2UU3, EAGE !

'ubhcatwns b\

ISBN 90-7.t7RI-2R-U
EACE Pubho110ns bv

1'0 Box 59
3990 DB HOLTEN

Thc Netherlands

taute ur

t:..UIJtern~

IJJLroductJon
Chapler l \\',1\t> propagallon <tnd \cloctlles
Ch<tpter 2 \t>loCJt}

model~

(,haprer 3 The A1ms and l'nnnp]e,

Cbapter 4 Cm1vt>n10n to
Ch~pt<'r

5 The

1em-ofT~t'L

Zt>ro-oH~t'l

11

ami cffe< nve med1a

ofSe1~111K

53
ln1agmg

(NMO, DMU <tnd othcr mcthods)

or 'rack domam

( hapter 6 Post-stack recursJve nugratlon teclnmut>s

101
153
211
249

Chdplei 7 l'rcstdck nugrauons and vdocl!le'

297

Chapter

377

Tttdex

1:1

From

SCISJHIC

mnc to true depth

4Gl

Jnrroaucuan

poml of\Je'W,
, d greal
111
n.llure IIO\'>TVCT, lht>re do nol appear ro bt> any pubhcalwn~ g!Vmg an overv1ew old!l the mcthod~ imolyt>d m lht> crt>allon of the seismic image ancl, aboYt> al!. lht>tf
lmk w11h a paramt>ler thal 1'> a;, unportant to ~eJSIIlJC proces~ors dS to Jlllt>rpreler'
the propagation velocities of elastic waves within the subsurface.

m 19R3 wllh THmtltfl m

ou' veloCJll' e'mnanon
mdmtnaJ-,cale u~e of Dtp Mmeoul (D:\10) at tht'
t>xplo~wn m a\atlablt> nugratwn lechnuue,, m partiCular mort> recenth those olPre,l.tck Tmtt> :\i1grauon and Prt>~lack Dt>pth :\igratmn, and 'Wlth the now l'.ldesprt>ad ll'>t> of lht>~e app!Jcalion~ 111 tlnee dimt>n~ion~ Thert>fore, dll update was
I pub!J~ht>d a fir,t \t'nton of llll~ book m 1999 m French (VitPI\P\ el teth111111/que
mf'lhode1 - Editions n:C&DOC
edtuon m
rev,ed and updatt>d \t>J'Ion

11' 'stackmg and 'nugrdtlOn', etthcr in

1ersd Se1SmJC nnagmg ~~a
'>Ubsd of ~t>l~llll( data proce,smg, and topK'> 'Willlh <UT nnportant Slt>p' m lht> dald

lhe aun of showing the relationship between imaging and velocity, I ha1e litt>d lo
be exhdustive m sheddmg light on, e1e11 1!- only bridly. the maJority o!- pre'>t>ll!-dd}
methods used m the mdustrv, bm wJthout
mto delab o!- lht> algonlhms
ltiYohed. Recent tools, such dS inversion
or nt>w dJrertJOtiS m the
t>Yolutwn of the prokssJon. whKh St't>JTI lo
o!- mtTt>a,mg nnport,uce m
tht> \t>ars to come. e g anounlmg for anisotropy, hmt> aho bt>t>ll lackkd

Sllllple, somt'llffit'~
rathcr than to
to1llustratc
d pctrttnllar JlOtnt, abs1Jlutt> matlwm.m<al prt><i~ilm not
m\ a1m
Thost>
Wt~hmg for d more ~y~Jt>mafK approach can consult the reft>rt'JKt>~ g1ven at lht' enrl
ol cctch chapter
Wherever
scht>IIMI!(

po~s1ble,

1 have tned

tO

prcst>lll rhest> merhods tn

lrt the same Wd}, thc numerous figun.., a1t> oflen g11Cil m tlw form of skeldtt>~ Ht>re
agam, my mtennon was to ,imphfy, theu c\,mty a1dmg the reade1 's understandmg
of thc pht>nomcnd or mcthods concerncd, cven 1[, onct' m a wlnlt>, I hayc had to
1he rt>fcrcnccs atrhe end of each chapter, m partiCumcntJOllt>d, offcr tlw opportumll' of 'tudvmg J"t'al-hfe
exctmples
Thc book tlwreforc IS aunt>d dt two pnnnp,\ audtt>nccs Hnth, 1l should bt> of mtere~t to proces~mg gt>ophp!u.,ts 1,ho l'>'l~h to takt> a look at somt> ofthe nt>w roo\s th.tt
have recendy ht>en dcvelopt>d m R&D, wlulst abo refrcshmg the1r knowlt>dge of tht>
more classicaltoob St>condly, 1t should be of t>lualmtcrt>st to SCISITIIC mterprcten,
~>ho today are workmg mcrea~mgly alongs1dc prorcssors m the constructwn of sei'mJC 1mages, oftt'n m the depth domain The, will find an~wcrs to the many IJUesuons that an~t> when converting maps from the lime domain 10 the depth domain
and calibrating these maps with the well data
Thc book shou\d ,dso be uscful to all thosc workmg 111 ExploratJmJ ~>ho aJ"t' oftt>n
puzzled bv tht> process01s'prgon and who are curious about the more or kss clablht>I'Wdl bt'

Tlus tcxt thm has two m~or objeCtJ\eS that Jnterad ,m\ complt>IHt'nt one another
F1rstly, 1t ,lttempts to lcty out the key 'teps behmd the comtnl(JJOn of a St>J,mic nnage
amito dcscnbe thc rclel<lllt tools and mcthods currcnlly emplol'ed, ~uch as '\JMO,
D:\10, ,nd the Wt>alth of post-stack ,md prcstack mJgr,ttJOJJ approacltt>S urrt>ntll'
avallablc Tlw pro~ and Clm'> ofthe rt>spcct!Vc nugratHlll~ ,re ah1J c[,cu,ed, wht'Lht>r
m the tJmt> domam 01 tlw Jepth domain
SccondlY, we cll~cm~ the links and interactions that exist between seismk imaging
techniq~es and the information furnished about seismk subsurface propagation
velocities dunng thc piocessntg cyde Th1s knowkdgt> 1S t>~sent1al, a~ Jt acts as a
fccdb,Kk mecham'm 10 proYidc
of tht> sc1smic magc. and 1t
allo~>s dtt mmal t>~tnnauon to bt>
target dcpths usmg 'elsmJC
tcchmqucs alonc We a \so tarkle tht> 1mportant topK of the simultaneous use of
well measurements with velocity estimates derived from seismic processing
Tht> hook 15 d1v1dt>d ]])tO four maJor ~ecuom
Chapters 1-J dft' dt><hcated ro thc fundamental conccpls that ht> bt>lnnd t>la~-

tiC "'ave propaganon witlun the subsurface, tht> velocll} of such prop<~g-atwn,
and lhe st>~mlC 1magmg piOCt'~~ nself They should be consldeit>d as a (longl)
mtrodunwn and mm.l of lht> ron(t>pl~ wlil bt> u~ed sub,t>qut>llllv
Chaplers 1-ti ourhnc tht> ~penfic unagmg- prmciplt>~ '\JMO, DMU, 'tark and
post-,tack nugratwns In tht''t> chapters Impoitdnt Ideas such a~ 'nugrauon Hl
unw' and 'migratior1 Ill dt>pth' art' prt>,enled \\'e abo aim lo danh rhc rclanonshqJ ht>tl'.een veloat\ and m1gratmn, gomg on lo show how unproved
ycJonty mformatlon leads to bettcr seisnuc un,gng, 1,hKh 1n turn allows a
beltt>r t'Stunanon ofsubsurfdce propagat10n ycJonnt>s
Chapter 7 gcnera117CS lhe mgraUotl cm1cepl' hum 'post-stack' lo 'prt>~la(k' m
both lhe t1me domam awl the deplh domam.
Ch<~pter 1:1 recapllulales prartKal l~'ue~ m t>~t1matmg dt>pth fwm rhe ~et~lm(
m,ge and lhe St>l,IlliC vt>locitv, and matchmg lht>St> wilh hort>holt> ddta

(onccpt 111 l'>'d\e thcOI}, thc idea of

Wc also tdke thc opportumly to
among- lhem Huyg-ens' prinople, Snell's law, ray llwory
dnd thc conccpt
,\.tmolmpv, a pht>nomt>non largcly neglected m
JliUCcssmg up unul now, i~ also illlroduct>d lll tlu~ ch<~pter
Tht> 't>rond chaptcr 1s cntuelv dedl(alt'd ro
,cJouucs A' tl 1s unpo~stble to t>~tJmalt> or t handle thc Vt>lOCit}
actu,dly cxists 'Wilhin tht> ~ubmakc use of Mmplifit>d modds, whKh are defint>d by a small
m whKh rhc nolums of mean and quadratir medn play
lO mclude a number of olher modt>b,
lhe sub,urface, wJthm the f1amework of
lhere 1s alrcady a ~'.!de rangt> of litcraturc, esperialh m
of petrophysKs Th1s ~~ an ,rea whcre 'WC dlln to rharactcnzc the rclatmnsh!p hct\wt>n ~t'ISmK vclocllle' dnd lhe el,suc p!Opt>rlJes of rocks, themselvcs direclh rdatcd lO rt>~t>rvo1r propt>rtle., find and to t>xlrarl hyducdrbon~ fum ~ub
surface rcsenoin i~ aftt>r dlllhc ulrunatt> go,d of pctrolt>um gcophi'SKS' \\'e cxamme
tlw modt>ls hequendy u~nl m hoth of lhest> areds,
that the velouty mformatJon dcrYt>d from rdlertwn se.,mKs JS a uuoal
lhc 1magmg procc"
Once the majO! pnnoplcs of elastK wave propag-atwn dnd n' a"onatcd velonues
Wltlun the subsurfact> ('W1lh the ncct>~'>ary toob f01 ll' descnption in lt>rms of sunphfied modt>b) havc been pur m place, Wt' ran tacklt> lht' 'uh_cct of se1~1mc 1magmg
Hself 1n Ch<~pter 3 h1 th1s chaplt>r we brmg mto pl<~y (althoug-h w1thoul gJVmg- tite
1'>'holt>
tlw roncepts behmd l'rcstack Dt>plh "'hgr<~t!On Th., IS lhc too!
a numbe1 ol plr;sJCal pnnopk,, hur
wluch, dcspJte Jts 'exactnt>~~- snll remam~ a tJmt>-mtensive proct'" Special emphaSIS 1s pla(ed on lht> spt>nficlly of thrt>t>-dmJt>nsJon<~imJ.agmg, ami thc Tdauon.,hlp

betwt't'll !lata procc.,smg ,nd arqlii~.HIOJJ m the field Tim.tnb the end ofthe chaplt>r, 1 mtmdurt> a rdtht>r snnpler unagmg otratt>gy wlu(h ha' bt>en the most \'>'Hit>h
med m uulmtry unlll re(t>lltlv ami where tlw (OII,LHJCrion oltlw ,dsmJC
bmken dOI'>'tl uno two maor 'Lagt>'
through 'mo1 t'OUI correctmn' and a '>JJ kmg
dnmam', and (2)
s/ackJmgration

m systemdttc use untJl \t'l} rt>Ceutlv,

of D1p
lotl(t>pts bchllld tht> method, the difkrent
m ust> mdu,tridllv are ,dso d1scmscd, cmpiMSI<:mg 3D appllratJOJJ' m
JO condude, "'e di,cus.. post-DMO '>ldck \clocitJe' in thc two ca't'' of an
JsotropK medJUm and au amsotropK mcdnun

iHmwrmt or !)AJO As wcll as thc

the N V1U-DMO correuion The

Kuchlw!J,j-k, Sto//, and normal-m)' mappmR
m1e o!- the
basK p!Tll1l,t>S of se1smK proccssmg, makmg the companson hctwcen time migration and depth migration. emph<~smg the conceptual and JTdl-hl-c dJffeienccs that
'!Jem1gratwn, or re mm al of the ouematc el-len'

Al-tt>r dl,ru,mg the methodology 111 Chapters 3-ti. Wt' l't'turn 1\l Chaptt>r 7 to thc allunporr.mt relationship between imaging and velocities Jlns chaptt>r IS culu't'll'
dt>chcated to p1T-stark lmgr.ttiOJJ mcthod,, whethcr m nme or m dcpth Thcse tt>chrepldCt' tbc stacktng dnd posl-lmgratiOJJ SCI]Uence Prc~Jack
tlw ITlanon'hl}J bt>twcen unagmg and
\t>loCill'
e~mnarion 1'> mm! obywu' \anous }ll't',ldlk tune-migrdtion
wht'Lher
surh .t, tlw :\1ovc5'" mt'Lhod. or 1-ull dll-hart!OJJ stark prmc"t'', dit'
Tbev allo'W us, m prmciple, to obtaiu 'tackiug velou!le'> m theiJ
m1graiPd po>llloJI TJu, 1' a ~ubjed whme unportall(e lo 't>Jsmc

umc-mtensJVc) toob avallablt- for tlw calculauon o!

thc analys1s carrit>d out
Hn<~g-c

Fmally, Chaptt>r R IS dcYO!t-d to , yery apphed to)]( ho'W

ckpth unagcs that lit> thc 'true' dcpth measurcd m
Tlw, 1~ a constanl
jed(l.t(he' lor most ullt-rprett-r~, <~nd only d good undcrstancling of tht- prmnpk~
0 ~ci~mlC m.tgmg rlt-vt-lopeJ m the p1eVJOUS chapte1s Wlil help <lfl nucrprt-lt'r form
h 1s own VJCW on how to addres; thi' i~~ue Th1s chaplt>f starts wllh sorne .t'pects ol
A
not exhausnvt-) senes of lt-rt!Cdl tunc-to-deprh
Lomt>rson mt'lhods 1s
rhe e,t olthc ch.tptt-r 1s dnhc,ttcd to n1<~p
The ch.a.pter coucludes wtth 'omc con~JClerdtJons onrht- prob-

Th1' handbook , thc rcsull ()f thc cxpt>nence Jlld cxpcrnsc rhar I IJa\C been able [()
,nure in thc tleld of se1~1rnr unagmg and 'dt-pthmg' durmg tht- course ofmy ca1eer
ht-ad ofrt>St>drch tc.tms ,ud techmcal adv1sm 'WHh
10m\ collt-.a.gut-' in the Dpm!mm/ Smmquf amlm pa1 IKuiJr to the tt-.tms from tht- Gt>oSCJt-nct> Rt>search Centre m London I dffi the1t>forc
cxtremely .;rateful to tlw Mau.a.g-t-meut of the Direct10n Geosuenccs ,md the
[)ecnon Re~t><~nh, aud p<~ItJCularll' ro :\1:\1 J YI M.tssct, T Huyglmcs-Dt-spotntcs
dlld H Clt-lllCtl(,Oll lor ,Jiowmg me lo publish th1' tiC~'. Eug!J.,h verswn of the book

1 would parucularly hkc to cxp1e" lll\ grautude to lll} fncnd., ancl colk<~gues f10m
lot<dFmaEifv,ho kt\t> takcn the lllll<- ro review thc Frcuch or tht- English manuscnpt
(',ometJme' bothl), brmgmg 10 llll' atlt-ution thc ncccsSdl)' corrt-ctJOlh, <~nd ah~ays
bcmg- therc to ~ugge't JUdl( 10u~ aud mefulmpro\CIHcnts I would hkc to mennon
m particular jt-an ,\.inaud, Rt>da H.m.a., Wilfik Bt>ydoun. F.nr lit- Ba.-:el;ure, .Jeau-Luc
Hot-llt>, _/.a( que' Blanco, \\cs-Lur Boui!Js. Henn Calandra, Lu\ Lanadds, VuKt>nl de
Cat.a.nmt-, J<~nut-s Dchaux, Plt-rre Esquier, Christi,nt Hamtzsch, Jean-M,ul:Kom,mtsch, Claudt- LafonJ, (;IJe, Lambar, l."mrent Lt'maJstre, Domuuque
Manon, PJul St-xton, Patnck J'urpm and Paul Williamsou. Tlwu comment,, thc1r
the numt-rou~ d1scusswn~ and feedback. as wcll dS tlw tlocumcnts

[ owe

,1

lot to Cien Burndgc who had the t-Xdctmg task of

I c,unot forgct lc<~n-PJeire Conher who lllHtalll' mstJllcd m me the 1dea,

and who wa' kmd cnough ro plDVlde the
hcnch Prefacc 1hs support ami h1s cxampk have mdet-d helped me pursue ami
successfully (mplete th1s work, first m French and now m Engh~h

To Francine

lntroduction
The seismic image of the subsurface
In ga' and otl explorauon, l'>'e dre lookmg for those geometncal or strattgr.tplncal tr<lJl' 'Where hydmcarbons h<11e dccumulatt>d and wllH h are pwduuhk A ~t>t>lllH
~une\ .md the 1a1mtc mrage
enabk a gt>ologt~l, gt>ophystu~t or
engmt>er to htghhght, mlerprel
of llltere't
Latcr mt m an 01! or g,ts fit>lcrs hfC, m tht> productmt
ddmt>ate

/um o({urs wht>never tht>t"t' , dn helno;ene~l) m lhP da1l1r

Our '>et~mJC nnage 1~ a graplur rt>pre'>entatwn of rhese he"omcene"'"'
the ~t>l,llll( tmagt> proyide' a mea~urt> of the
of the conlrd'>!S lll ll~ t>la,uc pai.ullett>n Se11mu
u~ to rt>credte lill~ t"t"tle(tJVtll' lliMge hom
surf.Kert>cellt>n

Jllt>n~ely,

spt>uficalh t!S lumted powt>r of re,olutln

ln ccrtdlll rt>~pens, the se1srnu It>ilectwn method 1'> MIJH!ar to liw uJtr,sound
doctors U~t> ro pt>er mlo (or, perhap~ more correctly, 'ht>ar'
\\'e need to bear m mmd h'Wt>Yt>r a number ot

m~or ddft>rt>llCt>~ be~et>ll

tht>

11

Tndeed,

he or

tht> corren depths of Jt>tledm~ fnm1 set~nnr d.lta Tin~ JS

shall rt>turn lo rt>}JC<ltedly m th1s book
Ont> wa\ to dddre'' tln;
'>lmphtled) nwdcls of the
t>ld'>tiCJty Tlu~ JS tlw llldlll to)]( ol
2, wht>re we presenl y,nous "dTt>ctJ\e medlllm' <~ppoaches Lo Llus

't>J,mH data dlld borehok me.t~urt>mems

tinemh tmproved m the recem l't>drs to enable thts phenomenon to 1101'>' be
takn 1nto dlTotmt
the ddimtum, assessmenl and
appiKd(lOtl

The seismic survey

,ud reconhng echoes at

12

.,
<

: ..

-~.:._,__,__,~

R~cc1~ero

-cabk.\ orhydrophonc>

{a) T~pical marine seismic suney

of lhe target(s), necessarv accUJacy, etc, .!Ud extenoi constJamts such a,

nme, cost, equtpmt>nl ava!labiltty, laml accesstb!ltty 01 ob,tadt>s sud1 4S oft'horephllfOJms.
and data recordmg m the ield Figure l O1 ,how~ pKmanne and land acqtusition sune)S as eqmpmenh are
trucb and dynam1te
JeCe!Vers are 'geophones' planted lil the
m prednlled holes
gwund lor marine ~unep, tvp~eal source~ are 'a1r gun~ (comp1essed au suddenly rt>kased) am!J"t>(e\Vers art> 'hydrophones' t>I}(a~t>d m 'strt>amers towt>d
bv the boat

Processing of data
,\proce\\Ulg 1eqnnur IS ckn,ed to peld thc seJsmK rdlernvlty lffi4ge ofthe sub-

'>Urface

13

Interpretation ofthe .\e!.lmlc 11/UI!{f

lhe sc1smil 1mag-e !S loaded on(O an 'mterprctatlon WOikstanon' for vt~ual scrutlny There are vauom quaht.Inve ami quanmauve aspects tu thb w01k:
fhc 'wPII-lo-~fllmU lw'wht>reby thc ~ei~rnic imag-e JS ethbrated ag-ainst measure-

Seismic processing - Seismic imaging

J h1s book 1; prinnpally loiKt.Tned w1th the 1s~ue of set1rnu 1magmg wtthm ~e~~
mK proce~smg, namdy 411 the ~teps V\Jthm the ~e~nuc pwces~mg ~equence
LOHt.erned with comtructmg tlw ~t>ISillK 1mage a~ ~uch (e.g NMO, DMO, velocicy
.nalys1s, stackmg, po~t- ami pre-~tack rmgld(ton techmque~, as well a~ hme \ersus
depth domam proce~smg, etc).
J his means thal VIC will not be deeply (h~cus~mg ~~~ues ~ltch
proce~~mg, nm~t> dmnnauon, StdtlC conecuon~ or multiple remo\als
'1m e in modern 'ei~nu ~uneymg all the steps m rhe acqmsiuon-processmg-Jmerprel4tJon chdm abme 4IC much more hnked lh<1n m the p<~>t, wc shall
rhe des1gn of rhe acqUJSliJon pammeren cannor be acomplished

The propagation of elastic waves

Whar Jn elastK waves .tnd why do they prp4gdte m the eauh> From the moment
m t1me .mi pomt 10 space ol an errnssum ho1n a ~CJSffiK soun-e (e g lhe smlunde1
rhe 1Jbrdlwg piare ol d 'Jbrator 111\l k, \\ate! ~uuoundmg the bubbk nealed by an
;nr gun, the w.I!ls ofthe Ca\ ity CH'dted by a d)IMrnite ~omn el ), parlicles Wlthu tlw
'>llfiOundmg medunn ,m: d1splaced, whll h result~ m a dl'>equdibnum 111 the lot.41
prt>~sun regtme
J"ho~e part]es dt~placed by lhe SCISffill ~ource umlergo .t
ompres~mn, ~U}{ e they are lloable to move ecl), .nd Jll lurn exert a J>IC,SIITC ot
push on the1r ne1ghboun These paltJde.,
lo be di,placed amlundergo
comne,~Jon lhem~el\e~.

agwn commg to H'.'>l, and '>0 on

14

umtart wllh lhe ~oUJLe undeJgo a ~eond.trv mouun m the upposue duecnon (.1~ the
, thr<~lOr platenses 01 the a1r bubbk co!lap~es undcr hydro~t.tllc prc~<;urc) !'he sct~
mtc ~uun:e m tlus "ay geneJ.ttc~ an o~cillaton movemcnl ol dr1l!lmna wJtlnn the
ne1ghbuunng paittdes, a s1gnal known a~ thc nfar-jidd ll[(Ualure
Jiu~ parnck motion and chang-e m pressur 1egime Clt<tled by the sottn:e \11]1,
u1 tln~ Jashtou, propagare throughout dw subsurftrc, C\Cll afre the ~oUJLe Jt~elfh<t<;
<L,l~ed ennttmg In the Jdeal Gi5l' ol 4 perfectly d<i~lK medmm. thb flGI/lr
would p!Opdgate Jnddimtd)
llw phenomenouJ~ Jiustr<l.ted m hgtne 1 02, Ftgme 1 0~-a shm, mg a ll'ptc~en
l,llton ol the sub~tl!l.le l!ll\5 11Ut1al equihbnum po51t10n
Atttmet=

dt~placement

r, wlatt\e lo the

~ubsurbce

ongm.al eqtuhbnum posltlon,

pte~~ure

or local

(H)\nittal
equilibrium

ple~;ure

van-

(b)'Snap-sbot'(d)l'artrle
(e)Partcle
att1
displaccmenl pre"urcatt1

15

atton as a funcnon of nme,

V\'hcn
wnh prcssmc, tt 1~ dcnoted tl.p(L, r),
concenung- paHJCk motton, a~
l 02-h ]]u~tratc<; th1s m the furm of a snapshot, usmg- a g-n:y-scalc ro
pn:ssure ~tate dt ea h pollll m the ~ub~urlau. at a partiCular lllStant, t,
1 0~-d <~Ud 1 02-e, thc \ari,tbks r and ll.p aw shown as a functton o!

,,

Measuring the elastic wave

1 0~-b piOlO thc pres~ure yanatton ll.p(/."' t,)

Equally. a geophonc posilioned al
H ){lH'S <tt tnsl<tnt t,, an ekctnc current p10portwnal to thc parndc \elonty v 01 the
Jatc ofch;mgewuh lUlle ofthe pa1lide dtsplacement 11 at lim depth
lloweYeJ~ whtle
!S a ~calar quantHy, dl~placcmcnt and pa1t1de
are hcncc terlrnl l'lus mc,ms a 'ingle geophonc will only
componcnt o! lhc paltldc \eloutv ata ttnw
111 a land SClSillll
11 wtll be thc mouon's
ha\c bccn p!,tllted

thc
~ca-floor

1tsclf

The Wave Equation and propagation velocity

(a)Pamclemeqmlibnum

(b)PaniCieunckrsrrcss

~ ~-P~

'rM7::

~uh~urfa(t>''>

elasnoty that any movt'lllf'llt mduced by Lhe tnuk ts lherefore not

propagatt'd tnst.tnlaneously
The Wave Equation

lO> ami the hottoJn ofthe patide :Vewtrm\ 2" l~aw

IX' connected to the particle's mass
amllls acct>lerauon, rhmugh \\htch we also '>el' the medutTn\ local dens1ty p act
A ror k'~
nwaus rhat wlwn we apply a force (stress) to a wck, t 1~
dt>!ormt>d las
Law 1~ the t>illptrical lme4r rdatJOn<;lup bt>tween the
~~re~s apphed to <Ul d<istu matenal and thf' stram (defonnatwn) resulttng- from 1t
In our p<i!cu!aJ ca~e, prO\ idiug di~placement~ are not ~ignificant, llooke's Law
tmp!K, lhJt the st1e~s actmg on the MrtKif' wdl kad to 4 dd(Jrmauon ~d1jdz whKh
IS proporuonal to the ~tress applied The COf'ffiCll'nt of noponwnality m dus relatwnshtp, known as the axwl m()dn/111 M, constfutes an llllltal d<i~IK pwpeny of the
~ub~urface rhrough whtch the waye mOVt'S.
Combinmg :\lewton's <Uld llooke\ laws lt'ads to the dttlen:ntMl equarwn wluch
goH'fllS all elast!C wa\e behmtoul - the Ela~lu Wrme Propagfllwn Equatum (oras f~
TllOJe simpl) usuallv known. the
Inteh>Tatwn of du~ rhHerennal equauon
u~ to prer!Jct the exan w,nefield
,n lTI}' m'tant ,md an) deplh trom the uutaJ solutwn In addit\On, ti also leads -as
~<e shall ~l' later- to tlw 1mportant defmition of the wave's propaganon velo( uy
In F1gures 1 0:! and 1.03, for symmf'try reasom, rhe parttde motton 0(( U!"' m a
solt>, V<:>rtical dnt1on The p<utick m FiKUre 1 O:'o wtll rhndore defonn uuiqud~ m
thts \ertJCal dm:cnon, fr thl~ ~penal etse, the wme equatton can be Wlllten (as nrhrAed m figure 1 o:'l) as

17

fll]

Th1s 1s lhe

ot the wa\e cquat1nn <~nd 1~ known as the 1-D

now use ti lo demon~trate the lmk bcrneen the \\'ave
Equatwn ,md the phcnomenon of wave prop.tg-dtton

Velocity of propagation
I1 \\e are annmg for rhe fdl Wdveftdd TJ(7, l) ate\ en deplh 7 and nme t, begmnmg from 411 llllt1al cond1hon, we w]J havt> to tntegrate rhfh.entla.l equation [J 11
As lh!s ts a st.ndard equatton, the gennal ~ohwon5 are Kell known Ftrsy, noll!1g:\lip has tht> dnnen~un ofthe square mot ofveloctty, we can wnte

V=~

[.121

lt can be eas]v sho\>n rhal eYery functmn of the type

15 a general -.olunon !Ur rlifferentldl equauon [1 1]

Suppo~e theretOre rhat we know lhe partldt> morwn ofthe source at tht>
1](7 =O, 1) = -.(1) Functwns oftype

~urEue,

1e

w1U hence {01l51Jiute ~olttllons oftht~ palllcular (hffeeuual equauon.

Th1s mean5, foJ mstance, that the >dl[tcle mouon ofthe geopho1w H
dl depth Z, m Fg1ne l 02-b c.tn be expre,sed a~

po~1ttoned

Puttmg t, = /. 1/V, \H' note that thc paltKle mouon al 11 wll be exacrly the ~ame a~
that di the ~ource, e'<:tept for a dclay equal to:!: r,
[1
l'he <;gn.J howeyeJ cannol obyJOttslv ai!Wt' bdore 1t ts
ami hence only rhe -l dday ~olutJon \,]] be \ahd f1 pomt H SolutJon
+7.1/Y \\ottld conespond lo a propagat1o!l upwaul~, \dl!ch would only occur f rhe
'(JIU Ce were tndy buned m the mt>dnun Our Simple demonstratlon dot>s not howevei t.Ikc a[(ounl ofthe lact that tlw ~otucc !S al 1he hm11 between two me(ha with
(htferent propertu:s \\'e wtll nol allm, lht~ pomt to bother u~ f01 lhe tune bemg howe\er.
Here, we can ~nnplycomlude lhdl d parucle motwn generated at 7 = wJ] re{ U!
al all deplhs l wllh a delay t = e\' "'amely, there !S a propagauon of the
mouon from the ~ource at <1 vdout) \: the value of dus pwpagatwu
Y
delined by Equatwn [l 21 (set' Ftg111e l 04)
Th1s YdOllt) V dt "lmh the waves propagate 1~ l1nked duntly to two majOJ properues thal are cha!;Ktt>nonc of dw medu.1m through wh1ch lhev llaye]

18

 the drm11ty of du. rolks,

rhe 1ncompn.'551b1hty, or (mwTsely) the

flrllllaty

of lhe rocb conceHwd

In our sunpk e'<:ampk, we are abk to mtegrate the \\'ave Equatwn between depth~
?ero and 7. u~mg <Ul rmnhliml ;olntwn .!S the 1nedmm wa~ as~umt>d to be homogcneous. 1 e the pwp.q;atlon \elo[l nmamed conslant throughout the two d<>pth~
(OJ\Ceined
F01 an hetewgeneom med1u1n however. we would have ro 1megrate lhe equatwn
bctwet>n two pomh ~uffiut>ntly dose morder to be able to suppo~e the propagatJOn
\ dontr to be lolally
and lmked only to die lo( al pwpeitte<; of rhe
u~e the ll'1m
01 (a~ Jt\ more !Tllp!Opedy,
\'(A,),l).

inOIIOn
Other types ol wavt> motlon will be mtroduced shortlv
Wavefronts, plane waves and spherical waves
In Ftgure 1 0:!, we statc lh<~t at ume t = t, aH partKk5 bdow depth l. = \' l w11l
be <~l rest, ~mee tht>VJ'ale ha5 yet to wach them So for a g1ven m'tant t, we can define
d rhr<>shold markwg the lumt between rhe pdltule~ snll at 11.'5! anrl tho'c on thc 1erge
of bemg dt~placed hv the omommg W4Vl'. Th1~ surface 1~ known a~ the wavefront
ln out ex4mpk \IIth the vibr4l01-lruck plale. tlu~ 1"11effont 1111l locallv be
appHJX\Inatcly pla!MI, 1duch leads to thc concept of a pfrmf H'rlW:
JI >w as,ume the y1brat01's S!Zt> to be 1nmimal rel,ttlve to the dtstancc tlavelled
1

Tbe relationsbip between partide velocity, pressure, propagation velocity

and impedance
lfw<:> go back to our ongmal equaliOllS (F1g1ue l 03) and d1e ddimllon ol parude vdouty a~ rhe deiiVallvt.' of 1hsplact>ment, a numbt>r of mrerestmg relatwn,hlp'
1an be deri\ed f01 P-wavt> mouon

11{.-:,t)=f{u)v.Ithu=V t-z

(froml.l)

v(' t)~~(,,t) ~~""

,

au

2t

::::> v(z,t) =

2t

~=-~=~~

~.1.p(z, t)

(Hooke's)

Equauon r1 G1illusrrate' that for the spectal caM.' of plana compresswnal Wa\e~,
panide \elontv v(z, t) and prcssure variatiom tl.p(z. t) are pmponional, 1 e are m
phase Th1s 1S nota Jesult exact m the gene1al case though.
lll the Vllllllty of the soune Care musl therefore be wken before usmg a
recorded as a
parude velocity to
SC\SilliC data IecOidcd 111 pn'ssure In pra1 tae nonethek~s. 1f a record1ng
a 'uft!Cient dJstanu' lrom the soune, for a loc,dl)
homogeneouo JneduJm,
appiOximation holds ,nd, m thl' re~pecl at kasl,
marme seJSillll data ldll be reated n much thc same WdV as land seJ,IlliC.
The coeffluent of proporuonahty bt"t:v.een v and tl.p for plana eo m pressmn,]
WdYes 1' :\1/\: wluch, usmg wlauonsh1p [1 fij, can be wntten as

M/V=pV

[171

Product A= p V 1' the acoust/( unpnkmce, the greater the ,tcousnc unpedance A, dw
'>maller 1he parncle \e\outy w1ll be !01 a gnen pieSMlre dJfferenual
The re\auonsh1p between the ><trtiCle velonty and the propaganon \elontv c,tn
hence be expressed as

v/V=L'lp/M

[181

In the condJt\On~
encoumered m petwleum
Ap 1' sma\1 and
mcompressibi1ity
large Jor the 1) pes
the wa\C~ wdl propagate
w1thm 'lh1s means thb Jatw 1s comJnonl) le~s than 10' The paiuckvdocny's magnJtude 1<; then'fore llllV, sever,tl UTI/S at most
In figure 1 03, the wave pwpagat1on t>quatJon for aplane compn'"IOnal wave IS
~hown for partnle dtsplacement 11 lt can be eastlv denwn,tratell that rlus 'ame dJffeiennal equation remdins Yahd for the time deri\allve v, ami ha~ed on "hat we haw
stared abO\ e, also remams \ahd fo the pressun' d1fferentlal tl.p "llu~ 1-D eqanon
l.tn tht>refon' be applwd fo whKhe\er of the thn-e \ariah\e~ we choo~e

20

(b)Hookc"s la" stre>S 'trmn

rd~ttonshtp

Definitions: anisotropy, polarisation and wave types

Lnttl now. we ha\e largdy been tnt<>re~ted lll aplane w.ne prop<~gatmg 1\lthm a
Hooke\ law can n such cucum~t4Jl(e~ be expre,s<>d m releasy tenm imohmg only one tmi<Lxi;J ela~llc par<1merer, l\f (Fg11re l.o:'l).
<1Ild as;WTie~
ddnnat!On that take-. place m one \eitll<il dnectwn Wlthom lateral
J ht~. lll tun, ;uppo~e~ a Sltu<ltmn \1herdw the vbralor
pl.ne ; extremely large compawd to the parude con~ukred <1nd the ;ubsurLtce
lymg unde1 the plate 1~ homogeneous. However. when da~ttc wayes p<~s; through
the ~uh;urface, the frce~ and stre;ses subjeCted upon rhe pailtck and the dt>formacan take place 1ll .wy ~pattal duect!On
figure
ofthe f01ce~ a( tmg ata gJyen m;rant on a palIKk mto rhe nme te1ms, o,,, that make up the l(n'.H tensor. For OUI mtt1al example of
hgure l 02, we C<Ul St't' tht>refoTt' that tht> vtbrarol pldtt' t'Xt'Tts a pre~~un. or apphed
11ln1 a on the paltide~ 1ll contact Wtth lt, rep!e~enttll).\" the yerw<~l componenl of
lhb ((.'liSO!

ttr moduh known a~ rhe \ll({nnl

prodw t, as shown belo\1

lfn\m

Hooke\ law can then be

theorencaldasas a matnx

exp1e~~ed

21

""

"

e~

e""'

e,"'

e~

""
cr,,.

c~kl

'"e,,
'"e,,
rL9J

Or m a
;

TllOft' cotnptes~ed

O""=t;8c,rkl 10 r

torm

fllO]

Symmt'lry conMderattons allow a u.ductum ofthe<;e Rl c1u moduh to 21 mdepcndent parameten, w.ually !knoted C,,, di~p\aved a~ mdivtdual ekmem~ ot 4 fixG
Fo1 a complete desu1ptton of the ela~nc behavumr of a sub,urface mednun, u
would be necessary to define tlw~e 21 paramt>ter~.
7.) Yer, tf we suppow that
ddlne a homo;eneous lml
r~ a vector relattonIn the ~ame way, tht> force exerted on a partKk ara gnen nstant IS a vectoJ.
and we can me a nctor H'T~!On of '\Jewton\ Second Law of "\1otton Tlus kads lo a
desutptwn

phtpng assmnpttons
mo~t ommon one 1~ to ~ttpulate an
namdy a medium n which elasti1 prope1 nes are IH!kpt>ndent o!
U~mg tlu~ one assumpuon. we can futhe nduce the number ofparameler5 uecessary to des(Jtbe the local elastK behavtotH from 21 ro JUSI 2, a stglllfilant leap m the
~tmphutyl The h\O ntost l\ulel1
fl rhe axml modulm M mdJCated m Ftg11n- 1
1ml the,e two parameters, the 'wavt' equation' for an elastJC tsotropll
heterog-eneous :l-D medmm n:mam~ an unw1eldy chffert>nual vector eqwnon
Solvtug tt howeve1 enabk5 us to 5how"e can tsolare ~e\ eral (hfferent modes of prop"h!Ch may be mathematKally decouplcd, 11<1 lhe KTi>loffd

22

(a)Part1dcmeqml!brwm

<,=~,8,=~~

(b)Pamcleun<lertress

YoungomodulusE-- POJssonsntho v

Compressional or Pwaves
\\'i have prevwmly dc~cnhed (F1;ures 1 02-1 04) a planc wavc tnotwn where an
eLlStJ( modulus M W<IS ddincd corrc~pondmg toan ax1allv applicd prcssure Wtthout
latcr.ll dtspla(cmt>nl (Le. no dl'Jlla(einenl peqwnd11Ular to prop<tganon d1recnon)
In rh1s case, Lhe part1dc mot10n or polansatwn he~ 1-o-mndenl wnh thc \Vave's prop.tganon dire1 t1on Thrse are rekrrcd toas comfne~~wnal or 1'-waves

Shear or S-waves
Instead oJ letung the vibratmg pl.tte v1brate vettH allr a'> m Fl{Uie \ 0:!, \Ve could
equally leL the plate v1hratr horuontally, and tru1k'> fittt>d w1th sud1 dev1ces havc
be111g destgncd With such a
'>ubsurlace pm Lwlrs ILJ:t"ctly coupled \Hlh thr
pl.Jte w]] uJldergo deformaflom a'>
[ 07

;_,=di\.;.lil.x

,Jearmodulm

cr,IE"

23

An t>lastlc modulu~ '-dll be delined whwh dt>scnhe~ thl~ type of purc she<lr motJOn
Th1s pardmeter, known a~ tht> 1hnn moduhLI .t, chardelt>nst>~ the ng!dil)' of the partJde~, anrl1~ the serond of the Lam p.trameten mentioned earlin
lf we suppo~e the platc to be cxtremely large, all parucles snuated Jmmt>JJatcly
hclow ll defoTin in <In 1denti(al fashion The subsurf,c_e's mtnnsic clasuuty willthen
bnng abuut a hmlLOntal force on the parnclcs SJtuated m the laye unmerhatelv
bclow, which m tnrn will rlcform and apply a horiLoutal ~tre.,s on the next
'
clown, and ~o on Iu thts way, the honzontal pa1nde mot1on propagate~
Jownwards In '>0 rl01ng, we have, at lea~t m the local ,j,inity ofthe piare, generated a rvpe of ptme w;l\e where the pol.o~nsatwu (parude motwn) 1s honzontal, but
wlule the monon's pmpag,ltam du-ectwn lS verucal Surh \lave'> are known a'> 1hrar
or.)-U'al'n
In rarrymg out an 1dent1cal calculatton <lS for 1'-waves, we (an construo a wave
propagatwn equatwn !or these S-waves and, sunilar\y a'> for P-\la\e'>, .,]ww thdt the1r
propagatwn velocuy V, Wlll depend on dens1ty and ~hear modulus .t acconhng toa
formula ~lmilar lo ~.quation rl 2]

V,=t

llll]

