Methods and systems for automated sonic imaging

A method of identifying and characterizing structures of interest in a formation traversed by a wellbore, comprising:

• a) operating a sonic logging tool in the wellbore to transmit acoustic signals that probe near wellbore formation structures and to receive acoustic signals that result from interaction with the near wellbore formation structures, wherein the acoustic signals are transmitted by a high order acoustic source;
• b) generating waveform data associated with the received acoustic signals as a function of measured depth in the wellbore;
• c) processing the waveform data of b) to identify at least one arrival event, wherein the arrival event is associated with a time pick;
• d) using a ray tracing inversion of points in the time pick of c) for each one of a number of possible raypath types to determine two-dimensional positions of a reflector corresponding to the time pick and the number of possible raypath types, wherein the possible raypath types include at least one polarized shear raypath type;
• e) processing waveform data corresponding to the time pick of c) for at least one possible raypath type of d) to determine at least one three-dimensional slowness-time coherence representation of the waveform data corresponding to the time pick and the at least one possible raypath type;
• f) evaluating the at least one three-dimensional slowness-time coherence representation of e) to determine a raypath type for the time pick and corresponding arrival event;
• g) determining an azimuth angle of a reflector corresponding to the time pick based on the three-dimensional slowness-time coherence representation of e) corresponding to both the time pick and the raypath type for the time pick as determined in f);
• and
• h) determining and outputting a three-dimensional position for the reflector corresponding to the time pick, wherein the three-dimensional position of the reflector is based on the two-dimensional position of the reflector determined from the ray tracing inversion of d) for the raypath type of the time pick as determined in f) and azimuth angle of the reflector as determined in g).