Exploration seismic applications of high resolution beamforming methodology

An optimal seismic velocity estimator is proposed which combines the covariance steering and time dependent strategy of semblance and the optimal beamforming methodology. The discrimination threshold study shows that the new velocity estimator has superior performance in detecting closely clustered seismic events. The authors also address the covariance matrix estimation problem for the new velocity estimator in the special nonstationary and transient scenarios of exploration seismic processing applications