Eliminating Static Shifts Using the Closure Phase Principle

In areas with complex topography, the static shifts caused by lateral variations in thickness and/or velocity of the near-surface layers will distort the continuity of seismic events. More seriously, it will introduce false structural anomalies. In this report, a static correction approach, which does not require estimation of the near-surface model, is developed based on the closure phase principle. The closure phase principle is used by astronomers to mitigate the distorting effects of the atmosphere on their stellar images. Tests with synthetic data for the SEG/EAEG overthrust model were made and preliminary results demonstrate that this approach can noticeably improve the quality of the stacked section. Further work is needed to properly compare this method to common used other static correction methods.