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Sanitas · Seismic statics

Solutions

From conventional delay-time analysis to cascade anisotropic tomography.

Overview

Seismic statics, two ways

Getting the near-surface right is the difference between a stack that images the subsurface and one that doesn’t. Sanitas offers two statics pathways — the Traditional Refraction Statics, and the Cascade Anisotropic Tomography built for complex, azimuthally-varying near-surface conditions.

Traditional Refraction and Turning-ray Tomography Statics

Delay-time & turning-ray tomographic workflows for conventional near-surface conditions.

Cascade Anisotropic Tomography

Multi-pass eikonal tomography with anisotropic correction for complex near-surface geology.

Method one

Traditional Seismic Statics

Conventional delay-time analysis and turning-ray tomography, inside Sanitas. Traditional refraction statics starts with first breaks picked across multiple planes, then follows one of two proven paths to a near-surface correction.

Sanitas picker window showing first breaks picked across multiple planes on a shot gather.
Multi-plane picking assigns first breaks to refractors.

Delay-Time Refraction Statics

Assign first breaks to refractors, run refraction analysis (refractor velocity + delay times), build the refractor model, and estimate statics directly.

Base map of the delay-time statics solution across the survey area.
Delay-time statics solution.

Turning-Ray Tomographic Statics

Define an initial tomographic model (velocity range, max depth), select reliable offsets, and iteratively build a turning-ray tomographic model.

Base map of the turning-ray tomographic statics solution across the survey area.
Turning-ray tomographic statics.
Workflow

The traditional statics workflow

  1. 01

    Pick First Breaks

    First breaks picked across multiple planes.

  2. 02

    Refraction Analysis

    Refractor velocity and delay times.

  3. 03

    Model Construction

    Build the refractor or tomographic model.

  4. 04

    Statics Calculation

    Estimate the near-surface correction.

Method two

Cascade Anisotropic Tomography

Multi-pass eikonal tomography built for azimuthally complex near-surface geology. Also referred to in the source material as Cascade Anisotropic Tomographic Statics.

Where a single tomographic pass falls short, Sanitas runs Eikonal tomography in cascade — multiple successive passes — combined with anisotropic analysis.

The result

A first-of-its-kind workflow: statics AND anisotropic correction applied to both velocity analysis and the final stack, solving a problem no other land processing system addresses.

Real data

Results

Velocity analysis — semblance quality

Velocity semblance panel with no statics applied.
No statics applied
Velocity semblance panel after Cascade 3-3 statics.
Cascade 3-3 statics
Velocity semblance panel after Cascade 3-3 statics with the anisotropic component removed.
Cascade 3-3, anisotropy corrected

Stacked section — Profile 1

Raw stacked section with no statics applied.
Raw — no statics
Stacked section after conventional surface tomography statics.
Conventional tomo (surface)
Stacked section after Cascade 3-3 statics with anisotropy applied.
Cascade 3-3, anisotropy applied
Choosing a workflow

Which statics path fits your data?

A side-by-side comparison of the two pathways.

Comparison of Traditional Refraction Statics and Cascade Anisotropic Tomography across core method, anisotropy, best suited for, applied to, and guided by.
Attribute Traditional Refraction Statics Cascade Anisotropic Tomography
Core method Traditional Refraction Statics Delay-time analysis or single-pass turning-ray tomography Cascade Anisotropic Tomography Multi-pass (cascade) Eikonal tomography
Anisotropy Traditional Refraction Statics Not modeled Cascade Anisotropic Tomography Explicitly analyzed and corrected
Best suited for Traditional Refraction Statics Conventional, laterally consistent near-surface Cascade Anisotropic Tomography Complex, azimuthally-varying near-surface
Applied to Traditional Refraction Statics Statics only Cascade Anisotropic Tomography Statics and anisotropic correction, on both velocity analysis and stacks
Guided by Traditional Refraction Statics Sanitas TrailMap: Trend → Tomo Cascade Anisotropic Tomography Sanitas TrailMap: Trend → Cascade (with anisotropy)
Guided by Sanitas TrailMap™

Neither workflow requires guesswork.

The Sanitas TrailMap is an interactive tutor that carries you through the exact sequence of live, functioning Sanitas windows needed to reach a specific goal, using your own active project.

Pre-built trail maps cover both paths in this guide, including Trend→Tomo, Trend→Cascade, and their anisotropy-aware variants.

  1. 01 Pick LMO trends
  2. 02 Build a tomography model
  3. 03 Update it with picks
  4. 04 Compute statics
Sanitas Trails, step 1 of 6 in the Trend to Tomo trail, wrapping the system’s own LMO trend picking window.
Step 1 of 6, Trend → Tomo — the real tool, focused on one task.

Sanitas Trails™ and SeisMentor™

Any Sanitas workflow can be captured as a Trail: a guided sequence of the system’s own working windows — pick the trends, build the model, compute the statics, QC the stack — each step pared to its task, presented in order, branching where a decision changes the path.

Embedded in every Trail is SeisMentor: ask why at any step and get answers grounded in the CT-VNS methodology and your project’s own numbers.

Sanitas Brochure

Both statics pathways in one guide — traditional refraction statics, cascade anisotropic tomography, the comparison table, and Sanitas TrailMap. PDF, 4 pages.

Download the Sanitas Brochure

Start with the near-surface.

Bring us a dataset and talk it through with the people who built the system.

Talk to the SeisVantage team Download the Sanitas Brochure