Optimum processing work-flow for multiple attenuation of 2D multi-channel seismic data in the continental shelf of the South Sea, Korea.

We acquired 2D multi-channel seismic data in the continental shelf of the South Sea, Korea. The seismic data were recorded using a streamer of 2.7 km with 156 channels and air-gun array volume of 2,070 in³ with 25 m shooting interval. The data were observed strong multiple reflections from the water bottom and air-water interface because it was acquired relatively shallow with water depth about 70 m. These short-period multiples usually pose problems to the interpretation of structures and it also induces misreading of amplitude in geophysical analysis. In this study, to establish multiple attenuation processing work-flow for shallow marine seismic data, we tested three methods to remove surface multiples: (1) surface related multiple elimination (SRME), (2) surface-related wave equation multiple rejection (SRWEMR), and (3) radon filter. The multiple attenuation methods were applied separately and in different combinations, and an optimal work flow for multiple attenuation was determined. When applying the radon filter after SRWEMR, we got the optimum seismic image. SRME failed to attenuate multiples effectively for our data which may be due to failing to predict multiple with the absence of near offset data.