Estimating location of scatterers using seismic interferometry of scattered rayleigh waves

Abstract

From non‐destructive testing to medical imaging and seismology, estimating the location of scatterers is of high importance. The location estimation can be achieved using a method inspired by seismic interferometry. This method correlates only the isolated scattered fields from a scatterer, and inverts for the travel times to estimate the scatterer’s location. The correlation eliminates the influence of the path between a source and a scatterer. We illustrate the potential of the method using data from a scaled laboratory model, representing geophysical field problems. We use ultrasonic data recorded on an aluminum block containing many scatterers at the surface represented by vertical drill holes. To estimate the horizontal coordinates of a scatterer, we use the scattered Rayleigh‐wave fields recorded along two lines due to one source. We address the problem of selecting scattered fields along the two lines that pertain to the same scatterer using simple geometrical considerations, but also during the inversion. We show that the inversion does not converge when scattered fields coming from different scatterers have been chosen for the correlation.

Locating scatterers while drilling using seismic noise due to tunnel boring machine

“…In real life, the problem is likely to have a 3D nature, especially with the receiver-scatterer alignment. As discussed in Kaslilar et al (2014), 3D application of the method requires at least two receiver lines (parallel or orthogonal) with the same scattered arrivals observed concurrently. For the 3D case, Eq.…”

“…In that case, accurate location of scatterer and minimum misfit in traveltime can be obtained. Mismatched arrivals lead to erroneous results in location estimation, as well as relatively large traveltime errors (E t ) (Kaslilar et al, 2014).…”

Automatic identification of multiply diffracted waves and their ordered scattering paths

“…Diffractions play an important role in many fields of theoretical and applied acoustics, including medical imaging (Insana et al, 1990;Tadayyon et al, 2014), localization and destruction of kidney stones using medical ultrasound and lithotripsy (Fink et al, 2003), ocean acoustics for the detection of marine organisms (Brekhovskikh and Lysanov, 2003;Foote, 2008), but also in other fields of physics including quantum mechanics (Friedrich, 2006), non-destructive testing (Prada et al, 2002), remote sensing (Ferretti et al, 2001), ground-penetrating radar (Papziner and Nick, 1998), near-surface geophysics (Harmankaya et al, 2013;Kaslilar et al, 2014), seismic exploration and monitoring (Landa et al, 1987;Khaidukov et al, 2004;Pacheco and Snieder, 2006;Halliday and Curtis, 2009;Jixiang et al, 2014), and global seismology (Wu and Aki, 1988). In all such cases being able to predict or interpret diffracted energy is crucial.…”

A rapid imaging method of the seismic back‐scattered wavefield for urban road near‐surface anomalous structures

“…Kaslilar et al . (2013, 2014) estimated the location of a scatterer using correlation and inversion of Rayleigh wave scattering and travel times. Yu et al .…”