Imaging subsurface structures using wave equation datuming advanced seismic techniques

Reflected Seismic signal quality strongly depends on the physical properties of the geological formations near the surface. To correct for perturbations affecting energy propagation, we have utilized the Wave Equation Datuming (WED) technique that allows improvements to be made to seismic imaging. The technique is applied to move shots and receivers to a given datum plane, removing time shifts associated with topography variations as well as to near-surface velocity changes. The datuming procedure largely contributes to the attenuation of incoherent and coherent noise, such as ground-roll, to improve the signal to noise ratio and to broaden the amplitude spectrum, thus increasing resolution. It requires as input the most reliable definition of the velocity distribution near the surface. We demonstrate that WED is a very flexible tool to process seismic data acquired in complex geological settings, and we present the application of WED to the following examples: (1) Ocean Bottom Seismometer data acquired for crustal prospecting; (2) land investigation of deep geological structures; (3) geothermal resources assessment; (4) high-resolution marine data for improving shallow seismic imaging; and (5) high-resolution land S-wave data for geotechnical and seismological investigations. The reprocessed profiles highlight how information can be extracted from targets previously hidden by inadequate imaging.