Elastic and acoustic media

FlUid., have zero ngJduy fh., means that 1f one tnes to honzontally rhsplace the
.,urfact> o! a ltqmd or
the
layers Wlll rema m unaifecred This IS m
contra.,t 10 what 1'> seen
TI1erefore, we c<ill makc a dhtmcnon betv.een an
medwm. namclv m which S-wave~ c;mnot be generated nor propagated and onl} Pwaves are observed
Fl{Ufe 1 08 defines a fourth ela~uc modulus bulk mwlufus, K Thl'> parameter
applie~ wherc the pressurc dlliereutlall!.p on ea(h face of a p<~It1t le 1'> con.,Jdered
equal, 1 e u" = a" = a"= .p and ~he<~r stre.,.,es ate n!l A t~vwal exdmpk \lould he
a ~ohd paiticle unmersrd 1n a Dmd
The bulk modulus 1s a measure oi the apphed .,tress ne(t>SSal') to change the volume of a part:Icle by a gtven penemJge l!.V/V If the partJCie IS a Jlmd, the modulus

(d)Particlcmequihhnum

24

{h)Partlch.undco>Lrcs;

ht>tHe dldraOCT tses the flmd'~ mcomprt>'>~ththty, m whH h ca~t> tt ts deuoted by A., 1 e
the fint L,un parameler Fo1 a sohd, K will al'>o depend on thc shea1 modulus p., As
we 111entwned e<1rher, \\e C<lll de~nibe dll the eidsUc parameters for a homogent>om
1sotn>pl( merhum m terms of two mdt>pentlem paamett>rs, the mo'>f rnmmon
A .ntd _ Two orher parameteis \\eJe abo mtrorluced, M and K, ,md these r dn
be linkcrl Ha A and ., usmg for Jnst;met> the formuld~

M=A+2J.L=K+4Jl/3
K =c:A+2Jl!3

[112]

Combuung [1.12] Wlth dt>finltton rl 21 of the l'-\\;1\e propdgatJon \cloellv

th.:u the P-wave velocitv wHhin an ebstu merhnm aho depend., on the
~hear modulus (nguhrY

wlule the P-wave \elooty m acoustK media

mcompres'>Jbility )., In tlu~ '>peoal case, A = K =

soleh on the medmm's

Some orders of magnitude

1he umaxJalmcompleSslbJhty Mofa '>andstone (V,, lll the range 2000 to 3500
mis. and p around 2.2) 1'> fur to twehe flmes the eqmvalent K for water, roks bemg
fdr le'>~ eompress1blc than \\afer, hardly a ~urpnse'
A JS approxnnatcly twwe JL, 1mplvmg a PoJsson rallo o~ 1/3, <1 V.J\, ratw ~ 2 ami
a bulk modulu~ of K = 8~/:1
Hulk modulus K has a ~hghtly greater etlect on 1'-wave elasuc propagarwn velocJlles than the ugtdlty modulus p.,
In an aeou~t1c merlmm. l'otsson's rano u = O 3, n shale., a~ O 1, m \\ater-bearm gas-beanng sands a can be as low as O 1
these figure'> aJe ouly approxiJilate, ed(h rock \\J\1 pos.,ess H> own ehara(ten'>''<''.alue
G-eneratwn and propagation of different wave-types in isotropic media
Our example ~hown m Ftgure 1 02, w1Lh Equatwn fl.l] denved from 1t, .,bows
that a gJVen type of pdrtl( le monon, m tlm case a p!J.nar compressiona] wave, prophomogeneous, J,otroplC and ei.lMK medum \\llhout change m poldnsaTiu~ rcsult d'>,umes no
e}!.p<uulcd to show th,u, ba.,ed on the general
W<l\e equauon, even1f severa\ dlft~rrnt types of\\ave exl'>l ata gven moment\\Jthm the subsurlact>. each \Hll propagdte mdependenlly ol the other'>. 1 e there 1., d
mrhv1dual re~pet'ltve partJCle molmll'>.
'>ources, both eompte~,wnal P and ~hear S-wavt>S are
gennated For t>Xample m fgure 1 02, ~hedr wave'> are genetated rogether wJth 1'wave~ at the edge'> of the v1brator\ plate Here, a parucle no \onger expenenLes a
purcly unuhre tional stress fie!J and the ueauon of partlcle motion and u~ ~ubse
quent propagatton Cdllmdt>ed take pJat> m al! three '>p<Jttal dtrecnons.
In the JmmedJdte vicinity o! the source, the '>paual \euor o! the pawde monon

25

Figure 1.!19 Polansa11on ofS "mes Thc pamdc mo!JOn r>t thc S wa-c 1S 1n d p]ane p pcrpendtcular to
!he directon ofpropagatton. Th~ particlc mot10n can be further spl1t '""' two componcnts, une hmtonlal,
theSH\dve,alldoneertical,!heSV"a"~

can be decomposcd mto oue tomponcnt parallel to the local wavefrout prupagatwn
dnecnon and onc (Omponenr normal to 11, 1 e tangential to the wa\efi"ollf Due to
the decouphng mennoned, the parallcl component devclup'> mto a 1'-wave propagatJOn mdept>ndent of the normal componenl, whtch wt\1 evo]vt> mto an accompanymg S-wave prop<~gauon A., we have seen, ea.: h \\ave-tvpe wtll posscss JL~ owu propagatwn \elocny. wtth the 1'-\\aves propagatmg approxunately mue as fa.,t as the S\\ aves. A p.lrtide posttJoned ~uftincntly f<tr from the source \\tll thercfore see pa~s, a
Pnmary ('P') \\ave, 1ts polan~atton parallel to propaganon dtrecnon, follcMed by a
Secondary (hen(e 'S' wave, wnh a polansanon normal to tl'> dtre(tJOn of propaga-

SH and SV Waves
As S-\\ ave polansanon O(CUrs wtthtn a pl<me normal to tts propag.nwn dtrecnon,
the poldnsanon vcctOI can be decomposed mto two mutually perpcndtcular dtrecltons (Ftgure l.09). lt ts usual to take these two projected dtrectwns to be wtt!Hn thr
hor11ontal and vrrtttal planes, the respectJve components m rhese mutually pt>rpenthc SH- :md S\'-wa\etrams
dicular direoiom being known
For an tsotroplC homogencous mednun, the S-wave propagatton velonty \Hll be
mdependent of polansatlon rhrcctton, the t\\0 (Omponcnts propagatmg rogerher m
thc une and the \ame wavetram Tlu~ w]\ howcvcr ce<L'>e to be thc case m amsotropK envtronments, where the two components wtll expt>nence a ptopagatton aL t..... o
dtfTcrent velocitie'> Thts lcads to tht> phenomcnon of 5-Wa\T birefringence or 1hr>ar
lJ'II"Vf >PlittmR, a '>Ubject t.:tcklcd m a \ater '>t>(tlon

P-wave propagation in 2-D and 3-D

\\'e are now gomg to go on to consuler the case of 1'-wave pn1pagatton for a threedunenswnaltsotropll and heterogeneou~ medtum In 3-D, wc have seen that parttparameter'> \\hich \'<lned m spate :md tune, ddining
riJ], whuh de'>(nbe .. 1'-\\a\e pwpag<~twn for the
y, 7, t), Cdll be expressed d~

26

hut ahrwe al\ for lnstoncal reasons lmked to the tan that unnl
the
and
m 2-D, 1f lS ofkn the '>o-callcd '2-D vnswu' of the wave equauun
l he 2-D Mmphllcdtlon cmployed <L'>'>Uille\ a \ery p<~rtlcular ca'>e, namcly that
the edrlh ~how., no vananon m the dtrectwn normal to tht> '>t>~mlc lint>,
thc .,ource 1s a \me,
cvlmd!lca\ fa~hwn, and about a hor11ontal ax1s

flgure l 10 J\lustratcs a cro.,.,-.,ectJon of

prop<~garwn fi.Jr a homogencom
med1um In such <1 med1um, \\C as~ume the resultant \\avdleld from thc sout\C w1\l
he
lll other \\Ords one wlm h emlt'> an tdentlC<li mmal parndc mot1on
that a [un( twn ot the fmm

1\p(x,z,tr, V)=frAp.,(x,.z, =O,t),

lll!'i]

\\hcn p l'> the d!'>l.lnce hetv.t>en source S ,u r oordm,ne'

mg pomt (x, Ij, 1'> a M!luuon of rhc 2-D \\ave equatwn
fulfilled by thc pre.,sure at the .,urtacc L'.p,(t)

= ) and thc rer ord-

miti<1l condition 1s

27

the ~1gnallm pm1tJOU (x, I) \\Jll expt>llt>lltt> d dela~ rqaal to

r!V, where r 1s thc propagdllon dJ'>tdnce aud \' rhc P-Wd\'t> pmpNote, unportantly, thc dtfleencc m the amplltude tt>rm hov.ever, m
the rc(onled sJgnalt~ now scaled bv a factor of I!V'r, known as
the drvrrgnre {arlO/ lnthe :!-D ta~c dcalt Wlth hcrc, this 1~ ret't>rrcd toas t)'lmdnral

Solutton of the lull VeCIOI wavc equat1on lll a homogencou'> mcdtum shows that the
Jolart~dtiOll around the \\dvefront v.dl be locally co-tuudent wnh propagauon dtrccmtrotion, namdr, normal to the v.avefront Tlw samc axial ei<L'>f con'>tant
duced 111 Ftgure [ 03 fm
wtll be vahd m tlm 7onc
the
dcflnnwn of the 1Jrtulai
propdgat1on \elonty \'r, thc a~~umptwn of lSOtropy
unplrmg a con~t<Ull \'alue for thl\ pardmctcr J.]ong thc lcngth of thc wavefrom 11'rc.,pectlvC of the angle at v.hu h the propagauon O((UI'S

The Eikonal equation

Our di~cu~'>IOll above mrh(ate'> thdt two mdtv1dual clements of propagauon can

teum3-Da.,

28

thc 1mp.tcf of fimlt> duratmn wavelets, the Jyn.tnuc vananon, de~put> tht> t>Xl~temt>
ofan eqwvalent equation from high lrequency theOI)', known a~ rhe uampOTt t>quanon
Soluton of equanon [1 I6]m a homogt>nt>ous med1um lt>atls to tl1e fact tll<lt
wavt>fronts at time tare sphercs (or urcles lll the 2-D case) of radlu'> r '>uch that r =
y t, hul Wlll not Lellus anythmg about the amphtudt> ol Lhe waveficld

The Wave Equation in the Fourier domain, the Dispersion

Relation
The hmner domdm IS lrt>quently used m sesm\C processmg and can be profitdb!y
u~ed 10 deS<.nbe wa\e propagatwn 111 homogeneous media.
To ]lustrare th1~. "e mkc the cxample ol a P-\\.tve propagauon w1thm a 2-n
mcdnun lor pre.,.,urc field Ap(x, z, t)
[117]

There exsts a number ol JfferenllatH>n rules for a limctwn W1thm the Founer
doma.Jn

~p(x,y,,,t)~~P(k,k,,k,,ro)

a::(x.y,z,t)~jk, L1P(k,,ky,k,,w)
a~ Llp

~~

"

~-(x,y,z,t)~-k: AP(k,,ky,k,,w)

[llSJ

etc.
\\hercj = V-1, and k., k,, k, and w are the Founer pars ofx, \', z and t respccnvcly
m the Founcr domdlll
A Fomter translorm Lan then be (arrwd out on tht> \\ave equatwn [l 14] to obta1n
lt'> eqUI\alent expre~~wn m 1he Founer domam
[1 19]
Lo note thar tlu~ formula 1~ denved
1 e the vdocuy tenn \' ~ mdependt>tll ol
propagated wavefield ll.p(x, 1., t) we art> mkrt>~ted m 1'> non-7ero, we can
dedwe li-om tlu~ rclatwn dunng propaganon that the follo\Hilg expre~ston (haratten.,es propag,Uion

V =o
'("')'

k,+k,+k;'
'

[120)

Ons expresswn l'> known as the d~1jlt'TSIOn re/atwn

29

Propagation modelling

mmg lhe lollm>mg methods

Apphc<ltmn of the wave euaton lo the Founer domam, or pluBe-lhz(l
methods,

se1smie 1magmg methods solve the problem of bad<Cdlculauon of the wave!ield for a gJVen re(ord al a previom
momem m nme Tlu~ partK ula1 1oncept, 1rlttca\ ro the u\ ea~ devcloped m the book,
W11i be mtro1luced lm>anl the en1l oflhe chapler

fnvpagallnn, 1 e

Modelling propagation in the Fourier domain

The d1sperson rt>\at1on, or more broadly, lhe wavt> equaflon m the 1\.Juner
domam, 1'> a tool whi1 h al\ows us to model wave ptopagatJOn for a homogeneous
me1hum hs apph(allon (an be tlluslrated through ~olwwn ofthe follo\\ITig problem
Suppose \\e know the \\a\Ttleld .p{x, z, t) <1t an m~tant t (we called 1t a \napshol'
111 Fl!{llle [ 0:!) anrl aun to modd tlus propagatwn beyond th1s nutUll 1tate to find the
wa\ef1eld ata \ater tune t + dt The uuua\ '>tate eould be, for mstance, rhe osul\atory state at the mstant the source begins to emll, 1 e there lS enefb')' u-uected m the
'>ystem. It (all a\v be any mstant t we choo~e dunng the course of rhe propagatwn,
for a gtven cla~tJC merhum, <1fter the source ha~ cea.,ed ennsson
To re~o\ve the se(ond, shghtly sunpler, problem, the Fourier transform can be
taken of lhe snap.,hOI condnwns Wlth re.,peo
dnnemmns x and z.
AP(k,, k,, t) Applymg ditfercnuanon n1le~ [l 18] 10
Equatwn fll4], we
obtain the fol\owmg relattonshtp

o'AP(t)

, ( ,

')

~=~V" k,+k,+k, -.to.P(t)

[1211

Thts rhfl'crenua\ equanon lus ,.,'CJJ-knoy.-n ana\ytJCdl

~olutwns

of the form.

The dspenwu relanon once dg,un pop~ out uaturally ~-quauon [\ 2:!] leads us
dJrectly lo the '>olunon of our pwblem, a~ Jt allow~ m 10 Ie-(akulare tlw wavetlcld at
lllStant t + dt ba~ed on the wa,eficld at mstdllt t, '>lmplr b1 an clemelllal~" tenn-byrerm 1omplex number multipl11ation m dw Fourier domam
Figure l 1 [ \lustrales thl'>, us111g the lechnuue ro descnbe a 2-D plane Wdve
propaga non In rhs examplc, thc m~tantaneoth ~gnal at time t 1'> Lelo e\el)where
ex(ept along the pi<U1e \\ave of rhp
1he s1gnal bemg lnnHed m frequencr band\Hdth (Figure l ll-a) "111e plane
Founer transfonn IS

30

{b)Phase<l>,ofAP,(k,,k,)
(amplitude not sbon)

(c)<l>=Phaseofthe
'pba~e shift operalor'

_
-

(d)Pbase<l>...,,ofsnspshot
Al' ...,,(k,,kJ al time t+dt:

7Cro cverywherc cxct>pt along the k, 1 k, = d1. 1 dx = tan(fl) axis, th1~ bemg one of
thc prowrne~ of aplane \\ave\ tianslmm i\long tlm ax1~, the amphtude depends
ou thc '>pntral (Ontent of the '>lgnal, f tht> ~1gnal ~~ 'ero-phase', tht>n the phasc
along the axis w11l be !mear (as a~~umcd m Figure 1 11-h for '>lmplluty, although an
llllllt>CeSs.ll)
To rakulate
\\avdicld (~nap~!JOt) at time t+dt, we '>nnply necd to applv
r1 22], wluch .!mouuts to a term-hy-tt>rm complex number multlplH anon of thc
tmagt> .l'(k" k, L) vnth opcrator

31

rcsultant modJI!canon of the pha'>t> spectrum Al'("', k,

m~e1~e Founc fi<ill'>fonn 1~ then carned out, the
msr:antaueous wavdicld at tune t +Jt, aud \\e ohram
hdwnn t1mes 1 and t+dt
l hl'> methml of modclhng propagatwn wlthm the Founer dom.m ra1ses
Firstfr, the
(~phe1e~

~everal

of tlu~ 'phase-sluft operator' w1ll be t ou~tanr for al! ctrde~

such th.u

k~+ k;= constant.

r1 ~Hl
comrdnt In the ~peufic ca~e of F1gure
the '>pectrum rem<1mmg non-7ero
a plane wave propln tenm of phase,
pha'>e-~hlft operaror ans hnearlv,
a transL1t10n \Vorkmg through the equatranslatwu has components dz =
1 e a paralld plane wave propagauon equal ro

k, k,

dmg to hH1 po~'>tble

duect1on~. one
J'hese two pm'>Jble re'>uhs are 11lu~trated togerher m
correspond lo tv.o ri1'>1lllt t phase-~hifl operdflOll'>
ronespomi\ lo k, = () This property wJll be used m Chapter
the \\ave equanon for a pmpagatwn occurrmg
1Il (lose proxmuty to the vertical ax1~ A., n01hmg Mates dt has to neles~arily be short
tu duratwu, \\e can use th1s method ro propagate between any tv.o mstants m ume

,,

/;

methorls
pha~e-sluft operdtor ha'> heen mtmdmed above m order ro propagare a
wave from one mstant m time t, to <llorher t, In Chapter
meet <llolher
pha~e-.,Juft operator unhsed m ~e1smK nn.gmg,
wluch perm1ts a propag<~llon from one measurement surface z, to another z,

N umerical integration of the Wave Equation

l,se ol dllalytK<tl solunons and the Founer rlomdlll are espenally (omementfor sJmu]atmg Wd\'e propaganon, but the apphcatH>n of ;u(h methods reqUJres a number of
For
p1opaganon,
numencalmtegranon of the \\;ne

32

equJ.tJolll~

an01her merhod we can me ro modd

propaganon m d glVeD medurn

linnl ntnl', v.e have a~~umed our wavcllcld to be connnuow,ly known, wh1Lh m
1s not ~tnctly the ca~e. Th1~ 1s hecause the dltual physKdi med~Uement IS
thc wavefield 1> measurcd a> a lunctlon ol tune 111 <;m,JII, but d!~
the reu>rdmg ~t<~ge or ') or 4 ms al the pro((,-,ing
m the ;paltal dom;un. whethel m ~tu tace or borehule
seiMllll, w1th ;uurces and ncctver~ heing natural!} pl<~Led al more orle'' regular dt'
oete IIJ[enah In the s,une wJ.y, the computenscd natu!<' of modelhng and se1>mJC
unagmg obhges u~ lo samplc thc stmul<ttcd w,lVdield

Example of 1-D propagation simulation

t) m Flgure 1 04 1s a Iuuctton uf
.J;., an e:x,nnpk, oUI J.D planat wavdidd
\en,lon, f'.p(z, t,) 111 the d1S0ete
wo \aJidbk~ ,nd can he replJ.ccrl by liS
real m
lum~ lwmg ~,uupled 111 mtena\s of dt, '>Uch that t, = J d.
m dz, suLh lhat L, = l dz
repre~eut the e\ ohm un uf
m Figure 1 12, whcre wc
ur mm e malhemaw allv, a
the 1-D 1'><1\ellcld 111 'P"'<' and time lll form of a
matnx
L1ch row m the ffidtnx rcprt'ients the suhsurface waveiield (osCJllatoJy state)
m llllle, a~ recutdcd by a rcctJYer platcd J.l ,1 gJVen di.-.crete dcplh z, wtlh for
lnSLUJC<'. lile firsl row 111 the mdln:x rcprcsentmg the mtt1al condtlmn al thc
'>urfatc
Ea1 h tolumn m lhc matnx hencc rcfcn lo the wavdield ata gJVen

In the >mpled wurld, dJtfelentJi equ,muns becume jimtr diffnrntl' equulwm, the
term lendmg 1ts name to the numemus modelhng too\<; and IIHgratJOn tedm1<ues
w1th whJCh Chapter 6 dea\s he name come~ lmm the approxJmJ.tion ol denvatives
\l';mg drlference<, Fur 1n~tJ.nLe, the tnne denvJ.tl\T of the wa\eliclrl can be appmnmated b} the lullowug d1fference fouuuL1

_ Ap(,, t,,, )-Ap(,,.t.)

[1251

dt
In ~uch numencal ;cheme,. ll JS e~sentJJ.! to en~ure the denvalne"s value ,, uken m
the centrr o/ the ;amphng llltei~al, here (t,.,+t.)/2, m order thJ.t the numencJ
scheme ts 'centred'
Stm\ar\y, appruxnnate denvatJVe> can he estm1ated \\"Jth JT~pe< t tu depth vanable 7, htgher-otder dettvatlves esttmated stmp\y hy J.pplpng- the \ame scheme 'ever,t\ time\, e g

e 'r(z,.t,.,)-n(z,. t,)+ 'r(z,,t _,)

dt 2

[1 261

:\1ak.mg dz or dt sm.tller, the more accurJ.te thc~e <ahulatton Sl"heme' w11l be

However, such .tn approximatwn sttll tntrodu(e; a dt~per,wn (.t ~ubje< t we sh.tll
return to later) whtch sub~e<JLU"ntly wi\1 need to be minuuised In pracnce, the
s< heme' we have at our dJ,po,al ,He much more comphcated than those menuonerl
J.bove and h1gher-order denv,ltives <an be cal< ulared with great pre<JSun
To Slmphfy oUl notatJon, Ke <,Jn put

Lht~ new equJ.tton aliows muneJJCal mtegratlon of th<" l'.dVt' equalwn

tor example, f we \\%h to knm\ the wa\eflcld ata gwen m<,Unt dt and all depth;,
we sm1ply need tu 1solate the (+ l) tcrm

Puttmg. b=

Vd:~

P,,. 1 =2 (1-b 2 )p, 1 +b' p,+,, +b 2 p,_ 11 -p,,_ 1

[1 2Vj
'1"1

Lhe term at unte t,"' and depth 1 appe.lr~ m the '<heme a; ,1 hnear omblllatton of
tenm m tnne r, .md t,,. and 1n depth z , 71 and z _, J hh ts shown on the dtagram tn
hgure 1 12 Lhe we1ghung m tbe hnea1 combmatton depends un a p<trmeter b,

~----~---~---..

(21

d"'"'gomgv,avc

"'

\ dl---, h-

lh!"ll dependenr on rhc ><~mplm..; mtcrvJ.b dl ;md dt, and ahovc all, t!H" ]o( J.! propag<lt!Oll velouty Y at depth /
a., ohown n
\Ve CJ.n nuw numenrall} ;uuulatc the souHc
F1gure 1.13 ln mdeJ to <;Jmphh thc ;kct!h,
to rc,J!J;e what thcmrtialumdilwm di<'
ofthl" matn:x.
the (am<~ht\ pnnuple <,ltpulate' lhat the\\il.\dield 10 7ero lo t < O,
Fm.tlly, thdt !he 'uh<,urL1cc 1~ ,Jt rc;t befmc thc emJ~~Ion ol the <,Jgnal, 1 e no
nther ;omLe~ are present, Illl"alHng the frsl column r, W!ll helero
thc op!"J,Hor cm no\\ be apphed tu thc<,e mJtldl IODdJtJons to JalcuLltc rolumn t,.
slartmg fnm1 thc lirst lO\\ and
downward> Colmnn; t 1 <~nd t, .tre then
u;cJ tu unnputc 1 ulumn t"
depth <tnd time lnmt~ rhosen
As a Iesult, \\t' ob,enr lhat at c,J!h depth we find thc ~1gnal und!<,lorted, but
fh1~ denwnstr,Jtc~ the cor-

be sampled

,Jl

dJtfeJcnt tllne;.

35

tJon. "lo ~lmplil) the Sltuauon, we ,Ilso suppo.o,ed the medtum above thc ;ource possc%ed the ;ame pmperttes a~ that hdm>. In practtce though, we nced to be a great
deal ll!OJT caJ"C"Iul and pren;c when defimng a sourcc ,ICting upun a half-space, a
<omment wc madc abo lor the analytiCal ;ulutJon, tht~ though gnes be}ond the mm
ofth1' boo.k.

A stcp-h)'-Step mtegrJ.tlon of
heterugcncous fot thts ID mcdmm Lase) can thetefurc
Vau.ltlOns 10 the prupagatJOn veluCIlie> an" now represented by a \'tlOC!l"j. tUncnon of depth V(1), or, mure prensely, hy
a 'ampled funlllll \.(1) C.hangc~ tn \"(L,) however must remam such that they are
comp . Itible 1\Hh the ;ve uf d1 thmen, lo en~ure. un the une hand, the numencal
o.~ heme rcmams ~table, ,Ind on tht" orher, that 1( remams suffinentlv a<nnate

ngKI, te.
rn otder toJo th1~, a new boundary cunditwn
thl~ bcmg
that the wavcfteld !S Lero helow dcpth z, Apphcation oftht<, hmmda11' <onditon to
om prevwus numencal 'lhcmc ts ,bown m Figure 1 14 From tum" 1;, onwa1ds,
although Luntmuing tu appl} thc same numcncal schcmc. thc wavdidd bctomes

36

created
From l-D to 2-D and 3-D

!tal 1 ondlttom 1'.111 apply Jepeudmg on whethe1

a ]mear ;uurce or .1 pomt .-.uun:e .\pplwd lo a cuu~tant
~~heme WIIl autotnalltalh shuw the amphtude decay uf !he stgn<ll. renectmg cylmdrical ur 'phenc<ll dl\ergence

~~ a vectm \, In
Ill<ttn:xrcspetltveh
1t l\
lo note that In helerugeneou~ multt-duuensmnal medi<i. waves
as rcllected lf reir al ti un cannut be addres~ed 111 the ~unple 11) t<l~e aUme. 11 ~~ ho\1ever <1 uunal ph}.,llal phenumenun, un whtch "T come back
late!. ReladtoJJ ~~ 11elltakcn .~ccuunt ol in fmne diiTeierKe mudelhng 11l 2- <tnd 3D, <llthuugh tlm, 1'> not demon~tr.ted here

Numerical propagation ofthe wavefield in depth

1he f-in1te diflerence s1heme uulltned <tbuve <lllo\>ed u~ tu model wavdield pmpalso enablc~ u~ to pwpa-

37

lo do th1s, wc s1mp1 rcwntc the finne dlffcrcuce equanon,

puttmg a

J~olatmg

the (1 + 1) dcpth

=V~ , it comes :
[130]

P1,,,=2(1 a')p,,+a' p,_ 11 +a'r,,.,-P,. 1 J

The above equalwn 1eado toa nulllencal scheme 111 whKh thc ope1ator strongly
Jl"~emble~ a lram.po~ed veromn uf the
t1me upcratur fh1s opcratur is
~hown <IS well m Figure 1 l'! In equallon
the terrn tme~pundmg to the
wavefiekl at deplh
dnd lllllC
a~ a
of the ;ampled
Thb -,houkl be uf httlc 'urpn;c. smle a secboundary cond!nons lt does rm;c a parucular problem howevcr to msllgate lhe calcu1allon we
need lo L.nm> thc 1\,nellelJ at 11\u dilferent
or altcnuuvely, lhe wavdicld
and 11~ suhsequcnt depth dcnvatne at
l he condmum al the boundary
l\tl1 be chlkrent a1 cordmg to whclher the souJCc ~~ at the ~urface a11d lhe prupagatJon uccur~ ouly wHhlll the half-~pace z > O or "hether thc >uunc JS buned, for
1\"hJCh ca'e the pmpagallou w111 mevJtably O(Cur m rwo duecllon~, 1 >O anrl7 <O.
The problcm doe' not ocnu 111 the time p10pagatmn method. swce 111 thls methotl
11e chuse .1 gl\"<'11 trdvcl dtrc! 11011 and maJe u~c of the cau,,Jitt pnnnplc, as m
F1gure l 1:'>
Fur a dm>l1\\"dn:lly
wavefkld. a deptlt
mcnuoned,
mg the \\,tvdie1d and ih dcnvative .u depth z, Wc <an easil}
nel lO C,Jlcu\atc the W,Jveficld fm tbe depth 7 ,, fi"om a know1edge ofthe l>avefie1d
Thc Jmpul"lance of thb seemJI1gly stratght-

ge11eratmg a rdkcton
So fat~ as wt"
ha ve not tackkJ thc <,u~c< t of rdiacuon, a phenomenon
p1edictcd by wave equatmn lllle[p-auon Th1o is hccau~e our dt~Cus;JOn has heen
hnmcd lo thc 1-D wavc equ.llHlll, fmt we ~hall no" 1ook al thJ> phcnomenon fmm
anolheJ \antagc-pomt. thruugh the lOIKept., uf <~'m'rfwnfl and 111") tl!ron

a!~o

Huygens' Principie, wavefronts and rays

Virtual sources and the principie of superposition
F1gure l 1 S show' an exampk uf a \\rtvcfwnt .11 in,tal1t t Re! all that thc WJ.\ehont al a g1\CI1 m;tant lt; the ~ct ol pomt~ ~cp.n.Jtlllg tht" sub~urf,JCe 7011c alrcady
pa~"ed b) tlw \ tbunon mutmn flom that '>llll alJe'>l Thb lorus c.lll be Jnlagmcd a~

vcfrontat
Q

"avefmn
(b)Heterogencousmcdium

rhe snapshot at time t of the wa\efield created hy an Impulse ~ourcc 'Ignature correspondmg- tu a DmK tin\( tJoll, a sign,tl uf infimtemal duratiun, vet fimtc cnergy
As wc h<tV<' ,een, we Cdll sunu!J.te the prupagatlun, t.e find the wa\efidd ar tune
+dL by Jntegratmg thc \\,tve equatmn, takmg thi, <,napshot as the Jlltt!al ondttlon
Tht~ 1', exanh what wt" dtd for the plan e wave m the pre\mu.-. pa.tagraph, m alcnlatmg the J+ l" column uf matn:x p,, ba~ed 011 the ]'" column
to derive the wavefmnt ts lo apply
~lmtdate eb~ttc wmc prop<tgdtmn

1'

lfuygcns' princtpk illw,tr,ttcd m Figure 1 15 Eath virtual wurce gctwrates tb

own wa\efront, wh~th m a homogeneou-. merlunnts orttddr The wmefield at tnstant
t+dt 1~ the ~um ui thc rulllnhutmn uf all the~c vtrtuJ.I ~oune' (the
uf
lweanl\ or supn posmon) Sw h ,J <,ummalton """""m""'' <oog we
t+dt, }Cl cksrructiVe cvervwhere else
pnwokeJ by ,lJ vrrtual suurces Hcnce,
fronts results in the geometnca\ reconstructmll uf the new wmcfront at 1 +dt ft can
be
dcmonstrated tlut for a
mednun tht; ''dvefront ~~ ,thu a
wnu\d ;hu\\
Huvgen.( pt mctple alo,o remam~ vahd for a heterugeneum medtum Ftgurc 1.15b ~hov.~ a ll"Jlfesentdtive wa,cJnmt dl mstam t cntenng tnto a medllltn uf cuntinuou~\> varvmg velout\ V In the same \VdY as beforc, eaclt pomt on the WdVefront acts
a<,; \trtua\ ~uuKe Ie-cmlltmg at lllMantl .\tune mterval dt ,uftiucntl\ sm,l\t~ then
cho~e_n tu enable each ncv. pomt\ indl\idual v.avehonl
'
cleufrddllls \":dt Lhc grealcr

39

111 Hs pd;>age ,H roso; the mednuu, the more r,tptd\y the urde radn wtll dt~place latetall} J.nd the >maller thc dt value> shuuld Ue Ome agam, accurdmg to the pnnCJple uf;uperposnwn, the w.wefnmt at lll,IJ.nt t+dtwtll Ue the en\elopc ol these mdtvtrlual cm les Dueto
\illl,Jttons thuugh, tht~ new wa\efrunt wtll no be
patallel tu that ol thc
1\avefront, thc valldtlOD; m \clocty gradually
ddonn the wavcfnmt.
thc wmelrunt Cdn he pmpheterogeneow, medmm hnm th mltlalutstant of emtsstun at the
soune, ,Jt t"" O, unttl any mst;ml t, and enecttvdy rcpresenh .m cqmv<llcnt uf rhe
mtegt,mon of the w,tve equdtJOD, or more preu~elv the EtkonJ.l equatiun. bell.'>'een
Jn\lant 7eru and thc n,t<tnt t

tu
path PQ t> hence the path lo\lowed hy the elaslic
enc110 tium W<t\elrunt t tu wa,efmnt t+dt dunng !he prupagatJOn In addttwn, l'Q
hes by con,lructiun of thc en,elupe, perpendicular 10 the wmefront t+dl 1he euerpath Frum

u.lwh follows thr uopagatwn,

1' knuwn as Jts

evcry moment 1n tJlne normal

tlon uftt

tu

rav ts at
the wavdrunt. "'h!Ch cun,tttutes a ;econd ddim-

(or both) Wtlhm a model Sunplc ra' t~wr ,~.

r;n, thc 111)/lllih and /Tavelttme alO'l!!.
alung
r.;y (OJrespondmg tu a partiCular tr,tvehime ~\lore
ruques. knuwn
J.dchttunally the VJ.nauon 1ll 1he wavefronl dtnplitude to
with sume t"ea<,OJJ<tbk ptecisiun Ray lracing
rep1-esenb therefore a powerlul mudelhng too\ fur ela>ttr wave pru{MgatJOJI 111 hetc,cn amsutmptt medta, and ha~ numetuus appltcJ.tJUns m seJsmJC
We \VIll later see th u'e m ;et<;mK unagmg 1echn1que;, e~peCJall} fur the
calculanun ofthc (.reen functwn m map
tl"Jvelume tmenton, etc
Bef(eJJdnd
\\e mu;t first t,tkc a
at Snell's law, which

Snell's Law of refraction

tatton ol WJ.\ehunt propag,Jtton, a> ,ho\\n lll hgure 1 l

40

<m8

\\'e suppo><' tbat W!" dre mterested 111 a lucally plane Wdvdrunl Jlludent u pon a \e!oc!ty conlla't thdt Js ahu IO!all} plan,Jr Appl}mg lluygen.-.' l'nnnple to each med1um,
and as~ummg tnntllllllt\ of part1de motlon acros-, the mterface, we can casdy show
th3t the w<lvehnnt nmalll> pl.mar on both .-.Jde> uf
The w,JVefronl will not ha\ e the ~ame prupagatmn Juecuon 1n
due
to thc change lll velucnic~ preselll Takmg the wavefront atllJSiillll t and !he m,,Jnt
t+dt, the dJ<,IJJ](e betwccn the twowd\dfont~ 1nll be represellled h) V,dt and \", dt
J1"<,peCU\Tl} m tiH" 11\o 1ones (,1pplymg the rules of prupagaliun na homogeneou~
mednnn Jefined ahovc) Usmg the geometncal relauon;lup between thc lwo trMn1 IG, we ubtam thc ~-ll \el"S!oll uf Snell\ L<~"

sm8 1

smO,

VI

V,

-~---

=p

[l

~lll

and \',<~.re those oi Flb'Lil"e l 16. p bcmg a cunst.mt

''h1ch
a gt\en ray .Uld
kno\\ll a> the T(/\' pwameter
Sndb La1' 1~ a direct on,cqucmc ot the \\'<~.ve
ra}~ as opposcd lo \\avcfront;, dcsp1tc <he ,eowvci<'nce

to
the 1eloCJtY gradJCnt veltor VV(x, > 1) tiMt thar<~.Ctenscs the local ch<~.nge m veloCJt} In the cla<,~Jcal case of ,1 p!dnar mterfate helween
twu med1a uf Jffercnt 1docl\ (a.-. ID hgurc 1 lfj fur mstantc). VV , collincar tu the
normalnto thc 1111edace
stale~ lhat the <,]mnw~> 1 ectoro; u, and u, uf rhc mudcnt
thc

41

re;pecmTh, ,!'; wcll a; VV, are J.l!tn the s;mc plane Mmeo~e1; n ~l.ltc~ that the procrtton uf the ;luwnes~ \t'Ltor un the plane nurmalto n wrll be lon;Unt The lirst
conrlitron meam thal there 1~ a scal.rr a ;uch 1hat
U

=u,+

dO

[1 32]

l he Lrtter Londuron t> a g-encr,rlrsallun uf [1 31]th,lt wc tJ.n \>rJlc ,rbo

u ;rnO

= ton~t,rnt

[1 33J

bcrween vnt111 u ,md !frior VV The ton~tJ.nl p

.\ng-lc O 1; m tht; caoc thc
tlw
stmrlarto
2-Drascabu\e
mlenn~ ofa, [1 3')] ,m be IITttten a~

1;

r--~---;

a=~V[-"Y!~(u,

n)"-u 1 n

[1:14J

Equdttons [1 32] and [1 :H]tog-cthtr define :'.nell\ law m 3-D

Recursive versus global methods: Kirchhoff Integral

mcthods are knuwn a~ ICIUI\Wf mrthod' and allow the ~olutron uf the Lwo followrng
prop,rg;rtton problem~
knowrng the W<11efreld
z, t) evervwhcrc at trmc t, 111 ordtt to frnd the
W<llefieldattrmrt~dt
1 llurl 15),
F, t) a~ funcuon uf tune dl depth Fn. l]ndmg the
tllnc al depth 7+dF (Frgure 1.13)
\\h,tt we need ts a too! whrch allowo; us to Lakulate drrectlv the value ol the w;vefield
medtum
,lgdtton ]llol>lern we \ldnllo <,uhe, can be Sl<tted as
""Knowing the wa\efielda<, ,r funrtion uf tllne over a (clo~ed) ~udatc ~. we tan
t1nd thc \ld\efield ~p(x,,, Zw 1) dS a tilnctton uf tune at J.ny gtven pnml M wtthrn thrs
;urfI.Le"'
l ht' may ~ound lrke .t strange problem to addre;;, but as IV!' shJ.ll see latcr 111 the
't'llJOD, and agarn m Chaplcr 3, tlus ,rn be med 10 great efferl wHhrn M't~mrt tmag-

an ,ubitr.IrJ
,m effet tlldy he r-eon'>trurted ifwe kl101\ the \\<tlcfield mTr surfatt L un!} lt goes
bc\(md the su>pc ol tl1e book to denmn<,uatc thr' lheory, for whrlh a theureucal

42

(a)Gencralca>e

(bl Spcctfic applicatmn

to~ei~mic

data

ba~ 1 s un be lound e g. 1n Bcrkhout (1987), but we need to mentton the followmg

tmpon,mtreq!lt-.
rhel,,nefield <lt M

mg tl,., closcd and doc-. notmdudc a sonJTe

1! IH" con\ult>l
l' on L. tls umrnbnrion ro tht> w,l\'dkkl .tl 1\1 wtll arn1e
1\llh a dcla1
from P lo l\1 lrs ,nnphrude ,H \.-1 1\111 riepend (as
we l1a1c Olllhncd) on the ~nenglh of both rhe J.CtHal p<nttcle vdocny ,md the prcssure l'mefidd-. at 1: but al~o on rhe dtrcction Ml' dueto rhe dipole\ dtrectl\lty p<Htern, ancl linalh on the spht>tual d!\(:rgencc dnnng the \uTuJ.J' pmp,tg,nwn from
l'to:VI

In oT1Je1"1101d~. the Ktrchhoff uttegralts a 1/'flf!,lilerl

\llfll

of!he rlrlu)ed ll'llVPfidd (0/fl-

p(Jnenll Ot'eriiii'.IUrjulfi

f li-b gl\<''>
ro how rhey llld\' be u~ed
~e!SintC wo1k,
tbc 1<<11t>hdd J.l the surfa(c. hut we need lo kno" u e1en-where below 11
lo hllild tht> ":."t~nuc 1\ll,tge, a-. wc 11 ill set m Chaprer 3 Thc natural. ~t>i~nuc pmces~or's choict> lor X,., thcn lo 1111 ludt> tht> record1ng suriacc and
a >urface
snlfiuemh Ln aw;n

43

s1dered (F1guie 1 17-b). In tlu~ way, the Kmhhoffmteg1al (,tn lx u~cd 10 esnmate
the wavefield m depih Jiom thc mea su red w,vef1elri ,tr rhc smlacc Jf the sur!ace 16
flaL, another henefit IS denved, 111 rhat onl} une of thc m o componcnts o! the 'nrlual somces' 1s necessary, wh1ch lS a goud Llnng smce wc gene rally only rcconl one
uf thc "1\a\eficld components'
beforc IL h.1~ l"edched rhe ~urla< e 1~ one \\/ay of back-j;ropa.ro wh1ch \~e deriiC.lte rhe next sectiOn

Back-propagation
Ba<k-nopag..JtiOn san 1dea paruculady nnportant to SCISilliC nnagmg \Ve have
already ~t>cn H apphed ro a numcrica\ntq.;-nltion sd1emc f{r rhe wa\c equatwn.
\fhen \~e "1\ant ro rcconsrruct thc cnnrc W<l\efielcl"s h1stor~ pnor ro 1L~ dercnwn, JI
e1uhles m Lo 'go b,ICk m propag,uwn time' in onle1 ro fmd rhe sLale ofLhe wavefidd
bdore 11 was first re< OHkd, enher ,,m c.1rher sLage, a ddl"t>rent posltiOll, or borh.
F1gure~ 1.15-a ami h show the local Huygcns soun.cs a.~ ddincd solcly enlltlmg
do\~11\~'.IHh re~nlung 111 a prop.tganon that Lakc~ place dowm>aids m t]l( Ji1gures.
The solnnon to rhc ha< k-propagauon prohkm JS to finri thc wa\efronL ar t, knowmg
Lhe \~a\t>lfont , t + dt Figure 1 18 sugge~ts that we can do Il using exaCLI} the samc
conceph of Virtual ~0\ilces, 1h\e d"umc llO"I\ tlMt tlwse sourccs are acLmg npwards,
and 1fwe <hangc the ~1gn of tm1c ,-, wc wonld do by plaving a ITIO\!e 111 renTst>l
For msran< e, pomr Pon Figure 1 15-b 1s , cJ-,unu V dt h-om Lhe correspomhng
pom1 Q. StanmgfnJm Q, Pv.'lllthereforc he on , CJrclcofradms \', dtand thcwavefronr at mstanr t w1ll he rhc l'nvclow of al! circle'> corrc~ponding LO pomrs Q on Lhe
\~,ndront at n-,unt 1 In the same w,l} wcwerc abk Lo follow tht" prop,ganngwa\efront along the rayparh as, functiOn of l\ll!e, we can snrnL1rly back-prop.1gare 'back
lll Lnne' ,]ong tlw same raypaLh
Note the paruculdf ~ymmctrv rhat wc w11l
propagdnon of , "1\,t\e ,]ong .1 particular <hrccuon as ,
ol t1me and rhc
back-propagatJOll "b,H kwanh m Lnnc' lll
apphe-, ..~~ "1\-ell ro rapas ro the Kucl1hofl
phase--,hJfr methods

Wovofr~nlolnm~

='
-;

44

Wonr...,ntatbmot+dl

Q'

--

Heterogeneity ~ Reflection - Mode Conversion

Prev 1011 .,Jy,

we s<lW thar 10 p,oLrupJC and homogeneous merha a partJcnlar waYe-type

will propagate unchangcd ar.d lwo d1fferent wavc-rype., w111 prup.1gatc m such a
medJulll wilhour mrcr,u non. l lw, ~~ nol the C<lSC lJOWe\Cf fo1 the mo~r g-cncldl ca-.c

of an heLcrogcncuu~ and anP.olrupiC medwm

Any hctcrogcneLY 111 une or othe~ ofrhe c],;nc parametcrs mdmc~ changcs n
the wavc du-ccuon and polan-.anon hl', phenomenon occun cverywhe1e an dastH
wavc propagare; wJthm rhe subsurface Gcnerall,., we onl) ( oncern oursche, wuh
the maJOf dldnge-. that occur a long a conL1Cl bctwcen geolugKal
tho>e we
term mrc 1 faces In betwccn these mter(aa1, Lhc carrh IS a.,sumed
homogeneuus, or at \'OI-.t 'slowly' YJ.rymg m 1ts dasuc par.unelers Tlu~ h
the
carth we w1!1 frcquently he encountermg and usmg- tlnuughom thi'> book
Thcrr are rhrce wdl-known phenomcna mdme1l by hclcmgcnemes wnhm rhe
earth's sub.,uriact"
Rej!Pclitm muncnc.Illy mtegTatmg thc wavc equ.tnon n proxm11ty to .m
nnpedancc barner (;ee F1g-ure 1 14), we han: ~ecn th.n thc phcnomcnon of
JdlecLon can he \OSLig-ared 1h1s wJ!J occur 111 f.Kt for .my d1.1nges 111 the elasC1eanon of P-'1\a\e rcb-J.t nons '1\llhlll hcrcrogencou~ mcdJd, correspondmg ro a change lll propagal!Oll dirccuon ha~ also hccn '>een Thc changt"
m d!rt"Ltlrlll can he ahrupt atan mterfacc, (as !U Figure l lti) or progrc~Mvc m
,.,lov.l} Y<lT)mg-merhum. d'> n Hg-urc 1 18 ~nml.ir rcsuhs ,re seen tor ~-waves
i\ modificanon m a wavcs poian'>dt!On and dmphLudc, g-nng bnrh ro mdependenth propagaung w,wc-rypcs
Refkction ,md morlc comcnwn .,hallno1\ be consJdert"d m a link more detall.

