scholarly journals Adaptive overburden elimination with the multidimensional Marchenko equation

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. T265-T284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost van der Neut ◽  
Kees Wapenaar

Iterative substitution of the multidimensional Marchenko equation has been introduced recently to integrate internal multiple reflections in the seismic imaging process. In so-called Marchenko imaging, a macro velocity model of the subsurface is required to meet this objective. The model is used to back-propagate the data during the first iteration and to truncate integrals in time during all successive iterations. In case of an erroneous model, the image will be blurred (akin to conventional imaging) and artifacts may arise from inaccurate integral truncations. However, the scheme is still successful in removing artifacts from internal multiple reflections. Inspired by these observations, we rewrote the Marchenko equation, such that it can be applied early in a processing flow, without the need of a macro velocity model. Instead, we have required an estimate of the two-way traveltime surface of a selected horizon in the subsurface. We have introduced an approximation, such that adaptive subtraction can be applied. As a solution, we obtained a new data set, in which all interactions (primaries and multiples) with the part of the medium above the picked horizon had been eliminated. Unlike various other internal multiple elimination algorithms, the method can be applied at any specified target horizon, without having to resolve for internal multiples from shallower horizons. We successfully applied the method on synthetic data, where limitations were reported due to thin layers, diffraction-like discontinuities, and a finite acquisition aperture. A field data test was also performed, in which the kinematics of the predicted updates were demonstrated to match with internal multiples in the recorded data, but it appeared difficult to subtract them.

Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. R411-R427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Yao ◽  
Nuno V. da Silva ◽  
Michael Warner ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Chenhao Yang

Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is a promising technique for recovering the earth models for exploration geophysics and global seismology. FWI is generally formulated as the minimization of an objective function, defined as the L2-norm of the data residuals. The nonconvex nature of this objective function is one of the main obstacles for the successful application of FWI. A key manifestation of this nonconvexity is cycle skipping, which happens if the predicted data are more than half a cycle away from the recorded data. We have developed the concept of intermediate data for tackling cycle skipping. This intermediate data set is created to sit between predicted and recorded data, and it is less than half a cycle away from the predicted data. Inverting the intermediate data rather than the cycle-skipped recorded data can then circumvent cycle skipping. We applied this concept to invert cycle-skipped first arrivals. First, we picked up the first breaks of the predicted data and the recorded data. Second, we linearly scaled down the time difference between the two first breaks of each shot into a series of time shifts, the maximum of which was less than half a cycle, for each trace in this shot. Third, we moved the predicted data with the corresponding time shifts to create the intermediate data. Finally, we inverted the intermediate data rather than the recorded data. Because the intermediate data are not cycle-skipped and contain the traveltime information of the recorded data, FWI with intermediate data updates the background velocity model in the correct direction. Thus, it produces a background velocity model accurate enough for carrying out conventional FWI to rebuild the intermediate- and short-wavelength components of the velocity model. Our numerical examples using synthetic data validate the intermediate-data concept for tackling cycle skipping and demonstrate its effectiveness for the application to first arrivals.


Geophysics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. S197-S205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaolun Liu ◽  
Abdullah AlTheyab ◽  
Sherif M. Hanafy ◽  
Gerard Schuster

We have developed a methodology for detecting the presence of near-surface heterogeneities by naturally migrating backscattered surface waves in controlled-source data. The near-surface heterogeneities must be located within a depth of approximately one-third the dominant wavelength [Formula: see text] of the strong surface-wave arrivals. This natural migration method does not require knowledge of the near-surface phase-velocity distribution because it uses the recorded data to approximate the Green’s functions for migration. Prior to migration, the backscattered data are separated from the original records, and the band-passed filtered data are migrated to give an estimate of the migration image at a depth of approximately one-third [Formula: see text]. Each band-passed data set gives a migration image at a different depth. Results with synthetic data and field data recorded over known faults validate the effectiveness of this method. Migrating the surface waves in recorded 2D and 3D data sets accurately reveals the locations of known faults. The limitation of this method is that it requires a dense array of receivers with a geophone interval less than approximately one-half [Formula: see text].


