Retrieval of reflections from seismic background-noise measurements

The retrieval of the earth's reflection response from cross-correlations of seismic noise recordings can provide valuable information, which may otherwise not be available due to limited spatial distribution of seismic sources. We cross-correlated ten hours of seismic background-noise data acquired in a desert area. The cross-correlation results show several coherent events, which align very well with reflections from an active survey at the same location. Therefore, we interpret these coherent events as reflections. Retrieving seismic reflections from background-noise measurements has a wide range of applications in regional seismology, frontier exploration and long-term monitoring of processes in the earth's subsurface.