45

Reflection coefficients
\Vhcn d v.a1e mccts a heterug-cnetty, m thc foun lor nstJ.nce of an acoust~r
mpcdance grad1clll VAl(x, "E) parallello m propaganon dm~tnon (Figure 1 19),
, Iefle<t!On ., pmdu1ed lcadmg ro a morllficallml 1n thc '1\avc'~ amplJtudc Th1s VI ave
propcrucs, n ts trru!lwill continuc lo U a\ el \\llhm the mcdmm
of the transmitted
The r.ll\0 of lhc rcnccted w.wc ,unphtude., tn thosc of thc lllCJdenl w.1vcs 1., gtven
wh1ch rc~ult fromthc mtegrat10n ofthc wave
1' J.!ld ~-1\il\CS at nounalmculenu (1 e propagaof elastH paranwteJ ch,ngc>). thq J.!'e gl\Tll by

R.,= Pe -V,,-pl Y,:

p,. V,2 +pi V,
T\ otdlJOn

~~

[1:\.'j

that of Ftgurc 1 J 9

Reflection, conversion and Snell's Law

If the gradu~nt of thc hetewgcneity 1; not pdrdlkl Lo thc prupagalwn dnccnon,
J.~ m F1gtlrt: 1 20, thc wave\ pol.n;ation wll mdccd be ditcJcd. fhts 1S a Situai!On
.n,dogom lo that of a sccond.uy MJUrtc d new tran~nuttcd ,md a new rcnected wavc
111ll be gcncratcd, Cdch ag.un tmmcd!alely
mto l'-\\\1\T and ~-wavc
oi thc pol,HISallon of tl1c
1h1s !S the pheof uwd<' '"'""''""

smfl

46

the

--~
For a P-wavc JllCidcnt

upon ..Jn mt_erf.ace, the .tmpl!tUde ol the relkctcd P-IVdW' w1ll

va , as, fnn< 11011 ol thc ang-lc of modcnce a~ well as rhe dasrw paramctcr> appior~te LO P-v.ave-. (1'-".we dCOU>LK 1mpcdancc), ,; wcll d'> a JundJOll of the dcou;tt<
P
hnkcd to rhc S-w.!Ves Tlus JS
that form; the bas1s of

R,(S)~R,()+G <m'(9)

[1 :llij

In thl' formuld
R,(e) ~ the cflectloll <Oefflol'nl ior a l'-'1\a\c .11 lnudcnce O, 1\here O 1; thc
average ot thc angle~ ofpro.Mgatwn 111 .wnes 1 .tnd 2,
Rr(O) tht" normal rt'fkctwn <ocUincnt gl\t"ll by rel,momlup [1 :I;J,
(_, ~~,linear par.unell'f dcpcndcnt on R (0),
densJLJes p,
and 1\m~on ratm o (o altc1 n,nnel}. S-1\d\t> yeJocities \') 1or
of the two
Lones ('>eC Ftgure 1 19)
'\(01, oflen -.m pi) denored R" IS aho l..nown as the mtnapt, as Jll'> cstunatcd by hnear JegressHJJJ Mth re, pe! r
= -.m (Ct) m cqnatwn [1 ~Wl lor snml.tr
rt>.tson-.. (7 1~ ,]so known a~
Snell', L111, prt"scnted abo1c fo1 l'-1\ave~, 1,10 be l'Xtemk!l Lo rdle!L!OH amlmode
1onven10n, .md !S ]]n~trated 111 Ji1gurc 1 20 Fn.,lly, .t slowness vector 1'> ddined rhat
ha~ a modulu> equal to Lhc propag-.won -.lowrw~s (1nverse of 1doClLJ) ,md ,1 rhre<twn co-lmcai ro the '\\a\ e chrcuwn Sndl\ l,w ~tdtc~ thaL rhe projection of the ~lowthe Interface !lt"tinmg tllf" lo!. pJ.n,n
stanl (m
1alue) f-or boLh Lhe rdleued and
P and ~-\la\ es lt
doc-. hOIICVCr ch,mg-c '>Jgn 1m thf" reflt"Ctt"d '1\a\t'> 11 thu~ <dll be 1\rilten

sinEIP_c.-~
V)'

smR,

v.,

r:_fl_=1

~~=-p
VI

Si~'r'ccfr=.~lll~~,"'tr_= ~\"'"=p
Hetc, 0,,. and V, <lit" thf" .tngle and
whetht"r P or ...,, H, 1'> the 1~1leuion oi
P..J.r.imcte p, h1ch 1S tonsLtnt
the
descnbcri ,md, along 111lh tht abmc
mentiont"d

[J:I7J

lt"ioutv of the mcidcnt \~d\T,

47

Propagation within anisotropic media

Thc complete '1\,1\e equanon fo an anlo;otropiC hererogcneom mednun is parrcuLirly compl\( aLed Tiu~ p, he< ause rhe polansatwn <ilre< Lwn contumall} <h.mges and
1t JS ncarly
Lo ;o] are lhc propag,Lon of any parncuLu wavc-t1pe Here
<onsHler propaganon ouurn11g 1~1th1n homogeneous media
that J.re amsoLrop!C on ,!{){al scale Th1s medns the mcdmm\ dast1cHy cm be
dcscnbcd u~mg a hm1ted 21 vanablcs, mdccd murmdy much lcss, !01 the varieues
of am~orwpy mo-.r commonly ennmnlere<l, '"' we scc n C:hapter 2, and where these
are lfl\J.HJ.llt 1ll ;pace, 1 e homogeneou~ In ,Hidiuon, we can cons1der
chara<leiiStiC ol

unpl!e-. rhar a '1\d\e

~tate throug-hom 1L~ propaga11on dS long as tts pmpdgatwn w:lm !lv at C\crv pmlll on
rhe wavdronr remams rhe samc Th1~ t-. wh,H IH' o,kctcl1ed for example m Figure 1 4
or 1.11 On rhe orher lund,

-t-90 "Jht" <lrcnlar '1\a\efront , 10stanr 1 gencralt"d by thc sonrce S can

rhcrdore be consldt"Ied, ba-.ed on d1e -,upeiposllion principlt", ,-, , wayefront envelopc ot rhesc pldnt" w,IYC.'> at th1s tmtanl (F1gure 1 21) In , 2-D homogeneom
I~Otrup!C nwdnnn of \dontv Y (F1gure 1.21-a), Iht-.'1\a\dronr al m-.mnr 1 would he a
c1rcle ofiJ.diusr = YI
For an ,!lliSOtrom homogencous me<hnm, tht> supeipO'>IliOll pnnnple and the
detomposirion of Il1c puncrual soun e mto plane '1\a\CS remain valul However, each
planc wave w1ll pmp,gaLc WILh an mdlv1dnal phasc \elouly correspondmg lO ll.S

trlbunonot
1

llulewaw9

... 1(9)

-_.7-~~"ovo6att

'(O)V0..,il

(a)lsotropicmcd1um

48

(b)Anisotrorucmcdiurn

I(O)V,.,,.r

--

an le ofint 1dcncc 8 At m-.tant t, Cdl h planc w,tve w1ll have travdkd a' dht,JnU' 1 =
g (SIl rh 1 ~ 1kfine'> rhc phasc \clouty lorus IT, as ,110wn m ~lf,'llit l 21-b
v A~ Jo,r the
rhe emelupc r or rhese planc \,ave; di rh1~

in~tant 1 rtefine'

. ''

1 hls g-eo,mett!C.!IIO(W

WJU,

in arusotJOpK med1a,
ri1HerenL w rhat of locu' n
Wavdront en\ dope r ts rhe
Wlll ~um 1nn'>lr1Kli\Tly An observer pi.Kcd at poml (, m
a parttclt" monon foi nmt" t, and a-. he kno"~ thc crwr(y hJ.s bccn emmcd hum_ S.
hewlll deduce tl1al rhe Cllt>f!{\' lus Lr,ncllell along rayparh ~G. ,Jnd aran ang-le 'Jl \'llh
the vertiC.tl hl', ,ngle JS known ,s
IL ts thc ,tppan~nt anglc of the
etJe:u

deduct> rhat the plopagauon

aL(_, c,lll

vclunt\' of thc t>ncrgy wtll be SG/t, th1s vcloury 1~ thc group efout; Y,~"""" lt \anes wtth
pu-.ition (, and tht" _group .tngle <l 1 .tch pomL G on lotus f of- Figure l 21-b will p'>~es'> a Langent, 1\lilth b~ construcnon.
Lo the pLtnc wa1e ~>hHh contnbutc~ consliucuvdy ro the cncrzy ,L (~. So,
a p;roup angle <P ,uul tb
vclocm.- \'," ""(<Jl) rht>re 1>1ll CXI~t ,
ang-le H .md

~;~~.,f~:t ~~~~ ~e::~:~:s~~~1~l:>~:1:r:~1:he tnangle ~CP m Ftgure 1

Ir can be wnucn

[138]

\.-loteover, tite ob.,ervel .tr C wdl I't"I'Onl a p.tlncle monon m 'PJ.Ce, 01 polan~.tLmn,
wlltdtt'> thc 1edor >um of Lhc comnhutwn from J.li tht> plJ.ne ~~.we~, ver tlm polart~aLion will he ne1thc1 pcrpendJCu!.tr ro the wa;chum, nor ro the plane phase wa1c
For Llns rcJ.'>Oll, thewa;c !S noL sLrutl a comple~swn.tl P-w.t1e ,-, we h.t\t" ddined 11
up unulnol'. It 1'> rdcrrcd tu con.,equcnrh as a quo11-P or ql'-1mve
A., lll Lhc l~otlopic t<lse, Lhe traJt>l"tory .t!ong wlu<.h rht> energy
(,m Jit~ure 1 21-b or 1 22. 1~ knm>n as rhe Ja~
~h01~s.

the

luthe
of.t ~1\Cll tJ.y,
not
and 6'T011p 1dont1e~ A ,y rraong m an .tmsotiopK mt>dmm shuuld thett>fore '>llllUIr.aneousl} l't"'>JJt><t t"<]Uari<Hl'> [1 3il i<H phJ.se an~\cs aml 1clo<1LtCS.tlld [1 38] for rayp.nh T\1( pha>t> dncct1on ts g11cn by ~ne\1\ Law as a Jun<.Lwn orlo< al ph.t>c ,e\onty
\anatons, 1-1hihr tht" pwp.tg.ttton d!re<.L!On ofLhc cnctgy along the raypath ts gtvcn
b} Lhc rdatlonshtp bct\1een rhc pha~e 1hreclloll and Lhe group direnion Thc med1~-~~15_ rl.tcrt"fm"t" de<;< nbcd 111 rerms of rhe ph.1se >doCtL} and ns 1elouL} , deitvatl\c
\\~cspctt Lo the propagatwn anglt>
\'
; <On<ludc t_hc ch.tptct b} nonng rh.tt d pl.me ~A ave 11\lh an
,,.,.( ), In 1ll <~nl'>otrop!t homogt>neou'> me<hum <oTrespond, 10

49

Anisotropchnmngeneoumcdium

donLllll Lo, .'>tr,ughtilllt" dcfined h~ .,]ope k, 1 k,= tan(8), a., nnhcated m F1g-u1e l.ll
Foi ..tn ansorropK l10mogcneous mcrlium, dsperMOn rt"lanon [1 20] hecumes

50

--

References and Further Reading

Aki K, Ricbards PG
fwman.am!r.o.
perkbout Aj (llJ82)

Sel~no]ogy,

Lhcon anrl

method~. WJ-1

~el-.n:ll :VIigr,ton

Exu,pohltnm, !'J.It--\ lhcoreL!Cal

Berkhout A] ( !mH) ~ei<,Oll( M1gratl0ll
Ext~<lpol,tlon. P;rt B l'raltw..JI .~~pccts

Berkhout A] ( J9H7) Applu:~d Sei~mK \V.t\e Theur~ fJwme1, /lm.1/erdrmr

Bourbi T, Coussy O and Zinsner B (1 iJSti) AtOll.,tl!jllt" de\ miht"nx pmcux Edli!On'
7frhmp. l'ari1.
Claerbout JF (l~Ji6) :FunddnH:ntdi'> of
Book Cu.
Claerbout JF

(~eophy-.(.11

Data

PIO(e~.,mg

,\l((;raw-H/1

lnug-1ng thc F,1rth's Intcnor Blarlal'fll Snntllfu f'11bhcatwn;,

Oxfo!Tl.
Helbig K Fuund,JliOil' uf
Geophys1cal }.xplorJ.non, Se( non
HJ (1968, 199:1) Tl1e Ph~s1cs

~CIMillC

Pain

BogmnRfi!;r\

Tatham RH, McCormack MD (1991) Muil!ComponenL

ExploraLIOil- Souely oj ExfJ!oratwll

WhiteJE {19()5) ~cismic \\J.H~'>

lh/1 Bor!k Cu. lfrfl_lilstol'f.

~CJsmology

m I'clroleum

/i;lln

A.nemuLiun .\JrGwu'-

Chaptcr 2: Vclocity modcls and cffectivc media

The iJnportance of velocity modelling and effective media

<l5oh-,etTatwnot geologK<li
outcrops, wdllog me..t;tn-cnwnt-,, tOle' 01 thm st>ctJon., \'>'tll te<.,tfv
wf1uenong ela,uc wmo:' are the medmm's den~1t and the 21

mednml..
tned1a mt> known as tlfectr,Jf' mtdw
In Se!S!luc
for lll'.tam o:, we often spo:ak of "tho: velootr' of a _;Jt>n
ge~logKallaro:t
tlus rcprc~enh an mlenul efoul'
~
d~tu~e shonly). vdJI( h
or l1e to relate the ]a\CI \ thJCkn~s' lo
waves,cruca\
Tht~

d~

Hcncc allmformation must he sama\v detall \Olllt> ot thc ll!t'lhOfb that allow
rnodeb

U\

tu

de\ll'lbe and thopl.ll'

"'"'11 a~ ll!Ol'<' sperelatlomhlps

another he used

SChlllC ~dodtr

Instantaneous velocity - Average velocity - Up- and down-scaling

In Chdpte l. \'>'C mtoJu<ed the 1dea ot an mstantanrrn,\ !'elou/' hnked to the Jo'-al
t'Lt'>ll< p<namctns
-

expl01atmn,

~1ncc

thcr are .'>e\eral ordns oJ- magmtHde 'hOJtcr than the

~<'ISillic

111

Hgure

o{ the pmndc
\\"e hetHe Ieft'r toa hm/mK ot thc wavcfront,
kngth of thc snsmJC wa\e ,
out thc ~mall-scalc hcterogenc1t~ and only
cffC(_ti\'Ch

d1~t<mce tr;Ivell~d

V,"=

tmvelnme

l'! IJ

,t\eragc vdout~ could he caltHLltcd for .n mtenal a

fe;, tcns o! metres thicL u-,ing thc ~on1< loggmg too] (ticqucnq kHL's, ... avelt'ngth >CYt'rdl <entlmctJC'>)
Flg-urt' 2 01-< an a\t'I<lgc \clonty <ould aho he me,t~Llred OH'I the lcngth ofa

54

r~f(z). ""'~(t,-z,)l(f, f,)

km

(a)

("hcck~hnt

SUfVC)

~:mm

e=_. '-:;t~
\',.=.1-z/At
\C)l.ah meaurcment

(d)Thinectmn

tho: tonccpt become' dlffitult to use

lo mmnx tmnctals al!(\ fhu(k \I'C can ro:kr loan elastl< prop<lg<ltlO!l\elont} th<lt -, dho alocalvelouty
111t' scale at ldll<h IH" con-,Hkr ,uJ aHT<l)!,T 1dont1 !IJiu{ (c;nhet: wc .tlso mtmduted
t~Je term 1nslu_ntui!Ciil!<} ,., relan1 e]v a 1 lllhary. F01 msldme. as fdt
Is 1011Ct'rnt'd, .1 hotcholt- ~oni< log, mea,Lllement 1~ metdgcd 0\-0:I

55

d1stanct> (d k\'>' deCI-mett>I~) compdit>rl to the SCI'>IlliC Wdvekngth thdt 1t ldll be considt'It>d local or uJslamant>ous. He w1ll therefort> unde1 thes<' t ln1llll5tames conMder that tht> ~onu log offt>1~ d mea;urrmrot of ms/antanf0/15
'fint>ly' samplcd at the Jele\dllt ;amphng 1<1te olthc too!
~lit h an m~tantanco11s vdonty functwn though ' fm too dctmled lor the maymry
o{ ~ltlldtiOll~ 1eguLnl~ encountered 1n 'el'>lllll explordtiOn Ont> Mllh 'ltudlmn would

~~p-1mling

problem 1~ the veidge. De~ pite bemg fiequently u~t>d, 1t ~t1ll has dra,..backs and we
w]) comi<Ier late! otht"I a\eragmg tehmques, m partuularly mot-mcan-S<]Uare
<1\Cr.tging
fhe nner'>t> noblem ha' also to be con;Jcrcd. lldmelr that of dt>tomposmg
large-5cak meastuementmei ..tmarm-la,er
mg, 1e rhe tUmm-.II!!I!f{ problt"m l"h-, onu1~ for m<.,tance whcn wt> UJ to
Inlt"n,l 1eloutw' 10m ~lackmg velouue~. <IS Wt' ~t't> below and n Chapte1 8.
Up- and do ... n-~t ahng are idea<., we \\IIl now dcvclop further

Calculating average velocities

Usmg definllwn [:! 1] abme, the mcrdge 1cloutr ofa p<lrtltuldi !dyer can be threctly calculated from an mstant;IIlt>ou~ \Tlout~ funct1on In th1s thdptt'I, for ~nnphCity's
'ake, \\e shall a'>51Jille we are dealmg 111th \Cl"tJc<ll
along the Vt"rth;Il
depth axl'> Z, altho11gh the lmegomg Cdn be
ro anr du-et l1on
we choose Tht> veilna]
IS dcnotcd T, a~ 11lu~trdted m
Generally ;pcakmg
tl!stance travt>lit"d w1th re-,pet t to travelume Th\5 can bt' <lpJ>IOXln\..tkd by thfference when derived ove1 an Illktval thdt , ;ufriCwntl} short

a borehok son u Jnt>d,Urt"nwnt, chstdnce !J.z JS [ixed, so tht> gt"oph~slct~t consl(\-

}OJ

e-, Jt known and Jnfinitt"-,irnal. d'> mentioned em!in \Vh,t tht" son1(_ too! actually
measure~

T,

56

,a lidYt"ltllnt" M, from \\h!ch slowne5\ !J.t,!J.7

r ~,~,:z)

[2 3]

<=(

r:!4J

, v'""(L)
Jt comlllute~ rhc
and Vdid for
V 10 tcrmed the
1\htle Lhc tern1
re~,~~~ fm d \elouty meaS!Ired bet;\een
\5 not atwdV' torrt< dy u~t>d lt

57

-.
Tht' timt'-dt'pth fuoc11on c;m bt' rt'pre~eoted m tht' form of a t..tble, sprcddsheet or
gntph, or bv an appmxim.Hed amtlytiLal fllnction, ohen a polynomial. ;Js "e will see
m lakr serlu.ms Verltntl tnuc T(t) <lnd a\'t'Jdge \elonty lrom the smface a~ a functwn ol depth are dltt'rtMttvt' vt'rsion ol the ltJrmulao ahove

[2.51

Integrated sonic and drift correction

2 02 Jllu~lrdte~ an apphC<Itton ot thcse formulas to thc cakulatton of a
p..ti millar 1\ell l;Oimula [2 51 can onlr bt' dpphcd 1! the sonic 1s
rneasmed fwm the ~urf.tce downVI.tn:h Howevt'r, lora number of let hmca\ reasons
tln~ 1~ not p">>ible. ~o 1mtead. we Lnn out 1\hat 1~ known as a wl'll
wnnuonlv comprised o[ a cherklhol '1~ney (Figmc 2 01-<I}, or more
\'erllcdl .'.et'>ffill l'rollhng (VSP) survev 1 ht' Idea bel11nd the method JS to g1ve the T,
\alue !01 T <tt tlw 50llll log's
1., then
scqueoce o{
lOIUrol deptb, ForillllLi
:Jj
z, rlOVIllWards
LO gtvo: thetnlep,ta/erl 1onu

r2

T(z)="I;+

r~
, v,n,,(~)

['!fij

Expe11enLe 'how5 dldt the mtcgrated 'olll< gi\C' lUnes VlhJ<h ..ti1.' u5u<tll~ lower than
tho'e piOvJded hv tho: ched.,hot method The diiTert>nce between rhest> values 1s
<alled the
dnfi awl 1' kno>~ll lo be <duscd b\ a numbe1 of phenomt>na, mdudmg
dtlTerenlo: bet\''t'en tht' reundmg {rt'qUt'ncy u,cd 1ll the checbhot ~urvey
th..tt m the 'otile too!,
g 'cycle skips.
,ubsmface ho:terogeneJties aL~;uent to the
mvaMon o! <ldyut'nt formauom by d1 1Jmg mud mound wcll (<tffectmg mvestJgatmn depth o!- tht' 'omL), etl
Gt>ophy.,iosts <onst\e thc che<J....,]mt '>uner

Transfonnation of logs from depth to time

A ll'plcal apphc<1t10n o!- the T = f(1) <une<; to <omp<ln a dcpth-ba'>t'Cl wdllog
\Hlh a tmJe-hased st>t~mu mwge. Todo tlm, the T = 1(1.) lmu uon ts uwcrted vl<l a
titVldihaosfrmaU<m

T(Z) ~ f(Z) <-> Z(T) ~ f '(T)

v'"" (T)" v'"" ( Z(T))

58

[271

..........-

,, 'Ibis opo:atwn ~~ Jiu~tr.tted

1 rhe

::i!~~~~:;J:Jg.ttwn

timo:

10

llll<'llllS

of

figure 2 04 Jlustlates a spe(II!C ~~~uo: 1'1\th th1; protedure fhe tmie-domdm ~og
wdl bo: '-omputcd along a Iegulmly sampled tunc-;tale, l~p1cally IHlll a ~amplmg
rate JTof L 2 01 4 ms llus COlntant flillt' mtetT.tlm d rwlJ (Olle,mnd to ,n_mtcrval whtdl 1 ~ \JIdble though m depth fhe rnagrutudt> of tlns v.u-JatiOn, a functmn ol
he local 1 e]ot If) (anyv. herc bc~1TCll 1!lOO .md fi()()(Jm.,), WI!I be bdv.cen 3m
~nd12m for a t\\0-1\ay ume d rol 4m'>, Sllch an mtenal v.i\l ~ ontain betl\eo:n 20 and
BO son 1c Jog ,;unpie; It IS thereloro: ne'-e,s;ny to lrv ,md dehnt' an .wei.tge, or evcn
better an ellet U1e methum, to lwndk thi., ldil<ttlon A.nother exampic ol the nced
forup-stalmg 1
fypJCallv, 1\C comcil tho: mtegral formula l2 Sj mto a ~unumttton to t.Jke dctount of
the discretc nature of thc

'>OHK

log

59

Somcdl
Somcdt

F1nallv. 01~ a 'ep<lr<ltt' t>xcn !St', \\C <;m extend tht> conct>pt ol the tn;tdnlaneous \elocJtles a' a hmt 1100 ofttnw to !Ott>nal veloutw., bt>twt>eo vertu al tnnc~ T, and T,

Seismic average velocities

1soJi.cnused 10 seJsm!C
A.nothci typt> of velonty mofkl
hu1 beni llfd!olhewell
It 1~ ddined m the \lt mil\
thtollgh a \mmu-to-uell-!u The prmedure. detatlt'd tn Chaptcr 8, permm at rhe
welh po5Jt\on to ro compare d '-rnthetJC trace tomputcd tiom ,.,cJ] medsurements
metlwd~

60

th<tt oftht' Ita] V'lSffilC and

tlme mJ.age
aln\Hil' idt'ntfled on ll1e ,..eJ]-Jog
m depth .\n
cxample 15 g1\ell m hwm: 2 O! lls1ng tlwse markers the SC15Inll muge m time {_an
then be matched 1\lth the (kpth~ fiom the well An ;neragc 1elm1tr [om the ~UI
fa{_t', 01 mdccd fm anmttn"<Ii be1wecn t\H) Identlfled nurkcrs, Cdll then he lakulated Ths
aveww'vdoul)'l'>WI1lttna5.

2 mar ker depth

marker_tune

f210]

seiSlTIJC

t'qual

?Jscus~ed

of d\t'ragc 1elocity
used It >hould he
mcuge 1dout) meastned w1th v.ello, but for ~cveral pradiCa! reasom

m Lhaptcr M, th1~ JS oftt'n not tht' cdSC 1t penlllb hov.ever a qutck, albt'It
lffipreuse (l'lt' >hall ~ce v. hv ldter) depth c-.tinutc b.1sed on the tunes pwked on thc
the wcll-to-sn~rmc tJc IS sansL1cton.
setsmtr sectwn,

trivial

The Dix Formula- RMS velocities

in Chapter 1 In thl'> l hdptei, dedi{_atUlt'nt o{ a sub:,rl.ttc

r;~~~:~~;{7;)d~\:~ig:\:~ 1 ~~;1I~:l:~tcs d uscful too] for

61

a.n dfet twe medmm \ahd lor p10pagat1011

tlll!t'

\anoll~

dll'<'< nom, and whrre onl'J

lhcn 1etnros to be
ot Figurt> 2 06,

[2111

\CJtlcal mueT

a.nd

~nmlarlr

1~

lor V,

[2 1 ~: l

1 he lonnula oflt'n rerened toa; thr Drx Fowll(/a 11 u 1rcrmd o1do ntnnutmn ofthrrquaI!On alww

62

For a mo<kl of N hor!lontal ,md Jomogt>neom layt>J~ w_Jth ,c]m 1t1e~', tbe l!ltegz"<dbased gt>uer.zl dt>Jimuons ollhe a~t>rage amilllb \'t>lontJe~ <Jt tnne l become >umrnauons

v,<1t,

v~~t,

[';!l:j

v.. "~ ; v;,," L~',

Relauoushlp [';! 15] ddine> tlw I1TI5 vdoc1t~ fwm the ~urface

Dix formula: the up-scaling relation

As we d1d fo1 the ,1\erage 1t>louty, 11e can aho define a nn, vdont O\Tr au
mterval

f
v;,,(t)d;
Vrrns_l-o:r-~-'
T -l

'

[';! 16]

'

aml rm~ mWJ\,) ~d<X"lllt"~ 1,, J.lld

fhe ~tructure of the f,ncltune
[2.14] remam~ unth,mgt>d. hut tbe ,tveiage ,md rm~ 1dont1e~ cornputed rrom the
surb<e wzll now he(ome

[';!1/j

fhb 1s dlusn,Jted 111 .hgue 2 07, 11here

Fznil},t><Khtllln
and Jms zutt>n.al \t>lont\
~tJ.ck
replaced b} one Sl11l Jarge1 equnalt>Jll laye repiest>ntcd
age andnn, 1 elocme,
hls wonh

th,lf hotb Y,, and Y,, are mdept>ndt>nt of the 01der lil wlucJ

63

F:r::!i.~~x~o~'::~ 1 ~::r:g::u~1:;:a;:::~~~7f~~~e:~o:;~:~

r:uvthe";!00:

figure, bul note tlu: changes in the V..,, and V"" formulae, where \ayer average velocities are now

"""'"""
The Inverse Dix formula: the down-scaling relation
J
Defimtmns [2 17] above also allow us to \:dckle the downscahng problem. ~
from Illduo-layers clown to finer Layers
Suppose we know the average and rms velocities hom the surface to nmes T, an;t
'1, we can denve the respective average and nns veloclties for the mterval [f,-TJ.J
The breakdown mto the layers ts pedormed as follow~
'
~cale-change

v... r,

T,

T2 V"'"(T;)=~1 V"',.(T)

' '
(218]

These are formulas whuh are regularly usf'd lo e~tablish a m1gratwn veloc:j model M
hme-to-depth convenwru studies Application of the second equauon leads however
S)~temauc enors \\hen .tpphed dtreclly toa time depth conversmn, as they don
take mto account dtfferenl.e~ between the ave1age and rms velocities when the la
IS not perfeccly homogeneous Thts ts an tssue we shall ratse agam tn Chapters
and 8

Layer velocity functions

Definmg a velouty model usmg the sole parameter of an average velonty cal
ed from the surlace downwards appears Iei.ttively comement, but !S m reahty
ly realisttc Instead, we prefer to use models made up of a. ~enes ot layers, each la
a~~umed to be hnked to relatl\ely coherent geologt(..tl entittes and to be hom
neous m nature These macm-layet velocity models, also referred to <1.~ 'layer-cake'

~an be- ddint>d u>mg asole Mr,tnWlt>I for cadt LIHT- d ( o~l-dlcctt~t> sohmon ~tone whrlh renMnl' a gros~ ilp~roxm;~non In pra( t11 t>.
b hether liH' tJlllt>-lo-dcpth con,er~Ion or lor ~t>J,nm

Jt

~~ t!Jerc[nrc C'>'-t'lllLtl,
ro ((Jn~lrud an dfcc-

:ve model 01 propaganon ~t>louocs tlwt rnort> do-,t>h

toan
gcologital rt>,thl
entvnn(l/Wril m 1!111

out b, the m<~Jonl} of son11

From a pralliC.Il -,(,ndpoml, our dicen''"' mt>dw. need to ht> dt>fiut>d usmg ,
mmnnunt numher of
1\urnt>rou-, aulhor> lw~t> Lht>rdiHt>
!OIW.J.rd -,olunon>
on onl\ h\O or llH~t> pzuametei~ nwst>
Jimctrom IJJ.\C ht>en dt>\'I'>Cd t>rther for the1r edse-of~ust> {.'>llllphulrJ m bv
w.mg sWI15tJC,t!

F;Just's L.tw
1!1!5 ~t'diOII

Compaction and burial effects

IL 1s well-known that lll'>f,mlaneow,

vclontJC~

gt>nt>r;Jlly mot>;J't> wJth dt>plh dut>

Tht>'t> ~;;,o pht>nornt>na

to comMCLiou 1.,tyt>r burul adds ,motlJer eft'ect on

cnsure t!Ml \'dm zt~ ,tnd deptlz (or

quenet>' for nme-to-dt>pth comt>r~lO!l
mto accounl. \\llh ,m

llunng

~t>dllllt>nLlllOII, ~ompactlon

,ut> t->l,ttt>d,

lt>,tds lo ,m

mnt->,l~t>

m Io(k

~tlfTilt>~~

,md

'""""'-''"""""'''"'"'"'al!

tlw

lt>ads to

[2201

~:~ whert' 110 1'

\ , , 1' tht>

m~t,tntaneou~ lt>l(x 111

,t

lhe lop of thc layt->1 <lt

dt>plh

65

Sedimentotion +

Tedonic~

~--~~-~~""A_ _v_,_

LOp of the laye Agam, thcrc are man opnons to moddlmg bun,] t>fft>n.,. but the
lmea1 fun uon , the ,mpkst

, ldJJch controb thc mpact Of

\"otKt> tll<lt tht> lV<O cquations
rf onc ;r~~umcs that kb""'' =k.~orncnmc~ Wltlrout u> uolzzngl
thc pmsible 11npa( ts of com
thc optlnMI e<~.rth model rhat
nccd-,
,1 gn't>ll
con,cr,ion procu
to <~grc.trcror lcssndcgree, thcj
comp<~.CIJOil gradrcnt for m'tance m a\' lhangc wnh gcologJ(;\ tnne (d~agcne~is)

and!

diff~~~7,~!d.i 1 1~~~:i<1~:c1~~~l~~t>d,

other

\'::~l~~~rorluct>d lwlow. but

lhc t>ssentd

pomt ol t]JI, ~CltJOil zs to dr<tw tl1t> It>;Jdcr's a.ttt>ntion lo lht> difl(->rt>mc be meen coJ1l~
p.JctJOn aHd buna\, , coil(Cjlt wew1llnukt> ust> ofld.lt>I ou1n Ch,tptez 8 when wed~
m~ tnne-dcplh con\t>nlOn m detazl
'

66

Cla.SSi~al instantaneOUS velocity models

~ Usmg a ]muterl numht>t

pct layt>t, wc sh<tll outlmc a numher o!

dard Illodcl>, bc>zdes the

+ k Z model often ntcd, that Cdn be used ro
~:ribe rhe mcre.t~c of \d()(Jf\ Wtth dcpth, ,l',~tmJmg a .,mgle !d)t:T taken fwrn the
surface

Vm~(z) == v 0{1-f a

zl

v,..(z)==vne

~-

__l_+[__!_ ____I__Je-k'
Vm, 1

Vo

Polynomialfunction

3 paramelen

f2 22]

Chiarelli-SerraLaw

2pmamelm

[2231

BeaufortLaw

'lprnrmwffl,

[224]

Faust or Bi-log Law

2 purrmwln1

[2 25]

V"'"'

These functlOil' enable u~ to takc ,count of the general (dlthough, not ab~olutc)
pre~umpuon o! a
nne;J~e 1ll \eloul} wnh dcpth llcsHie tJw,,
there are ;
need lo be borne 111 miud:
The firM rhnx funCL!On~ u~e dll m~tdntaueou~ velont} \, Je!ercnced d( the 'urfacc, L ==O Ne\crthck.,~. all the~e luncuorb can be .ipphed fo1 an) eJerence
rkpth
lamt\ L:tl\ (llJ5l, 1!-l.);))_ b,1sed on the mea,urement' fom , total of 500
lheck~hot ~unep, \\'.J'' Jnltlall denved to t<lke bunal mto ,HlOllllt amito gne
mtcn.Jl \clouues .J.~ a furKtton ofthe depth ol the la>er (a top11 we shalllovn
bter). }Ct 1n common p,JCIKe JS cons1dercd an lll,tantaneous \e]onty functJon
l;usf, Lm gl\'es .J Tero (.md henle unJ~d!l'>tlC) ,e]oCJt \'J.Iue ,![ tlle smbce,
whith tnc,w~ ib use 1' re,tlillcd tu bcyond ;1 lCitain min1mum depth
Al! the funct1on~. CM epi that of lk;uJfort
unpubhsiwd mtern,tl report)
tcnd ltJward' mfinil) wJth ltHre;J.,mg
,g,un ; unreah,lll lc;Jture. and
me;m~ 4 Jllah.I!IHllll depth must he 1mposed
"The thad tc1m Jll the Bcaufon lunctmn wa~ cxprcssly mtrodu1ed to COIIC<.:t
tln~ 1e~ problem and the function lonsequentl} tend~ towan:h ,1 hnutmg
lelouty gJVen b)
1'," oftlw !i1lly lornp;Kted matux umstnutmg the
rot k, e g ''""" 1n
.,;mdstone
These difl'erell\ 1dont) \av.., are comra5ted m
2 09 For ease of rompanson,
all examples a e shown f(r ,lll lll,tant.tneom
1elout1 of 2000ml~
FaU',t's Law and .lll
of .i30ml~ ;Jt .iOOOm
WHh liw use ol l,IU'>l., L111 ;Jt shallov.
and w1th the ChJaJelh-Sena Ltw at
large depth~.

Thc Elu<;t and ( htardh-SeJr;J La''" ,u~ extenszvel} 1bcussed n1 {Lonhei, HJH5).

