Feature preserving process for noise removal from seismic images

A system for performing seismic imaging of a subsurface region, the system comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor in communication with the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute instructions stored by the memory to perform operations comprising:
• receiving seismic data comprising at least one seismic image representing a subsurface region comprising at least one geological feature;
• executing, over a set of sample data points in the seismic image, an orientation operator configured to select a smoothing direction, from each sample data point, having a higher coherence for values in the seismic image relative to another direction from each sample data point to generate orientation data for each sample data point;
• executing, over the set of sample data points in the seismic image, a smoothing operator configured to perform a smoothing operation for each candidate direction from each sample data point of the set of sample data points to generate smoothing data for each sample data point;
• performing, based on the smoothing data for each sample data point and the orientation data for each sample data point, a reduction operation to generate a smoothest component from each sample data point of the set of sample data points;
• and
• generating, based on the smoothest component from each sample data point, an output seismic image representing the subsurface region that preserves the at least one geological feature and reduces a noise present in the at least one seismic image.

One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions for performing seismic imaging of a subsurface region, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving seismic data comprising at least one seismic image representing a subsurface region comprising at least one geological feature;
• executing, over a set of sample data points in the seismic image, an orientation operator configured to select a smoothing direction, from each sample data point, having a higher coherence for values in the seismic image relative to another direction from each sample data point to generate orientation data for each sample data point;
• executing, over the set of sample data points in the seismic image, a smoothing operator configured to perform a smoothing operation for each candidate direction from each sample data point of the set of sample data points to generate smoothing data for each sample data point;
• performing, based on the smoothing data for each sample data point and the orientation data for each sample data point, a reduction operation to generate a smoothest component from each sample data point of the set of sample data points;
• and
• generating, based on the smoothest component from each sample data point, an output seismic image representing the subsurface region that preserves the at least one geological feature and reduces a noise present in the at least one seismic image.