other investing activities	257	605
Net cash used in investing activities	(20,825)	(25,819)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under revolving line of credit	0	15,000
Payments on notes payable and long-term debt	(2,066)	(2,755)
Intercompany lending	0	0
Other financing activities	31	166
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(2,035)	12,411
Effect of change in foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	396	(24)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	(29,170)	49,250
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	173,608	148,056
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	144,438	197,306
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | ION Geophysical Corporation [Member]
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	(62,480)	15,105
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash invested in multi-client data library	0	0
Purchase of property, plant, equipment and seismic rental equipment	(329)	(551)
Repayment of advances to INOVA Geophysical		1,000
Net investment in and advances to OceanGeo B.V. prior to its consolidation		0
Other investing activities	0	579
Net cash used in investing activities	(329)	1,028
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under revolving line of credit		15,000
Payments on notes payable and long-term debt	0	0
Intercompany lending	26,968	(1,155)
Other financing activities	31	166
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	26,999	14,011
Effect of change in foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	(35,810)	30,144
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	109,514	124,701
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	73,704	154,845
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | The Guarantors [Member]
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	41,328	19,989
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash invested in multi-client data library	(9,055)	(22,299)
Purchase of property, plant, equipment and seismic rental equipment	(1,133)	(1,230)
Repayment of advances to INOVA Geophysical		0
Net investment in and advances to OceanGeo B.V. prior to its consolidation		0
Other investing activities	257	26
Net cash used in investing activities	(9,931)	(23,503)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under revolving line of credit		0
Payments on notes payable and long-term debt	(1,725)	(1,365)
Intercompany lending	(29,672)	6,418
Other financing activities	0	0
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(31,397)	5,053
Effect of change in foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	0	1,539
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	0	1,539
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | All Other Subsidiaries [Member]
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	14,446	27,588
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash invested in multi-client data library	(33)	(54)
Purchase of property, plant, equipment and seismic rental equipment	(10,532)	(216)
Repayment of advances to INOVA Geophysical		0
Net investment in and advances to OceanGeo B.V. prior to its consolidation		(3,074)
Other investing activities	0	0
Net cash used in investing activities	(10,565)	(3,344)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under revolving line of credit		0
Payments on notes payable and long-term debt	(341)	(1,390)
Intercompany lending	2,704	(5,263)
Other financing activities	0	0
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	2,363	(6,653)
Effect of change in foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	396	(24)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents	6,640	17,567
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	64,094	23,355
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	70,734	40,922
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Cash flows from financing activities:
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 0