67

Other layer velocity functions

The v._,., + kz...._,.., model
In lht> ]a,L St>li!On wt> dt>fi1wd m~tanl.J.nt>Oll' \'cloC!t} a~ v.n;.1ng lmearly w1th
dt>ptll However. ,mothei t)pt> ot \',.+k 1. 'L}k p.J..rameleri,atiou b oftcn u!>erl
lnlledeplh comt>nmn~ (Chaptel 8), whllh use~ lhe hnem
,15 ]]u~lr;kd lll l1gutt> 2 \{) ll1e mlelT<ll
<lit> t>~lnn.tted fron wt>lb, mmg Lhe r =
hnt>,ll Tt>gTt->5,10!1 011 theV, =
cJ os~-plot tht>n
the tekvant regwn<~l velocity fum llon
eleJs, \,_,., ;md gi<~.dJent

'
k1

Note k. here ;JClounts for a global huna! dfcct Wh1l~t a V,,,= V,+ k z 'tyle mstanj
t;mt>om \clouly modt->1 w1l\ not llt>lt:>,~anl) gi\'t> t>X<lltly tht> ~ame \'alues for \1 0 and
f1 tht> '>alllt> l.t}eJ; tht> lwo modeh art> n:~a,tmahly <thk f01 most cornmonly cncoun ~

~:~:~~~::~ -~;~:~:~ ~~~~ ~::l:: ~~~e;:,~;~::::.e al::l~~~:~-~l:;c:~~~~ ;::::;~l;~;;~,c~~~~~~~:~:u::]

I~t~l

wtll need to be comeJtt>d

w,t\e plopagauon
lllJrnag-tng

applilal!On~

The interval velocity as a function of thickness model

In the t>\'Ztpontic formation~ of the NorllJ ~t>,l, we oftcn t>mounlt->1 a sequence

68

w!Jilc equall ~t.lhk,

15 t>h.trt>rneh \dnabk,
nmgmg linmt>m to ~CVt>Ial k.IIometre~ (F1grLre 2 11) Fm thi., partiCular (a,e, an
efft>ctlve OHe-hLyt->1 mmkl h;J~ heen de~Jged wha h po%e~-,e~ tlw ,ame
pwpf'rnes, ,md 111 \dJJdJ a ]mear relat!OH,hlp , delined hetween
agatJOn time and tht> la)cr\ thJCkneos

In p1a( ll(C, pc!I;Lrnetei' n .tnd (5 .11e c;J!Jbratcd u~1ng a ]mea rcgie~sJon b,tsed on thc
T"'
curve-, f1om ,e,er,] we!b 111 the s;Lme aJea ,JJOwmg ,mhyd!ite thtLkne,~c~
sumlar, hut m \dnclJ t!Je hahte LhJCI.._ne~~ \dllt>' fhc linLknes~ of
th~ eqmvalt>nt tner is c,tlul<ttcd h} p1ckmg , \'Crt]{allmLe ~cctw11 aml1mt>rtmg t!Jc
formula
In OI-dt>r to Jen+m(e tht> eqUJ\alen() conrept fUJihei; ''e can a!MJ define ,m a\CJage llltt>nal \eloltt fo th1s rnodt>l rlus ,IVerage ,arit>' latcrally wlth rhe (h,mging
ovnal! thKkne~s of the moddled byt>J

69

I;Jhd lora \CrlJCd! proMgdtHm and negle{ls reli,JClHHl

Normalised velocity
Vdonty \'., m thc Y, + k L modd 1., a vt>loutv Jt>fcit>nCt>d to tlw o,uJ f<~.Ct> Th1~
oftt>n llds llttlc ph)~l{ al mednmg for tht> Jmtu! la)cr of ,~ rn,u w-modc! Tht>
l,tfut>\ ,l,,O{Jalt>d with <;uch rt>le1ence ,urf<~.{e velocllJC'i for huned i!JrffidlJon' {<HJ
appt>;Jr ratht>I ~uqlfls!Iig Fo1 mstamc, :'\Jo th ~t>,l dld!k., 1\!th Its .,tJong compacuon
lend, frcqut>ull gJ\c> ncg.Jinc 1alue>l
1 ht> prohlcm can bt> ,noalcd. a., wc ]J,J\C ~ct>n, h choo~mg a Jclncnct> dcpth
orhc1 th,lll t!Jc o,urld! t>, prelcJ.J.bh the top of tht> !.J.)CI
rnt>dll~ Jt

Th1s rdea c<~.n be extended further Wtlh tht> mtroducHon o/ .J. rumnaltvd vd()(1/y llus
{0J15t'b of
mst,tnt,mt>ou> vdout) a' a dunen~i<Jttit>>>
lotht>ratmof

[2 29]

\'," ,.,(L) = V,,,(z)/V,,.(zO)

.\rheo,on (1083) muodtKt>d ;mother \t>DIOIJ of tite uorrn;th:,ed \t>loOl\ hnkd to

F.lust~ f.aw, whKh \\e sh.ill ddme and llldkt> u~e of dunng Chaptei 8

Review of effective isotropic models

\k h;nt> St>t>n 'o t:Jr a \,lll.et of e{foc111'f modd1 A nurnbcr of other~ can be Jntroduccd, taJ!orcd to tune-to-depth comTrsons f lw1 can be delinee! C!Lhn d!recll)' as

Velocity models defined in the depth domain

~tartmg Wltlt efTeltJVt' med1,t ddincd h, the1r ;efoCil)' m11atmn U'llh drptli. thc mo't
\ltddy med modelJs tht:> pulvnonual approxlmat1on
\',",(/.) =\',

,t

Z + h Z' +

r::3oJ

\\e h;tvt> ,)so sccn the followmg modt>h

r23IJ
r:! 32J

Y,,, (Z) = \',., Z"

r233J
Velocity models defined in the vertical time domain
Gcophysicisb oltt>n tend to de~cr1ht> tltcJr modd'> nol m the lllOit> nann;tl deptb
dmn,rn, but 1!1 that of 'vertK<tl 'el'>IlllC nmc' Onct> agaiil howe\cr. polynolllial
<tpproxnnatJOn~ ,lfe ,,zddy u>ed
\ '" (T) = \1,. +a T

+ b f'

l2 34]

Velocity models defined as time-depth relationships

A~ we SdW .J.hove. anolht>I W.J.\' 10 de-,cuhe d modd 1~ ro u~t> an dnalyural nmedt>pth reldt!On,hlp, ;tnd the mo~L popuLu Ollt> 1', once mort> tht> polynomJ,Jl t>xp;m,ion

71

::.i.J]

T(/.} =U, Z + aZ'+ bl.'+

"\Jote lhat Hl tlus equat1on, lht> cot>flioent ll, ~~ t!Je rnsr;mt.tilCOU\ ~lowness d J /dZ =
l/ V, al the refercmt> dt>pt!J (oftt>H, bUI not nt>ct>~~aT 1h, tht> ~urfa( ~"' Z = 0)
Thc tnne-to-depth tun{ non th,u
Iunctwn
I'(Z)

= ,

I.n(l

COJTC~pond\

to the V,

b 7

+k

Z model b

logaitthmrc

[23flJ

Velocity models defined as depthtime relationships

For tnne-to-rlt>pth purpo\t>5, Hl' more comenwnt tou~c thc Ienpl(){a] Z = J '(!')
ofthc T =
15
lo a 'econd orde1 polynom1al m 1., the couespondlllg Z(T)
fumtmn can hC\\tllleH

Z(T)=-i;(Ju~ +4a

T- U

0)

(d10oJsc-t \1gn as

Tim modd 1\ not u'ed rn p1 <KtlCC,

7(T) = V,, 1 +

<1

~~ d

*(0)=-1::* must be >O)

polpwrnr.J!Jn T

T' + h T' +

\!,, ( J) =V,,+ :!a

+ 3b P +

J\

[2 37]

preferrcd

[2 38]

[2 .i9]

lt \\e lirmt 1t to ~t'(OJld o1dcr 111 J, ,15 oflt>n done m m,m pr<tctrc<tl
lm,tl of thc modt>l bccomc,

case~.

t!Jc reop-

[240]

ThJ\ rnodel1n turn o:if.--r> from f:! 35], ,]tlJoug[ [2 35] c._, h( '' _ J
dewloprnent of~ 1UJ

.1~

,1: :1 nuual

m tlle Z ofT domarn, r, one often used H we

It>Slr]{t om,dvt>~ to
01der n1 [, [:! 38] b 111 Llct cqtm.Jlent to the modeh
helow. exprc,sed lil difjP1t'nl 1\-pt; of xfotv and 1'anable (tnnc 01 dt>pth)
\',",(T) =V,,+ ~a 'J

[2lll

V,,(T) =V,+ al

[212]

(here, thc ,\\TI,tge \Tionl)

72

1~

oftlw V,,+kZ typel)

[':! 44]

V,,"(Z)=~Vfj2 +4a Z=V1 +~Z

f~4.ll

ReL 1uon [2 40] ~how; tl1.1t th1s modd ; gener<~liy d1flerent liom thc dd;~Kal V.,
k/.. unle~~ the rel ..ilwn 4aZ< <V,/ IS truc.

exJl"o~ed

11H'\' are ne\etheless not t1JC only modds u-;ed

= f('l) <onesponding to the \' + k Z modd, whtch JS
as ,m cxpoiKnllal <une

/{11 =a (e"'- 1)

[247]

Velocity models defined as instantaneous slowness

hnall, thc use of tm/(w/aneous .llou'nn> l' mstfad ofl'flonl) \' h
mended (Al Ch,d..tbl, 1997), esx-cially wl1h polynolll!dllunctwm

sometlme~

recom-

[2 48]
Or,t!Ternanvdr
C,,,J')=L',T+uT'+(3T +

[2 49]

More on the V0 +kZ model

Intwdutmg- , hne,ll mcrease m >eloC!l)' wHh depth fm <~ Lwer ; t1Je smple~t
mod~l \\t" tdll unag-ne, .,.~ve for a .,mgle constant lll~tam,meou., >eioCH\' In add1tion,
lt\,aO <;hol\11 f,Hril' e.Jrl1 on that for ~uch a \',+k /.1ncdum. dkpCO>,Jg"""'"
11< w,nes learb lo re,Jsonabh ~unple analytKal ~olunons
a 111edmm wdl be the .1rc ofa urde, .tnd the propag-ation tnne, a~ well a~
agt" ,md nn~ ,e]()( Jt!e~, can be cal< ulated usmg analyw al fmmula~, whu h allows a
pariJ<ularh

~nd

l}pe l"he depth oflhe top

!he one-way VCJlcal time at thc lop o the layn IS T, P' lim 1alue
on thc overlaymg layCJ;
of 1tm figure, rdatonsh1ps T = f(Z) (1er11c,d one-way t1me)
H<, 1enpro<...d z = f '{ 1 ..tlt"

73

V,

Vooo

V>

~
v,.T>,V>

[\V,,

'-~--.vo->

,,,,

\"

V""'()

\l

.
z
(a)lnstantaneousnlncify

(b)fh>ptltDJndel

(c)T=f(L)

T(Z)

\\'e <..an anal) tJcall) denve tht> verl1cal dve1age and rms mtendl \'eiontle~. e1ther
fumuon of actual Llw knt>~s fj,Z

a~

[2521

74

-1)

[2 54]

(a)lnstantaneou.elocJtyfunction

(b)llenhmodel

75

cfk<tlvt' \'t'loUl!C thc

on .JYt'rage' b} an d,J~
nc cnergy p,KkeT durin~ its propaganon Ht'ft', the mte~ratwn ol thc dJSidnce tJd\
dled aud thc travdllnlt'~ JS madc ovcr mfinnc~unally small elemcms dl dlong the
r..t) 1 he'>e ~docirics L'Xtend thc Jdc. ofthe \'ertlcallr ddincd average \dOGty. <1 contept wluch IS not necessanlv m agreemcm \HlI the d..tslK t'Hel"g) 's rt'al dJrt'Ction of
gJYe tht' an,dytKal c;.._prc;sJOns ot 1lwse \e]ol 111e~ for a
modt'l. with the nota non of FigJre 2 13, 1ht' ray t'Xprt'~~ed
Z from Jl'> rcile<..tJOil pomt. ami dlt' .mglt'; mea;urcd m fdlh-

cd.
1~

oftt'n

<~>>onated

Non-vertical velocity gradient

1\mhmg prt'Vt'll!S ll'> from makmg tht' model more compht a1t'd by combmmg a
bTeJal vana11on m tlw Yefllldl gradJelll 1\llh , laTer<~l \anarmn 111 the JdcJenCt'
velonty. The pardJnett'IJ'>ed 111StanT,meous \eiOIJIY modt'11s hence
\",,_,{A,

y,

7) = \',(x,

y)+ k

[25<i]

~ott'

that m 1h1s model onlr rhe eiJUallons 111\0]Hng verlll al averagt' vt'locmcs dlt'
\ahd rhe non-hllt'<lf ],J1er.l vt'locny vananon Jntroduced by tht' arbllrdry hnKnon
1') mcdns tht' ra\''> art' no longt'r CllVJl<~r !ll form
av01d th1s parucu]a problt'm, '>Oille ray 1ra1 mg software padwge~ suppose
tlld1 rhe \donty \anauon 1,m, at lea'>! loLallr. bt- approXIllt<~ted br <1 luwar gr<~dJt'nl
\',.," (x, y, 7) =\'"+k, (X x,,) + k, (y- Yo)+ k

[2 37]

Reference vt'lonty\', b the m.,tantant'ou~ Yelout\' <lt posltlon (x,. y,,, 7 =O a1 the siJIface
Orher 1elcren1e su1fa1e~ 1an bt- ll'>t'd a., we s..tw m hgurt's 2 08 or 212 !he
latt'JJ.ll1. ami even rhc gradlt'ttt Jt~elf ma1

V ,,(x, y, 1) "' \',,(x, rl + k(x, Y) (7- tjx. y))

f258]
a> m the(om-

76

Heir agam, perm11rmg a late-a] Y,JrtatlOn m the modcl ,dlow~ <1 doser ..tpprOXHIId(lon lO geologJcal rcality, but di the cost oflmmg- the pnmary ad,dmagr~ ofthe ougUMI V,+ k Z modd n certain <~pplicatJons

Anisotropic effective media

\Houty am~otropy otcurs ,,hen the propagatJOH \rloCJty depcnd~ on rlw dnec1JOH
0 rhe wavc Armotropy ~~ often the 'dTe( twe' result ol hrterogenell)' m a p..trllcula!

grne1ty eXJ~l~ Thc tJavdtime ,..,lo a first-oJdeJ, be ddined m terms of ofhd h,

sing the D1x Formula [2 14J for a depth z or venicalume T, and in 1e1ms of two
p,rameleh (1) thc ,vrrage veloCJI\' and (ll) thc nm, vdonty from thr ;~uface down
to 7 .\n equivaknr model can br ddlncd consJstmg of d -.ole
of tluckne~s Z

11

(tjl bcing a functJon ofZ and h)

[259]

Yt ~<-e wanr dlt' aniMJtiOpiC model [2 .':9]to be ftJUlV<llent lo the IJJx1an model of
Equatwn [2 14] for the tr,;eltune parameter t{h) \llakmg-use of rhc 'nnpk g-eomctJ 1c,d relatwnship bdween h, Z and ,mgle tjl, rh1~ gJ\t>S u-. thc fin,d cxprc~s!on m
\, ,lr!Jjweneed

77

,md \',.,,_ 1\Hh rhc dcpth ofthrrrfleLtor nvolvrd and l].t rhe H'rtlCal 1doclt\' !S\'.,, (O") = \' "' and thc honLontJ.l vdoLbctwcen

thc~e

t\H)

1elont1e; nor only t haractense-, rhe meth-

aknl equ,Jtumto
It ; trmplmg 10 punue tlu-, '>GLhng-do\\ mdcfin:tch, ~LilCe ICrtlCdl grologJC.]
hctcrogene!!r 1'> prcsent ,Jt rvr1y scak right clown to nnuo~copll le\cls, as snggc'>led m Figure 2 l:i. llowr,rr, unfortundtdy the p!aUJC<ll <~pphcatJon ofthc~e scalmg
equatmn'> is nor '>O straJghtlon\,Jrd
To ny and de,Jl 1\lth thl'>,

senc; olmolr or le~s honzontal shcers Herc <~gam, cakulat!Oih confinned b; preci>c \H"ll-core dn<~lysio indrLalr dldt sw h hod1c~ hme ,m etleC(Ye hch,niow 1d1H h L~
non- elhptKdlm nanue Ar thl'> '>< ,Jk, groph\'SICI~ts read1ly

The Backus Average

I,VIwn cakul,ttmg tr<tvehmte as a lundJOll of o/lsct, we ha~ e prcHously seen how we
rlns
could replace a ;cquence of l..tycts hy d stngle, elhpTHally <tnhotropJC
IC"'Hlt remams yaJI(l provtded eath ],tyer IS ;ufli<iently rhtck lor lHStance
<1 r<~y
l1 ,Jcing ro be apphcd If each mdwtduallayer's thtckne-.s JS stgmficantly le~s than thc
. 1 -,;nal'~ W.JYekngdt, o1her pheHomena \ll O<Llll, not<~bly ..tn nnerkrcncc betwccn
tlw pnmary ~tgnal ..tnd nmlnpk rcilecuon-. \Hthm the layers Thc dlf>ct1Ve behavutll ol TIK medtum 15 hencc a great deal more complicated, as Jemon-.1ratcd by
j\,H ku'> (1 !:H-i2) He de\'t~cd ,lll -''eragmg \,hKh could be u;ed for tntrmsKalll
, , -,otropiL i<~JeB atleast Ten ume; ;maller tha the "a\elength uf thc ;eisnnc sig11,;1 {typHally leHS to <1 few hundtcd~ ofmetrcs)

79

In 1h1~ moJel, a ~tacked ~equrme of :-.J tlHn layen. of -.,nut' rlurkne~~ 1~ <onsJdercd
For .,nnphnl} we w11l con"drr n 1sotroptc allhou!-'h Ba,_k_u.,' theo17 remams vahd for
comlitucntlayrTS wlch a1-e allJsotropic l<,ach l,ye ha~ P- and S-w.ve prop<~g<TIon
Yeioo!Jes
den>ny p, nnplymg rhr modd <an be rhoug-ht of a-. one
by tivedlfJ'crrnT
In
the elfL-coho1tly
Asan t'Aamplt>, the

dft><JT~e

Yertaall'-wave

~doury

f(r tlns modd w11l br

lo be ,Jb!r lo comp<~rr more t>asTly th1~ velouty w1th tht> vrrtlcal ~do< Hy ot the
JAJan modd (tht' avemge uefooly), a< onst.lllt den.,ty 1~ suppo;ed, wluch smtphfit>~
the It'iatJ<m~hlp to
[2 62]

:\lotr that th1~ mean 1, dTileJerJt from the vertiCal mean obtanted m iormula [2 11
1he 1ms mean ofThe 1lowneooe> ha., been u~ed as oppo.,ed to <1 .,nnpk mean, .111 dfectl\t' mrdnun for a sene~ oftlnn brdo cannot be ddlned usmg a .,mtpk mean alonel
Backn~ rqu.tions dre somettmcs <~pplied to the c<Tkulation of ~ynthetic scismog-ram~. as mentToned m hgure 2 4 Remember thJ.tthe goal1s to comtnKt an eqwvalenli,JI't>red modd oilhe ;ub;urface compo.,ed oflayers tel!S ol melle; thJCk, u .. mg
>onl< and densJtj weli logs collectrd at sJgnTflcantly ;malkr s<Tmphng !ates
}onnula [2 G2] mdJC<Ttcs tlut the dk< ttvr da;Uc modulus M unolvrd m lht'
propag-ation \docity ddined m Chaptrr 1 1s a hannomc mean of the mdnJdual
moduh VI for each ]ayer Tlw fa moJe exhamllve rt>sults descnbed by Backus art' m
tact cxpressed m term; of dft>CU\e da;tJC paiamders For t'Xamplr, paiameteJ M,
that wr detlnr later (Flgme 2 16), go~ennng tlw houzonral propagatmn ~doclt), 1'>

']]'1

[i: [1-2 "'

' ~~N~4
,,,

'[1-"L]-'='---~.v;
' +
'
1 l1
v,,

p,v,,

2:-~

,., p,v;,

[2 63]

l'hs rathei compll<atrd formula 1~ mrniJont>d herr Mmply to drmonstrate tJe mterconnecnon bt>twren tlw da;tJC paramt>ter. J 1he ,anwway, the 1'- and S-Wa\e p1op~
ag-at10n ~clocmr~ ~,, and v., for mdJVJduall.tyen, or theu drn>Jt\ p, also mlluencr
the honzontal P-wa~e ~eloCJl\' m tht' t>fft>cll~e medunn Backus' paprr .t!so nclude~
d full ~et of cquatons describmg tlw ellcc!J~e medium beh<tv!Our tiJr a ;rquence of
dm~orropK la~en

80

fo smnm.1m,e, the effecrne nwdmm eqm~.1lem ro ,1 sequem e ofbcd~ thm 1ompart:>rl

ro rhc mcideJH ;eJ;mK ~~a,ckn~th JS d homogcncou; a!li>Oiropll mcd1um known as
,1 7 [ medtum Thi~ 1~ thc anisotropiC ll!Odel \Ve WJ!l dcal \\ ith 111 the Ht'Xt '>t'l tion

The Vertical Transversely Isotropic (VTI) model

\\'t' tiJ~tly need to g-o back to ~omc ..tpproxHnalwm lo thc genc1,d ..tmsotropv model
One common app1oach JS w lonsu]e rhe mednun J;Otlopu m ,Jll pl,me'> perpendJ-

1ul.tr
1,

10

d p,u1JCular

ax:~s,

1.e.

J flllllllll'ne(~ f1olwjJr< 01 Tf

J~ouopK <~long all d1rr1 rions ,.tJun thc~c pldnes Thr~

rru'drurrt lf the '>pnnlt'11J dAIS conccmcd 1; vertJC<li (the
of rhr azunuth), thc mcdnnn JS known as a VI 1 or

Lltetal d!rcUon
">uch a modelno ]oger <~pplJcs m complex trcton1C '>llll<lllOHS. but rlw, can be
dr<Llt w1th b} .~~;ummg tl1e mcJ,um to be locally tJan;vrrsely hOtrop11, wHh a nonlt'ILH.il symnlt'llJ ax1s normalto thc d1ppmg IJt'ds Tlus proccdurr h not one yd
,,jdrh med mmdust1y though
Ou1 \'TI nwdnun can be loc\Jlly ddiHed u~mg onlr ll1c mdependeHt elastu
to thc ~ nccded m the mml grnr1al model Thr;e are nsu-

( , C,., C,, (.,am!C"',

In ,111 homogeneom \'TI model,
are rqu,Jl e\'t>tpdwrr wl(hm the
nwdu;m A~ lor the I'>Ol10plc elastJc
11 )ll''>, P, SH and S\ Thc ph..tsc velouty of each of thrse \\<lve-type~ will depend on
the rla~tJC modub C,, and tbcu p10pagatwn angle H to thr vertiCal The ph.1;e velocJLI Wll] not, by detinition, howL'VCI depcnd on tlw dllfiluth mvolvrd.
h)r examplr, rhe 1'-w,\\e (or more p!eCJ;e]y qP-w.ne, a~ 1\t' ~a\\ m Ch<~pter ])

2JV; (8) = (( 1 , + C 44 }stn 2 8+(C', +(.,)~,;o~' 8

+~[(e ,-C'.14 )sm'O-(C,,

C.,)cos 1 8J" +4(C,

~C,.)'~m 1 Hcos!8

[2.64]

q~\-1~a~e) propag,Jtwn pha~c \clouty J. S ,1 funcrwn

of q 1aH be
tn ,n
Jdenucal e;.._prr~~IOH, s;n e for a ch,mgr of '>lgn
hetore the squaJr-Joot term, thc same four C, moduli abo k<1h1nng m tlw formul<t
he SH-wave prop<~gatum vclooty JS expre;sed nsmg only two moduh, n<~mely

Note thar thc locu~ 11 of thc SH ph<l~t' vdo,tty, dd1ncd b) bjuaiJon [2 60), 1~ .111
dhpse for thc homogcncous vn modd
A lt'rli<-al P-1\ave 'docity corre>pomh to fJ = 0, ,md 11~ honzontal tountrrp<trl
lo fJ = 0W. \dJiCh g11e<, rhc followmg parw ular ph<tse vr]o ny 1cnus rlaotK modnl1
rrtttmn~lup~

Flgme 2 16-a

~how; modulu~

.\1, = CJ, correspondmg ro a vcrU,<li P-\\a\e

propagatmn, these two 1'a1es propag.umg ar thr .,,une \r-loCJiy,

hgurr 2 16-d tllusnatt'~ the ~tre.,~-~Tf<lm relatmn.,]up for a S\'-1\.tve

mg honzont.Jlly H-om the abme, 1h1s vdouty <-.111 IJt' g11en as

(d) hOn/nJH,d

82

SY,doc~lj

prop<~gat

 \\'eran 'ee that the honLontdl \elOCity '' the ~ame .1~ the vetliLdl for thc.,e mo
Jlm nnphe~ that thc t"o modul1 ft, and !-1-, ;u e eyu ..tl mth1~ model
2 16-e ,1101'' thc
between .,tn"~'> a.Itd ~ttam" mrko,pcrtfi\ lO ho:-

he ,ttaln here onur~ ,Jong a pL1ne

"hKh no
r!uecth pldy; ..tn} mlc m tl1e
ran be
d;
Urmg more ng1d m tlu; dlre([lon, hcnce f.l, > ft" anU the hon7tmtal <;H prop..tgdoon \d(Kil\ 1111l be
that fm the S\'-1~a\e;
In the \'11

(~)

Vllmodd

(bcddon~)

(h)IITTmodel(traGture,

83

The Thomsen paramelers

The \'TI modcl reprc~entatwn olthe snbsuJfaLc 1~ Luncntly ven much 111 'ogne
dueto tl1e \\ork of lhomsen (1986) The geue1al equation~
deta1krl above expnssmg the vanatwn of phase veloul!es V,., V,~ and V, as a lunction of angle and cl.Jstil modul1 are not c<L~} Lo handle Thomsen hcuLe p10po~ed
fivc ue11 paamcter~ vdnll1 could be used to ueatc ~nnple1 cxpre~~JOn> for thc dJffereut phase veloCities as a funLtiOn of piop,Igation angle. fhe relat1unsh1ps a1e
vahd approxJmrttJons pro, lthug rtnJ~otropy rema1u~ wcak Thc parametei> rcprcsent
patticular combln..ttions oftl1e fi,e auLOuomous ela~tL pat..tmctcrs C, already mtmduced and necessJ.ry LO completely define the VTI medmm.
In the lhom>en nomcnclature, tl1esc li,e parameters are
a" the P-l'>'d\'e popagatiOll ,eJontv paialtelto the vertJLal ,ymmetry ax1~.
1\ SH and SV-wave pipagauon velout1eS parallel to the vertiCal symmetty axts,
1~1th geophysiCbl~.

r2 7oJ
E

y
b

repre~eutmg

the relatmnsh1p bet>wen the llommtalty and HTt!Lally pwpaganng P-wavc veloulle~:
representmg the relationshtp between the honTOntally and vertKally pwpaganng S\'-wa,e Yeioutles,
rcpreseutmg the vatJJtwn m P-wa\e veloc!t} aboul thc vertlL.Ji

These yuantl(lcs aH' e.xpre>scd

e~(c"

rt~

a funcnon of the C,/s as follows

-C,)/2C" ~(vi(90)- ViWJ)/2ViWJ

Y= (C"" ~C 44 )/2C 44 ::: (V~211 (90)- V,2H(0))/2ViH(0)

li=

(c,l +C 4S ~(C 11 --c4J

2 C, (C,, -C")

l2 711

ALLOrdmg 10 th1s model, the \anatJOn m the veloLtttes of the rl1fferent

a hmCl1011 of propagatJOJI ang\e e 1nll be \H lttell
Nu P-wavf' 1elonJy

Vp(8)"'

Uo~(l ~2(c~i5)sm' 8cos 2 8+2csm 2 e)

"'a 0 (1--(c i5)sm; Seos' 8+ csm' 8)

l2 72]

:::: a 0 (1 +lism' Seos" 8+csm" 8)

v,v(8) ::::f3ol

'

+~(s-i5)sm 2 8cos
~"

F01 Sll-wave 1-elontv

84

e)

l2 73]

wave-type~

as

Note th<~t m tlus mude!, Y<~hd I01 a we<~k

the numbe1 of mdependent
on wl1rch thc P-waH~ phase
depcnd~ l1.1s been reduLed
hom
mi tia! VTI model to onlv three, namd}
E, rtnd b
Tlw weak ,rm>otmp\
fm ~,duc~ m cxLes~ of thi>
lil pracnce the model

The factorised anisotropic heterogeneity model

1., obvrouslY a gre,lt deal mmc romphLatcd thau the modeh
In p<11tiLuLu, thc \arlou~ elastiL (om,tam~ V.il)' tlnoughout
1t r.. therefure u>ual to d..~'ume th<~t P and <;-wrtve pwprtgatiOn velontles Y.in'

\Ve abo need to bca1 m mmd that the pa1 amctn > chale g theThom~en p.uamcter~ E, b and y. 1111l abo, 111 tmn, va1-v
m ., 1Mce In pt<~rtKc thougl1, the ..tm,otropy p,nametn Yll'lat10ll~ ,nc not t.ikenmto
.Lccouut, and ccrtaml} uot for tndl\1duail<~yer~ 1\lthm thc modeL Ba~cd on the \HJrk
of ,',heateJ <~nd C,nnpLell (19tH:\), Cerveu} (19H9) mtroduLed the Ide<~
am.IOIHtfi'i, ~~here onl} one tcrm. for m~tancc tlw vcrtrLal ~dunt tnm,
dcterr~mg anr~otropy,

In

l'hc

~ud1

a model,

v<~lldlh'

~:quatmn

[2 72] for P-,..a\C'- wonld be

of such a model depenrb of coune on the

geologiC<~l

contcxt Om

~nn-

Elliptical VTI media

1 he elhpllcal tran~\er~ely ISOtropiC medrum s a 'pen,] ca~e of the Vll <111d
1 hom~en morlel<o. where tl1e 1\d\efront (or
~nrfrtce) 1~ eillpticdl \\'e can
dernumt1.ile tl1atjoJ f/; model
r rmd 6 an equal, and the 1'-wa~c
pild'e 1elonty cau thu~ bewtltten
[2 76J
1 e the reopror,Jl of the pha~e yc]ocrt},
1 \,(8, a' d functwn of8,
agam dc~cnbc an elhp~e
1 he ellrpticalmodel had m fact
the adyent of thc
1hom\en modd, a' 1t pre~cnted a cert,nn number of
\Ve haH' ~ITll
dbove how 1t can be relatcd to the ~taudaHl Drx hmnul<~ for a group \elOLlt\
(Equatron
~u(h d mude!, the tlme-ofhet rdatiOll.,hlp
thc rme~trgatmu depth) \\111 he hype1bohL a~ m thc homog-eneou~ or ~tratilierl Drx modeh An rmpmtaut comcqnenLe of tlm !S th;lt se~miL
p1occ%mg tcdrua.ne~ LanJed out m thc tune domam, ~u<.h as tho~c IH' ~hall LOnlenttrtte on m the foJ1m,ing ch,rptcn, namel} nonn.1l mo\'eout, d1p mo1eout and
lime nugrauon. al11cmam \ahd I1 we ~uppo~c the ,ub>urface 10 be elhpncally tr<~n~
leDely rsotrop1c, .1' 1,ell a~ honzontail} ~trat1ficd 01 gentl} lhppmg i\n cx(ellcnt

85

dcmonstoat10n ol Lh1~ phenomenon ~~ found m (V'erwesL, 19~9) Howevet, tlu~ umdusum Jocs 11111 holrl fiH tl1e geueoal \'TI modcl
AnoLhcr ,llt,JC!Ivc ;~peu of tlm moJel~ that Il can he cnLnely rlcfiuocrl u~mg
L1'0 paiameter~ lhc P-wave propilg<ttiOn \eloutie' \', "" ;nrl V,."'".
ho1,eve1. rercnt \\'Ork ou anisotiOP} beha~iou.- mdiL;lle~ that tht~
mcdwm rloe' uot oept e'ent ;n e~pcn;lly
lO
reaht~.
no mattei >~hcthcr 1t boc consJrleeJ lllJkeJ
.
'anct\' pre~enl 111 da}~

Fracture-induced anisotropy
h;cturauon ., another phy~ICal phenomenon whtth rlefine~ au effertive dlll~otwp
moJel .\ f1atture set \'>'hKh ~~. for ImtauLe, \CrtKal ,md appmxunately p.ualld
can he morldlcrl. for Lhe
of da~tic pwpagation,
lC

l his morld ~ \Hrldy uscrl to dcstnbc the pl1enomenon

ularly rele,ant for '>-\~a, e~ pmpag,umg ~eit(allv
v.ave dfr\mg yerm;lly with d gtvcn pol<~n~MJOn dncuion
LO the hauure~
(Flgure 2 J 7-b) 1,1ll rlevdop totnponcnt~ pe1pemhrular ;nrl p.nallel to tite h,Jctnre~.
becau'c eath tomponcm '~ces" a dJffcrcnt 'hca1 morlulu~ The tomponent nmm.tl
Lo the
~ubjcct toa ~hear modnlus 1dnch ~ (m

111

Thc componcnt par,Jllelto thc fr,u turcs

i't6'l.tre

16-c
Lo the ,hear

, -,eu~it\t'

Ay

(a)';wavcbtretnng.ence

86

(b)

Stres~-

strmn ,,'

tra~tures

morlulu~ [J.,

o"
'p,,_ - - , !1,,_,,.=--

(~)

Strc>S

>tram l.lradUI"'>

fm tl1e m..tterkll, whJCll

rem..tm~ ~JrtlJally

UIMJicLteU bv the tianur;ltum,

a~

P-wave a:r.imuthal anisotropy in fractured media

lnd \ 11 med1nm, 1'-wa\C~ ha\ ea pmpag-anon ~ctouty l,lnLh, by 1icfirunon, vanc~
1\Jth tl1e11 angle of 1nnrlcnLc fJ to the \CrtKd.L but \,]uLh 1~ mrlcpcmicnt of d7lmuth 1.jJ
ol the \ertlcal plane m wlHLh the propagatwn Llkc~ plaLc (FJgmc:! 17-a)
morld,

The orthorhombic model

lhe lfl 1 moJel d~~tunn th,n
tlll,Jtum In re..thty of Lonr.,c, 1'e more oftcn
anU
Joded! 1\lth th1~ '>ltnatlon, an ,Kkhl!OJJ<il lc~d of LOmpln.. ny 1~ JJJtroUuced
am~otropic modeb Tlu~ 1~ tlw mlhorhomhiL molle! Uefincd
nine mdem lo
penrlcnt parameter~
~ 1H, takcJJ hom a ( olor<~Uo Scl1ool
puhllcatlon, !llu~tr<~tcs the 1rlc,J
cyu,niom, to tl1o~e rlcvbed bv '] hollJ.,eJJ for thc \' 1 1
bj 'J~vankm (2001. although the1r ptdLtiul

87

Porous media
l'he typc of hcrerogeueny 1<~: havc rlbLnherl um] mm ha~ bccn lmkerl nthe1 to
beddmg- m to fractmatiOu Vet tlw heterogene1ty \\luch , of priman LO!Knn to
petroleum cxplorauou ouur'> ata fa ~Hldllcr ~cale, <~nrll~ lmkcrl to rhe pHseucc of
pore' aurllh11rl~ \\Hhlll rock,
Powm media can be de~t nbed a~ a pack of gram~ w1th ~pare~ bell'.een 1hcm, a
lliOdeJ whtC]l 1~ paiTlLUJarJy lt>p!e~ellTali\e Of ~anrl~tolle'
llowc\CI, 11c Cal! abo thmk of a Iod, ,~a ITIJti\el} homog-eneou~ m<~tnx containlllg- il munilei of mdusJon~ of \allou~
mughly spheii(,] (~nch ,Js \Ug-g-y
llat (e.g h,Killled l1mestone~),
In
2 Ol-e, we ,howerl thc me;J~UITment of an 'aH'rdge \eluuty fo1 <~
porou~ IO( k ~ample l]u, me.burt>ment can be carned out, 1t ag.un '>l10ulrl he
entph.I~I~erl, proYirlmg- the cbst1c s1gnal 1\dvelength u~crll'> large compiiied to the
'!le of the
but rem;m, sm;ll comparerl to the '<~mple'~ lcngth <;uch
m rock pl1y~1C~ ldhoJatonoc~
11c cau aho
uuamhih'llOU,h define an
lot<~l ma~., ol the ~ample to
We c;n <~ho define an average ur
flmlu wmtanl, The J3;rkn~ method
rlc~cuberl .1bove be111g an cxample
le<~d hom the rlefinltJon of\eloLty
a~ a fundlon of the Hll k<.' ela~tl
[1 2], d gencr;l relation,h1p ofthc follm\mg fonn 1~ ..~~stnncd

the d\l'age

88

den~Jty

of a

pmou~

matend!

pose~

no partilnlar

pwblcm~

where the meU1um 1~ comtrlcrrU lo he m<~de np oll"o con~tllUtllb (1) the m<ttJIX
dtHl (1i) the flUIU-fillerl pmc~. For th1~ m<~tenal, 4' rcprc~cllh tlw porosltv, or tl1e r;lllo
rhc rlcmit) of lhe man1x
0 pme yolmne to tl1c m eral! volume ofthe m<tlertal,
lhe
111 dkiug up tlw maten<Ll, \Hth p,
localculate aH
m dlcclive

p 1o\ide

clcar recenr and

o\erv1ew ol
lpll. We_
only
lew of the comrn<~ndmg 1de<1~ <tnd unryueh- de<~l w1th tlw p<tramett'r~
hehdviOUJ 111 dlcdnT homogent"ouo
dlld 1~otropc medra,
K anrl ~hc.u mudulu~ 11 (\ce tormu[.l',l:!]<tml[lll])
d

Ur,1[ \' 1lh

dd1nmg- P anrl S-wave

Some basic definitions

F1gure 2 20 ~hm~~ ~e\ eral butk and she<~r modul1 tl1at \H' ~hall make use of
dunng the follmung UJ~cn~~~on
K, and
are the moduh for the m mera!\ con~t1tutmg thc rock, (e g lJUdttL
for<~

wck mutrrx, J e \\"lthout

flmd~

m the pore'

89

These morluh are rhfkreut from the ptevwus two above stme the} rlepenrl on
the roLl'~ sttucture, the arr<~ng-emcnt of the gram~ or sl1ape ot the pore~
K,, 1~ the bulk nwdulu~ f(n the flmrl 01 fluid mixtme eudo~crlm tlw pon~~ ~t 11
1' of Lour~c Tcm for <~lllluJd,.
IZ., and fl,, ..ue thc eflect1~e or a\erage morluh for the lltllrl ,annaterl mck
I"he llltct,JCtlon, that trtl...e plate bel\\Tenthe matnx rtud the fillld~ at the uwment of
an ela,tK \\<LH''' P'~"<Lge ..tlT unponant a'ped~ of w,1ve propag-,Jl!Oll 1n pmotb
med1a Dlmng- the pre,~Lue and rli,placement dbtmbanre created by the ela~tiC
\lbtalwn, thc fhm.l vlht<Llc~ rel.it1vdy Jndepenrleutl} ot the Ill<lliiX ~unoundmg 11.
l"he QJ ~ lil hydw,tanc rle~eqmhhnum anrl a heterogene1ty ' c~r,1bbsherlm the
pre,.,moc and tntern,J! f1111rl flm,~ <liT ll!duced l<~thm the pore'
1he>c phen<Jmena rlepenrllargelv on the prt1lleahllltV ofthe roL k, ou the ,ha pe
aurlLonuecthity of thoc pore~, the fluid n~cmit} anrl tl1e waye
Indeed, v.hen a hydwstatic ~tte~~ or \Tl} low frequency
1~ apphed
to the wck, the flu1d remam' totallv m pha>e w1th the mrttnx and tls mlernal
(n tl11~ ca~c, tlw med1um v.11l bclJaYe

ore111losed

the tmw to re-eqtniihrate Certam l1igh flLud pres~me Tones 1nll thcrd(ne be
pre\entmg pore~ to Lhauge ~hape aud
loc<~l flUid flov.
La~e. rekr to
domom or

e~uhl1~hed,

\Ve. m thl>

now go on to g1~e examp]e, of ~neral of

the f(mnulation\ and theone> put lon.<~rd to enable crtlculallll o[ porou~ efiectve
med1a parametct' baserl on then con>lltuent m..tten..tb
The Voigt and Reuss effective media Iimits
l"l1e pwblcm ''e t,xkle m thts 'ectlOll 1' uot so much to lind the eqUJ\aleut
model for a mtx of t\\'0 componcnt' w!th d1ffenng- ela,ucitie~. but lo determme the
uppcr ,md lov.er lnmt' of the po,,Jble ClJUIValent model~
TI1e uppet lumt for lnLompre,ibllitv (bldl modulu~) 1>
Uy the \'(JJgt
modd, \\llidlll!~ohe' arrangtng the \<lrtOU'- lnLompie,Siblhtle'
'elle,', or altern<~flvd}, compre~"bihlle' 'm parallel' In th1s model, the mu~t mcompre>~ble con~mucnr, play the
role he1Tfore, f K, 1' tl1e llulk modulu~ (01 for tl1<1t
matter_ the ~heat nwdulu~.
the eynolflon, are the '"mel f01 the 1'" component
with yo]ume a, relat1vc to the total volumc of the compo~nc, the efl'ectiVe modulm
\Hil loe g1~eu bj

