When FWI is a primary objective, acquisition design must be informed directly by inversion requirements — not constrained solely by legacy imaging rules.
Seismic survey design has traditionally been guided by established imaging principles. Parameters like offset, sampling, and bandwidth are typically selected using heuristics intended to ensure adequate illumination for conventional migration.
However, many of these conventions pre-date the widespread use of Full Waveform Inversion (FWI). They implicitly reflect limitations that modern inversion workflows can now overcome—provided the acquisition supports it.
Work at ACTeQ, supported by pioneers like Dave Monk, emphasizes evaluating geometry based on Inversion Physics rather than assuming legacy rules apply.
Rather than relying on inherited rules of thumb, geometry is assessed against inversion physics and intended depth range.
To assess whether a survey will adequately support FWI, ACTeQ uses diving-wave analysis to evaluate whether the planned offsets and sampling are sufficient over the depth range of interest.
This moves beyond simplified heuristics such as maximum offset divided by three. Instead, subsurface-based modelling is used to examine turning-wave penetration realistically.
By aligning sampling density with inversion physics, acquisition can be optimized for both performance and cost efficiency.
Heat-map analysis is used to confirm that diving waves of interest are consistently recorded across the survey area. This ensures turning waves are present where required and sampling gaps are identified early.
FWI sampling requirements can be matched directly to acquisition geometry, including consideration of non-traditional layouts such as variable density spiral shooting patterns.
By aligning sampling density with inversion physics, acquisition can be optimized for both performance and cost efficiency.
In shallow-water OBN environments, survey design is informed by analysis of water-bottom multiples. Rather than treating multiples purely as a processing challenge, they become part of the design solution.
These provide valuable contributions to shallow illumination, near-offset requirements, and inversion stability.
These methods provide practical guidance for designing acquisition programs that are fit for FWI while remaining compatible with conventional imaging workflows.
The goal is not to abandon established principles. The goal is to extend them — so acquisition decisions are informed directly by FWI requirements as well as imaging considerations.