Enhancement and Sharpening the Migration Images of the Gravity Field and Its Gradients

Abstract

Potential field migration represents a rapid technique for imaging the subsurface based on gravity data. However, migration transformation usually produces a smooth and unfocused image of the targets due to the diffusive nature of the potential fields. In this paper, we introduce a method of the migration image enhancement and sharpening based on the application of the hybrid focusing stabilizer, which combines the edge-preserving smoothing filter with the minimum support functional. The method is based on the model resolution matrix of the migration operator. We also improve the migration image with a novel target-oriented migration method. The developed method of migration image enhancement and sharpening is illustrated by synthetic model studies and case studies. The case study involves imaging the full tensor gravity gradient data collected in the Nordkapp Basin of the Barents Sea.