Systems and method of parallel cross-spread sorting for seismic data

A non-transitory computer-readable memory comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

• obtaining a seismic dataset comprising a plurality of shot gathers;
• dividing headers from the plurality of shot gathers among a plurality of computer nodes;
• sorting the headers separately on each of the plurality of computer nodes;
• saving the sorted headers from the plurality of computer nodes to a temporary file;
• sorting the sorted headers saved to the temporary file into a cross spread gather ordering;
• sorting seismic traces according to the cross spread gather ordering to create cross spread gathers;
• and
• applying a seismic imaging algorithm to the cross spread gathers to create a seismic image.

A system comprising:

• a parallel processing computer system configured to:
• divide headers from a plurality of shot gathers among a plurality of computer nodes,
• sort the headers separately on each of the plurality of computer nodes;
• save the sorted headers from the plurality of computer nodes to a temporary file,
• sort the sorted headers saved to the temporary file into a cross spread gather ordering,
• sort seismic traces according to the cross spread gather ordering to create cross spread gathers, and
• apply a seismic imaging algorithm to the cross spread gathers to create a seismic image;
• a borehole path planning system configured to plan a borehole path from a surface location to a target zone based on the seismic image;
• and
• a drilling rig configured to drill a borehole from the surface location to the target zone along the borehole path.