Separation of P- and SV-wavefields from multi-component seismic data in the tau-p domain

Multi-component seismic data contain richer information about the elastic parameters of the subsurface than do conventional single-component data. Separation of the compressional and shear wavefields from multi-component seismic data is crucial in estimating the subsurface elastic properties. We present a tau - p domain scheme to separate P- and SV-wavefields from multi-component seismic data observed at the free surface and ocean bottom. Based on plane-wave components with known horizontal slowness in tau - p domain, the whole P- and SV-wavefields are separated into the direction of observed P- and SV-wave oscillations, by rotation of the horizontal and vertical components respectively. The incident P- and SV-waves are extracted from the separated wavefields using plane wave partitions at the free surface and ocean bottom. The parameters used in the separation are the local seismic wave velocities and the density at the receiver location. Numerical tests on synthetic data for plane-layered models show good performance and accuracy of the scheme.Geochemistry & GeophysicsSCI(E)8ARTICLE2663-67215