Recent developments on the robust estimation of primaries by sparse inversion

Robust estimation of primaries by sparse inversion is a next-generation surface multiple removal technique with an objective to truly invert an operator that models the free-surface. Key to the success of this approach is the imposition of a sparsity constraint on the primary impulse response in the time domain. This is accomplished by carefully applying large-scale convex optimization techniques on an extended L1 minimization problem. One of the benefits of our approach is that many extensions to the algorithm can be devised under this optimization framework to improve the quality of the solution given fixed computational costs and mitigating various shortcomings in field data. This talk will first review the basic technique of Robust EPSI and follow with some highlights on recent further developments of the algorithm, including a discussion on the role of regularization by reciprocity and the interpolation of near-offset data, as well as investigations into optimality and robustness to data outliers.