Iterative deblending using shaping regularization with a combined PNMO-MF-FK coherency filter

Abstract Simultaneous shooting achieves a much faster acquisition but poses a challenging problem for subsequent processing because of the interference from the neighbor crews. Separation of different sources, also called deblending, becomes important for the overall success of the new acquisition technology. In this paper, we propose a novel deblending approach following the shaping regularization framework. The shaping operator is chosen as an effective filter, combining pseudo normal-moveout, median filtering, and frequency wavenumber filtering (PNMO-MF-FK). We combine the median-filter based deblending approaches and the FK filter based deblending approach within the proposed framework. Instead of simply using the median filter to remove blending noise, we apply a pseudo NMO (PNMO) to prepare a relatively flatter profile in advance, which can make the median filter more effective. It is the first time that the PNMO, median filtering, and FK filtering are combined to form a powerful coherency filter in order to improve the performance of iterative deblending. The proposed deblending approach with the PNMO-MF-FK filter can obtain successful performance within small number of iterations. Compared with the alternative MF-FK filter and FK filter, the PNMO-MF-FK filter can obtain obviously better deblending results. We use both simulated synthetic and field data examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach.