Imaging of Multiples and its Application on Single Sensor Data

It is recognised that multiple reflections contain valuable information not present in primary reflections. Multiple energy reflects from a larger spatial area than the corresponding primaries for the same reflector. For a given common reflection point (CMP) multiples contain a smaller set of reflection angles than the primary reflection. These facts make multiple reflections of interest for improving the quality of images at shallow depths when the water depth is shallow and/or the recording geometry is somewhat coarse. Several methodologies exist for imaging multiples. Wavefield separation techniques are widely used to image upgoing and downgoing wavefields separately. We describe a new approach for wavefield separation on single sensor data. The image is formed from the receiver ghost (downgoing wavefield) and deghosted data (upgoing wavefield). Application to a wide azimuth dataset demonstrates the benefits and potential pitfalls of the approach.