Subsurface imaging with drilling-generated seismic noise

<div>Elastic seismic waves propagate in the solid Earth and contain valuable information for inferring subsurface physical properties. Traditionally, the data acquisition requires active artificial sources for generating seismic waves, which can be air-gun arrays for offshore seismic surveys, and explosive or vibroseis sources for onshore seismic surveys. Active-source seismic data have a wide frequency spectrum often from 4 Hz to 50 Hz and contain reflected and refracted P and S waves and surface waves, which have been widely used for obtaining high-resolution images of subsurface structures across industry and academia in the past decades. In this report, we study the feasibility of combining seismic data from borehole drilling (drilling noise) and the state-of-the-art seismic imaging technique, reverse time migration, for a direct migration (imaging) of drilling-generated seismic noise data without intermediate steps (such as seismic interferometry for virtual common-source seismic data), in the aim of obtaining subsurface structural images. The developed imaging method enables informed decision-making during the drilling process by revealing the three-dimensional structure beneath the drill rig. With precise knowledge of the depth to bedrock and the surrounding geological formations, better planning can be achieved, significantly reducing both costs and time.</div>