Patent ID: 8385151

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating images relating to a subsurface region, the method comprising: propagating, via a computer processor, a source wavefield from an initial wavefield-state forward in time, from an initial time-state to a final time-state, through an earth model associated with the subsurface region, wherein the earth model includes at least one boundary region defined as having both absorbing characteristics and randomly perturbed characteristics such that the source wavefield is dampened and randomly scattered responsive to the source wavefield impinging on the at least one boundary region; determining, via the computer processor, a backward propagated source wavefield by propagating the source wavefield backward in time, from the final time-state to the initial time-state, through the earth model to reconstruct the initial wavefield-state, wherein the at least one boundary region is redefined as having both boosting characteristics and the same randomly perturbed characteristics such that the source wavefield is amplified at the at least one boundary region; propagating, via the computer processor, a receiver wavefield, from the final time-state, through the earth model, wherein the at least one boundary region is redefined as having absorbing characteristics such that the receiver wavefield is dampened responsive to the receiver wavefield impinging on the at the at least one boundary region; and generating, via the computer processor, an image relating to the subsurface region based at least in part on the backward propagated source wavefield and the receiver wavefield.