90

[2.791

pu"ponhnm for;:m

tlnwput'm
de1ant wk m
cqwv<~lent nuxlt>l\ mcompn"S~Ibilitv

I!JII (1952) ~h1meU that ~~hate>er the ~h<~pe ofa porou~ mcthum'~ g-am~ or porc~,
ltS compres~llnhty \\"ot!ld he ~ome1~lwre between thc~c nvo hum~ H1~ modelthu~
propo~ed <1n efTediH' hulk morlulu~, \\luch wa~ tlw mc<~n o! thc~c L\vo values.
Hashu1 and Shtrilman
the V01gt anrl Rcu~~ uppn ,md lower hmlknJ';nan (1993) g-enc1ah~cd thc approaLh

Biot's Theory
A~ mdJcateU abo\e, Bot (l9.1J6) pul fonvard a Them)' and [onnulanon defnmg
plO]Mg-<LtlOII velonlle~ for 1' ,md 'S-v.a't>' m porou~ merl1a 1' l1llh t<~kc~ account oftlw
lllttiauiom between a rotk\ ,fnx <~nd the fluid~ rontaincd 1nthllltt Although rel;lli\eh" ntmber~ome, thc~c cquattom define the velont> ,arJ,fwn a'> a fnnlllon of
ti1quecy .nJ rt nnmher ofparamner~ associated ~<ttll thc roLl ,mrl lh11ds K.,, K.,,
K,, \l~CO~ttv r, ctL Hoc al~o define~

[~Sil

1 t>l"> lequent v behaYJOUr ha~ a ~tmple expte~Mon, mltlrtlly gven by Ca~~man (1951),
wh11 h
\\"lul~t lugh frequenl~ behdvJOur on thc othcr hanrl b ~tll d
'>Ul.oji>U
~ome debate,
it does not ~eem to be rtl.ole to actount for 'e'e1al phenomcna, such a~ locrtl fh1x be ha\ tOUI (e g see l\1avL.o, 19'l9)

The Gassman Formula

the eHectJH' butk morlulus lor

[2
l!u.,

1~

..1

H~l

a f(nmulrt ~<Jrleiv uo,eJ to Ic.,olve p1oblem~ ITiatocd lo Outd suh~tJlltfJOII F01

thc hulk moduln~
the >eloot}) of d g-a~-~<et, oil-1\"et or water-~< el
modulu~ me,"ureme11t' marlc on a Ury rock ~am-

pie, o on lhe wck ~<~lmaterl, but Wlth <~ rlJflcrenT lhnd

I he mo'>t liequent
of lhe tecl1mque 1~ to c~tlm<~te the 1mpcrl,mce
umtr.hl(orrefletli,ilv)
Ilts also u~erl to preUICl ..tll m ~#u 1ciouty V.Jthm the resenon, u~mg , labor<~to
n-ba~ed measurement Such l<~hor<~tory me<~~urement, are made using a Jy ~ample
,1( ,1 frequcJK} appropn,ne lo 1t~ ~17C (I e Mil) r lw rne..t,lued value cau be extended to low frn.uencie' wbere Ga,man's fonnula apphes bcto~u~c the rlry roL k ~ample
mea~Luemeut' ate only nulrlly '>tll~Jttlc lo frequency. \Vl1ere po~'Jble, mea~mcment,
die carned oul althe rclc\,mt pte,tne and tcmpclo~tun LOnthtion, o! lhe 1e,ervo1r
S un];) mca~LJrement~ .1rc umduCled to e>tnnate fhud uHnpres~tbdny at >ub~urfo~ce
LOnthnom (_.a,man\ formula, though theorerally ha~ed on a ~atK ~Jtuo~uon
(euclo.,ed flmd~i ; abo a~~tunerl to be vd!ld at 'e!SII1K frequenoe'> Lon,cqucntly 1l
Lau be lJ,cd lora predtlt!Oll of thc velool} of the Sdlmated wck at ~uch freyucnue,
.illd m 1ztu courlmon'
The f(llm'>'llig- lil\'t,ll 1Tlanomh1p mvolvmg- the ,]w,r modulu~ 'hould di>o be
uotcU

Shedt morlul1 .ire uualfecterl bv tJw flmU prescut 111 the pore,, .illd Therefore onh' a
van.il!Onm thc avctagc den~lt} 111ll .illecl tl1e ,l>,-l,d\C propaga!on veloLllV whcn a
ch<~nge m
tlw liliKI m lhc por e' b ~ub~lttuled
Ma1ko
g-<~'e ~evero~l md1cauons a~ 10 po,tlok exteu,wu' lo llw Ga~,man
f(nnula
f(r ,1 mck 1,hmc mati!X '' compo;ed of >neral mmerab, K,, ,Jwulrl be t.iken
,1~ the JeuproLo~l o! tlw weig-hteU meo~u of the compre,-,ibiluie, for earh of
thcsc rompouenl~.
fot a polvpha~K flu1rl, a VICtghtcrlmcan ~hou!U agam he u'ed, tht, tune of eo~ch
flu1rl C<lmponeut'' rompre~,lhtlill<,
r~

S4J

wl1ere K 0 , 1' the mulmpn%tblht} of flwU 1, and ~ 11

It~

relattvc

J l11' lo~~t formulo~ ha~ an nnportant pto~ctKal cou~eyLtcnce

~<~tur.itiOn

K, __,.. .ind K,,>> !(,.., (lhe

ro~tm 1~ e J 0' dl >url,Jce condJUon~t 1 e , 1en '>mall tonccntration of g-a' 1' 'ltflic1enl
to dramatJ(ally redttLe the efteCll\e fiLm! bu!L.modulu~. leadmg toa \alue (]o,e lo

92

Dcns1ty

O%

V,,, """(1-$lcVm+$V0 for $<37%

____!_=___+.!....:.
K,. 1

Kn

K,

for $>45%

\t"]oulu.'~ f01 mtermedlate

ti1e 1110 formula;

pn)~lli<'~

[2B6]
are found through an mterpolatwn berv.een

lnfluence of clay content on velocity

LlntJ! m JI'., we h.J\e a~MJmed th.Jt the porous nwdHnn l'.as r<nnposed of e.-.sentl.Jl-

tii<J lOn~tJtuents

93

!{n ~<1nd-n{_h ro(_k.>

b~

tons1denng- day parucle~ a., patt ola pore-fillmg flwd

1~ gnTn bv

pl~<tse

1 he dfectlvt" tlutd bulk modulus

[21:\7]
the vulumctnr pe!tent,ge ofclay m tht" ptJres, 1 e rl,y volunw
,.,sumed ro contam a da\'-flmd m1x
diflent equhalent model for 'and) day.,, where sand gram~
de
lll day Clay conrent \ , JS defined a' the volumetnc percemage of
day lll tlw maiJIX. 1 e
llflllllldtnx volume, the maiJIX lwmg tom1,

!lns notallon 1.., however tommon

in the indu~rry,
day pa1 dmeteJ
(2 B7].

Tln~

~;

d1lkrent ro the

p<~rameter

'lhe cl.Jy and the

ti' e K,, \alue \'la

P,,, defined m EquatJon

mlluence theeffec-

Empirical velocity-porosity-shaliness relationships- The Han and Castagna

fonnulas

V~

""6.08 -8.06 tj) for a vater-saturatcd sand at 40MPa

VP = 5 59-6 93-$-2.18- V,h for a water- saturated sand at 40MPa

Y1 ""5.26-7.08$-2.02 V, 0 for a water- saturated sand at 5MPa

[21:\0]

V,, =5.41-6 35 $-2.87-V,, foradrysand at40MPa

)'.;ore of (_Ourse the mfluence of the c\,y fauor \' ,. but also the rok olthe ;,nnr.nwn
and pres~ure. t\\'0 nnp()l tant phenomen<1 we return to m the lollowmg secnon

Ca1tagna el al

94

(}lJ85J

pnbh;hed a Slmlldr .'>et ol relatJOJI.,hlp' based on welllog cl,na

Yr =!.36+1.16- V, 0 for silts

Vp=S ..S!-9.42 ~-2.2!V, 0 forasha!ysand
h

1,

l2!.l0]

notmg- the follu\\"mg

\\e!l !ng mea-.unmcnts ;:ue m .11/u mea-.wement.-.. bur the abme fmmulas do
not n:fk1 t the tmportant tnOueno" of m t't<ISlllg depth (\Id lnho-.tatll pre .... ure
,md 1 ompdltlon- se1" next .-.cction)
hese formulas JJld]( dle that an l!IU'I:a~e m potu-.ny oi only one perrent JS suff1 wnt to reduce velonty by 70-9Um s.
\ ,llllJ[ar onc potnt mcredsc lll -.hdltne~s 1~ nmugh to reduce 1'-wme velout;
bv20-30mis
\\Otlh

Jnfluence of pressure on velocity

95

Increase of velocity with depth

rhe~e d1flerent
h.1ve an 1mpo1tant mfluencc on the mcompresslhlhtv
<1nd hence thc
rocks Chd.-.temen and \Vang (198.'}) g1ve experi"
mcnt<ll re-.ult-. of th~ mflucnce
An;te\ (19!.!1) sho,,ed e'(trelllt"h clearh the nfluewe that confinmg pressure
play~ on borh bulk <tlld sht",Jr moduh
for a hvdrostatlc pore pressure regllnt" Cmm.-. .-.ubmnted to <1
than the pOte pressure uudergo a compre.-.~1011 l'.hlrh
m the rork's p10pagation \elonty ~Jmultaneow,ly,
m densny, \\h1Ch w11l tend to decred~e lhe \'elouty
IJS\1,\llv as .'>1!-(lllficant a., the li1st one and ~o 1' .tnd S-wa\e pop.Igatwn velontws w11l
tend to Jn(Je.lse Wlth
confinmg p1essuw ,nd the1efore 111th mtreasing
depth Tl11~ !S m J.ct
both somc log~ ,nd laboral01) me.Jsun'mems.
Pote-.-.hape, defined bv the n1per1
rhe ratio of the pore\
Jts shorte,t, JS another fat lor wllll h <1l...o plays a ma1or 10le 111

l'.hlrh mfhwnce-. 1' and S

ol

"'"''""'"'""j ~hale~. ,..here fonna-

liS dkn symlJOh,ed by

the clo,ed
on the cliag am
In 'mh a ~lluallll, the po1e lhuds die no longe1 m hydnJ-.tatJC eqwhbnum wJth
rhe sud,u'. wlurh
gram rompacton oct urnng 1 he hulk and shea1

How to depict velocity models and fields on the computer

To tondude dm ch.1pter on ho" we use dfeune nu.'d1a to pro\Jde a
ck~tnptltm of tlw
field compa1ed to the
1eahtv, n thl'
toda)\ 1 !"too!..
Layer-cake models
F01 <1 geophv.'>JllSI, a \elonty model

96

,, the Sllb.'>UJ!ate l' e-.sentJalh tompt!-.ed of

(b)'Layerrk'modelwlthparametrlc
>elodt~ functions in cach la~er

.lgT, rms. m~tanlaneous, sta<.kmg \eloutJeo,, mJgranon H'lonlle~. ctr o,hould

be desLflbt"d u~mg a mmnnal numlwr ofparanu:tt.'l'.,
Kwncrous mnlwd.-, are a\ad<tbk to
and d1spl<ty ~udireo, on a romputeJ 1 he mo~t chrcct -, to define 01
g1Jd
z.,~=7(x,,y,) w1th x, =iAx andy,~""jD.y

[::!01J

fhe lnllltanons of th1s method are encountercd when we w1~h to handle muln-valued ;urfat es, SlKh as the O\'el hangs often cnLountned n ~ah tedomc~ or dw mvnsc

1 he rradmonal vJsuah~.ttlon of ~urf,u:e~ u~mg Lontow map>

b\ lhc .1dn:nt of 3-D vJsuahsanon ofsurfan:~ A. '1mpleJ
toUJ IUdp.o, and 3-D veloCJt\' modelhng appeaJ .., m F1gctre

ha~

been enhanced

Volumetric models
Mcthoch for the volumelnt d1splav ol vdoulll"S aH' I'.Jdc-Jangmg ~oftv,are, lor
lllo,tant'e, usmg fi!lltc dll'etence Jmgratlon (Chapter ) uses a velont\' model ba~ed
on d tegular 3-D gnd At eat h lltJck (x, y,,
<1 \elocay \alue !S pootrd,
t1the1 lhe mteJ;.] \'t"iooty of the !ayer,
or rms \'elonty (..,ce c;u-

97

(a)(;nddedrnndel

FlguH" 2 :24-a 1s an exdmple of the dbpiay ol such a \el()(Jt}

the diflerent \elocll} values aw de~Jgnated using <1 colom-coded
scheme Tiw gnd ma} not lw 1egular at all Tlm JS lhe ca~e partKularly for ~tackmg
\elocllw~. l'.blth
(ChapteJ 3)
1ethmque~
to r<Jmtrutl vei()(J!v
(e g the dep1h 1mgmtwn \t"!Otlly
modeh. m Chdplers 7 amll:\) dllow ldvered modeh. lo be de.-.Jgned for the maonty
models 1 ompo-.ed ol d regular

98

References and Further Reading

Tmtanraneou~

';.]o\\ne''

ver~us

Depth hmcrwns Ceof!h)'\11\,

Backus GE {1962) 1

Tlorli:ontal 1.d\'ermg
(,enpil)> H.f,ermh,
4127-1440
BerrymanJG (1993) ;\hxture heone~ for Roe k
Amenran {,eophyoJCal
llnion Handbook of l'h;Jtd! Comlants, :\(,LI,
'205-228
Bourbie T, Coussy O and Zinsner B (1986) AIOtHitqru df\ m1heur: prmwr E(lilmm
ft"chrup, l'an5
Biot MA (l9:'lfi)
\V,ne., tn a }luid ~aturated Porou.-,
'lol1d j Acou't Soc
Byun B (1982) ~e1smu P.1rameters fo1 Medm \\llh ElhptKal \'dotlt\' lkwmlemw.-,.
(,eoj1hym,, 47 lfi:::!-1626
Byun B (1!.!84) Se!Mllll l~ctldllWien f01 II<tn~\endy hotmpiC Nkdu Geojlh\'\111, 49
1908-1914
CastagnajP, Batzle ML and Eastwood RL (19W:i) Rdatomh1p., lwtween tompl<'''!Ond]-wa\e <1nd she;u-wa\e \dOut1e' 1ll cld-,lll '11icate mck.-,. (;nph)wl. !JO 571J81

SP11molou D Re1dd
Cordier JP ( 198J) lforrlie1 m
Christensen N and Wang H
!"he 1nfhwnre of lbn"
l're.<nm. on Dyn,mlC l']a,tll f'rope1 tw., of lkn"d ~dndstorw
21:1
Dix CH (IIJ5.'J) Se1~nur Veloulws from ~JJJf;ll<' .VkasJuenwnt' (,nph',mJ, 20 8B6

SeJ<,Jruc Velouty ,; a f<unctmn of lkprh and (,eologK Tune

Functlon Inciuchng 1 Jtho1ogll \"dnarwn
eLtMJZtat pmo;e1 nwd1en l'-r Der .Vatw

Ceophvs1cal Explorarwn ~etr10n J Ser-,nlll

MacBeth C and Lynn HB (2000) Apphed St.'l<;IIIl( a1monopy
ami field .tu ches SOl of r.xpl Geophn.
Marion D, Nur A, Yin H and Han D (l 99:2) Compre"ion,] \douty ancl l'oro~Jt\'
m Sand-da\ \1Jxmn-,
j/ !':i54-.?J
Marion D, Nur A (1991)
~f.Uelldl dnd lh Hfect on Velocllv n ROlb
(,eojlh~\tC\, 50 225-230
Mavko G,Jizba D (1991)
l1l wcb Gfoplrysu\, 56.
MriVko G, Mukerji T aod DvorkinJ (J9!.l!.l) lhe Rock PhyslCs HandOtJtJk Tools f01
seJSlnJt anah-,h lll porous med1a ( amhndRt L 'nn'rt\11)' Pre>J

99

<haptn2

Shearer PM, Chapman C (1988) Ray Ii'aong m Aiu~otl'opH Media Grophy.1u.1.J

lnt. 9!.! !.ll-100
CerJphysto, J 1 1%4-1 !J66
analsis of n"neuwn dar, m amsolropJC
Perr:;amon

Wyllie M, Gregory
Gardner
( 19.":il:\) A:n E'!:pernnental
F',clo1s Afkctmg El<i.'>IJC \\'d\(' \e!ouue' m Porous Med1a

of

chapter 3: The Aims and Principies of Seismic lrnaging

What is a 'seismic reflection section'?

Jn tlw tir.-.t dMplcJ, l'.e saw how parl of thc enngy for d Wd\"t' of a gJ\en l\'pe .,
reilet tcd \\hen 1t enrounters an hcterogeneny 1 e a rontr.J.-.t lll elasw properlles lll
t!w ~ubwrfau Tiwse contra.-.t~ denote changes m g-colog}, more oftcn than nor

<,t"tond t<tsk JS to qurulftfatwrlJ memmf lhe 'f/1'1/HIIf':i,

tHm coefflncnt, char.Jctensmg the conl,st m ela...r](
'11m gJH'S an mdKallon a~ ro the n11k

td! ~cut

Imaging principies

e e.-.umatc thc wfler-

mn.t >udeh
In mdw,try, Pre<.,D\1 po.-.-.~-.~e~ the
bas~d on the fund<tmentals ol ela~tJr l'.dH' pmpag<~tion theory and
number of a.-.>umptwns
ll;mg tlll', method
and more approxunate nwthocl-.
lheojfselrhmemlfm
rnlmns. Tht"

How the seismic processor sees the subsurface

Chapte1 :2 11a~ dedirated to descnbmg pmpaganon ,dooty mockb
the nnagmg ptoet.''' we need to env1sage <tnothe1 \lSIOn ol the
t<1ke .Kcounl oftlw mtrin~Ic ltmlt<ttlon~ of the seiSllllC terhmqne.

pre~ent

to

i\"ote
m,g-e's 'fwquency', \\hen frequencv
change of a tnne ~eries' fhis, "hen we
nentually m clepth' Th1~
of
IlllflOJiant 1;sue l'.t' ;ilall

suppo,edly charatten.-.e the rate of

tile .-.ubsurface
to be

~hould

ll tan be ;eeH that 'mtermedmte' (-.ay 4 to H HL)

abme HO H7, m a typital -.eJsmtr
luw frequenry component of dens1ty,
they .ue etther not emJtted by the seJsnnc

"lhe 1mage 1'>

102

(b)Sei"mcscclionplusvelocit}model
(l.nom ona P~eldispill})

(c)Variousresu]lsoflltcimagingprncess(singktraccdipiRy)

on tht> Loom m Flh'l.lle

chang-lTlg 1olour background of t]Jt>
.tmphrude d1splay. 1hi> repreoent, (approxmatel~) tht> low lrequency component of
the '>llb~urface propagatwn velonty fit>ld TI1ese <mpont>nt., are not u.,uall~ emllted bv the seJSlllll- sonrct> or either dH' filtt>red ont .il rec01ding 1 ]., lllformatwn ~
noncrheles, '"'"sent~.tl Lo the lll'>truciJOn of lite 1mag-e and 1~ 1t'lnned tlJIOUg-h
trcnd11me mformaLJOil. as l'.e WJII see

103

Note that the mtagmg supphe~ th1~ relatl\'e refletttV!t\' ami\ elout> h.Kkgmund as
two sPp.!rdte ple<-e~ uf mformatmn, whtk the slrnv \allattort m demtt}' wil\ not, at
lt>d~t via ~ur!.iLe ~eismic tethmque~, be mlormatwn teadily an:esMble to <1 geoplwst-

borehole log me<tsurement-., tu treale

str.md-. ot mfOtmauon, ustng- the heJIPfir
acou1tic Wlj1ednnre
1hi~ however t~ not d toptc we will be directly
<tddte~smg he1e
fhese concepts above can be expres~ed m anothet

~nsm11

unagmg IS to dtsplay lhe 'lngh ftequenq' refleUtvtiY nnage,

but th1s can only be done throug-h k1Kw,ledge ot the 'lmv freqnency' velocily componen!, whiCh play~ an es~ent1<1l wle m the tmagmg- procns As ~'.e ~hall dt~toer, tl11s
mt01m<itm11 1~
succes~tull~, yet, rom,tnl'ly, tht lliW{',mg 1t1elj
Conslntdtng tl11s lo"' hequenq \eloctty modelt-. lhetefore one ot the J<e, .ttms of lhe tmag-mg proce~~

Point-by-point construction of the image

Stnctly speakmg, a snsm1c 1mage 1~ calculated potnt b} p01nt, each nxelc<tlculaled mdept>ndently of
Th1s amount~ to supposmg- ,,.eh subsurface
pomt pos~e~~t>~ It~ ol'.n
reflectl\tly Tvw models are generall> used to
defme such difhaclton poinb
in theBm11
/or, capable
111 .tll dtreCIom upon exCltallon Tht~ .tppro.J.ch ts p.trtu ui.J.r!Y COil\'t>lltt>lll fm demonstratmg ~eYer<tlunag
mg prttutplt>s and 1~ one wt> \\JI! mak g-t't'.tl
Except ,, l-t>rtatn specu.l ca-.e~

statkrmg- model, vanaltll m rt>flet IIYtl~ w1th the mudent ,mgle of

~n~mu wavn 1~ not ~omt'lhtng lh.tl Ldll bt> t"<iSil} ddined lor pomt diffraUOIS
H'WtVt>I: how decomposmg- a refle<tor mto ~ep.tLilt> point diflraLiors goes bejond
1he
bool..

tuUI.ir pomtl
Jn thb cltapter tht>refmt>, 'We ~lldll tiUke mo~l
We \\111 dho nonethelt>'~ addrt>~.-. tlw kmemattcal (g-eomnry and
ence~ between i~olated poml dilfrat tor beh<tvionr and that of a pomt whicl1 makes
up part ol a rdlet tor, but wluch \H' 1 an tsolate fm lhe purpo~e~ ol de~cnbmg the
tmdgmg- prote~~

104

Analysing the direct problem

.~ well as ltne,mty.
l\',ed, as shown 111 Chapter 1, to ~lmph~
11ot.ttJoll ,llld equatJom. alllllllg- the followmg- definitJOil'> to those aheadj g1\en tn
(lli)

;(t<-FT-->

S(w)

[31]

The isolated point diffractor model

So lct ll'> tdle a brwf look at the ~o-ulkd dned pw!J/em
Hl thc '>t'l'>llltC .,hot ,\ 1hot ,., the ba~Jc '>eJ~IlliC a..pelttnent
gt'rt'd at .1 tune and Ieflelltll'> recorded on a .,et ofrece!\ en
f]t' .m.tly~t~ ot the dnell probkm b .tpproached. a., ,Jready mentiOned, bv use
ddh"""'' nn,dd, 111 1vhtch the '>illTOlllldmg- ~ubmrface 1~, for stmpltCit},

1he rellected wa\efield can heme he wntten .~~

<'>l'.(w)

R8PmJw)

[:l2]

105

~vmbohcalh

1vnllen

a~

M'_.,,(-:, z=O, w) = S(w)

{~JJ.Sit(

a tuncnon of lts p.tth

ProMg-[ ,_, R Propag[

[~U)

murct>- Propaga tes dmvnwarch- Rdlected h} pomt

}"mally rt>corded by .,urf,lCe rnelvt>r}
multtpltcatwn m 1he Fonner dommn, and terms
,, art> lht> uan~ler functKHlS for propagatton Wtthm a
Fourwr domam

The inverse problem: finding the reflectivity of a point diffractor

from

1 h1~ ll<ll k-prop.tg-.itton 1 .tn be

tools a'> '>UndaJd p!OJldg-at!On, .t'> we ~howed m LhapteJ
.tllll can therefore
make nst> o! 1he \artou~
method., aYati.Ible to do so
Kn chhofl Iniegl.Il
Let u~

jJOI!d D

pmnt

106

m /uch the jJmjJ(lROIIIm ofthe umr1 take1 plmt

Back-propagation and the Kirchhoff integral

UH'I
snrf.tce r TI1e ~ame (.reen functiOilS ale
tn the k.tn_!t!tofl .,ummaltll n propdg-auon and bacl..-proMgatiOn, no
lll.ttter\1huJ1 sense l'i tmohed

107

 Once aga!ll, tht> 1vnght!llg funct10n~ art> gwen bv (,rt>en lnnclllb t>-.t1ma1ed
hetween thc
D
art> now m.J_(le w11h a ltad fll!lf 1, t>qual tu r!V' 10
i'<ote that the
hom.ogenou~ mnlJ<i, whde for fot 1\,ifll p!OJMgatloll lhn; vwul1l he apphed W1lh

108

An anJ.lyttcal

expre~\!On

ol the Green tuncuon appedn.

111

the <1bove

t>xpre~MOn,

tOlllJ.H l~lllg
. \ wrm epte~e11Ung lht> prop.ig,lt\011 nme (01~ .ts tt rs more uftt>11 kl1o'Wn, the
1m,eltnnf) Ret<lll th, a tuut> -.fuft lll the tnne domam 1~ expre~~ed d~ a cumple" exponen! 111 the ](mrit>r doma m

t..P(oo)c 1' " ~Ap(t)*O(t+ e)= ~p(t+ e),

L3 5)

du"t>l llvttv term

the Vlrtu<ll ~ource, whJCit ha sed on the foregong
tht>l),
d1pole, \.iS htg-hhg-hted m Fgure l 17-b)
;\ nmlnphcatKm krm lmked to the tntcgranon <~nd
thJ-. term would k .id lo a \'t>l~' low fJ"t>queJIC} a11d
tht' <d~C 111 lht> ve y earl} d.ip ol KlllhholTmtg:rallon

Discrete wavefieJds, Raleigh summarion and aperture

[)](' appl!Catl11 f Jnteh'1 .iJ
51
t]ul we ClHllll\Ol!S]y knOI\'
thc \\<1\efit>ld, that t}e J'eCt>iver~ are di
amL m ad1htwn, the wavefit>ld ha-. lwen Hlt>d-.u:red over antnfirnlt> dJ~tai1Ct>. ll -, t}m

r:l

S(Jilf \eJO<Jt\

AP,,,(m):::'

lllt>dium, tlllegJa)

~~

r3 4j Wlll hetllffie

2 rrV~.P,u, 1 (X,,Z=.w)

coslj l'"'
~'e vt..x

[3!51

109

The elt>nenl~ o! th:, lunctln ae

ti <ICe mtcrv.tll'!.x that >>~:> exphutly

~umlar
m~err

to thw,e oct>n m tht> mlegr.tl. ctp.trt from

tnlo the Green hmltiOII

moc C(HIItnt>nl'> .tre needed though

fJ.tte nteJ\.tl l'!.x IS >nnpl} . ~tatu- mult1pher when 1on'>lant 111 the field, hut
,,,11 fiCetl lo be mnth
Lakln CJ.Je ofwhen
...,
the aperture lonnmg .t ~ufa1e (oce lor m~t<l!lle hh'llie '\
1he ~1m pie tdea of t1ace
mtcrval OO\\ tr.tnsforms mto 1he appeciably mm e 1muplex cow t>pt of a t1ace
'to"e of mtlut>me' fh., !'>a" espe11ally l!llfJOIIant topu m ~l-D when .tddres~
mg 'tnJt> amphtucle' ml.iglllg
l hc1e .ire other d1ffert>nces m 3-0 magng, notablv.
tenn V m,
wlllch lwcomt>s j w and cy]ndnl al d\Tigence 1erm,
sp11en1.t]
dvergt>mT In m 1/r (for a tomtanl velo< Jty tnt>dum)

,\ t"W

mol-unl, wh1ch me.tn,, fir~tly, tlw .J.((jUISJtJon geomerry for Lht> relatlvt> pos!tlOll'> of
D ;md H \distante r, ctngk ,Pl. but <tbove all the \'t>louty, V
Green functions in heterogeneous media
Formal.~, r3 4]. [3.6] .trHll~l i] \1e1e gnen snnplv as examples, and .u e vahd onlv
for homogt>ncou' me1h.t Howner, rhe tht>ory IJchm1l1he KnThhoiT mtegral t.tn ,liso
bt> exlt>!ldt>d
Tht> two Green funttJon component'>, propa~olutJons m homog-t>neous

110

~----

(a

--------------------,

,lld=>bo1record(or'galbcr') (b)Greenfunctlnnnperatnr
(c)\\aufield
\--~-~~reflc-ctedbyD

lhe matlwmatJcal exprt~SJOH ot the other we1ghts nece~~<ill' m the Green funcHo"
cnmbnvHne tn tlw
ca~e, particnlarlj m :l-D For a c].,custhc

other term., were ustldliY ncglected, thc currcnt trend tmv.ml amphprme.,smg ,um~ to encompa~., theoe ctddltJOnal parameler~, albeJt
m p.trucular the nnport<1m e of the t..x terms rt>latt>d tu acqtu-

<~pproxmatelv,

'>ll mn geon1etn

Propagation of the source

lo fu!Iil our obeLI!ve or obtamuig the reile({ll'llY J.t pomt D, "'lO must know the
lllCJ(lent wavdield al D 111 order to bt> able {O suh>eque"lly remo1 e 11
o! tl1e ,,a\ e eqti<liJOn, 11a one o!
a l<l>k tllYO]Yt>~ .t modelling- exen.. t'>e.
b,>el<-pn'P'Il-H><m, knowlt>dge ofthe mt>dunn mvolved and m
paniculctr
pollll~ S .md D ,\., an t>Aample, 111 I"if:,'l.He 1 lO
\H' >how the aJulytlldl <,olut10n !01 d
model ol <1 hornogeneom medllllll
\n,h ll< al!}, thi~ 'Wul1l bt> (Berkhout,

1ll

1ht> leh-hand s1de of hgurt> 3 05 illu~IJ<ltes thts opera! IOn m the t1me domam
.\gam. we see tl1e three lerm~ of a C.iet>n functton re-occunmg Propaganon lltnt> from the wurce S to D, t>qual
= rjV 111 J.n holnogencous med1um,

the receiven. ll
then simply a Li~C of chedung 'Whether
R at D , non-lero and estunatmg- 1ts value by a Simple mven10n o[ relanonslup
l32]
R(w) = LlP,~(w) / LlP ",(w), 'ifw

[3 ~J)

--b. ,_. ,

'--~~~
~----------1(._,.,_
-Ta.k< .. mpleah.,...,f.....,
~k-propapt<lln:otiwn

-"Co11'0etfur~,...diw~

112

In an deal \~orld, R \HJu!d have tht' ~drnC \dlue lor .11l

Fourer n,In~lorm lt'dd& to .1 D1r.Jc
rcfkLIIOil LOtll!ucnt al D Lon>b; n; ng ''"'"''"'"
1ng for .1 homogeneou& mcrlnnn

R ""S (w)
1

Hf. ,,,'

w,llP,",r(x,,7

O,w) e

'"

Hence, rt~ mvt'IM'

R, wluLh rs the

Vw
[3 lO]

thcn .JITa nun1bti ofpractKdiiJnutatJO!l~ tlLlt exJ&t to note

Rnncmbt'r tlus Jntegiali& ncvcr <alcubted ove1 an mfinilC dperture,
fhc data &uffcr~ <ontallJJlldllOn bv nm~e,
r,. 1, .. \, IJl, tlx areonl} rtpproxmate\alues,
'i(l) ~~ not of mfinite bdndwHith Nameh, S(m) 1s mi fm certam hequem Jts m

Huvft\tl',

of the seJ~mi< nnage Let u~ look more

tenn appe.1nng m lonnu!d [3 !0]1' the
df'tO!n>OftJ-

mg
>Igual ~(t) to .1
of ,nnplitude spe<tnun equal
tu aJHl pha&e ~pntrum equal to tero at all frequenne~ ~mee rhe <,gnaiJs of lunllt'll frt>quenL;. tontcnl, swh a de<omolutJonm jlrd<lwt> can onh he .1pplwd fm a
hcqut>nL\ bawlw1dth whert> ~(w)"' O, 01 more pi.l<ti<.Jllv, that the amplnude spt<trum ~(wll L"Xct'Cd& a
sJgnal/nOlse rat1o
\n alternall\T to
t>Xl~t' whKh avoid., tlus t>ffect llus l' ro take the <orrebtwn cudficwnt bct\H'Cn tll', and tll',"

the '.,\lnbolm th1~ cxprc~.,10n denoung tht> <ompkx LOn]ug-att> ofterm

Tht' "llnmatJon O\t'r m expre,~c~ tht' lact th.Jt \Ve
1111& illmtrate., an Jntere~ting featurc bv for-

113

(o)Plonewan>rming.t!t~euri
(bJWfieldmurt'dnt!hcurfoccJl.p(>,1,7~tl)

lhat lhr wmplmg of lhP mr'muud V.'riVPjield

1>

compalible wllh /he !>jilltWI Fpqunu~;

U'f

rnsh

by .H lt>aSI L'Wo me-.t-.urt>mt>nl polnt<.

