Source deghosting by depth apparition

Marine seismic data are distorted by ghosts as waves propagating upward reflect downward from the sea surface. Ghosts appear on the source side and the receiver side. However, whereas the receiver-side ghost problem has been studied in detail, and many different solutions have been proposed and implemented commercially, the source-side ghost problem has remained largely unsolved with few satisfactory solutions available. We have developed a new and simple method to remove sea-surface ghosts that is related to the recently introduced concept of signal apparition. As opposed to the temporal/spatial source signature modulation functions used in the original signal apparition theory, our source deghosting method relies on using sources at different depths but not at the same lateral positions. The new method promises to be particularly suitable for 3D applications on sparse or incomplete acquisition geometries.