Multidimensional wavefront estimation from differential delays

The propagating wavefield measured by complex sources-receivers arrangement s can be characterized by a delayed waveform in the n-dimensional (n-D) spa ce of measurements. In this paper, we propose a method for the nonparametri c estimation of the time of delay function (also referred to as wavefront) that do not require the knowledge of the waveform. The n-D wavefront is est imated by using a least squares (LS) approach that integrates the local est imates of the differential times of delay of the waveform between neighbori ng sensors. The method shows a lower sensitivity to errors in local estimates when the overall multidimensionality (and redundancy) of the data is exploited, Exam ples considered here are derived from reflection seismology applications.