The linearized inversion of the generalized interferometric multiple imaging

The generalized interferometric multiple imaging (GIMI) procedure can be used to image duplex waves and other higher order internal multiples. Imaging duplex waves could help illuminate subsurface zones that are not easily illuminated by primaries such as vertical and nearly vertical fault planes, and salt flanks. To image first-order internal multiple, the GIMI framework consists of three datuming steps, followed by applying the zero-lag cross-correlation imaging condition. However, the standard GIMI procedure yields migrated images that suffer from low spatial resolution, migration artifacts, and cross-talk noise. To alleviate these problems, we propose a least-squares GIMI framework in which we formulate the first two steps as a linearized inversion problem when imaging first-order internal multiples. Tests on synthetic datasets demonstrate the ability to localize subsurface scatterers in their true positions, and delineate a vertical fault plane using the proposed method. We, also, demonstrate the robustness of the proposed framework when imaging the scatterers or the vertical fault plane with erroneous migration velocities.