Design, implementation and application of the Marchenko Plane-wave algorithm

The Marchenko algorithm can eliminate internal multiples in seismic reflection data. To achieve this a set of coupled equations with four unknowns is solved. These coupled equations are separated into a set of two equations with two unknowns by means of a time-window. The two unknown focusing functions can be solved by an iterative or direct method. These focusing functions, when applied to the reflection data, create virtual point-sources inside the medium. Combining individual virtual point-sources into a plane-wave leads to an efficient computation of images without internal multiples. To use the Marchenko algorithm with plane-wave focusing functions, the time-window that separates the unknowns must be adapted. In this paper the design of the plane-wave Marchenko algorithm is explained and illustrated with numerically modeled and measured reflection data.