Induced seismic source method and device

1. A method for seismic exploration of subsurface using an induced source shot point gather, the method comprising:

receiving seismic data representative for seismic waves emerging from a subsurface formation, the seismic waves being at least partially generated by an unintentional seismic source;

correlating traces from the seismic data to pair those that share a common event;

calculating plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ) based on the paired traces from the seismic data, the plural reconstructed receiver traces being associated with physical locations in-between receivers that recorded the paired traces;

generating the induced source shot point gather based on the plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ); and

generating an image of the subsurface formation based on the induced source shot point gather.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating comprises:

selecting a first physical location within an area associated with a seismic survey;

selecting a first group of receivers that are substantially symmetrically located relative to the first physical location; and

calculating a first reconstructed receiver trace corresponding to the first physical location.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

applying a mathematical operator to pair of traces corresponding to the first group of receivers; and

summing results of the applying a mathematical operator step to form the first reconstructed receiver trace.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the mathematical operator is one of:

convolution, correlation, deconvolution or a combination of them.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein receivers from the first group of receivers are located along a straight line.

6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

selecting a second physical location within the area associated with the seismic survey;

selecting a second group of receivers that are substantially symmetrically located relative to the second physical location; and

calculating a second reconstructed receiver trace corresponding to the second physical location.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the induced source shot point gather includes the first and second reconstructed receiver traces.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unintentional seismic source is a regional source.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein an obstacle prevents exploring the subsurface formation using a dedicated seismic source.

10. A computing device for seismic exploration of subsurface using an induced source shot point gather, the computing device comprising:

an interface configured to receive seismic data representative for seismic waves emerging from a subsurface formation, the seismic waves being at least partially generated by an unintentional seismic source; and

a processor connected to the interface and configured to,

correlate traces from the seismic data to pair those that share a common event,

calculate plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ) based on the paired traces from the seismic data, the plural reconstructed receiver traces being associated with physical locations in-between receivers that recorded the paired traces,

generate the induced source shot point gather based on the plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ), and

generate an image of the subsurface formation based on the induced source shot point gather.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

select a first physical location within an area associated with a seismic survey;

selecting a first group of receivers that are substantially symmetrically located relative to the first physical location; and

calculate a first reconstructed receiver trace corresponding to the first physical location.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

apply a mathematical operator to pair of traces corresponding to the first group of receivers; and

sum results of the applying a mathematical operator step to form the first reconstructed receiver trace.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the mathematical operator is one of:

convolution, correlation, deconvolution or a combination of them.

14. The device of claim 11 , wherein receivers from the first group of receivers are located along a straight line.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

select a second physical location within the area associated with the seismic survey;

select a second group of receivers that are substantially symmetrically located relative to the second physical location; and

calculate a second reconstructed receiver trace corresponding to the second physical location.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the induced source shot point gather includes the first and second reconstructed receiver traces.

17. The device of claim 10 , wherein the unintentional seismic source is a regional source.

18. The device of claim 10 , wherein an obstacle prevents exploring the subsurface formation using a dedicated seismic source.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer executable instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, implement a method for seismic exploration of subsurface using an induced source shot point gather, the method comprising:

receiving seismic data representative for seismic waves emerging from a subsurface formation, the seismic waves being at least partially generated by an unintentional seismic source;

correlating traces from the seismic data to pair those that share a common event;

calculating plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ) based on the paired traces from the seismic data, the plural reconstructed receiver traces being associated with physical locations in-between receivers that recorded the paired traces;

generating the induced source shot point gather based on the plural reconstructed receiver traces (RG i ); and

generating an image of the subsurface formation based on the induced source shot point gather.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein an obstacle prevents exploring the subsurface formation using a dedicated seismic source.