Geophysics ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. R31-R42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changsoo Shin ◽  
Dong-Joo Min

Although waveform inversion has been studied extensively since its beginning [Formula: see text] ago, applications to seismic field data have been limited, and most of those applications have been for global-seismology- or engineering-seismology-scale problems, not for exploration-scale data. As an alternative to classical waveform inversion, we propose the use of a new, objective function constructed by taking the logarithm of wavefields, allowing consideration of three types of objective function, namely, amplitude only, phase only, or both. In our wave form inversion, we estimate the source signature as well as the velocity structure by including functions of amplitudes and phases of the source signature in the objective function. We compute the steepest-descent directions by using a matrix formalism derived from a frequency-domain, finite-element/finite-difference modeling technique. Our numerical algorithms are similar to those of reverse-time migration and waveform inversion based on the adjoint state of the wave equation. In order to demonstrate the practical applicability of our algorithm, we use a synthetic data set from the Marmousi model and seismic data collected from the Korean continental shelf. For noise-free synthetic data, the velocity structure produced by our inversion algorithm is closer to the true velocity structure than that obtained with conventional waveform inversion. When random noise is added, the inverted velocity model is also close to the true Marmousi model, but when frequencies below [Formula: see text] are removed from the data, the velocity structure is not as good as those for the noise-free and noisy data. For field data, we compare the time-domain synthetic seismograms generated for the velocity model inverted by our algorithm with real seismograms and find that the results show that our inversion algorithm reveals short-period features of the subsurface. Although we use wrapped phases in our examples, we still obtain reasonable results. We expect that if we were to use correctly unwrapped phases in the inversion algorithm, we would obtain better results.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. R297-R305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Davydenko ◽  
D. J. Verschuur

Nowadays, it is more widely accepted that multiple reflections should not be considered as noise, but as signal that can provide additional illumination of the subsurface. However, one of the challenges in seismic imaging is including all multiples in the migration process for field data in a reliable manner. Although including surface multiples in imaging has been demonstrated already on field data in recent years, the proper imaging of internal multiples is less established. We have determined successful field data applications on imaging that takes all internal multiples into account. This is done via so-called full-wavefield migration (FWM), an inversion-based method in which, given the migration velocity model, the angle-dependent reflectivity is iteratively estimated by minimizing the misfit between the modeled and the measured data. Its forward model is based on a multidimensional version of the so-called Bremmer series, which allows modeling of transmission effects and any type of multiple scattering in the subsurface and, thereby, is able to minimize the data misfit correctly. An application of FWM on deepwater field data from the Norwegian North Sea validates its capabilities to explain and image internal multiples. Furthermore, it is demonstrated on the same field data that the FWM framework can also be used for data interpolation and primary/multiple separation.


Geophysics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. U19-U29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaxun Tang ◽  
Biondo Biondi

We apply target-oriented wave-equation migration velocity analysis to a 3D field data set acquired from the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of using the original surface-recorded data set, we use a new data set synthesized specifically for velocity analysis to update subsalt velocities. The new data set is generated based on an initial unfocused target image and by a novel application of 3D generalized Born wavefield modeling, which correctly preserves velocity kinematics by modeling zero and nonzero subsurface-offset-domain images. The target-oriented inversion strategy drastically reduces the data size and the computation domain for 3D wave-equation migration velocity analysis, greatly improving its efficiency and flexibility. We apply differential semblance optimization (DSO) using the synthesized new data set to optimize subsalt velocities. The updated velocity model significantly improves the continuity of subsalt reflectors and yields flattened angle-domain common-image gathers.


Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. S65-S70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lele Zhang ◽  
Evert Slob

Internal multiple reflections have been widely considered as coherent noise in measured seismic data, and many approaches have been developed for their attenuation. The Marchenko multiple elimination (MME) scheme eliminates internal multiple reflections without model information or adaptive subtraction. This scheme was originally derived from coupled Marchenko equations, but it was modified to make it model independent. It filters primary reflections with their two-way traveltimes and physical amplitudes from measured seismic data. The MME scheme is applied to a deepwater field data set from the Norwegian North Sea to evaluate its success in removing internal multiple reflections. The result indicates that most internal multiple reflections are successfully removed and primary reflections masked by overlapping internal multiple reflections are recovered.