Tht-. delines t>tther a mJXIIllllrn ~amplmg- I.lte L\t, wlwte the maxunpo~ed, or <onversd}, a nr.tximum conet tlv
It 1-. for thrs rea..,on that a filtn 15 usua.lh appht'd ro the ana,;nn.,Iio" '"'hm the recordl!lg insiJ mnenratJon fhrs lrequenn;,
tht ,\)YJIII\1 jiNjilflll), l~ 'rmph defined by

[:!12]

for a typlcal ~;unplmg late of 2m<., the NHJUT~t frequency \Hmld he 2:JO l-ll
same rule apphe5 m rhe x rhrect10n .tt ;my tllllt' t 11 we \\;mt ro pruperly
o.unple thc \'..l\elield, wt' must h.:ne at least (WO mea~memcnr pumt~ pe! w.vekngth
O\er tht ~patul "-dH'ier

114

For cJch ;ngle hequency unnpunt'nt f w1thm tht' lcmpmal \~avdet, wave!ength f.. ol
lht sp.1tial Wd\'elet " dcpend on the emergent angle of rhe Wd\didd and prop.ivdoul\ at the sudaet'
3.0fi-c) From thl>, the m,lXmum fl'.Jt e

,1 llldXIlll\llTI cl1p l'dthcr rhan a mpamum ernergt'nl anglc

aH' hnkcd by lht' normal ril) (F1guc ) OG), 111 man}
15 .,maller lhdn the conc&pondmg d1p. bullHmllng-thc thoJLt' ol he '''"""'" '""''"'~
tJOll ro ; !lldXmnnn Ieflcuur d1p 15 not suffiticnl, ~mee back-pmpar;otron
/ll!llll'qllllf!>

lu lhe ple-~tack case

wc are deJhng "-llh here, the emngcnl angk

onl) oftht' \dontv fidd n the ;ub>urb.tT and lht' d1p of a rdle1tor (f01
ofhet aha&mgallhc

l3 14]

'\uit> lh,\l dl mrt) havc a dlfkrt'nl lllCdlllllg prc->ldck (a; he1c) and post-slack (t\\0''il\ lime. >t'e Chaplei 4)
In J-D, the bm ze (see l'gme 3 20) ~. ~} mmt be ~uch thal tht' rtnl1-ahasmg
((lJldmon '' hunoured m any Jrecuon \~heno lht' tune-J1p IS the largc5l (01, equally,
liw .tpp.uent H'iocitv ; smallcst)

Imaging = a weighted sum of pre-processed data samples

\ th1; pomt, 1t should be ;,nd that a more efriucnl rtpproach to lhc mMgmg procedurc

t1on~ ;u emJSSJOll ami recep11on ;tmount~ ro addmg the travelt1mt> from rhe
VJillTt> lo Jm<qjt' poml D Wilh that lrom D lo rhe re t'IVt'I; lhcn mulnplvmg b\
the dppropnatc "eight&
\k 1all tlus new optl.Jtoi tht' unagmg's full G1een functton lti' apphnl lo the no"

ll5

zero-ph.1seJ detonvol,eJ d.ila drlll allo"'~ us Lo ducctlv obtam the e&tunated rel\ectmn codliut'nl Thl& is oplwn 3 ofthe nnag-mg tondition m Jgure .~OS
Ir 1& rhis summmg operanon \'.h1ch 1s often dubbnl as a Kuchhoff \U lit 1n geophy~
lC.ll hterahne, anJ urhe1 Wl~e known a., the rllffra!lum >tack, thrs St'conJ n.J.me empha~Jsmg thc Jm;tgmg procednrt' invohes &ununing tht' cnergy dillrJcted by an1maged
p1>111l nmsrdereJ <1 po1nt dllliattor
()per.ilor (, hence redmc5 to .1 dday equal to the rotal
Llme 1: = 1:,
+ 1:, and a sene~ of \~e1ghtmg codlinents, " Tht'Se parameters the full Green's
lum rions woukl be dcJl\e"d rrmn Equ.llion [::\ \O]Ior <1 con~tant \t>locm medmm, but
need to be computed by rar lrJcmg or any other ~mtable mcthods foral! other ca~es.
ll11; lcrtds m to tht' ke-\ result of thl& thrtpter

More 'pcnficJlly, d1e sub.,urface rdlectJVJLv R, di pomt D, mea~ured by ~hotpomt j

and rcconled O\er N rccel\er~ of coonlmatt's x, \Hll be Jerived via a we1ghted sum
of all shot gatheT s.1mples snuated on the locus ddined by rhe tune 1: = 1:, + 1:, Th1s
llmc T conespoml~ Lo the lravdume lmm S ro O and om~ard~ lo receJVer H,. Thi~
proces<, tdn be wnttcn

In other word.,, m our -.nnple-.t inreTpretallon, "e can .,t,lte rhat tompmmg the
refkcll\lt} \.Jiue ofpomt dlffractm D amounts ro locusmg, usmg the \~e1ghted ~um,
the- ela~LK eneTgy recorded at rhe smfrtce and re-euutled IJ\ the po1nt d1ffTat tor sub&equcntto exCJtanon b) rhe Jmtlal drmngomg wave from soune S

Creating the subsurface image

FlguTe 3 O give-. ,m oven1ew ol the dJtlerenr
tJOn of an nnaged pomt u<,mg a ~mgle ~hot,

step~

de-5cr1hed .1bovt> In the trtkularhat fonn& the bmldmg blork

ofJ tecluuque- known "' """P'"'"P""'""'

!"he appro.Jth abO\ e has
using a ~1mphstK modd of an J~olared
drffrauor h 1ng \Hthm a hornogenou~ mcdmm In the fidd, wc wlil not only

From a point diffractor to an image of the subsurface

(,cnerabsmg the pmce<,~ ro the creat1on of the- cntu-e muge IS dl..l omp!J~hed '>Imph by repe.Hing tbe abo\ e opcratwn ro al\ points D "ithm the zone ro be imaged
l h1~ 1~ a proce.,~ though rh.ll Set'mmglv rh~regaJds l"'o lmponant phenomen.J
flrstly, the \'.,ndield reconled ar the ~urf~1ce "ill tompu.,e the .,um of all the
pomt dJflr.Htor \~a\efield~ \\'1\ back-p1opagatmg the entire \~avefield back
IO\~ard a .,mgle pulilt D umqueh t'n~uJ-e the re-emmcd fidd al D alonc 1s rouncP

116

 Secondly, each dlfTractmg p01m ., exntcd

the fiekl dt'&cendmg fwm thc
,ource, but aho by the wavefield re-emmcd
the other pomt d1tlr.uton
t'X!Stmg m tht' subsurlace Jixutauon ot the pomt D 1' not theTefOrc snnplv due
tU source S alont'
Cakulanom ba&ed on the Jmagmg comhuon descnbed above can hemt' onl) be
,pproxuuate
\u .m~"' e to thee
(sec t> g Cl.nton and ~tolL,
aml Jiu&t!;tted m
prop<~i4Hiono with zero, ont', t11o .md
The fir.,r type or mteractlon 15 known <15 tht> dnrc/ annal Ir 1., elmJmated ill
dat.J p1e-proces~mg by uo.e of a &lmple mute
The &econd propagauon typt' ocen
.,eckmg, dnd corre,pond~ ro tht

Ly fa.,t vanatton'> Wlthm the sub,m-,-b,tiuwo"'""" rh1., phenomenon 1~ normai(v rh~Ie~anlnJ, \Hlh only
ttan,tnJ.,lon through the 'low trequencr' background vdO!ItV moJel (f'1gwe
hemg taken mto dttount .\Jthough nonnally negle1 ted, we could etWJ&,t 1., not actuallv done ltl

117

 1 he fourth t) pe of prupagatum an mulliplf rejlertwm, an nnponant phnwmenon dedr!y not taken nto account by the &Implified llll.Jgmg rheo1-v descnbed
heno "l"}n., efkctl& uften significan!, evt'n piedomindnlm certain 1egions "lllis
1~ wh) a pre-cond!llonmg of dat,l mpuLLnlHltO thc nnagmg piOct'SS kncmn as
demnlllpluafwn ur m"lllhple remow1/ IS ab;l!lutel) twcrswty 1heie J& rt range of
nwn orles~ ~atp,factOI)' toul~ availab!c to ;tddrc~., tlu., unnpkx Iooue, blllll 'otlil
rem,r1~ one uf rhc majo1 th.1lkngc., wirhm mode1n St'l&llliC procnomg
Au mfimrc numher or pu%Ihle cumbJnarwn~ wuh d ~tearhlv nu"ea~mg number ofre.,ulrant mter.Jctlon~ 1an sub~cqttentl} bt magined
Puttmg a:.1de the spenal ca~e' of mult1ple cnergv 1dle1 rwns, uoe of rhe BuTn rtpproxnnrttJOn 1:0 ]ll~tifitd by the fan that each non-pnm.Jr~ mtei.Jll\Otl "111 dclav dml attenualt' the w;tvdield \\'e heme have a .. oluuon to the second obecuon l"d\'ot'd earher
As for the lir~t, the theor; .,tdtes that dpplil .:uion of the Kirchhofl mtegral for

rhe hmit~ of the appwxunatior \ahdltY. tht' requ1red

, result re1nforced b\ conelatwn w1th the propagatcd ~ource
retln_tiVHY rtl
On th1s lartcr pomt, the pproxunatwn ~~ not mlall as nnpreti~e ;ts it may fir:.t

unu pomt dlffi ,ctor WJlhm the reQcctor

A. wavdield arnvmg dt the ,urlrtce f01 a '>hot \ \'.tll hence be d10erent
D
to a rdlntor or nor 1f D 1s an \'oOLHt'd pmnt dtffiaLloi;
mcthod
rtbon w11l be val1d .,mee thc es:.nmal rheory Js respected, f D IS

\~hcthn

118

tn md 1vdual pomt ;umd .1 Ieflecror, only those trace., w1thm tht' K1rchhoff ~um cor1-e.,ponding to
wlilmak a construcllvt' cor~tnl~utum to R 1t has been
~Jown usmg
pha~e (;ee e g- UlciStem, 1987} thatthe apphlead> lo a ITflecUVIlY valuc
that of an mndence
Kuchhoffsultrer-

But what velocity should we use for imaging?

l<or the t\\O .,rage'> or (1) h,uk-pwpagatmg from the re<encr' and (11) propagat111g fwm the ~ouiCe to the unage pomt, we mdiCatt'd abovc that "-t' mmt know the
>u:Jstulal..e vdonty l'h1s 1s a general conclu&JOll exlicllld} unpOitant to seNlllc
method'>
fl rre(JlC anmmKt,

wt! must hf[orelumd e.\I!Jrlillf /raveftww1 thmugh an rxpi!Cil or tmphr-

model
Je-.tJitll\econstraml, '>lllCe\ei()(J-

rhanre
a"m 1ated nn<~ge
nnagc
Tln~ !S a ]Hlmlpk used under .,everal gmse-. "1lh1n St'IS!lllc processmg, whether
111 s,acking \d()(itv anah'1~
migr<~tlon vdo<itv anah<,~ 01 in fol..uMng
an,Jh>i'
Imaging in hetengeneous media
The methodology outhned ahove a-,&tlllle~ .1n homogeneous sub~urla<e, but the
thcon can be extended ro
modd we lik In th1s <ase. the uuplementation
become, 50lll1.."\'.har m01c
Jntegianon ol the wave equauon no longer gne~
toa ~tr,ughtfot"ard <<~kulauon of each trace'.,

.ng the tra.mmission

at each maJOI" nuerlace, visco-el;tslK anenuation,
lllldt1ple generauon w1th1n layers, \~ave-mode tumeiSJOn at mwrfaces, etc.
C <~l< ulatiuns ol rhe Grt't'll fum tion; may be <an 1cd out t'lther by numcrica],nteg,,Jil ofrhe l:1konal nuatwn 01, more commonlv toda), \Id k1ncnunc 01 thnam11 r<~y tirt<lllg rhrough the \doul} modd

119

lhe prt'u~ton wrth "hid1the pwpagauun \donty !ield t> e&trmated and the Lreen
funCIIOn~ ate takuldted \nll dtrelll} d!en the quahty of rhe re.,u][mg rmage
(,enerall}, the grt>atet the- pred~ion tn the ve!ucitv fie-IJ, the more tomplex tl wlil
bennne, and um~equcnll) thc more dtfficult .tnd co.,rly the trtkulauon o! the (.reen
funcuon will become lntenns orthcor, rhc me'thod re&ts unchangeJ !or complex
tcctomt., rn 2-D a., !or 3-D At
ttntt', the
oflhe
lot m, the unting edge uf
Tht.,, coupled wrth rese.tn_h mto the most

Amplitude-preserving imaging in complex media

lhe- \\etghlmg-~ w, m l3 l5J llt.lY nor be m prdCttce compured ln thts ta~e, 1t ts
&ulliCJent to apply an emptnco~lly detcrmrnt'd f!hr'nml rbt'er;;enre wrrntwn ro the ra\~ data prior to rmaging Nuwdda)&, rtmplitude-pte'>tf\'td mugmg
more preust' approach ro bt' .tdopted and H 1., thus pteferabk to unnpute
t'xplwrtlv throughout the
model "J11e' wetghted Kuchhofl ~um
take-. r are ol thc sphencal
dement of the hamllrng of
ton~tdered

nally !or 3-D work Fmallv, other dfeu,, 'nch a~ source and recerwrs dtredJYllY patlern~ al~o could be exphcitl} mcorporated tnto the \~etghnng proce'~S tncorporatcd
m tht> Grt'e'n's fundrons, though rhi, i~ nut usnall} done

Amplitude and mulri-pathing

.-\nuther tmportant prdtllcal con&tcleratron ts tht' non-umqut'ne~s of the
\'..lvepatl1 hom onc pornt to anothcr tn cumplex geologKdi settmg~ There ma} well
Ctcen function> ma\ be cakulated between ~ource~ and

putn--mtensJye

Vertical and spatial resolurion

Dueto a .,eJ,llliL sJgtl.i!', hmtted .fequerKy band\Hdth, the \ertrcal rnolutJOn of
the set>mJC nnage ts me\ ltdbl) restncteJ !111., ts tllmtrated m fgure 3 09, vllle'JT we
make u&e of the tsolared difftaction pornt modd Calculaung all the image pumts
for the trate along D\ vertteal doe& not re;ult m a smgle ponn, mstcad the ~1gnal
makmg up the polilt D t& spread rhroughout depth !'his sketch ( leatly shows, a, we'
menrroneJ earl1er, lhat
deplh lll!{.,'7alwu ~~ mr.apable vf Tesvbmg thf
vf
lmutnl !'fTilcal rewlutton
~eNlllc methorh

120

(a)Pr-processed,dcsignatured
shotrecord

(b)FuiiGreen run~tion(-r,+r,,
at,ariousirnagedpointdepths

(e)

lrnagedtra~einX 0

On Ftgure 3 10-a,
.\lso il!u,trated on the dtagram are
thc nn\es rt'pre-,entmg the {_,reen
lravt>lnmes for ea<h netghbouring
pomt (Hgtue 3 10-b) Once <tgam, due ro rhe stgnal's non-zem length, but a.,o
bet.Jusc ofthe linuted aperture ofthe anms1tion array, -.ummmg along these curve~
wiil
non-zcro \alue' for p01nts ad]<Kent to p01nt D, the nnage of D 1S &meared
elieltl\elY lmuting the &ei,mK unage's lateral reMJiution
Tht' tvm pro<es&es o[re~tnunl vertJCal ami lateral re-,oluuon ;ue ({Jilnected the
me\ HrtblY appea1 ~ a<, .1 sme;n"ed &pot whme ~ze w11! be
band of the euutted s1gn.tl and tht>
f\ltc
I,J<,Jl' r ::allv at
the best 't'l,llllc tm,Ige
\OiuiJon uf the theoretwally ptTfcnly .,harp uuage
oi se1smJc tmagmg rt'&olulton 1~ gJH'tl m Berkhoul
r!CJ!:l41 fhe authOI <,how.,, for m~tance, rhat the honzonta!Jcsolutwn (\Hdth of the
mtgatt'd J!ITrrtctor potnt) 15 a fundton of \Va\elt'ngrh A (and hence, o! the central
bt'quent} ofthe <,e.,mJC dat,I band"itlth and ofthe \elo< 1ty) and the nugration apertnrc, th;n rtClt'n~cJ, for mstantc, h\ tlw lll.iXUlllml refleLlJun angle med tn the
operator, 1.1," r-.t'e Ftgure 3 ~4 fm de[uutton) Th1~ Lrtn be approxnnated

[:116]
Rc<,o]uuon of -.eJ.,mw nnagmg through pre-.,ta< k dt'lllh mgalJon ha~ .,1nce been the
lO)JH ofmrtn publH.Jt!Om, a recent examplt' hemg (l.t>hu el al, 2002)

121

Multi-fold coverage in 2-D imaging

In reahtY, we llt>\'t>r record <1 .,ole tndnlllu,Il.,hot, stme tht., \~oukl onl} cnahlt> us ro
1mage a \er~ lrmrted portron of llre &ub,urf<ilt' ata time. Irrstead . .,hot& are IeconJed typwally e\t>I)' 10 to 30 metre<, acros~ lhe Mll\'t'} art>a In th1~ way, a gl\'en
1n the 'ubsurf.He \\]]be rept".Jtedl} tlltnmnated
su nndgmg tlw subsmface m a redundanr manner ']h., 1~ the basis o! the
a mnnber of \~ell-known ad\JIHdge~,
namely
It allow' a s1gmficant 1mprovemenr m tht> '1gmd-to-random noJ.,C rallo.

LOIIfa/,ll'llhiTi \IUh!l{',il/hl'r

A. final reflec ll>ll) 1mage s obtamed b} romjwlmg the avemf!.l' ~~/he colleilum of uwl

122

rnJUOll
,\n m!Uill wc1ghrt:d sum correspondmg ro d shotpmnt mMgmg usmg d
Kirchho>tlmtegr.tl,
-\ ,eco11 d ~umnl<Hlon correspo>nd1ng ro rhc mult1ple CO\C:rage rcdmHldncy
11J 1s c,tn be wnlten

~(_hernaucally

m the 2-D S(('nano a.-,.

Rc:c,JI thar
t.p.,(t) 1s thc ;csmu tJ.tCe lord shot gather S recurded at JCCel\er II, (F1gure
302),
1".,(X, z) rc:present., the trd\elt!me tdken for the SClstnK \\,\~C to p1opagate downwards hom >ource po>Jtwn
D of coordmatc>
(X, L), theu ro pmpagate upwdnh to
w,,{x, z) w1ll be the we1ght attdciiC'd to th1s tl,tvelttme, whJCh w1ll compensJie
I(H sphcncill dJVergence ;:md other effects, as we mentioned e.1rher

to tilke on boa1d lhat thc >Urfate T,,('C 7) 11111 dldnge for

conscquente, 1t will need to be esllmated dS Illdii\' Umes ;s
1 h., s clearly d costl\' pmceo,s to repeat for lnlliom of
tlw more trdditional approath, ~~htch CO>lls!<.t> In reduroff>et dimc:n>lon lo 7ero morder to dunimo;h the nurnber of
'>ltnmuuonsrequred
Bdure connng to thc:~c: dttkn:nt mcthmh, we w!lllirstl\' cxanunc m a hule mort'
det,ul 'llmrnation rurH' T,,(x, /) for the special c,\'>e ot an hornogeneom medium

123

 Recei~eJ coordlJiate, r,
lmage pomr depth cooJdmat<''>, x allli /
V\'ithm th1s S\'St<'m, for an homogen<'ous medium ohelonty \; tra\eltnne IS gi\en by
a 51mple apphcatwn of Pyth.tgorils' dworem,

f('('('lver g.ttlteiS .ts common shot gathcrs

Sorting seismic data in 2D

In Figure~~ 12, W(' mtoduce .t ne>' ~er ol coordJn.tt('S thilt are w1del~ u~<'d m seislll!C<'Xplm.ttlon
ol th(' mulpoml betw('('tl source .tnd eceiver,
h, betwc:c:n somce and Je(Tiver
The Jelanonstnp~ bnween d1ese (llflerenr coordma.T<' <,~srern~ IS str;ughtlorward

124

x,,r, o::(sJ+~)/2 and h,. 1 =(sJ-~)!2

\=X~w+h

[3 19]

and r,=x'll'-h

Occ;~u>nally. we Tllil) Wlsh to sorr by (Ornmon recel\el

il!lllmon
gathcr l'h<:>se >et~ are usc:d p<uttculdrly
\H>rk, nmse tiltenng ;nd m dernultiple pmre;se'

rlllt> g~mg il
conecuon

~tiltlC

Cornrnon-shotpomt gathc:r~,
Comrnon-offsel '<'ction~,
Lomrnon-mHlpomt g,Llwrs. Widdy refenc:d to ilS crvll' g.tthe!S.
( omrnon-recelV<'l gathe1~

Summing along other dimensions: Common-offset imaging

l\ing rhc: nt:\\ mtdpmnt and half-oflset coo>1dirut<:> sy<;tem (x"'''
cquatuon fo>1 a pomt diffJ.tctor n .tn homogenc:ous medmm
mg tel;ttonslnps [3 !81 ,nd [~l !9]

)o

CThe wornctn(al lt:presc:ntat!On of t \.tlues IIl

dtftuctor [) ,md a ~doutv \' ~~as christened bv

of 'l'.tHrh 1~ shown on :gurt> 3 14, rhe name lnghltg-htmg
nor dcahng \Hth a rotared hyperbol01d
!S .JJl e>..ten~wn OH~l a numb<T ,,[ no>n-/en>

off-~et>

ofthe

hypc:bola equatlom
consLtnt non-Lelo oH:.et pl,mes or cornmonthe resulLant cunc become~ p~eudo-h}pcrbohc 11llh
is as>OC!.Itcd 11Hh thc dc~1g-n of thc DMO too!,
-! \Ve Cdn .~!~o sh011 that du; cune !S hyperbohc for ;ll
oa1~ abo\c

R(x, L) at (x, ) will be gamed by tlw double-sum gtvcn b~

shotpomt dll<lleCeJ\el domauv;, a summauon ofrlw 5ame
m the '>CISilllC ddlasc:t (an abo be Cdfllcd out 111 the new mdpomt-ofhct

Equatton [3.L'i]
~dmple>

comdmdt(' sysrem, 11.1

126

Tlm equ.ttlon 1'> mtmdu<-ed h('le,

we1ghtmgs .tre ..noperl\' ('<;llm,ted,
'><liY!e Je'>ult .ts th.tt fo1 the shotpomt
1s .tdually carned out U'>lllg .t d1fle1ent method,

mq;ratum

tht'

~ummat1on

\HII

gl\t

>ection by 1t> comdmate

pomt In

<1

con:,tant vdoutv

na<mg a> the \um

tra1elt!me> fnnn the smuce .,, tu[) .tnd lrom D to
1eccn (T 1, :,u(h that tlw ofhn u 1> (Oll'>tilnt
! lu-, 1<; tlw !ir:.t
m l-~ :!l] 1t
il fir:.t un.tge sec:t1on
h Figure
[(i '>ktdw-; the \lltUill
to th1s 'P<'< Ilil nn,gmg phil~(", .t'> Ftgun
~hotpomt anagmg
mliu\ <-<~'<', th(' lm.tge 1'> not con~tuctt>d fwm a smgk ph\''>!Cal measuwmcnt
fh1'> procedt!l(" 1s 1epe.tKd f<oreadl o!l\et h !fthe \douty nwdel used to <-om-

 "lhe second sunun.ttlon m

the avc:rage o .tll the.,c common-ofhet lffiilgt secuons Tlw 11 th1
w-ueraw wpect rif!lu summatum already met m rhe shotpomt mig1alion ptocess.
lmage gathers in the offset domain: velocity, AVO and AVA issues
l'.&rllel, 11e menUoned the lwnefit of sphtting the double sunlmalJOJI 111 the ~hor
doma m, w!ll(h led u> to the concc:pl of lm.tge gathe1s I3dme <neragmg the llll.i);CS
respeuiH' offset, 11e can al~o g<tthe1 all tho-;e tr;cc:~ that h.t~e
same X loc.tUon but horn dileJenl common-off>et sectwns, as \~e !IIU>tr<tte 111
and
tlwy
.,f
7.
m l~qu.ttlon [3 ;!IJ neglects
A\ O (Amphtude Ver~us Offset) effect~ lf the ll<'lghts .ti<' torreclh esumaKd wnhm
the \umrnJt!On, the reflt>rtJOil coeHinent mea~ured .tt a pomt D will correspond ro
rhe mucknce of the <.peu[; J<i\' <ll ttn~ pmnt, the reflernoncoeflinent (ontiH mmg

128

~------------------------------------------,

10 the Zoepputz Equat1on~ mrroduc('d m Chaptel 1 So, retauung the offset dmwns!Oll \\lrllln the nnag<' gathe p10v1des us wirh rhe pm>!b!IJty ol analysmg Jellectlvlt\'
a> d function of ofh<'t, which 1~ preu>eiy rhe goal of A\'0 dndlyst> We <~Swme ht:~<'
tlklt the lffi<~g:e g;th('l'> ha\e been properl; 0dtlened, m onler that rhe veloCtt\'
!S COJJect J goes unfmlunately berond rhe
mteJactlon between AYO plwnomenon

Common-reflection angle summation

fhc olfset thstance bemeen !he source and the rece!\ el !S (hrectly hnkd to thc:
dngle of lllCHleno. ofthe rellecuon upon the 1ellector 1'hs nwans, for ealh Jmaged

have \dllabk offset~ l-nfoltun,elj, rhc:

of \dnable from common shot g.Jther to cmmnon nflecnon
the gathel depend-; on thc: mode!.t.-.elf in herto compute const,mt refle( llon .mgk Jm,ges !S
rhe1e drt~ also man) other a(h,mt;ges for
e>..pect lh!s techmque\ ldplli de\elo.mwnt m the
Corning }till5
\\1lalt\ef the dorndlll ol surnmat1on, [or A\'0 01 A\A d!MlysJs to hil~e any meamng
at all, !he (alculated amplitudes must be p1euse 1 he rnost chailengmg ta~k llllmag1~ theJeion: thP wlrulation and apjJhcatwn of thf lJ'Pifihled Creen funrlwm Ir goes
lnl(Tt:<;tmgaspc:ct
ol1magmg

129

,,
C<;tllll,lf('d

(or
1n

thc:

Jt~

comphc;tcd eqwvaknr m
dilta volume 1\ott: on<-e ;gam
and then: ilre billion<; uf po1n!~ to

set~lm(

thoe

1~

one

~lKh ,lllf-il<-e

per

IDJ.igel

Diffractors versus reflectors: the specular contribution of the

point to the image

130

'",---

--2h,--

otho rhe .,um (fo1 .1 hmlled b.mdwJdth s1gnal) or the envelope (Jfthe s1gnal werc: a
ol all the TI curTes l'lus en~elope comtltures a ~urface ~ m {x"'' h,
1)-space,
m F1gwe 5 El, the ener.,ry Iellected b~ R bemg zew even\lh('Je cxcepr ,t!ong tluo, surf,\Ce Smcei 1'> the emdope ofthe TI surf,\Ces as D \afie:>
along l('!lt'( TOI R, the only non-Lero sample contubutwn to tlw unage fo1 pomr [)
11111 b<' along the tangenl cune C between L and TI Let u.-. defi11e I's ttmc: a> l:("-.,,,
}) .md il\ tune as tn(X, x,,. h}, where x ts the coordmate fo pmlll D FJ-om thc: rn;uhematKJI defimuon of dii emdope, l- '>iwuld oloey dt",'dt = O - h1~ 1mph<''>, bJ.,cd on
liTn.dt's Principie,
Jdk1tor R<1t]) fm
the n.nt>ltlrnc'> fur the >pentlaJ Je!lectlom on the element D ofrhe telleclm R dS thc:
ofhet\,lflC'>

\\'e the1dure condude tiMtlll the Ku-chhoiT sum used

~jJeculm lnun' Fm example, 111 pre-st.tck '>hotpmnt
.t >mgle trace ofthe >hot TecoJd \~111 be speculdi for a gl\en tmag<'d
hcnce, lheoJetlc.tlly contnblttes one pomt lo lhe lm.tge fo1 a Simple ~ub
pmnt,
'>lltfacc nmdel IIoweveJ, .t'> lhe >el>ffi!C stgnal !S of hm1ted fiequenc; b.tndvndrh,
tr .tces w1th propdgation times les~ th<m a qudl ter of thc:
''111 .tlso wake , theoretlc.tl cutltnbunon Tht1 15 lile
of lhr

the Klrchhof! '>l\Tll m<tke> no d>>Ulllptlon a'>

teg<~l d., thc: natmT uf po1nt ])
all trace~ Illurmn,ltlng this pomt ,re summed
'>\'>kllldticall\' \V(' assume edrh pomt simply to b<' a point rliffrdctor lt JS wnquely
upon rhe uxtaposJtion ol the lllldged pomts 1har W(' can subsequc:ntl" ~tate wheth<'r
a p;tnuular polllt lwlong'> ro <1 1eik<-tor or nor
We hencc: perfolm a larg<' amount ofhmtle'>S, but un.tvoidable, wo1k du(' to thc:
I,Kt ""' don't befo>leh.tnd knm> the magel

131

Surbceottherefleclor's~pecutartravet timet(~.,..,h)

Somc ordt>rs of >Cale to cons1der !01 convennotMI 2-D seJsmJC, w1th .tll nuagmg
apertme of 4000m, a d1sLmce bet\l'een shor~ of 2~Jm, a 240 hydwphone streamer
with rece11ers tlt>I)' 125m, one smg-le pouu (or p1xd) on the se>IlllC ~ecnon wtll be
the sum of ct1ound 30,000 .-.<uuples, of\\hJCh only a few hundred <ll besr will ("OnsuuctJvd~ coutubute to the muge' In 3-D, the flgutes ate e\ en moJe st.tg-genng, as we
1\lll soon see

Reducing data to zero-offset: NMO and DMO

We ha\ e seen ho\\ the Ki1chhotl summatwn kad> ro a gn:<tt de,ll of data m<uupulatlon J.nd cornpllfiltlon, 1\luch pdds a nullJesulr and onl~ <1 \ery lunned pan oh\h!Ch
can be deoned 'usefl' Can wc: avmd rhese sec:mmgly unnecc:s>,n) C<t!rul.wom'
Hrsrly, there i~ no way to know beforc:hand 1\hether rhe 1magcd poml s an element ot d telkctor oran J.-.olated (h!Tractor
S('condly, to m.tke use ofth1s a prwn knowledgc:, we would need ro addJtJOnal1~ kno>W thc: local d1p ;nd ;nmuth lo corn.mte th<' (,Jeen funrtmns of constructlvc: sampks onlv
The cl.~~,(al proC('~sing >equen((' nc:vc:rthdeso; u~t'"S , tnrk to !mm the process1ng,
bJ.>ed on ~ome o;1mphlpng a~surnptums It U>IISI'>I~ ol sphttmg thc ptoces.-. mto tvw
~reps <~'> followo;
Rl'durl' the
d1mrmwn Ir;
zero-olf;ri
l"lns >tep. (alled
'\lmm.tl
Out (KMO) a~sume>
tcllectors The
technique JS ('Xtewkd ro non-Z('IO d1ps b} thc: ptoces~ of
(IJip \ime
thc: 1ange of .tll po >Ssible d1ps 1 he: top1cs of l\ \10
dJscus>ed m Ch;pt<'r 4

132

,pproach ~hu_h makes no

au element ofarenettor

a~~umpuon a~

to whether the pomt !S a liffr.Jdor or

In tlll> manner, the computatlonal eHor~ ~~ draswally reduted, smce thc transform
lO J.CH' offset 1s far less computer-mtens1ve than a Ku"'thhoff summanon .1pplied to
all ofhets rwght he lhe quesuon nonetheless IS how to .,unulate a .tero-oflsct record
y,!lhout ]os., of the Oenefit of data redundan<. y
\\'e rel!lrn lora momeut to Figure 3 l!J to evaluate thl., pomt Note that reflector R's ~pecula1 nnage wll .1ppear as a tontmuous evenl on a common rmdpomt
g.1the The event JS s1mply the mter~ed!Oil m (X"'' h. l)-space of surfate 1: wllh the
pLuK '\. 111 = tonst,mt
11 hi> dmnain. a rellector 'nll clearly shol'. up 1t 1> th1., conlmuom mforrnallon
thal 1tmklnK ueloul) anaZu1< (Lhaptcr 4) tarned out at .leJu-offset lime t,, woulJ
detett Summmg ~amples along the offset dJmens1on followmg tiH~ cune pelds the
modelled 7em offscl Th1s 1~ the so-called NMO stack 1hscussed m Chapter 4, and
ll 1s at thJs
m lhe method. "'here stackmg of JeJundant data takes place
Ho 11 e\el; as(,
he along the nnnmon-n11dpomt dm1en~on, t]Hs
magc does not 1one.,pond lo
~,une reneumg element of R Th1s property has
led w tl1t concepllou of the DMO

teclunques IHll be extcnsvely thscn%ed m Chapten 5 and 6 Ho~eve1: the evolutton

111 compntmg power ~~ such that the ~plll ofnnag111g nto n.vo ~tep~ (reducuon ofthe
oflsel dimenshm followed by .1ero-olf~et
!S decred~ingl~ necessaiJ
Lhaner 7 de~cnhes pre-1trnk
techwque'>,
'anatwn~ around the 'full'
Kmhhofl >ummation \'IC
111 the mtrodunion to unaging earlier,
So L1r, we have been descnhmg the 2-D case We must now consuler the specJiic
IS'>UC> <1'-'iOO.Jtctl ~lth :~-ll setsmK >une~mg, >mee the ;ast maJOnty of datd aomred
tod,t, ,n le.JSl oflshore, JS 3-D tlata

Imaging in 3-D
.Rinning seismic data in 3-D
l:,Jlrer, wc ha>e oeen ho>~ 2-D ~uney~ are ~orteJ 111 con\enlmnal proLessmg
Nm., \\C exannne ho>~ tln~ 1S done for :~-ll datasct~
rJw loo] mcd for thc ex:lens10n to .:1-ll of the 2-D roncept of a nudpomt JS the
lmt, lt'gulM ~quare or rectaugular cell~ 111to wh~eh the area lo be pmce~~eJ IS dJnded A. t) puJI >ll.e lor one of the~e hm.1 !S hetvoecn 5 ami :~0 meter~
Sortiilg nlo hms- or bmnmg- JS schemancally Jl!ustrated m Flh'l.lfe 3 20
Fo d g1ven lLICe, the :~-D auumlwn fimwwlen w]l he deiined h
'->omte
coordmates, x:.y
x:,,y,
'->hot and retel\er elevauon (lor ~mphoty, \'le 1gnore th1s fattor hert>. although
a ~~ arr 1mport.ant parameter m land datd protes~mg)
These Iom pJrameters t.tn be then ~utte~>J>ely transformed mto
o M1dpoml coordinate>, x:",,,y,,
o II.tlf-offsels. h
o 'lhot-recCliCraznnuths, u

133

/\ t~ pKal nomi111 a rn,ume data ~urvey would be

lOO, but may
anywhere
20 to Se\eral hundre1h, dependmg on the obJClU>e> and the
consmnnt<; u pon the ~lllYey
Each hace m a hm ha~ b 0\\11 anmuth ,md offSet and rhc bm !Ontent 1an Oe fur-

nal

\di)

~~non
mdeed populated
Bm '<Ortmg ts cs'<cntlal 111 um1 enttonal proce~smg, pa1twularly ~hen DMO ts
mcd (~ee C:hapter 1-) In the next ch.tpteT we sce how anmuth aml nmlpomt locatJOH l'>lthm the hin are nsed Explicit hmnmg hrme\'er 1> not ne<e~'<al)- fm pte-stack
neH'I tlwle~> thr bm 1tdl rfpJneut' tite wmjJhrt{! e/!morf m roordmates
3-IJ wi~ml( mwgr

134

(h)Shot(:hcopforOatlOOOm
(a)Onchotm3-l)

(cj'!lhotCh.eopforOatlOOm

(d)Sh.otCh.c..:.pforO~t2000m

Extcnsion of Kirchhoff ~ummation to 3-D

cxpn:o'>-.cd
L\P",(())

111

the Fourwr doma m ao a douOk -.ummatlon

w,, -t..P(x,,y,,L ==0,(!))-e""' t..x t..y

r;; 22]

135

where x and )', .tre the coordmates of .".11 rece1~en m the .tperture aieil, T, IS the tr~a
elume !mm D to the rurrt"nt reretver r, ,.,,, ts the (OrresponJmg \H:'tght to he app!.e'
anJ L'l.x anJ !'!.) are n:celH:T intenals l he~e an: a1oumerl to he ngulw over the apertu

lf one .tdd~ the ~oune propagatum and the imagmg conJitlon, our .:1-D exten
f.:l 15]) becomt"s: ,

~um ofKJrchhotTJ!Ifrattion ~ummatton (equi\alent to Equathm

R,bot _k oc

LLw,Jk llpzcm_pha,o(x,,yJ,'t==c,, +e,,)

J

i
[3 23]

'
,

that Ap 1s lhe pre-jlrocel,ed dala (s1gnature

JW-opeiato
applied, mulliple reflecLwns removed. d< ) soneJ by shot ami re<eiver <oordmates.
lt follrw,~ wc cau define a \hot Cheop~ operator', 1 e the smfa<e in the n:ceiv
<oordmate~ rlomalll o\er ~h1th sample> must be p1<keJ [( perfOim the Knchho
>ummatton l:~ 2:~] Jm ; gnen shot (Fthrure.) :!1-h,r,d) Fort"ach -;hot. thert"vo.lll bt' one
~nth operator for earh pomt D bemg unagt"d 1 he operator ettltt'r can be <-alculated
arul tt< ally. m \'ery smple e;rth mmleb u~mg an ex:ten~ion ofthe DSR t'quation (to
be dts<tJssed m (JI,ipter 7), or by ra~ tractng. as shown m lih'l.lft'.) '!\-a
m :!-D aie sttll vahd m .:1-D For m>tanct", the refiecttvity
from a ~hot record only tf tht' reCt'JVt'rs aperturt' extn!ds
fh1~ ts ohv10u~l not the ca~"'- and the hmitspau,] ft'Solutwn power (m x:
of nnagmg
D hdong~ toa reflector, the concept ola specular ray
holds for 3-D
and t> di~cu~sed m !he llt'Xt ~enion
Diffraction or reflection The specular ray
tht' tOn(ept of a specular ray mtroJ R) stJ] apphe~ 01t' >peculdr ra follo''' Suell's law ofreflect10n m
that Ieflt'<-tlon takes plact' in aplane JefineJ in tlw unpingmg rd~ 1ssued hum tlw source and tht' normal lo the reilt"rtor at n (F~;ure.) 21-a)
The ~pe(U]ar contlthnnon to the summanon ,~]] only con~equentlv m t m lor data
retordt"d at It'Ct'i;en clo~e to tht' ]< ation whert' tht' spt"cu\a ra)' st1tke., the surface.
.-\1\ other datd vo.IIl <ontnbute dt'~lTU<tJ\'eiY to the Ku-chhoff summdt10n ln other
worJs, a huge dmonnt of ~ork m the sunnnatwn 1> done for nothmg, hutas mentmned ediher, th1s ts the priCt' to pay for not k.novo.mg the re~ult of nn.tgmg beforeluml' Rememlwr ,1ho, that f D !S d real dliTractOJ; surh as the truncdtion of geologt< .tllavers by faults oran~ heterogenettie~ smallt'r than the seJSmtc vo,,ne\ength, this
1., the on\y wa) to propt"rl~ tmagt' tt
llwre are thert"fore three condtnon~ for a pomt D that forms part of .t refle< tor to
be properly unaged
1l1t' eilt'li\Y enultt"d h~ the ~hot .,tnke~ the rdlector Wtlh sufiiuent energy,
ll1e refkctt"d vo.,iVt' propag<Hmg ,i\ong the ~pt'tul.n ray ~tnke~ the mrfa<e and
arrt\'t'S with a mHtient ene1-gy,
'Jlert' 1s a rect't,er ne,rhy thJ~ suiface IO<.ttton to Iecord the mndent rt"flected enet.," wl1t'll Jt aiT\e~

136

 We Lan add thdl li>r Jeep hmuons or turmng \\d\'es (see Chapter 5) the
1econlmg dural!on wtll also need to be suffiCtent for rhe reflected ener,-rv to be
rt(onlecl.Jtall
'fhr reo fi~t conchtwns Je.pend on the geologKal su ltdure and the prevalent ;e\ocJlY !ield Examples of elastJC \crer.n~' are ~al.t dome~ or ~alt canop1es, compkx faultccl ,trudures, b.Jsalt stlls, etc Such consJCieJattcms nnpmge JJrectl~ on sune
b} ,...a o[ two uuportant questwns, k.nO\>ll collectiveh a~ the 'tllununatwn

'fhe~r

,u e

quc~nons

t.Jt

,....Jl he adJre>seJ agam lawr m the chaptei

Mu1ti-fold coverage in 3-D imaging

1\ :l-D smYe~ doe~ not comJSt simplv of a ~mgle shot, ~o[ a shot doe~ not Jllummatc a g;en pouu D, there ~ a good t hame that otheiS >Hll do Snnilarl, a gi\eil
pomt D may he Jlummated by m,i/l} >hol-IeCeJ~ei comlnnattom T11e next questwn
1 ~ bo"" \\e shoulJ take fui\ advautage of tlus dar a Iedumlancy we are faced \\lth.
A.s o,een for the :!-D case (figure 3 11), the most ~liaJghtforward appu>ath 1~ to
~um up the contnhntmn of all >hot~ across the apeiture The 3-D mulo-fold
K1rrhhoff ownmation tan no\\ be written a~ a quadruple sumJnatlon

[3 :! ~t l

h1 a huuwgeneous medmm, the su1nmatum smface 1: = -r, + e, m the data dom,un

can be w ttten sull as a double-square-root sumlar to Equatton [3 18], but ncm as a
lunclloll ol the tour coordmate~ of Ietener> x" \,.ando! shot~
h T11e Cheops'
m the shot-

ofhet domain ~ malle >hghtl} more

by non-anlrnl hw t111djwml1 and the netnA proper thange of vanable.
equatwn eqm>alenr to the quadrnple
>ummallon. \\llh aJapted ~eghts w gt>en h}
;ariables midpoint amrJinate> x,, and y"P'
olf>rt<~nJ a7tmuth

RDccw,}h
,,.,,.,,

,1p,.,"'

pt.a...,(ry,hu)

[.:1.:!5]

(1

whcrrt"'" represen!> the tra;elttme of a JtflractJOn ray hom d sour(e to D and batk.
lo the LrceJVCI~ ouch that liS source and re(etver have m1dpomt coorJmates (x,,,, }\,.).
ofiSn h ,md a.~im uth a
\\'hlle onnmung O\'er bm coordmates and off~el ~~~el)' snn1lar to what was preSented 111 2-D (Equa.uon [3.2\J), sunmung over al\ possbie shot-rentver a7lmuth~
has d.
meanmg that need~ clanficarwn, ~hllh ts done m .t later section
the hype1-Cheop~ 111 the bm-ofhehutmuth domam rora dilm the model JescnbeJ O Flg 3 21-a lt ts >~Oith notmg

137

ln-lineShotc(}f)rdinate

~-

1
1

1
1
1
~

~.~:

~
10()11

Y, 1 ~,

that evt"n for tlu~ hornogt"neow. medmm (dffractor D

ojJemtrr uanes ur1th ~hol-nYnurr az.unuth

!S

IIKI

X"'"- 15!111. Y,,,-

m water'). the wlllnton-offiet

- Fc11 a g1ven
\t a given pomt D 111 the ~nh-.mLue, compute Grcen fnmtum> (tra~elumes
ami wt>1ght~) hum D to all ~hor anJ n:-<e;er ti.t<e !O<anons \\lthm tlns
oiTsd range anJ m the aperturt> area 1lefiucd by the nnJpomt Jomam
Collate thest' tra<e ~.uuples at the computed trmeltmlt'> JnJ we1ght-sum
tlwm

138

200m

1000 m

Offset rDnge

2000 m

1 h1~ peld~ renectiVJty at D for tlns &peufic oiTsd range

Rept'.it fm all dilfractors D 1 his gl>t'S a common-offset pH~-stack JUJgratt'd cu!Jt'
Lcrtani tract"> are set asldt' tor the computatlon aml d1splay of 1mage
gatht'IS
- Repeat for each respectJ>t' ofEet r,mge
lmallv, create 1mage gathers at pre-specifieJ locatwns and/or takc 1he ave1agt'
of ,ill lommon-off>et pre-otack nng1ared cuht"s
llno Sl henl(', although lorrect m pnnnples, IS ovt:"r>tmphfielllll tt"rm>
<~pphution Real-l1ft' a!gonthrml codt"s 1eqmre a more convement orJei
f,Jon, lll onkr to optumse computa non and data hanJlmg To th1~ t"nd,
tor ]lOlllt> .tre often computt"rl O\'er a rt"gular ami loarst' grd ofpomts at tht' surfale
and (,nen hmcnon mterpolauon yJelds the corree! value at tht gwen shot or reccnn locatJon
other tncks are ,i],o deployed m rhe proce~~ m ordcr to make an
algolJtllm

