Digital Noise Attenuation of Particle Motion Data in a Multicomponent 4C Towed Streamer

A multicomponent (4C) towed streamer acquires both pressure and the full particle velocity vector with inline, crossline, and vertical components. In this paper, we present the characteristics of the noise recorded by the particle motion sensors in a multicomponent (4C) towed streamer that was tested in the North Sea. The particle motion sensors in a streamer exhibit streamer-borne noise such as longitudinal, transversal, and angular vibrations. The amplitudes of the vibrations are typically several orders of magnitude stronger than the corresponding noise recorded by hydrophones at frequencies below about 20 Hz. We introduce a multiscale noise attenuation algorithm that provides strong noise attenuation for particle velocity data at these frequencies. We show that a high-fidelity particle motion measurement can be obtained with this technique at frequencies down to 3 Hz. This enables 3D receiver deghosting and crossline reconstruction without making assumptions about the wavefield or the subsurface.