Demonstration of radial trace domain filtering on the Shaganappi 1998 2-D geotechnical survey

David C. Henley

In a companion chapter, we introduced and demonstrated the use of the radial trace (R-T) transform in an effective technique for attenuation of coherent noise. We describe here the step-by-step repetitive use of the technique, as embodied in a set of ProMAX functions, on a data set which has proven difficult to image because of the extremely high level of source-generated noise on the shot records. In the end, we achieve an image consistent with the known geologic setting in which the survey was performed. Since minimal processing, other than coherent noise attenuation, was applied to these data, the improvement in imaging is attributable mostly to the noise reduction achieved.

The purpose of this demonstration is twofold: to show the versatility and utility of radial trace (R-T) methods in diagnosing and attenuating coherent noise; and to advocate a more hands-on analytic approach to data processing problems such as coherent noise attenuation. By addressing each noise mode separately in an iterative approach, we acquire a much better feel for the data and the relative strength of the modes than we do with an all-or-nothing approach like F-K filtering.