Estimation of the acoustic wavefield generated by a seismic vessel from towed streamer data

Imaging the subsurface using passive data acquired with a towed streamer configuration is discussed in this paper. Instead of an active source, the acoustic wavefield generated by the seismic vessel is used for imaging the subsurface. The primary purpose of this work was to test the feasibility of estimating the wavefield emitted from the seismic vessel using data recorded by towed streamers and using this wavefield for imaging the subsurface. After a description of a method for estimating the acoustic wavefield generated by the seismic vessel from towed streamer data acquired without an active source, a data example from offshore Malaysia will be shown. The acoustic signals generated by the seismic vessel have been estimated from recorded hydrophone data. This estimation is limited to frequencies above 30 Hz since non-acoustic noise dominates over the weak acoustic signals generated by the vessel at lower frequencies. Results from imaging the passive data using the estimated acoustic signals from the seismic vessel are compared with imaging the subsurface based on seismic data acquired with airguns.