139

Sorne issues in practica} 3-D Kirchhoff summation

\
There are notable dilferemes belWeen thJs pragmaticallv-ba~ed approach and th~
made m Jeuvmg F.quation [3 25] Here are. iel'> ofthese thfference~: 1
Recall that m the ~ummanon
m 2-D, \H' stresseJ the tmportance 0 ~
tJ1e trace ntenal &x: m
the acqmsJtlon !S not regular. In 3-D sur~:
;eys, whether marme or lancl, tht~ terw 1S nm> an mea, and generally not regJ
ular fhe (x:.,., y..,,)'s are not Iegul<~rly ~pread ovei tht> aperture and the num.
ber of naces in each bm lil the aperture m ay >at}' drastically, dependmg on th~
surve>
local conrhoons .tl 1he llme of ,cymsttlon (sl!eamer featheung,
such as platform> and ofT~lwre ng'>. etc). For a gt>en off.~etIange. some bms
have no traces at all, \\hile other~ ha\ e many more than,
the nommal fold
th1s unportant pomt in the ncxt ~et tion, togeth-:
ei w1th the top!C of surface and depth tO\'erage
,\L.mmth does no1 appear exphutly a> a parameter here, ,Jrhough the ex:act:
C()()fdinales of each rec et;er anJ shot are med
Cenerall)'. a hnuted numher of anmuth~ aie represen red 111 each bm. The'
anmuth range ma~ >al)- drastttally, e>petiall)' fm short ofhets 111 muJt-sJre;mei manne data and for land data "] h1~ means that all eHetts that are vanable
wnh allmuth (amsotropy) are a;eraged out, alhetL m an unde~Jrable f~hlon,
by the proce~s
of hvper-Cheops
K1rrhhoff ~ummatwn r3 241 or [.:1 25]mvohe;
A
lo wmk ronectfyts
de~1gned W1th a
;nd the e~timat-

as~nmptmn~

dtp. trate nterval and frequency

'tronglv model depenJent, \'>Jth the operator appl1ed m the common-offset
domam :\locleiii Knlhhofl operators ha;e m-bntlt ;]a>mg piotechon
(Lumle\ rt al, 1994) Ant1-ahasmg ne\ertheless !S a nec ess11~, e; en f Jt may play
a pan m Ieduung the expened resolutJOJI ol steepl} d1pplilg reflector~

Image gathers in 3-D

be mamtamed dunng the sunml.tUon prores~e> [.:1 24] or
of computmg and d1~playmg m1dge gather~ Th1s concept
been
earltei m 2-D (F1gure 3 15) ln 3-D, clearly man~ more
sample~ <lit< summed m the computa non of each sample \'>lthm t<ach trace >Hthm the
1mage gather The mam 1h1Terence though ts the Mder choKe of parameters that
ma)' be retamed for furthei anai}Sls
T11e most ohnous paramelei to retam IS oJhct, ~me e J.s m 2-ll 1t allo\'>S an
analys1'> of the ;elont model u'ed for the magtng (a ~U~JCCt !le;elopeJ 111
There IS
the pos~Jbthty of retammg rv..o par.uneten, e g anmuth a.nd
oOset. In tlns case, the unage g;nher wdl now betome thrcechme!lSIOildl. It
opens up the po~sb]t1)' of mea~urmg anmuthal
of ve loe ltY Wlth allnmthal thstnbntton Onh ; few

140

w1de rhstnbutJOn of ,zunuths anJ olfsets

Keenng the shot coordmate fhmenswn 111 t.quauon [.:1.2t] lead~ to the pnuCIples ol rlouble {atu.\1Tig, mtroduted by (Berkhout el al, 1997. see Chapler 7) ami
pre~ented 111 Chapter 7
}Jnall~. ~e will ~ee Oelov, et anothei Km:hhoff mtegranon Jomam. the refleruon angle 'ljl th<lt leads Jrectl~ to /\VA anal~ssT

Jnteraction between acquisition and imaging

In till~ ~ernon, we d1~cuso the unpact ot the rregulan~ of at~llJS!tiO!I p.trJ.met_en on
magmg, m\ mme spenfir all)', on lhe accuracy of thc Krch_hoH summal1on m
nodncmg ,i J"Cliable valne of Ieflectl\'ll) .tt lhe JmdgeJ pomt. h>r tlm purpose, Wt:"
ext:-nd the conrept ofthe Jffratuon pouu, us111g the Born ~Cdttermg modd, to :~-ll
The diffractor point in 3-D
So lar, we have rono1Jered the smface coordmatt:"~ ofthe atqw~mon array In lh1s
secuon, \\e rel.tte these r oordmates to another ~el, now m depth, al the rhffrattlon
pomt locdtlon Relatmg acrlmsltJOn parameters to ef]ecuon parameter~ sheds hght
on the mterar lJOn hetvoeen atqulSJtlon and lmagmg
F1gure 3 24 Jep1<l~ the 3-D JlffiaCtJOn po1nt Das an mfiwtesm1al hem1sphere
Note, n the GIS(' of'tmmng waves' (Chapter ;:-,), we would be dealmg "'ith a sphere,
~mre wa~es .re r apahle ot also StiJkmg the reflector from helm1l 1 h1s JS snrular to
lhe 'rhp sphere fealured m (Jaramdlo el al, 2000)
In depth, the -.phencal JffractJOn polll! D can he mentally dl;JJeJ mto reflectmg elements orlar ets ~1th lhe conespondmg coorJmates
Spdtlal rrJonlinateS X0 ,j,Z,
l)p ti .llld a.Lllllllth {jJ or the local rellectmg elements
For ,, g\en rermded liare, soune and receJ\er at the smface are l111ked to the dJffractor 111 depth b)' the ray~ along wh!Ch \\a~es piopagate 111 the true su!Jsurface
;cJocitY field
~1uce O ~~ mfinne~miali)' ~mall (v1a asymptotlC ray theory), tlwre ts no \oss oJ
gene1 alitv m rons1denng rdy~ strike Don sud1 a facet lo correspond toa loe,\ refleclJon 1 \us define~ the r m re~pondmg reflectmn parameter~ at D
1 he nornullo the fatet on ~h!Ch the reflectwn takes plate, delined by t\<.'0
angles, the dip fl ami allmuth cp Iespecti;ely ot the refle<-ting element
The angle of rdlertwn 'ljl upon the facet ami the az1muth 1:1 ot the plane of
rdleomn
TI1e1e 1~ also a ~et ofrd\ pararneten, expressed as angles (see Figure 3 ~4lor Jdiangle~ y, ami 1; anJ recel;er emergence angle'> y, anJ ~.
fhe 1mp111gmg .md rellectJOn angles at the thffraclor D.
01ese fmn par.imeters are not mdependent anJ w11l be relaterl lo velonty
Alrernau;ely, they ran be expressed a~ Ia} parameters p or, betler, ~lowness ~etrors
Q, <1\ defined m Equauons [1 .:121 to [1 31-1
">:ute that d D belongs toa reflector, a~ sketrhed m Flhrure :~ ~1-a, the reflertmg
ld(t"l, wluch ~~ the specular element of D, WJII Oe the one tangent to lhe Ieflector
(satnenormal nl!)

141

.t;;"z:::~~;-;:::;_~~:~"0
- --'
__;::-o;i
"'~

drffractor D (x!J,y.,,z,)

Subsurfacecoverageatf)

frorn the ~ket< h m Frgure :1 21-.

The angle of rellertton tJ rs tdated to lht' o!l~t>t, as well knov>n
,\L.mmth 1:1 of the relle< non plane rs rdal~d lo ~hot-rt'ITI\'er .umruth a
Summing O\'t'I .tll possible anmuths, as ~hown m f.qua110n f.:l 2fi], rs t'<p~alent
to summmg over a< one ofrdle< tmn 1n dt"pth 'l11e IeLU1011~hrp ~~ hov,ever far
from >HnpJe for ln~tdllle. Vai!Om w~ CO!Tt'~pond to vanou~ a/1111Uth~ U, but
also lo \'anou~ oiT~eh h, a~ a snnple example t'\'eil 111 an homogeneous medlum \\Ould ~how

142

 "nmlarly, ;lrlke-,huolmg unphes use of an a.t~murh _,.,,, m th~:: ~hot-recewer

-,ystem, 'uth that relkcflon plane 3 ts perpendicular to the reflector dtp dtrectWII

In d mediUm with no laterdl vdouty

vananon~, the r't'lartonslup between

-,urld< e <lnd depth parameters w111 be san pie a,,, =
= lfl + rr/2 In
het<rogent'ou~ med1a, th1s rd<ttton w11l 111 contrast
enurely on the
ptoMgatlon vdouty fidd

Common-reflection angle Kirchhoffmigration

\lthough the relatwn,htp between parameters m clepth and parameters dt the
depends on the dUual velouty tield and the refleuor~' geometry m
rhc -.obsmldn, one un thmk of yet o.~nother (hange of v.trtable wh1ch results ,n
Jnother 'er<;lon uf the Kuchhoff summauon, whiCh tan be expressecl ~ymbohcally
~uri;ILC ~tmngly

"hcre t;,,.,,. -, the tra\Tlllme of down- and up-gomg lay' dtiTracung at D >nth the rorresponding set of angle~ 1ht~ Kirchhofl' summation means JntU!llvely that to obwm
the tdk< l\'lt} at D we can 'mm over the contnbut1on of all poss1ble 1hps and
amnuth,_ Tdkct10n
plane~ m depth
dtlll_rent from the unes 111 [3

One ol tht' 1ea~ons i-. that the lm,Ige g<~ther thmenSton can now be due<-tly the rellecnon angk <!' ltself. lnd<ed, e.a(h trace ofsuch an
i,nagc g,Hher IS tlw im,ge 111 depth of the rdlectvt} for thts <ipeufic refkcnon angle,
\duch I'i cxacth whatA\A(Amplltude \i:1sm Angle) "'after' "Jhe departurcfrom llatne~' f .111 e\ent 111 thts dom,un 1s dho a mea~ure of the torn."<.tne~~ of the velouty
nmdel, ]ll't d'i for the offset domdm, -.mct' ofhet and rdlectton angle are lmked

Acquisition footprints
larllcr, 11e defined fold

fm each b111 as the number of traces 1-'.ho~e

map can tlwn snnply be con~trutled of

a"t'ssmg-the numoffset 11 ltillll a given offset rang-e andan amuth 1-'.irlnn the
gt\en shot-retel\ei Ml!nuth range. Coverage map' by offM-t range, ,ometimes
lrJdcrl >11th S\rnbols to al'o d1spla, aLtmuth mforrndtHm (e g- Co1~den d al, 2000),
are toutllt'h produred dunng arqutsltlon ro atd qualtty control It ts commonl} conltdercd tlur glob<ll ("OVerag-e maps and coverage maps per oiTset ought to be a~ reguldT ;s po'>'lble. \\'hen rhi-. -, 1101 the ta'ie, extra data l\111 need 10 be al.qUtl"t'd to till
thc ~..1p1 Th1s IS knm\11 a-. m-ji// acqur<rfmn
1 ht~ prdctiul approadt.., supponed by the fdtt th<lt ~:quatwm [3 24] and [3.25]
reqtnre legltlar samphng of the recorded wavefield, e1ther tn tlw ~hot and recet\'er
coordmates or m mtdpomt coordtn,Jtes, ofl~et and a1.1mUth.

