SEISMIC REFLECTION PROCESSING

Sheriff & Geldart, Section 9.13 conventional processing flowchart examples (poststack processing in boxes)

Yilmaz 2001

Sheriff & Geldart 1995

Reynolds 1997

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-1

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

Post-Stack Signal Processing

Sheriff & Geldart, Section 9.12, Section 9.13 fk filter (method discussed in class notes section 3.2) remove steeply dipping noise, such as out-of-plane diffractions (especially water or nearsurface) deconvolution (method discussed in class notes section 3.3) to sharpen wavelet and/or to reduce multiples to whiten spectrum (due to reduction of high frequencies by stacking) often time-variant to recognize loss of high frequency with depth/time

bandpass filter (method discussed in class notes section 3.2) remove noise produced by processing e.g., stacking can produce low-frequency noise e.g., deconvolution can introduce high-frequency noise usually time-variant to recognize loss of high frequency with depth/time

trace equalization (method discussed in class notes section 4.1) balance trace-to-trace variation caused by fold/stacking

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-2

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

Caspian data set: stacked section after spiking deconvolution

Yilmaz 2001

reduced reverberation

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-3

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

Caspian data set: stacked section after time-varying filter

Yilmaz 2001

both low and high-frequency noise has been eliminated

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-4

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

migration stacked section simulates a zero-offset ( = normal incidence) section data are plotted below the recording point on Earths surface a dipping reflector does not lie below the normal-incidence recording point at the surface => migration moves the reflector to its true subsurface position a point scatterer is seen at many surface points creates a diffraction hyperbola in the stacked section => migration collapses the diffraction to its point of origin the migrated reflector is steeper than, shorter than, and updip from the unmigrated reflection the amount the migration moves the reflector increases with: dip, depth, velocity migrated scatterer is at the apex of unmigrated diffraction hyperbola reflections can migrate to a new position beyond the end of the seismic line dipping reflectors that should have been recorded beyond the end of the line cannot be imaged out-of-plane dip or 3D structure can require 3D migration, which generally requires 3D data
Yilmaz 2001

Yilmaz 2001

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-5

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

migration exploding reflector model: normal-incidence is equivalent to 2x one-way normal-takeoff raypath unmigrated syncline is narrower than reality, with bow-tie shape unmigrated anticline is wider than reality

Yilmaz 2001 Yilmaz 2001

Hole: GEOS 4174

4.3-6

Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing

migration to migrate properly, the velocity model must be known deeper in section: velocity errors accumulate for greater migration error steeper dips: need better velocity model complex structure: need better velocity model as a starting point, use the stacking velocity derived from NMO analysis often migration is tested with 90, 95, 100, 105, 110% of stacking velocity under- and over-migration detected by left-over diffraction hyperbola (frowns and smiles)

Yilmaz 2001

since velocity is not known very accurately, there exists a tradeoff between velocity and depth absolute depth is not as well known as vertical travel time time migration: migrate onto a vertical time (not depth) axis to eliminate this ambiguity if lateral velocity variation is significant, depth migration is required => migrate to true depth goal: all dips, complex velocity models, computationally fast reality: several algorithms with different compromises to the above goals
Hole: GEOS 4174 4.3-7 Reflection Data Processing: Poststack Signal Processing