A Deep‐Learning‐Driven Optimization‐Based Inverse Solver for Accelerating the Marchenko Method

ABSTRACT The Marchenko method is a powerful tool for reconstructing full‐wavefield Green's functions using surface‐recorded seismic data. These Green's functions can then be utilized to produce subsurface images that are not affected by artefacts caused by internal multiples. Despite its advantages, the method is computationally demanding, primarily due to the iterative nature of estimating the focusing functions, which links the Green's functions to the surface reflection response. To address this limitation, an optimization‐based solver is proposed to estimate focusing functions in an efficient way. This is achieved by training a network to approximate the forward modelling problem on a small subset of pre‐computed focusing function pairs, mapping final up‐going focusing functions obtained via the conventional iterative scheme to their initial estimates. Once trained, the network is fixed and used as the forward operator within the Marchenko framework. For a given target location, an input is initialized and iteratively updated through backpropagation to minimize the mismatch between the output of the fixed network and the known initial up‐going focusing function. The resulting estimate is then used to compute the corresponding down‐going focusing function and the full Green's functions based on the Marchenko equations. This strategy significantly reduces the computational cost compared to the traditional Marchenko method based on the conventional iterative scheme. Tests on a synthetic model, using only 0.8% of the total imaging points for training, show that the proposed approach accelerates the imaging process while maintaining relatively good imaging results, which is better than single scattering imaging. Application to the Volve field data further demonstrates the method's robustness and practicality, highlighting its potential for efficient, large‐scale seismic imaging.