Imaging dispersion curves of surface waves on multi-channel record

Summary Real and synthetic data verifies the wavefield transformation method described here converts surface waves on a shot gather directly into images of multi-mode dispersion curves. Pre-existing multi-channel processing methods require preparation of a shot gather with exceptionally large number of traces that cover wide range of source-to-receiver offsets for a reliable separation of different modes. This method constructs high-resolution images of dispersion curves with relatively small number of traces. The method is best suited for near-surface engineering project where surface coverage of a shot gather is often limited to near-source locations and higher-mode surface waves can be often generated with significant amount of energy.