Least-squares Gaussian beam migration in elastic media

Abstract

Gaussian beam migration (GBM) is an effective imaging method that has the ability to image multiple arrivals while preserving the advantages of ray-based methods. We have extended this method to linearized least-squares imaging for elastic waves in isotropic media. We have dynamically transformed the multicomponent data to the principal components of different wave modes using the polarization information available in the beam migration process, and then we use Gaussian beams as wavefield propagator to construct the forward modeling and adjoint migration operators. Based on the constructed operators, we formulate a least-squares migration scheme that is iteratively solved using a preconditioned conjugate gradient method. With this method, we can obtain crosstalk-attenuated multiwave images with better subsurface illumination and higher resolution than those of the conventional elastic Gaussian beam migration. This method also allows us to achieve a good balance between computational cost and imaging accuracy, which are both important requirements for iterative least-squares migrations. Numerical tests on two synthetic data sets demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of our proposed method.