Rough-sea deghosting of streamer seismic data using pressure gradient approximations

A new method is presented for seismic deghosting of towed streamer data acquired in rough seas. The deghosting scheme combines pressure recordings along one or several cables with an estimate of the vertical pressure gradient (or the vertical component of the particle velocity). The estimation of the vertical pressure gradient requires continuous elevation measurements of the wave height directly above the receivers. The vertical pressure gradient estimate is obtained by spatially weighting the pressure field. Each spatial weight generally is the product of two weight functions. The first is a function of partial derivatives acting solely along the horizontal Cartesian coordinates. It can be implemented by finite-difference or Fourier derivative operations. The second is a function of the vertical Cartesian coordinate and accounts for the varying sea state. This weight can be changed from one receiver to the next, making the deghosting a local process. Integrated with the measured pressure field, the estimate of the vertical pressure gradient also enables other seismic processing opportunities beyond deghosting.