Surface-Wave Supervirtual Seismic Interferometry

Abstract

We apply supervirtual interferometry to boost the surface-wave content of two different seismic surveys. The method uses seismic interferometric principles to exploit data redundancy in multi-fold surveys. The effect on the first survey is generally positive, where the signal-to-noise ratio is improved and the relative amplitude of other events, like direct waves or reflections, is decreased. The second survey shows that the effects are not always positive. For some shots, the quality of the dispersion curve decreases and for some a higher mode becomes more dominant. This can be caused when assumptions made for seismic interferometry by corrrelation are not complied with, primarily heterogeneities in the medium and attenuation. As such, the effect of applying supervirtual interferometry could be used as an indication for local heterogeneities.