Automated seismic acquisition geometry design for optimized illumination at the target: a linearized approach

In seismic exploration methods, imperfect spatial sampling at the surface causes a lack of illumination at the target in the subsurface. The hampered image quality at the target area of interest causes uncertainties in reservoir monitoring and production, which can have a substantial economic impact. Especially in the case of a complex...

Velocity analysis of simultaneous-source data using high-resolution semblance: Coping with the strong noise

Direct imaging of simultaneous-source (or blended) data, without the need of deblending, requires a precise subsurface velocity model. In this paper, we focus on the velocity analysis of simultaneous-source data using the normal moveout-based velocity picking approach.We demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a precise velocity model directly...

On Green’s function retrieval by iterative substitution of the coupled Marchenko equations

Iterative substitution of the coupled Marchenko equations is a novel methodology to retrieve the Green's functions from a source or receiver array at an acquisition surface to an arbitrary location in an acoustic medium. The methodology requires as input the single-sided reflection response at the acquisition surface and an initial focusing...

On the Marchenko equation for multicomponent single-sided reflection data

Recent work on the Marchenko equation has shown that the scalar 3-D Green’s function for a virtual source in the subsurface can be retrieved from the single-sided reflection response at the surface and an estimate of the direct arrival. Here, we discuss the first steps towards extending this result to multicomponent data. After introducing a...

Monitoring changes in velocity and Q using non-physical arrivals in seismic interferometry

Application of seismic interferometry to records from receivers at the Earth’s surface from sources in wells retrieves the reflection response measured at the receivers as if from virtual sources located also at the surface. When the wavefields experience intrinsic losses during propagation, non-physical arrivals (ghosts) would appear in the...

Interferometric redatuming by sparse inversion

Assuming that transmission responses are known between the surface and a particular depth level in the subsurface, seismic sources can be effectively mapped to this level by a process called interferometric redatuming. After redatuming, the obtained wavefields can be used for imaging below this particular depth level. Interferometric redatuming...

Data matching for free-surface multiple attenuation by multidimensional deconvolution

A common strategy for surface-related multiple elimination of seismic data is to predict multiples by a convolutional model and subtract these adaptively from the input gathers. Problems can be posed by interfering multiples and primaries. Removing multiples by multidimensional deconvolution (MDD) (inversion) does not suffer from these problems....