Source signature estimation based on the removal of first-order multiples

The estimation of the source signature is often one of the necessary first steps in the processing of seismic reflection data, especially if the processing chain includes prestack multiple removal. However, most methods for source estimation are based on poststack data or assume that the earth is 1-D. In this work, a new source estimation method for prestack data is presented. It consists of finding the source signature that permits the removal of events attributable to the first‐order free‐surface reflections (i.e., first‐order multiples). The method exploits the formulation of the relationship between the free‐surface reflections and the source signature as a scattering Born series. In this formulation, the order of the scattering series coincides with that of the free‐surface reflections, and the series is constructed exclusively with seismic data and the source signature without any knowledge of the subsurface other than the velocity of sea water. By restricting the problem to first‐order free‐surface...