Surface-related multiple elimination with deep learning

We explore the potential of neural networks in approximating the action of the computationally expensive Estimation of Primaries by Sparse Inversion (EPSI) algorithm, applied to real data, via a supervised learning algorithm. We show that given suitable training data, consisting of a relatively cheap prediction of multiples and pairs of shot records with and without surface-related multiples, obtained via EPSI, a well-trained neural network is capable of providing an approximation to the action of the EPSI algorithm. We perform our numerical experiment on the field Nelson data set. Our results demonstrate that the quality of the multiple elimination via our neural network improves compared to the case where we only feed the network with shot records with surface-related multiples. We take these benefits by supplying the neural network with a relatively poor prediction of the multiples, e.g. obtained by a relatively cheap single step of Surface-Related Multiple Elimination.