Geophysics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. S1-S9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yibo Wang ◽  
Xu Chang ◽  
Hao Hu

Prestack reverse time migration (RTM) is usually regarded as an accurate imaging tool and has been widely used in exploration. Conventional RTM only uses primaries and treats free-surface related multiples as noise; however, free-surface related multiples can sometimes provide extra illumination of the subsurface, and this information could be used in migration procedures. There are many migration methods using free-surface related multiples, but most approaches need to predict multiples, which is time consuming and prone to error. We discovered a new RTM approach that uses the primaries and the free-surface related multiples simultaneously. Compared with migration methods that only use free-surface related multiples, the proposed approach can provide comparable migration results and does not need multiple predictions. In our approach, the source function in conventional RTM was replaced with recorded field data including primaries and free-surface related multiples, together with a synthetic wavelet; the back-propagated primaries in the conventional RTM were replaced with complete recorded field data. The imaging condition of the proposed approach was the same as the crosscorrelation imaging condition of conventional RTM. A three-layer velocity model with scatterers and the Sigsbee 2B synthetic data set were used for numerical experiments. The numerical results showed that the proposed approach can cover a wider range of the subsurface and provide better illumination compared with conventional RTM. The proposed approach was easy to implement and avoided tedious multiple prediction; it might be significant for general complex subsurface imaging.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
N. A. Vinard ◽  
G. G. Drijkoningen ◽  
D. J. Verschuur

Hydraulic fracturing plays an important role when it comes to the extraction of resources in unconventional reservoirs. The microseismic activity arising during hydraulic fracturing operations needs to be monitored to both improve productivity and to make decisions about mitigation measures. Recently, deep learning methods have been investigated to localize earthquakes given field-data waveforms as input. For optimal results, these methods require large field data sets that cover the entire region of interest. In practice, such data sets are often scarce. To overcome this shortcoming, we propose initially to use a (large) synthetic data set with full waveforms to train a U-Net that reconstructs the source location as a 3D Gaussian distribution. As field data set for our study we use data recorded during hydraulic fracturing operations in Texas. Synthetic waveforms were modelled using a velocity model from the site that was also used for a conventional diffraction-stacking (DS) approach. To increase the U-Nets’ ability to localize seismic events, we augmented the synthetic data with different techniques, including the addition of field noise. We select the best performing U-Net using 22 events that have previously been identified to be confidently localized by DS and apply that U-Net to all 1245 events. We compare our predicted locations to DS and the DS locations refined by a relative location (DSRL) method. The U-Net based locations are better constrained in depth compared to DS and the mean hypocenter difference with respect to DSRL locations is 163 meters. This shows potential for the use of synthetic data to complement or replace field data for training. Furthermore, after training, the method returns the source locations in near real-time given the full waveforms, alleviating the need to pick arrival times.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Christian Reinicke ◽  
Marcin Dukalski ◽  
Kees Wapenaar

Correct handling of strong elastic, internal, multiples remains a challenge for seismic imaging. Methods aimed at eliminating them are currently limited by monotonicity violations, a lack of a-priori knowledge about mode conversions, or unavailability of multi-component sources and receivers for not only particle velocities but also the traction vector. Most of these challenges vanish in acoustic media such that Marchenko-equation-based methods are able in theory to remove multiples exactly (within a certain wavenumber-frequency band). In practice, however, when applied to (elastic) field data, mode conversions are unaccounted for. Aiming to support a recently published marine field data study, we build a representative synthetic model. For this setting, we demonstrate that mode conversions can have a substantial impact on the recovered multiple-free reflection response. Nevertheless, the images are significantly improved by acoustic multiple elimination. Moreover, after migration the imprint of elastic effects is considerably weaker and unlikely to alter the seismic interpretation.


Geophysics ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. WB153-WB164 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Curry ◽  
Guojian Shan

Reflection seismic data typically are undersampled. Missing near offsets can be interpolated in reflection seismic data with pseudoprimaries, generated by crosscorrelating multiples and primaries in incomplete recorded data. These pseudoprimary data can be generated at the missing near offsets but contain many artifacts, so it is undesirable simply to replace the missing data with the pseudoprimaries. A nonstationary prediction-error filter (PEF) can instead be estimated from the pseudoprimaries and used to interpolate missing data to produce an interpolated output that is superior to direct substitution of the pseudoprimaries into the missing offsets. This approach is applied successfully to 2D synthetic and field data. Limitations in conventional acquisition geometry limit this approach in 3D, which can be illustrated using a synthetic data set.


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