An improved correlation stack method for near-surface seismic data

The seismic reflection method is the primary tool to provide detailed information on the near-surface. This paper proposes a common receiver correlation stack method. A towed seismograph is used to perform the rapid acquisition with small geophone spacing and a high sample rate, while broadband (from 1 Hz to 1000 Hz) seismic data are collected. Results of modelled and measured data indicate that the proposed stack method: (1) does not need normal move-out velocity; (2) does not lose shallow information; and (3) improves the stacking fold by twice as much as the conventional stack method. Compared with the conventional stack method, the proposed method can suppress surface waves better and improve the quality of the final sack section, especially for high-frequency data. Combined with the towed seismograph, the proposed stack method can perform the rapid collection and enhance the accuracy of stack imaging of near-surface seismic data.