One-way waveform inversion (OWI): Efficient deep imaging in complex salt environments

Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) enhances subsurface imaging by leveraging wavefield information beyond ray-based methods, but it primarily improves shallow structures due to its reliance on strong diving waves. Reflection Waveform Inversion(RWI) extends FWI by incorporating reflected waves to update deeper structures. However, RWI method relies on computationally expensive two-way Born modeling, which assumes a smooth background velocity model–an assumption that can generate a noisy sensitivity kernel in case of unsmooth background model. To address these challenges, we introduce One-Way Waveform Inversion (OWI), which employs the one-way wave equation to reduce computational cost and improve sensitivity kernel accuracy. Previous studies have validated OWI in synthetic and sedimentary real data contexts; here, we evaluate its performance in salt environments, where conventional tomography struggles with complex velocity models. In this work, we demonstrate OWI’s effectiveness using real deep offshore marine data, showcasing its potential for improving imaging in challenging geological settings.