Mapping the base of sand dune by using new design of land-streamer for static correction application

Complex near-surface structure is a major problem in land seismic data. This is more critical when acquisition takes place over Sand dune , where the base of the Sand acts like a trap for energy and depending on its shape can considerably distort conventionally acquired seismic data. Estimating the base of the Sand Dune surface can help reduce its harmful. Among methods to do so is drilling upholes and using conventional seismic data to apply static correction. Both methods have their cost and limitations. For upholes, the cost factor and its inability of upholes to provide continuous model is well realized. Meanwhile, conventional seismic data lack the resolution necessary to obtain accurate modeling of the Sand basement. We develop a method to estimate the Sand base from Land streamer seismic acquisition that is developed and geared to Sand surfaces. Land streamer acquisition not only provides a more efficient data acquisition system than the conventional spiked geophone approuch, but in our case the land streamer provided better quality data, with broader frequency bandwidth. Such data enabled us to do proper near surface velocity estimation that resulted in velocities that are very close to those measured using uphole methods.