143

8tnol.lc

lt'r't'l''rm'IT

~~~~='~,__~
:::~

""'"'"

-~,\
(b)Bintracccount
perpattcmcyclc

\\l1at h.Ippcm then. when for any practica! reasons, th1s 1~ not the case'
Figure 3 24 auns to danfi. th1s ssue. Sm(e we do not know whedter D !<; a dlftiattor oran elernent of a reflecto! or fwe assume It Js a reflector, wc don't know
what Hs dtp and ;uimuth l'.i!l be, an 1deal acquisiuon would be surh rhat each facet
(fl, cp) for elernent D l'.ould be ~truck by reOected
covenng the full
of
reflectton angles l.jl and aLunuths 3 fh1s !S
a very se\eu.,
and
Illlpractlcal con~tr<llllt. e~penally when 11e constder that onlv lho'e tra(e<; po~~essing
-.perutn- properttes at D wlil evemuali rontnbute construrtll'eiy to rhe lmage'
As d result, an 1magmg 11111 be Imperfect, due 10 tlw poor a\eragmg- out of the
non-spendar contnbutwn, amlleadng to Jmagmg 'noJse' In the extreme Ca<;e, the
reflectwn 1\!ll not be nnag-ed at all, f no active recelH"IS are pre~ent mcr the the
Fresnel Zone <;unoundmg the ernerg-en(_e of the sperular mfo1 manon Once agan,
the data redundancv lmut-. the phenomenon\ eiTect. but there are stdl 1mportant
anplications 111 term-. of tht> final subsurlace image quaht), and artefach- known as
And the better the O\erall

144

th!S olhet 1ange and the typKal cyd1uty of sut h , tover,ge pdttern (Figure 3 25-b),
dc<;pite the dCt that lt IS drdwn ,s;ununp; no ~trt'amer fedthermg anda regular shpcoune rhi' Irregulai cvclit pattern leads to dmphtude data artefact<; known as
dearly Vl'iible on the um~tant time ~ectwn m Hgun_ 3.25-c lmagmg metbtD\10 ,JS m thi; specific <.ase, but also Km::hhoff pre-<;ta<.k rmgration;) are only
<.ap.Jhlt: of part1ally 'beahng' su<.h artef.Kts
Othet IJummatum-related al tdacts mdv be more troub]e,onw, smce the dre
k~' obous Specditally, amphtude studtes should be nm alongsde dlummatton
-.rurlies so<; to venfy whether amphtude anomahes relate to actual p;eology ratlwr
thdn tlw ptbslbtlnv uf acqmsition-prO<essmg .trtefarts'
fm,dly, we need tu nwntwn ohadow wnes, areds \vhere no pnm<n-y rdlc<.tton
ml(ll m.ttion ; avadabk. the result of .trqwsitiun ,Jrrav design. \\'e shouklnevei furget that m compl~x settmgs,_ there wl_l be nm_es m the sub~urface 11h1Ch _are 51111p!y
110 dtst e1mble u~mg reflernon se1smiC techmtue'i. no maner what acqut~ltlon sy~
wm deployed'

lllumination studies: Surface versus subsurface coverage maps

So,
mwy cone;pond lo an nu;ular umrmge
fUrther analy~e the problern of ddinmg a
then dtstus-. vanous -,olunons for the hmHmg ofartefat ts.
]ea~t .tpproxnnatclv the veloutv field m the sub~urfa<.e- whiCh 1s the ca~e when we
nlLlgt' pomt D- 11 ~ theoret!tally w~~1ble to tra(e r.y; and calculate how many
auuired tr.tte; 1llummate each rt'S]WCt!VI' dtp and .tzlmllth range. Earh of these
trdi.T' \ull pm'e~s l(S own oflSI'I and 'hot-recetvt'J" anmuth, rdared to lb rellecnon
angle \~ .md reflcctum azunuth m depth, JI By Iept'ating this oper,uion for all
dC!jlllred lratt'' dnd for all polllh D, one can construct a <ubsurjau umerat;e map This
~. ho\\-ever, a multi-dunensamal map (three-dtmensumal for D and lwo-dunenswna]n fl and q:, 1'\'1'11 four-dimemwnal tf 01w mdude' and Jll) and anpoS<iible to dtspl.w or ,m._]}~l' 11llhout ITidJor Mntphlicatwns
.\H 1deal d< quisitwn ._d;Ipted to Ku-chhoff d1Hr,u t1on .,ulllllldtlon would reqmre
a reguJ. CO\erage map foT all pomt-, D, dli Iellecnon normah (8, q:), ami optwnally, allrelliTtlOtJ plane~ JI anda wHit' rangt' of rellection angle~ "tj!, de-,pne the fan that
onl) thmt' dtps and .uunuth; corre~pondmg to the loc;Il reflector wdl eventually
C<mslructl\clv Lontnbute to the .,umJnatiOn.
Constructing a
notan eas} ta~k lt req1ures a \'elou1) tllodel '>ulliuently representatl\'e
earth Scumdl, that all <hflfartion Tay~
related to the ..~cquued tl'd<e~ al"t' computed An accurate model ts generailv not
availabk al the ~urvey des1gn ~tage and rav computatwn 1epre~ents a sgmficam
task fl.p<c.tl ~hortcuts wll then-forc mclude the followmg:
A-,sume a nat Earth' model, 1 no lateral \elocity 'anatums Subsurface covcr.tge IS then \ery SIJJU!ar to the suTLlce cmeragt' maps, the ~urface cmerage
nups of count' rorHrolling acqui'iition Tlus h obvtously a very nude approxnnatton fo1 most real situauons. although 1t ts the mo~l common u sed in practrct'
Btuld ,li\ tmual velout model of the Eaith ba-,ed on only , fe11 J...ey reflectors.
f1a<.e .tero-offSet or norna] rays (see Chapter :3 for delimtwns ami desutpuon
ofterhnique) frolll the~e reflcctors to the surface. T~>o optiom exJ'>t

tr

145

Rays can he e'enh'-.,p..!ct>d at the ~ur!dn ernuldtlllg the regular ourf._ce coverag-e map. The densrrv of ra}s ,tnkmg ea<-h ..lt-e.t of the rdkctors m dt>pth
(an be measured '11u~ tedmique , rcfened to <IS an 11/ummatwn >lady. ~HKe
tllumm,Jtron map ofthe reflet tor m depth for a regnlar cmerap;e
Note that thts represen t., a J.ero-off.,et sub<;e! ofthe suhsurb<-e
cover<~ge maJs, and corresponds tiJ fl and 1:p hmJted to !\,,~,,, and 'P.~""" and
~o

rav' c.m nol'. have .m '1deal' rq.,rulat sp.1ung n depth, but wlil
emerge m dll irreguLtr pattern at the Sllrface Thts pattern ~how., 111 pnnupk where to lav out the arqwsttwn wstelll m a non-regular, vet optrmal,
manner 111 mUerto en,ure an opumal unagmg o! the sub;urface
TJw,e latter hH> optlom ,re niaor nnprovements unupared to tlw lirst They
nouethdes' h.nT then lnmt<ltlOns they rcly heavrly on tlw arcuracy of the model
and solelv .tddrt''S rhe 1.ero-oHi.et questton his means all dkct., re!dted to non
tem-off.,et, sud1 as st,JCkmg quahty, vdouty ;md ,uusotropy mea,urements, IHII not
be full} a<-counted for
Tlhumn..lt!On ~tudres are now common pracure 111 the destgn of suneys, e<;peually 111 romplex geologxal settmgo. pnwrdmg a rough rnodel of tlw ~ubsurface can be
estim,ted
Various aperture definitions
the rh01ce of aperture 1" I.TUCJ,tlrn rm,gmg Remernber that f
the speruLtr ravs
non zero-o!Tset) are not 1111hm the apt>rture, rhe correspondmg rt'lkctor will not be tmagcdl .\Ioreover. rf the aperture IS too small, nonspecular data 1\111 not be
out m the Kmhhoff summatum
pmress Thne 1> therefmr a drrrct
oj the
111!11 the
and
n:dmulh of tejlerlon that can br 111/rtged and spatwl re~olutwn, as
1 1O
;) ~1 tlh1~trate
The ddilllt!On of apenure l'anes 111th the techmque used
Fm common--,hot
the aperture 1~ naturallv lmnted ro the arnve
A s<rond ddininon 1s those shoh wluch are um1amed
In common-uffset mtgratwn, the aperture IS ddined a' tlw bm area around
the nnage point coordina te (Frgure :1
It ts generallv desrgnt>d as a rectanexpn_,sed tn acquhlt!On d!reCtlOtl
and rross-,JCqUI'lflOn dne<:tlOII
Note th,Jt rhere are reret\Tf., ,md
outside tlw dperture area fo1
non-zero ofi.,els
For common-.mgk nuagmg, the ..!perture ts defined as tlw range of reflecnon
ami rdlecnon plane d71mutlh l'.e wtsh to sean In thc1 ca1e, thr rtl)' fmcmodelwllldirfate the:,mjme itpl'llure
Practicar solutions for 'sub-optimal' surveys: what can imaging do?
Optmusmg arqm<;rtton destgn m the tield ts one route around the
acqui'oltion ..rtef,JCt,,
for acqur,rnon related artefacts

~ition

146

lootpnnr'

<.,ome thc approaches tncd so l,tr mdude

lllurnmatton slUd!es, mentluncd abov~::, whlCh try tu predtd (and hcnce hnllt}
the mpact of acquJstlon p;eumet1) Thcy ;JI<;o rcpre~cnt d too! IOr uuhcdflng\0 mterpreten the areas 11here tlle sc!'mlc m1age mav be le~' rehahk dut' to
1Jiunnu;_llon probkm~, the oo-ulkd 'sh.tdow 7one~'
Bendit of complementan' mfortlldl!On
tJons (u, or better, i3
has heen
:!OilO, 1-Joulkngue 1'/ al,
hd,<ece ,m<lhon
e,pcc,llv jf.pimuthal.mlsotmpy 1s lmtcd, thcn_ 1~ no need to ha\ e a full ~t.m
nf the fl pamwtcr (henre, a run ~oun:_e-rece!ver atlmuth r.mge) Ir 1<; nevet]Jcles-. 1etT Jare to h,ne lll<llltw 1-D ~unq~. 11hich by e~~ence dW ven
pulan~ed 1;1 term> of .vnnuth, 'hot w1th ._ Lu~e nurnber uf .uqu~<;ItJon dircrt1om SmlllaiiV, land data"' -.eldmnarqmred 11ith d 'u!Iinent tmer;Jg-e m both
off.,et h and <t7muth u to scpardtely p1ore.,., comrnon-3 sunevs
]).:rta regulansauon ~ d too! w1ddy used to cmnpensate fu i.Kk of data It con.,1.,., of usmg the actual d<tta to simula te the dat<tset 1vluch would ha1e been
regula1 gnd
gnd 1~ mken here m the I'>'Jde'l sense
regul._r m ~hot, rrtenTr 01
azunuth or offset. whate~er i~ reqmred \J.nuus techmque' are used for this pmpuse
- Ile~1 /muunf!,, a techn1que u>ed forman} vean lt IS a tnd.. that ;]]ows a trace
10 tonlribute to b ncighbouring: bm~ tf thtY>e bms ;ue poorly tilled
However. lt 1' toddv rareh u~ed
The mo~t rornnwn practu:e ._dupted IS mterpolauon Data "crea red uvera
rt'gula1
bv
traces o1cr the actual, trregul;Jr, grid Titese
reqUJre the data to be mterpolatsparially
- rv!ur~:: ~peofic tedunques are .1pphed aet onhng to needs
upnatm (see Lhapter 4)
t1ed w1thm ;1 bm
7), de"gned to regul;m-,e a7Jmuths,
con,><c.nc-"'imu'h data from \an~ble a7imuth data
unag-mg appwache~. sU(h as pha;e--.hift 1mgat1on, are then pu~SJ1hb IS diSCII''>ed m Chapter 7
Iu tlwory, thecorrect\H.'Jghts m the KirchhoiT-.umrnanun shuuld ;JilOIV tocumpensate for acqu1~1tion 11 regul._nfle~. Hete ;tgam. rhere ._H" currently tv.o
romes u-.ed m the mdu~tn
- -'onw .mthors (Canmng- and C.anlnei; 199R, .fou,set el al, !999) propo'e
method~ whKh e<;tJmatc the we1ghr~ m tht' hm:hhoffsurnmauon to compen-.at~:: for 1hc fa( t that the sul'face data N Irregular
- Othet~ (lka,Iey ancl Klov. l!.l92, for dw ])\10, ,-\lbertlll rl al, 1999.
-\udcbert and Huard, 2000, or R01hseau d 11!, 2001, for K1rchhoffpre-stack
nugr<itmn) have pwpo~ed techmquc<, for compen~..lttng for non-regular covC'I agc in depth at rhc dillr.lction \pherc For tmtance. (i\lbertm d ni, 1999)
Umpute expltutl) the .. ub.,urface t.overage m depth, as tllustr,ted m }'gure
: 24,
the sunuuauun at the unaged pumt D
all pmnb D !'h1~ techmqu.e, dubbedd1p
requue<; a tremendou<, .tmount of calculanon~, a<; 1t necessJto e<. timare tlw ,e]ocit\ modd . ..!lid secondlv, to compute all the

147

rays corre~ponrlmg to all auuuerl traces It '' mdet'rl a ma~~l\e oh, but we
shrmld notl'orget tbat m K11d1hoff pre-<;tack rmgratwn, mo~t oftlus Js done
anyway dS rays must be cakulaterl through the Lurrem \elority model
'lhi<i l.nwr rnerhod rs wdl adapted tonew devdopments 111 rornmon-ref1ectron
angle Kirrhhoff summatron, smce thrs novel ,lppnMch ts rndeed 'ref1ector-onented' It LOnsJsts of elfectJI'eiy perform111g- the surnmauon over reflector's d1p
ami allmuth (fl, cp) and {(r a rdng-e of reflection angle~
Agam, this reqmres
data mterpolatwn, as a regui.Jr ~arnplmg- 111 (fl, rp) doe' not 1111plv a regular
acqut~ition geometn !'he herwf1t ofthts approarh , ob\'JOU> for .A\'A <lnalysrs,
but also for an rmproved (though foned ) co1erage m depth

tr

"JO condude tlus St'Lt!On, Wt' need to stre<;s the 1mport.mce of the reldttonslup
betweo:n acquhlllon parameten and pmct'~<;mg te< hmques. Adaptmg <lcqur,rtion
geometrv cost-ef!-l_ctr\elv m <;uch a 11av to produce a rdiable ,unplitude-pre<;erved
nnagt' of the ~ub~urface pre<;ent~ a lllaJor Lhallenge dhead for geophysrcrsts workmg
m complex geologKal envrronmenh
lhe ultrmare loo! r~ complt'mentan ,cqmsnron For the proLes-.or, pre-staLk
KrrchboiT tmagmg g11e~ ,Jl dw requrred mformatJon to dragnme -.hadmv zones.
VVhile he prons~e' rhe data, lw can a~ceitain where mr~<;mg trace' !re ami wbich
acrm~Jtmn anay de~tgn h reqmred to optnmse ddta recuper.Jtron m the field. Thts
new appwach ha~ just begun m the ~t't~mrc mdustry, but mw that wrll no doubt
de..dop m the furure, e>pec,ily a<; computmg- power fauhtate<; fasrer and fa~ter proce~>mg The lmk~ bet\\"een acqmsrtmn, prores-.mg anrlmterpretanon can therefore
onlv hL-come tig-hter m the future.

But still a computer-intensive method ...

A.lthoug-h we sum 'onlv' the <1cquned data ami not all the theorew:ally reqmiTd data,
pre-stack depth rmaging implies a hugt' amount of data handling and computation
to be done
""'""""" of20011m on etther <irdc of the central <,une} hne 1-.
i2 .'im, thrs means 320 br11-lrnes w11l contrrbnte
to the findl summauon In tot._l. and f'ot a <;mgle offset, th1' means that a smgle ~ub
surface point wrll be rma:;-ed by a weighted 'iUm of o~er 100,000 drfferent samples
~upposmg- a nomrnal fold cover,ge uf .'iO, rhe totalnumber of sample~ contrrbutmg
to the tm,ge oF thi~ ~ole pomt 111!1 be more rhan 5 mrllion!
Recall that, to find eaL!l of these samples we have to beforehand cakulatt' each
tr;ndtune and ~>-eght, the11 perform the werghted sum 10 obtam the reflL-ctrvuy
1alue requrred And ver. only a few tens o hundreds of samples, those corrt'~pon
dmg ro an aperture t'qual to the Fres11t'l tone around the specular ray (a 7o11e 110
larger than a few hundred square metreo, ), 111l1 arnvely con tribute to the summatton and gne the arnphtude of , pornt wtthm the unagel lf fi1r a 2-D sectwn, 1Okm
long, tlwre are amund a m1llron uf the<;e pomts wluch rnust be La!culated, m ;).!),
thl~ means m order to be able to 1mag-e d .'iOOl..m' block \ve ,re gomg to hd\'e to
unage 4 8 bdlron~
quantlty of cairulattons requrred rn pre-~tdcl..
!u~ rt'matned reseJ\ed to solvmg ~pt'ufic
Tht~ 11dl ber__orne le~s the case ,1s <urrent computmg power con-

148

ttnues ro IJ!(_rea~c. \-Ve can eastly see that pre-st.td.. tmap;mg te(hmque' 11tll raptdly
beconw the st.ntdard
cla~sKal
~hortcuts' are sull wtdelv used and we hst thcm
bdOI'>'.
tog-ether "-!!ha rekren(e to where the nwthod" aw addre.,sed m thts book
.\"1\I. Dl\10 and CR'i ~tad.. mg, followed by pmt-stack mtg-tatwn (Chaptets '1.

.,ce Lhapter 7),

rull Ktnhholl pre-,tark tnne nugt<~tlon (~ee Lhapter 7) .
honopK and <liH'iOtmpK tul! Km::hhoff pte-<;tack depth Jtug-ratton (.,ee

tlw ,cope of thts book, whKh b ~1mplv .m mtmdurtmn

to addn:'ss the next .,teps m complexttv, 11 h1eh are anagmg
cmnponent (4-C) data .111d full tnn'rston mcthods

Green function calculation methods

Once ag-am, temember that the Green functmm u.,ed m oet,.ntc
ttom 1epresentmg- the
of an dastJC waw. fTom one
m the sub~urfa, e to anothe1.
One of those 'ubsurf..Jre pmnts
the other a pmnt at the surface, 1 e the ~ourte or tlw

teun, lmkcd to wavefront dtl"ergenre ..tnd thc

one, whtch r..tkulatcs
fUnrtion
of one of the forrnet type ;t,sumes that amphtudes <1re dealt IVtth
generall m <1n emptrtc<tl rnanner dunng pre-proce~~mg. whibt the
more ptTCt.,e, .,mee .mtphtudcs are dealt lllth determml'tlc;tlh
addwon;tl c,tlculauon effort wqutred needs ro remam compattble
hollt'H'l w11h the indu~trul demand~ of Jlail.tble l.omputer memory <tnd the nme
ll:'ljllltecl for hulk 3-]) 'etsmtc
Abme, we dtscu.,sed how <~rqut.,ttmn
The>e are pure-

th.tt 11mtld need to be calcul;tred enormou.,,

149

certam 'itmpillicatlll., dl'e rhercfore m<1dc One ot rhc most commonly u.,ed IS to calcul<tte rlw lunctmus u'mg a toar'e g-nd, \Hth the results bemg saved ,, , tahle, e\ en
rhoup;h rhese file~ ,n-e sti\1 consider;1ble m <;u.el The tr,l\elnme pa1amcters and
wetght., reqw1ed dttnng: the rmagng an:' ~Ultes.,lnlv de11ved, a' needed, from the
t.!hu!ated ,,,]ueo.
\liith tlw ~ame toncern for nnmencal cftinency, modern algonthms avmd calculV\o pre-determmed p1nnts (lwo-pomt la)' lmcmg),
number of ikratlom lnstead, the software
from a pomt at the surf~cc or from
..1 pomt at depth figure 5 10 '' an examplc ol one .,uch ~-D ,.,.,,efront-bascd (,een
functiou 1 ,]lul,it\011 Dtffdent tech111ques u~mg beams or wa,efronts allo\v thc ncce~~dn p..!ramcter-. dt the nodepmn/' of dw coane gnd to be takulated Among rhe
(Cenen~ el al, 1982).
(Bevdoun & Keho, 1987).
of the r<1y be<lm" dunng prupag.ttron 10 ensure tlw nccessary

prenswn ts mamt;~1ned
La,tlv, we shm1ld mennon the work of\'1dale (198fl), who used a finlle drtlerence
version of thc Eikonal dtfferentla1 cquanon 11 16] mennoned m Lhaptei 1 to cakulate tr;\clume' over <1 ~pattd! g11d >nth ;1 h1gh numenc<l1
Be~tde the fact
tll..Jt du~ method on1y allows us to lakulate travelt1me;; and not
Creen fun<-twn
1\eJghtmg,, n ;]so only gtH'" the t1me of the frrst \VdH'front anwmg at , pMncular
pmnl wtthm the gnd 1 lowen'r, rcrent work ha., shown the uuportance of multi-

150

References & Further Reading

\_lbcrtin U,Jaramillo H, Yingst D, Bloor R, Chang W, Beasley C and Mobley E,
1yy!)_ A\IWtts of true amphtude nugrauon, 69th Ann lntnnat Alt,g ~nt of Expt
(;l'ojlh)'l Fxfmnrdali>fmrl, l::l.'ifl-1361
Andebert F. and Huard 1.. 2000, ]{e<;tmcd amplttude A\:A-g-dthen 111 tlw mulllangle rlom,un, }ACF tonjrTI'IUI'
Beasl~y C. and Klotz R., 19!.!2, Fqu,h7atlon of DMO for trregulat spatl;Jl <;amplmg
62m' Aun lnlemal Mtg Soc tif f:x1l Grojlh)'\
BerkhoutAJ, 19R2. Setsml< Mtgtdll<m
txTl.tpol.Jnon, P<lrt A
Berkhoul AJ, 1984, Sel,nHC 1\hgration
J:...tr,polauon. P,lT! 1-1 PrartlCal .tspens
Berkhout A.J, 1984, Sebmlr Re~oluuon A quantitatin
power ol .t(OU,IH echo techmque<; Handbook of
Fxploratwn
(;coph)'Stcall'rrs;
Bcrkhout AJ, 19fl7, Apphed ~ep,nnc \\'dve Thcory Alwmn; Am,trrdnw
Beydoun W and Keho T, 19R7. The P.uaxral Rav \1cthod (,rojJh)>U>, .IJ2 1639lti!"JJ
Beylkin G and Burridge R, 1990, L111canzed mver'ic SCdttermg problems m
atou.,m~ <llld el.t<iiiCrty, Wiwe motwn, 12
Bleistein N, 1987. On tlw Imagmg- ol Rt-flectop, 111 rhe Earth Geoph)>n, .'i2 !.!31!.!42
M;nhelll.ttJCal 1\[ethod., for \\'aw_ Phenomend AftG111w-Hill Hook
Bleistein
Co,
Canning
lJ\f() and ').]) pre,tad..uugr,Jtlon,
Cervcny V, Popov M and Psencik 1,
S()(_,

Claerbout J.F, 1976, Fund.tmcntdls of (,eophv.,Hal Data l'l'<JCe<;<;lllg ,\JcGraw-H11/

Book Co.
Claerbout J.F,
Jmagmg thc Edith's lntcllor Hfarkwe!J Scwnttfu. Pn/Jhcatwm,
Otfr!id

Clayton R and Stolt R, 19Hl. A Born-\\"KBJ uwets1on method for atomt1r refleLtmn
d'-lta Gpoph;;tl\'. 4fi i!J.'i9-l567
Cordsen A, Galbraith M and Peirce J, 2000, Pldnnmg l;md :1-D suJvey' Soczd)' 11
h,/ollttwn
Gardner G. and
resolunon functmn m
'Ct'!mc prestad, depth un;tgmg,
HanitLsch e, qg_ Compan<;on of \Vetgh., 111 prestark amphtude-pn: .. enmg
Kulhhofi dcpth m1gra.tton, Groph)WI, 62, lfl12-1816.
Houllevigue H, Delesalle H and de Bazelaire E (1!.!99)
lUhe cleriHd ti-orn multt-allmuth 30 marine acqui~rtiom, (], EAGA
l-08

151

Jaramillo H, Bloor R, Albertin U, Yingst D and Mobley E, 2000, llue

migrdtiOn <lnd d1p Ct]1Ml ... arion, 62"" E.,J(;;; Confernue, B-11
Jin S and Madariaga R,1091, Bad.. g-wund \'i:locny InveJ'iiOn wlth
Algonthm GeujJhy>urt! Rf'lnurh Lrttn1, 20 9;)-96
Jones IF, Baud H, Henry B, Strachan A, Kommedal J and Gainski M,
elfect ol dC!JUlsitmn dnection on 3]) p1eSDM unagmg Fnsl Breai1,
pp38!"J-:191
Jousset P, Thierry P and Lambar G, 1999,

amphtude
a Gcnettc
2000, The
vlfl No9,

lntrrnaf \ltg Soc

Lambar G, Lucio P. and Hanyga A., 1996, Two-dnnenstonal mulnvalued tiaveltnne dml dlllphtude map~ by umform .,amphng ofray ield, Geoph)'l f lnt, 125,
5R1-598
Lumley DE, ClaerboutJF and Bevc D, 1994. Ant1-ahased Knchhotl 3-D mtg~<lt!On,
64thAnn lntmwt MI; ~1!( o)Ev.pl Groph~o, 12fl2-12RS
Podvin X and Lecompte 1, 1991. Finte-diUerence compurauon of tl'dVcitimes m
velo< 1tv models A m,J<;Sivel} par,IJel appmach and Its a.,so(atGI'ophJWnlfmona/, ]():) 'l.l-281
Rousseau V, Nicoletis, Svay-LucasJ and Rakotoarisoa H, 2001, ;)D tme amphtude
nugrauon bv tegularJ<,atlon m <mgle dom,un, 62 'Confrrl'nrr E4GE, B-13
ScalesJA, 199.?, 'f'hi'OJ) n(Snsrmr Jmagmg (rllw' Xoll"i m Amtil Senreo No 55).
'Spnnger \h],g-, Ber]m
Stone D, 1994, De,igning ~e!SillJC <;urvey., m tv.o and three dunens1on~ Sor of Expl
Geophy;, 24"1. ('" E<hted hy Ch,r]e., A Mceder)
Sullivan M and Cohen J, 198, Prestalk Knc hhoff" mversion of <ommon-oflSet data.
GrojJhwcs,52 74.1J-7.1J4.
Tarantola A, 1984, fnver.,Joll uf Se1smK Rdkrtlon Data 1n thc Acoustlc
Appro:>..nnation (;ropfrJ\1{.'' 49 1259-1266
Tarantola A, 19R, lmIT\P Pmblrm 1'hem) ,\frtlmd; for Dnfrt lillm; 111!11 .Hodel
ltUflml'frr F>IW!illi0/1 Fhe\ler, Amsterdam
Vidale JE, 19R8, Fmltc-Dtttereme ThlVdtime C.Jlculatlons Bull Se~:> Soc. A111 , 78.
2062-2076
WeigantJ, Hoover G, SteinJ and Clark B, 2001, EL1stK modellmg and waw equanon finite
IlllgratiOtl m a cmnplex offshun Cahfornlil
gcolog-ir.tl sertmg,
Interna/ Aflg 501.
Groplr;s 953-956
Yilmaz O, 2001, Se1smu Ddta . \nahs1s.
Coopcr,
dml Doherty. S M , I<:d.,
SciomiC Data Analys" Vol. 2, 02: Soc ol Expl. Geophys., 1001-2027
Yilmaz O. 2000, S~:1~mit Data .\naly,is, m Cooper, M R and Dohertv, S M , Ed.,
Set'>mlc Ll;na A11alv~IS \01 1, Ol: Soc of Lxpl C,eoph)s, 1000

Chapter 4: Conversion to zero-offset

(NMO, DMO and other methods)

(<ID be performed ID two step~

1he dakt 1~ t on,erted uno a 51mulatrd rerordmg at 'tero-of!:Set',
then 1magmg pnnoplcs are apphed to tl11~ new datase!, the pmcess bcmg
known as 'post-stack or zero-othet m1grrtt!OD'
In thl., rhapler, we ~mdy the method~ u~ed lo carry out the tirst ~ktge,
\\"e '>tart w11h
rrrlwn, \l]m h was fir'>t u~ed m tl1e
\Ve tl1en addre'>~ tlw lhp Afaveoul (DlviO)
whJCh rephced !\111..10 m the l980s. bcfore pre~erllmg more recem
methods. DMO !S ~till med 1oday, alll10ugh graduaD) being mper.,edcd by prestack
tune appnMche.,, ,,.11< !1 &re d1scu~sed 1n Chapter 7

Transformation to zero-offset via the NMO correction

HL'>lof!Cilly ~peakwg,

'"'

'

1
'""~

__

'

the d}Him/11
the mrreasmg data redundanq th:Jt was due lo thc
of data arqU!sltwn
teclmiques dunng thc l950s. The goalts to sum JelOidings illununatmg the ~ame
sub>Ud<lce po111t, ID order to muease both sgnal-to-DOISe and p11mary-to-mult1ple
refkctmn
1dea

'

.
v,.(z)=

a\erage~~rllcal "ehJCltyatdepthz

Vm,.{l)-

nnsv~r!Jeal

pom!=commoo"udpoml

,e]ocnyatdeptltz

11 Js obvmu., thar rhe retlecnon tune wdl varv 1\ 1th olhet. Ti> be abk to -.um reflecIH>ns and hence benefn fmn1 thead~.mtages ofmulu-f<)ld coverage, we mu>l correct
the rhflerem recon.ling~. and mon them all lo a common referen< e Tlw lliO>t logJc.t! <ho~te o/efcrcnu time., th.-1t ol zero-ofhet
"1 he torrection 1tself depends on the 'nbsurfate modeJmolved In pratl!le, lhe
NI\[(_)< orrnnon 1s <l1o.,en 1\hen .-1 Simple tnodel of tlw suh-.urfa<e 1S assumed 1 e a
homogeneous model of honzmaal 1-el\ettors In th1> model, .-1pphcat1on of
t\leorem mdlLdte'> 1hat the .1rnva! tune of ; 1-eOeclwn Will he a hyperof the sonrte-H'< e1ver olbet, the ,]wrtesl t1me bemg for zero-oft:Set.

sis
and that b

shghth more rc;!J~tiC model th:Jt allowed for the

1elont~ \a!lat!Ons, ~ct that also rd,uned the h\potheefkctoro "1 his is the modcl that I'>T met m Chapter 2,
m Fgures :! 06 .md 2 07 lt leads W tl1e wdl-known Dtx

~tratified
IJuslr.-~ted

tl1e soune-receJ\ei
1.'>, at 111001, of rlte <~me onier a~
mvestig:Jtlon depth.
D11~ forii!u!a 1~ <11 the /e,rt of st&kw,-vdool) aniJhm, :Jnd I'>C recast 1t ~hghtly
differentlv here

.lt

., the ITrtlcal rms

tune t, .md 7 h tl1e deplh of

tuve~ttgatton

Tlw N:'I.IO <orrectwn 1'> ba~ed on rh1~ cquatlon, ;md tlms ou the underhmg suhmodd lt correcr-, thc ,-rjv;Jnmc t(h) ot a 1eflection rerorded with offset h,
re .. tormg ti lo lhe theoretual tnne r, lh<ll would hdl't' been reconkd V..llh .tero-offset.
tlu~ corre ton depcnds on both thc
1 but ~1nre we are onh mterOnh
IS molved tn
~tllf.tce

NMO correction and velocity

Prov1ded the a.,,umpi!On~ of the D1x
tlon retorded at lime 1,, tl1e rdlectwn .tt
t1me t,, wl1iLh !S rebted lo 1,, b~ a ll\pedJOlic e\atiomlllp l"hi& correclion t'rom

10

' (2h
= t;;1.. v"'1o

t1

ro

L\t:>:\K> = 11, -t 0

!"he lerrn normal moveout" or 'NI\[0' IS llltloduced :Js 1t 1-efer~ to the <h:Jnge tn
time .t\ one movcs <1W.t}' rrom the normal-ra ~ilu.1twn The uansforrn
2h to zero-off&ei!S c:Jlled the NI\[(_) <orecuon and -, 1llu~trated m figure
}02

154

t,.

t.,

y~---,

-\ eflectton recordcd at ; 11m e lh 011 a tr<H e WJt!t an off'iet 2h 1~ mo1ed b~ <~ppll

tJ.tton of the :\MO torrectton lo a tune 1,, defined by equ<~tton [4 2J
Tite operatton b repe;ted for All.'>.JTnples oftrare 1, lo get the trate thatwould
ba1c beeu retorded M rhctorrespondl!lg mJ(\pomr posJtwn x,,,, but wtth zerooffset

llCtCS\.tf\
:\ole th~l the correcuon for .t g1ven ofhet 1aneswnh ttme
\ , 11 ,,. alld ts wh~ thts cotJ.'>tltures a
-\n

t ..,

e1en for consl.mt

fllOCe~~

lett1on .ts th ;J Thl.', dt'>tortum. quantlfied b\

.-1

'1/reh f(I{IOI',

1vhKh

l.'>

tite

155

rallO ol a >;JVen tnne mtenal bei(Jre aud after correctiUn and generally
expressed a~ ..1 perrenlap;e, 1~ ; lmHt:Jtlon ol 1!1e dynamJC <orreroon
The ~tretch l:ldor increa-.es 1\ 1th off~el .-md detna~es w1th t,, ;m\\'"'" A stretch
1.-~rror ol ~O'Yc L'> generalh :Jtcepted "1 hn, ts ea~tly reacherl m pracuce, thus
of the available data :JI long offsets and for sl1ot1 1:,.
str:Jtdied model th1~ method of ~miUlaling a zero-offsd propag.-Jt!On IS e.act lor propag<~tion trme~, rt IS uot corren m 1erms of
amplitudes \Ve nole m passmg th.-11
tl1e :lllll JS
to pre~erve ex:Jctly tbe ref1ectl()O rodficrent
to
:Jnd no1 to
modd tl1e amphtude ol the real trace tl1at would be seen at zero-offset.
Standard NMO prme~smg thus (\sregards the phy~1cal me.-mmg ol amphtude.
fhe rav rorrespondmg to tomndcnt sonrce and rererver w]l he tl1e normal
r;y \Vh1bt liue lor tl1e Simple model

12 ror ddinttlon) l'at:h

h<i~ becn properlv cho<,en, lhey are .-11l ;]kt file\ t.-m con'>equentl) be
togdher or preferahly
aver.-1ged (1.e taklli)!; a< 1ount oftl1e I!Umbe1 of trace' summed), to rmpron both sign.-~1-to-notse ..tnd pnlli:JI)'to-multtple r<Jtlos Once ag<~m wc med lhe concept of
nmln-fold co1e1age discussed m Chapler 3
Th1s ~nmm.-1110n process b called a 'statk' m rhc
:\MO
1S rckrred toas the
:Jnd

mherenlly mtomplete
.\lternauvdy, lhe trates omld be rnllected b\ common offset .-1nd the NMO
rorrection applwd m 1h1s dom.-un, rhe result bemg , .,e1smic ~ecuon at tero-offset. Jf
llw subsud:Jte mode]s closc lo lh:Jt ol the D1x model, :JDd tf the corntuon \'eloul\ 1S rhosen preci.-;;el~, lhen ail Lell:J-ofhet ~ectiOllS, e..tch from <1 dtfkrent orgmal ofl~
ser, ~honltl be .-1hke, and tl1e\ lll.-1~ rl1u~ be a1eraged

!56

Stacking velocity analysis

Estimation of stadting velocity V,...,(t,,)
11 oHier lo ht" able lo apph the NMO correctwn, tt 1~ es~ent1al1o know \~''"' (or
~et" fm lhe fh~t llmt" how 1111~ <run:JI mfrmation can
llwlf
tombt'> of ~eekmg, al every l!mt" t,, tl1e parameter
n e(JU:li!Oll [4 2J that tJansfnrms edch trace w1thm tl1e common-m1dpomt
ru" 1ero-ofTse1 trdtt", wch t!IIJtal! lhf' IOiri'IIPrl traen arf rrlentuaf E:Jdl of tlwse
:Jlld ldt"niJC;] rr.Kt"~ <.-111 tht"ll he ~ummed, gidn{ dw rt"sultant stacked
IS properh clw~en, a gl\'t"ll reflectJOD w1lllme up l10nzont:Jll~ on tht"
con>"''"H'odpomt g<~tl1er of corrected trdces, and tlw ~ubsequent ~umm:Jilon Wlll
.'>lllCe 11 wdl he con-.tnJctl\T t"\'t"rywht"H'
1 he pnnnple belund si:J< k ;n;Jy.'>J~ <;n ht" t".J~dy undcrstood, :Jnd wa~ fir~t mtrodu<cd b\ Timer :Jnd Koehler

2J \Ve now
an;ly~~

(a)Common-midpoinlgather

!57

hgure 4 03 lt

1~ (Oll~tlucted

column by tolumn,
torresponding lo a
lhe to!umnJ> obtamed hy applymg <ID t\MQ
\ ' , ,0
:cmd tl1en ~umnung the torrecravJJ!Jhlc, 11e t<lll
takulate the

'uth ;p, lhe snn!Jitnue frmdum, llldJCatmg the

and anolbcr over .1 WJ!\dow arnuud the umstanl 11me t,.
lf lhe lnpcrhoiH tltne as a functon ofhalf-ofhei h for the t urrenl tnal veloCJty
\ ' " ' " 1~ )I;IH~ll h1

then the semb!ana A(t"'

lime t lS !JjJft, tlu:n

VN,.J
10

IS

Stacking velocity picking

\\'hiht the prinple of stat J..mg 1elont~ p1t lmg 1s 1et) simple, lmjJleml'nlatum
pue;. lo be az;1Utl deal mou wmpluated, f01 numewns reaoom The maOJ (\flicultJes
en(OUD!t'red <1ft' aSSOC!ated WJI/1
the pre;ence ot nmh1ple ..ur11als,
e poor ~gnal-tn-noJ~e rauo d.Jt<l,
geological complontv dJ\erglng from tl1e wnple h1perbo1Jc modt'l g1ven by
ami ~tJeich >lgntficantl~ lunllmg the range of ofl~ets a\'<nlable(mutmgeffecr>),

158

l'r/onty j1rhi '\!ole lh.-1t lll proLessmg yngon, thc expn,~wn 'st<Jcl..mg
J<, usu:Jlh ~horttned lo 'velonry .mal~~1.<,'- a term nstd repeatedh

JddttJO)il
~hm\"11 i11 the ex.unpk 111 F1gure 4 04
1 he ;emblame paneill~ell, wh1ch IS g-euer<t!ly Jmprovt"d by aver.tgmg oWT a

lB' tn](lpomt

gather~

nus 11\tervdl velocttY 1utlt", denved w.mg thc

1h1s prov1des \O!lle t"ndenct" a~ lo wltether tht"

be h:Jndled careiiilly d~ 111il be seen la ter

around lhe midpoint, ~t;JCked usmg variom
makmg t ea'ilt"l ti>r the mkrpreter to dSSes-.
1!toh e on tite ~cNnK llll:Jge Jt<;elf
lt

<,t"SmH

tht" mp.-!ct of lll~

mu~t

~eclmn

159

 !he ~~~ual ,hgnmt"nt of rt"llectlOHS can bt" Lht"Lked on tht" torrected CMP
gathe1 the ga1her 10 mkraC!Ively corn'< ted and d1-.plaved as the mterprder
moveo h1~ un sor on the semhlance plot
tho,,. affordmg a cht"< l on tht" later:ll consJsten(..y ol the
the \\hole ~tudy are:J, :lit" abo Widel; used

The basic sequence to transform data to zero-offset

\Ve IMvt" now t"verytbmg to h.md to desLnbt" tht" basiC proces~Illg ~equence, wh1ch
wtll tr.m~fo1m rhe whole data~d,
mto the sunulated 'rompacted'
ttTo-ofhet
The '>equemc 1~ J!lustrated lll Figure 4 03 1! I'> llllportant to note that this
scquenct" COllH'JD~ the tramfmm to zerooffset onh and doe~ not ~lww many Important steps lll the proce~~ing ~t"quence, sut:h <1~ ~Jgnarure prore~sing, n01se and mul-

16{1

uple rcmov<~.b, ~tata torretllll'., ett It also a~;ume., that rhe dat.iset h,-~s been ;orted UltO m](lpo111t g;tJers 01 b1os (see Figure :1 20)
he mam ;lep~ m fi1t" sequeoce are a' lollow~
~ 1 rstly, we dt"cJde on the deosllv ;nr\loc<~.tJOn of the vt"!(}( ny ,m,~'M:'" A senes
0 '\'clontv Jioes', chmen m the acquisition r\1recuon for m;:uine ~unn~ 1re
selected 500 tn apart
extra<t bm gatl1en. e\'t"IT .'iOO m.ilong the<,e !mes (orlCt" aga111, th" figure

.JI tht; loc:Jti<m.

o f]1e \elocitr ;m,.ym aod jlH ].._ ..trt" tt"pt"dterl for a\1-.t"]ectcd gather~ ol a\1 \'elc>eJt\ lllleS, re~nltmg 10 a ~t.Kk.mg ve!OCJ!y ficlrl' (\t"fined on ,. 500 x 500 m gttd
'\ore th.tt the \eloCllt"~ die pi< h-d as con-.rslenth :JS po~srble, wi1Kh meaos that
._ pick on a g1veo honLon 1~ not m acle totall~ mdept"ndeotly lrom other \'alue;
around ( Spcofc tools ex 1st to help tht" mterpreler m thts t.ask
['he nexr ~kp JS to applv the \eloclt~ f.ield ro the whole r\;l.tset, 1e for all bms
Ilns requ1rt"~ ;o mterpobuoo slep, m orrler to r\enve a veloury fimctiOO, (\ pHall; on a 25 x 25m grid (ofien ..t deoser oot", dependmg on the bm '>Lt") Th1s
lnterpolatmlll'> done "on the fh' aod the torre~pond1ng 'hgh dt"Jh1t\ field' 1>
ne\ er <,tored or (hsplayed
lhe muted bm gather JS tht"o 'NMO-torn'< led' \>Hh lh;]ocal fumtwn, followwg dw Hlethod shown m
Anotl1et mterpolalJOO, now lll the 1101e
dom.un. IS
at each ~ample in time t,, lt ~lwuld be
m~ forcomeniJOnal data~ets
.md 3 or 2m~ for
ureg:liIJdv, w1th t~pJCally
11 .,hould also be noted that rap!d vananons m\'"'"' w1tb tHne t, m,.y le.td to
strelth fatton, hen(e hmitmg the usahle offset ,.nge.
ail torrectcrl trate~ 10 tllt" blll are st:ltked together to produce the <,tark
11acc or \Jmulated 'tero-oll~et' tJace at the hm centre lotatwn
for .IJ bm~ O\'t"I the StllTey a1ea. tl1us btHidm; tl1e
data volume. trace by frare
lt " '1\0rth remembering ODCt" agam tl1e ;:Jnom assumpt1011~ underl~mg th1s
m.uolv 1he fact that tl1t" time-offset cunw 1> a Jyp,.rhola, wh!t h m turn 1~
tl1e D1x formula dt"velopment, limJtt"d to the ~etond degree m off~et,
and b.t~ed 011 tl1e honzontally layered earth morid The resultlllg "statk.' (\;ta~et 1s
then onh an .tpprox1mauon to ; 1ero-off~et recorrlmg .\lthough the lJ1x modell1aS
currenth u~ed m prattJCe Tht"y w11! be r\JscussNIHl rh1s book anrl
llMo, p1esta1 ].._ t1me migrat1om ;oc\ presi:Jck. depth migrat10Jb
hut we musl reahze
!'he ,t,cl dataset was the lllliJal goal of tlm
that tite 1/lli km{( wloaty fidrl 1.1 mur h mmP lhrm a
111 Ll<t .ts 1mportant a re\Ult as lht" Matk 1tself,
Jt
<tbom the -.nb~urt;we lkspue lb hnnts, wlll(;h wlil
~lOn<;. \\e will al;o ~et" lww 11 ~~ u~ed, not onh for
(Chapter~ 5, 6 ami 7) .md for t1me-to-dcpth c.onverswo

161

'Velocity-independent' methods
The <1.-~sstcal .-1pproach deMTtbed above Marts from an exphot model of the ~ub~ur-

fate, namdy the 'OJXIdll model'

dlu~trated m hgure 4 06,
to mcthod> often referrcrl toa'>
k<hmque~. In these
m'te.1d of con\Jdenng what ma~
at depth, 1\e <~re mterested
onlv m what happen~ :H tl1e surf.Ke where
me:J>uremenr- .u e rerorded.
Belo11, \\e de,< nbe lv.o dpprrMches th.tt n1ake ~e of tl11\ com ept, fint llltroduced by
De Ba7elaJre (198H), they ;Jt shlfted hvperbolas 111 1he ne>..l se(..tton and the 'CRS
'>t:Jc.k' at the end o! the chapler
Jead~

appm.-1dll'~,

Transformation to zero-offset by 'shifted hyperbolas'

el he b:J'>l~ of ~1.-1ndard 1elou1y analys1s ~~ the h~ polhest~ lh:Jt the nmc-offset curve
l(h) !S hype1hohc, ami thar H c.orresponcl-; approxmarely toa loru<mtally '>lratJtied
merlmm, ~uch :JS JS .'>hown m F1gure 4 01 llowever, De B.-17d.-1tre (1988) presenteda
rlus h~pothe~J~, w!l!ch, whJe ret:unmg
cune, doe~ not 1molve a~'>umptHm~ hemg made
rh1s, we tir...t u-,e .m analogy fmm
geometJ If tl1e :JII"lval times
recorded .11 the snrf<lce de~cnhe a fnperbob,
corre~ponch m 20 to 1!1e :Jinval
at the '>urf.ue of a un ular w.1veti-on1 l"h1s 1~ tlluslrated m Ftgure 4.00, wl11ch mvokes
A buueddJffrattion

!S g1ven V.gure 1 Ofi

tl1e same deplh 1 ;~ the diffractJon po!lll,
a tommon-mtdpomt sy~tem wl(hm a medmm ofvelouly V(z) wll geneJate on the
C:Ml' g;tJer a rdleLtlOJJ wluth !S also hyperholJc and wh1ch po~sesse'> ; SJO!tldrequal!on. '\Jote the d1fference m ph~,tcal term~ het11een the proMgaton o! a l'>'dvefront
ongmalmg !rom a d!llf.tt 11on pomr aJl(\ .-1 refleuwn fmm .t honLonlal reflector
recorded al a common-nudpomt, bur .-~!so tl1e '>ltnildltt~ 111 the ray gtometry and the
arrl\al mnes n~ed here

162

Wllh H~'JWU lo the ftnt

lojorll,!,lng rlejJtlt' T,, whKII ht" dcfined as

1\ote lhat. m gt>ner.Jl, thl~ tnne \'.Jlne 15 mdept"nclcnt of tht> rdlt"t tor':, 1cal \'t"l'lllal
time t" except fm homogcnt"OU., mcd1a 1t <h.uattenzes the cundtll!C
,dternat1vely, the sh,pc dc.,cHht>d by thc hypcrbola on
[4 :Jj 15 indq>t"!Hlent ot tl1t" Jt>al \CioCitic~ m thc 'ub~IU
valnt> m tlw IHllllCrhatt" \'H 1111ty of rhc surfacc 1 h1s
11 10 a paramcte1 ltuposed b\
for mo.nne ~ei,mH

163

!] ,md (1 fi] to be rewnrren, g-nng- a new relanon>tludure as [41]

fh1s more general exne-.~Jon define~ a nev>' bnuh ol hypt'rbola~, wht're V, 1s a

parameter fixecl by tlw acyutsJI!On rondtt1ons For a g1ven t,., wlwre m the st<mdard
.1pproach of eyu.ltlOll [1 ll t1w hyperbolas depend on V""'' m th1s ta>t' the family of
\nperbola> defincd bJ eqtJatwn [4 i] depcmls on rhe variable T,
In the st,tndJ.rd tt'dJJuqut', wHh a fixed
all
po~sess the same
,\';ymptonc
but th1s wdl be ditferent
rlm 1s appart'nt 1n
Figure, O~l.
tlw 1\YIO <ollclfJon
as a 'd)na1mc' correLtion In tontrast, rhe famil of hyperbola~ ddined b\ a partHtdat T, valuewJI
descnbe , senes ol mutnall~ p<na!lel hyperbolas lransl.llmg wtth respect to each
other ,s t, \'arteS rhJ-. \1at1<' IIan>latlOn propeii~ (a~ oppo>ed tO the 'dynam1c'
behavwur wHneed lil tlw -.tamlard
aml the r,. pn,neter give the1r
name to the method Suth a Tp-anal_VSI\
lo lcplatc , ron\enuonal vclonty
anal} SI> b one smuLu m stnH tnrt' lo the anal M~ ~hovm in F1gt1re 1 O~l, but 111 whJCh
the parJ.mett'r T" !S now St ,mned tor a fixed V, ami a giVen tv, as oppo~ed to the sean
oi ~tackmg vdouUt'S used 1ll 1lw ~randani appwach.
A.n o>culatmg reLll!Onshtp, 1 e \alld for ~mall ottst'l~, eXI~t-. between the ~tackmg
veloot~ \',.,, and tlw p<llamett'T~ T,. and \', for neat-olhets

Advantage of shifted hyperbolas

Ca:.tlt' (1991) gt'neralited the roncept o[ >infled
,nd shov>'t'd that
eqnanon [1 7] 1~ a bettcr appwxJm,tJon to <u tual
no-ve> th,m tlw DIX
!(mnula, !m <Lil\ ta~c 11 1., t'>en1mproved "ht'n the palJ.merer V. 1:. ,\so allowed to
;al)'

F1guw 4 07 ~hows the l}pe ot lomplex geologKaiLondtwn~ often enrounlt'rcd,

where T,
1s ~hown to be\ isibly >upet io1 to lhat o[ the st,n(\.rcJ apnoach
As~ume a
mterface ~cJJ.ranng lwo mcrha o[ vclocHte' \", and V,.
Dependmg on llw mlerplay betv>een the value~ fot lht' tatlo V,'\' .. the r,~rhtJS R, anrl
the deplh o! liw reflecto!, therc w1H be Ct'rtam SJtuatuJns wbere the DIXJan modd
\'>111 par11alh o totalh bteJ.k clown
For exampk, m liwlle 4 07-,t, e can
and -<.are more unusual snuanon~.
such 1eJ.l examples
have
t'n< oulllcrt'd In complcx tenomcs (De HaJ:t'la1re, per> comm) In lhe~e
<ases, llw traduwnal ~la<.kmg \elocH~ be<ome~ mfimlt', or t'\'en <1 sqnare-mot ot a
negat!Vt' valut' (HuiJial and Kre}, 1980), whKh I\ a practl(al mtpo~Mhility In conlrast, nothmg prevents T, from takmg ze10 or mdeed negauve vahw~ In complex
case~, 1r ts tlwn normal piattHe to ~tan negallvt' T, ;alut'~

164

-y:.--r --.r. . 1~

r. \,

y~~
-

'

..

{a)TpurV""'>O

~-!

(b)TporV,,., ... """

(~)Tp<O;

v,,.,.'<O!

Residual velocity analysis

analys1s remdlllS the phdsc m whu.h thc most human llllt"lYCntlon
ocnu ~,
ditfiru!t1c> 0111hned abo\'C Eflons to reduce !he tllnt" and rost
Jmohed m tlus cruoal .,tagc ha\'<' beeu focu>cd m two chrccnons
Je,dopnwnt of lnghly lllltT<Ktl\C graplncs >oft\\,\rc to dHl thc procc>sor's
llltt'rprefation,

.lutomatmn o! the Yelont\ analys1s

protcs~

1he rr,m~L1tt'd hype1 bola techmqnt" clocnbcd abo\'e 1> onc such t>xamplc \\'t" now
u.m,Hlet l\1'0 othcn. rcstdual \'("l()(lf\ dnalvs1s aml1mersuJn
l he tclt"a behind rt>~idual \d(){ in, anapis 1~ lo .1pph an ntral 1 orrecnon lo a
filM, l,lp!dl) perlornwd, maniJa! pKk, followt>d by ~ub.,cq1wnt rdincmt"nt, hopt>fttll}
J.lllllJ<llll
Tbe \t>loltfy anah~~~ 1~ lhn~ pt>rtornwd Hll11o '>tage'>
Ftr~l. a lrJ.dttwnal ve](){ tl) analst~ ts performt"d wttlt a manttal ptd;:, gwmg an
M"<ki"gwi<<Ci<< !lddY,,/x,,
corrcction to t.he g,uhen. a'> de~t!!bcd cJ.rlier Th1s to!Tt"Ct!On loan mitJ.l and
tnnc t, car1 be l"t"lll'lttcn .1~

p!ovi~ton,]

165

!( lht'\'t'lOI\[j'\"m,
to r, Howevcr, tlus b not ntu:ssdrily lhe td,e, ,nd a SKond rdintng opc!atum may;
rhcrt"fore bt" nqumd Fvcn lhough lhc lllllldi p1Lk 1~ onl ,ppwxllll,ltc, tlus second
torrettlon w1ll be mucl1 o,Jllallci llldll the rsl lh mtt-ntionally con~training- the second tonecoon, we cm un thal 1hc tina\ result doe~ not d(\.Jdtc drastJ<<llh fmm the
miti.ll Hck, and "e a1e ablc to
tlw procc%, w1th tht" automaiK p1Ckmg
bKOJillng le>s randtom ,,a rest1lt
tlu number of pa!d!llt"ters thm need
to be e1aludtcd 15 Jeduced, espeCJalh >mu rhc dJ>t"!g-cnct" fwm 1he mmal pKk has
bcen re>tnned
Next, an dSSIJmptwn must be no.1de about tbe rt"SidU<li tOJTectlon rt"qUHt"d
IJ it J> d>sumed ll\wbolic as 111 thc init1al ton"t"CIIon. amlH
l]. the dpp!JcatJOil o[ a 7CIO residual correUuJn to thc Uli!Jal
mfimte re;cJu,tl vclocnv \

\el] Wt"ll adaptt"d to Ie,Hlual corean be transfo noed mto the ICW]IJal velm !ty, g-JYJng-a le5UIIdenved frmn cqu,nwn [4 tlj, and the final ~I.Hkmg

[410]

In l<~ct, the mt'lbod usualh

resJdudl <O!!c<twn, bao,ed on

the ndu'itn mvoh e~ a~~um1ng a patabo!Jc

ll,unpson tl986), of 1l1e torm,

p wrll tdke po~IJVt" or rwg-al!Vt" valnc~ ;l(tonlmg to whetlwr the mare ellher O\t"T- 01 lllldt"rt''iOmattd, dS 1111l llw resrdudl I. fhe ~e\ec
tion criteria u~ed !01 an ,nnomatl< o,dettion o! p noa} wdl be the ~amt" a~ !01 the
,maly.,Js
o a '>lltllllldtlon o1 a Wlnblance m<~xmnun, etc
i\onethcle.,;, m tlu~ 'cumrl phase an autom<~tK Jlltkmg tan be appht"d to find thc
al each umc t, Nott" that

o llw g.nbers are pre-:\IMO CO!le< ted.

o the ,smmcd 11me-olbet Cllf\t" JS now d p;orabola ddined b\ a pa1anwrcr p a;
a fu m nnn ot tt"ro-oflf.et tune t,

166

the use of automatJC pKkmg

funwon p(t,,)
fbL ope1at1on u~ccl to transf01m !he CO!!etlecl LMP
plot ., <1 p.uabolu Radon tamform, , gcneahlt'd \tJ~lOIJ
jonn ol ten u~cd in ~eismK proccssmg
the tram,latcd
n:sJdual \dOtll\ ,nahw, dcstrdlt'd .lb\C, 1he

r4 121

\lhtTc p !S herc the rt~!(liJalLorrcnJOn parameler pwkcd J.t nme t,

f!u, Jcsl(\ual coniXlloll defmed
can bt" apphed dneCil~ to the prccorHXIt"d 1ommon-mHlpomt gathcrs.
prwcss ~~ callt"d 'w11duaf mmJPOUt' vr RMO
AlteJnatlvel~,

an ctUJ\'aknt 'finar slackmg-\'tlot H\ can be< omputcd. us1ng cqua-

167

tlon [4 12] il.~hould be nott>d howt"Vt"f tha1 ClJuanou [4 12], !Jkct"tuatlon~ [4 RJ and
[4 10], 1~ also an OS(Ulatl!lg rcl,uwnslllp, ~ad f(n short oflsels Consequently, the
; lt>~~ a({ uralt' thau tbe RMO procedure
\""""' vclontle~ are, howevel, \\idcly u~t"d a~ vt"lout fuurnon~ lor otht"r purpo~es,
a~ j the wew con\'entional \'""' ~clocltit"~

NMO co~rcdiou wlth \',,,

Inversion in velocity analysis

An lrnprovement to tht" cakul,umn ofthe vclout~ anal~~~ pancl1s muochJCt>d 111 this
'<'t tlon lt wa~ fir;t pmpo>ed ;nd >ub>NJtlently dt>vcloped b\ 1 horson ,md Clat>riJOut
( 19R5) Hampson (19R6) adapted 11 for the paraboltc ve1~1on

Limited resolution ofvelocity analysis

In the tomentional .1ppmach to vt"locity anal~srs, a pomt on a vt"]o{]t:- analysis
pant>l (defined by the ~1mplc summanon lll~tead ol the sembLnJCt>) wlth coord1nates
(1,, V,) w11l be the result ot a\'eragmg CMP g-ather sanplc> along a hype1bohc trend
ddlned by the t\\O paramt"ter~ u>ed m t>ttJanon [4.21
Al! the \alue~ of the plot a1e commted m tlus w.1y rhe vt>lonty ,mal si~ plot
therdre .1ppears as the 1esuh ofthe transfolmation ofthe common-m1dpoint gath<'1 u~mg th1s part1ndar transform.
Howt>\eJ; tlas han1fmm ha1 onf.~ hrmterl rno!ulwn, e~pe< 1ally for ~n,aJI t ~alues, and
aho dueto the prt>sen< e of the mute, bt"cau~e the numbt>r of tr.ares availahk 1nay be
lmutt"d herefort>. tht"JT 1~ a large nunber o! hyperbola~ for a wholc rangt" of (t 0 , V)
JMlT~ whJCh "ill gi\'e a ~imilar sumnatron \alue \\'bt>re noist> Ot<urs, tl1e picking of
an ab~olute mo.xnnnm 111 the d,rta betomes even more difficult and maccuratc. H;
howe\er, the Jeconlmg- we1e made ,,J an t>xtJ-encly long- off~ct, a \'CIJ .,]lOTt Mgnal
!t"ngth anda peifectly h\pe!bohc t = f(h) Clll"Vt", the .,meanng- \\Ould be sJg-mfitanth reduced, the 1mage would be dea\y defined ,md
the re,oh1tion ofthe vclocit\

lmproving resolution of staclcing velocity analysis by inversion

The Jnvei>Jon approach attempt.\> to redute th1s phenomenon lmtea<l of applymg- the ho.nsform dnrnly to the CMP g-athe (wluch JS mevll<ibl~ lun1ted m oU~et
rangt>), we target the amphtude plot whJI h he;/ r>:.plmm lhe hmited aperlure f.!:11/ho
l"h1~ method tan bt" appl1ed equall~ wdl toan amphtHlk plot obtamed usmg a
COIII:'"Ction, lo the translated hyperbola~ or the parabolit COIII:'"Cto lllllJal or Iewluo.l \'t>lOtlf} anahses lb mo~r frequent applJcatwn
~HICe H ~~ tht> lt>a~t demandmg- m lt"i ms of rakulanon nme, 1s m pamhol!c
and H was fint dt"veloped for tlus app]l(a!lon We tht"rt'fore
plt"~t>nt the
the n1t"thod m tllls parnudar J>e, J.S dlmtrated m
Hgm't'409
In thl' l\lSt>, tht> mver~Jon u ..,t"~ tlw lollow1ng- '<hre< t modcl' a pomt on the ampliltJde plotwJth toordHMtes (t, p) and amphtudt"a ts rramfonned mtoa~e!e'> of~am-

168

(a)Themapplngprocedure
!romlt,,p,jtosynthelicCMPgatlter

P, P.,

(b)Titeinvenionpmblcm:

findA(lu,p)thatmap
intutheactualmidpointgathe

pie' ni tlw \Jme ampl1tude d, platt""d d!ong a ~t""ttton of tire parabolte t(lr) cunc
defirlt""d by t""quatwn [4.11 J 'IIH~ porton of tht"" ]MidiJOla bt""gms wtth the flrst off>ct
m the gatht""t and umtmue~ urllll llw ld~l tratt"" be[oT"t"" dtt"" mute ctn-vc A.nothcr
1mpt1l,e of dmplllndt b, ~ituatt""d dl a difft""rent (1,, p) pO'tron wtll bt> lransformcd
mio dlllht""I parahold, dlld so on
l be mapJLng 1\ dddlltve w!lt""rt"" the patabold~ llllt""T~t""tt, amphtndt""~ a and b wtll
l ht\ pwct""durt"" tan bl:' exlt""!Hlt""d lo dll pmlll\ "tllun d gtvt""n amphtude plot
rht"" pnKt""S~ l"t""ptt>~ent~ ,mtnvt>rSt"" ttan~folmatton 01, mort"" prt""CJ~cly, a lramdnnt 111/if!hludP
wlruflllwn, which b~ ~tlpt>nmpo\ng- portion~ of thc
ilw
IIllllt""d C\fP gatht>r L'.p, ,,,,{1,, h) ror-

Ap,,,.,.(t,.,n)~J'(A(t,,p)),

[413]

1\lll'te F descnbes tlw linear tram.formatton of a \alue m the (p, 10 )-domam mto a
'-<'1 ol
t,,)-domam
1he 1nven1on
tn,nlt clo>est to tbc actual CMP gathcr whcn
whu.h 'bt>st explams thc dat.t'
Pl)bkrn
lind ,11 ~amplt""~ a [or
"'F (,\ ,,(t 0 ,p)) re,emhlc~

169

A Llas~rdl W.Jv of IJlldlltlfymg the 're~cmblancc' to be optmuzcd h lo define d 'roq

fumuon', e.g rlw mean-~quarc; dilfeJ't'ntt' het\\ecn the L110 gathCJ~, wl11d1 muq
then he mnlimued
'

~~:(,'p(t 0 ,h)-,;P,,.(A,(t,,.p,))j'

~~:~~::~~~:~:~!~:~~'~:~:~~~::;~~,~~:~ami~
st<tnclard example
lJlltTtcd The oohmon mtght

[114]

01

to

~~::~:~q~~ .:~:~:;lon,j

or addi1ion
/Wr>f to the data to
be found llnough kaM-means ~qttdl'C~ analysis.

~~t~~~~:::~~,~~~~5a:~~:~~~:~~:;;~~~~;~~.'~~;t:~:~~~~ :~~::~,:~:~:~:~~~~:s~~:~~~~;~l~~
01eh rlw >olunon of the fitst Herauon m th1; Ld>tl~ nonc othCJ than lhe amplitude~
plot nmmally obtaHJed
a >ummanon dlong liw JMtabolas Sub'>t'tllt'nt lleratums~
refme tlw plol,
the ;meanng aoualed wHh each mark-~
er he 1elout) anahs1s
lo pH k In partll ula1; pnmary and}
muluple JJit\ab betome pmg1e>S11eh nore tlcarl dcfined and bettet sep.1ra1t'd.An
automa11t pKkmg wl\ tlwrefo1e be mole stablc and easJer to HMJMge on such a plot.
).]ott" tl1a1 the d1splay pro\'ided by.\ !S not a semblance plot, but 1-cpresent> the
deunnpo;~twn of the daw
nas allow> us to rcconsnut tal!

nllllt1plc lellet 11011 problems. hut Jh u~e m stackmg \'elout~

r.1pidl "'lh 1lw t'llle!gence of h1gh-clemit) 1elmity anahsi>

anal~>eo

ha> developed

Stacking velocities and deviation of the time-offset curve from

hyperbolic form
lnfluence of offset on stacking velodty: definition of 'nmo velocity'
Eqna11on [2.1
lughhghh tlw fat t that m H"alll, e\'ell for the >~mplc 'Orx1an
rnodd'. lhr
ll!Ht' 1~ ncve1 an exatl hpt'rbola .\ ~tacktng ~elonty V,..,
appwximate, and w11l depend on the
the 11 aces mvoht'd For !he honzunt,!llv s!rallfit'd modcl, the
;t<u kmg vdocity \''"" w!ll decrt'a~e w1th ITillt'd~lng max1mum ofht'L rhe
valut' of\'""'' wlwn !lit' maxHlllJn ofhet tend.s to J:ero, ~~ talled
!S dt'llOied ~ (Hnbral and Krt'\, 19RO)
From t'tlher <"tUdtion [2 llj or equatJon [4 lj, H 1~ HnmedJdtd~ ob\loW. that tlas
lun1t w11l be
Dixt<m model and Jt 1~ tlu; lallt'J ~eloot\ that
nrno vdocities Lannot b.. rdi<lhh mea>Urt"li

for lht' <1ndh~1~

Se<ondly and mo1e nnponanrly, the \t'Jld!,\l!Otl 111 time bet\\cen the Haces of
1lw <hfTi'!J-cnl offset> that \lt' aJe U\ng to mea;ure w,1ng the
analui~\111l be too small (tomparcd with !he wJ.vcleJJgth oftlw selMlll<
to be lllt'd5lll'Ccl dccurareh

170

Two- and three-term velocity analysis

[J' h1pe1boiK ).!M() LOIJeCtiOll JllodeJ !S ba~ed 0!1
[1 1], whKh
.t'>>llJlll., ,1 H"laiiYCh hmilcd otl\t'l 11 ""' cxpand !he
to a fowth-orde
l"'XJllf,~lOHl 1!1 h, a'> 111
11], tbe lOrlt'LI!Oil 1'> llO ]ong-er
towth-o1dcJ
the >Cltlfal Ydotll\,
.c]dtion to the lamili,u mean la fint-onlcT momentum)

r2

ond-oJ<kl nomentllln)
IIJJI!Oll

thc fourth-onlt>T h'lm'> 111 h are 1gnored ~w.h an

J.ll eJJOI~ "ha] V>!]] l!HI"C,I>e Wlth
Off>et

!083) lht> otandard '>tacking

SIIIIITil'djOI

\Tloul~

ll!rl1/llllff0

li!'>le<td of , ;mgk pa!dmt'tCT

a~ !ll
anah>JS \\'e
the1dore wlc! to "thwt>-lt'rm ,mal si,', a> we mclude t0, or 'fourth 01dcr mO\TOUt
h"TliiSl.a,

11], toa Hnt approxJmatJon"' = 41\"=

Fourth-order analysis methods

Ct:rt.un ,uthOI'> hd\C achocatecl a mtdt1tern1
.\ noteworthv
the c.uly ,,-o, k ol B1ull 1'1 al 1089), >dlith
the Jde<t ol \kc"
The,e
whiLh ha1e only JTtt'llli)"' been de,cloped
con~ldt>nd ReLent cxploranon uends to"a1do
larger
f5 km. wilh mult1boat 'UI\'t')"S potennow bccommg 'tandanl), plus tlw lllt re<ts-

Run ,\ fiJst COil\Cntonal \t>lout\ anah'>l' to c~lllll<lte thc fint p<uan1cter a a'> a
fllllltlon of 1, ,\.n ex,tmJnatJon o! tl1e <OTit'<tt>d
kad toa mutt"
hemg ,tpphed to the gathe1 to enSUJt' th<~t tlw
lt'!ill doe~ not
mfluemt' rhe me,\,IIH"lllt"IIt o! a(t,) 1 lu~ J<; Slmlla! to tlw <Oil\"clltlonal ;LHkand ,can the paramcte1

171

b(t,) e he Crltertoll ; stJI tht" 'flatnt"~S' of the g-ather 0\'Cr .111 otf~t"t;, poss1hly
mt"dsured. wnh a semblanct" luncnon
Tht5 prmcdure 1~ lahorHlUS and Unte tonsummg lt dot"~ nor guarantce ton~er.;;
geru e, as the ptckmg of b 1s mfhwnred hJ the JIHUal p1ck ora
A. lt"~S 5atJsf,KtoJ-y, but ntort" pr<LgmatJC, a\tt>rnan~e appwach 1~ abo u sed nowa~
In tlm, St"tond method V,~;.
ts Mdtlllt"d as m tonventJonal pmces~mg.
rhts i~ ach!t"vt"d by as,nnnng that
V,, '"""""wl, cmop,nng , lrom tht>St" values.
fourth-ordeJ moveout rorrectJon is
apphed accmdmg to equatwn (2 11]
Time-offset relationship and anisotropy
So fa, Vlt' have d1~U>St>d non hyperbohc ttmt>-oltst>l tunes related to vertica]
heterogt>nt"IIY In ChapteJ 2, Wt" showed lht" equlValt"llCt" bt"twt>en \'CJ"tlcal heterogeneH and elhpta al am;ol!op~ an JdentKal rda1wn~h1p fo1 lr<Lvcltlntt" agamst offset (to St'Coml-mder n h) i~ oblalllt"d "hcthe1 tht> model1~ a>sumt>d to be hett"rogeneous 01 amsotmp1c The >tackmg vclonty analys1s will dlert"tore be the same
whether Wt" a>snme 1he modcl of the sub>mface lo be
ht"lt"!Ogt"neous or
to be hetewgeneous, "e wtll intt"l pret tlw stacklllg vdO! ny ,s a Vt"rt!Cdl rms ~t"loc!ly
Howt>vet the aw>orropy ~penahst W!ll mtt>rpret thf starkzng <Wiocl(~ as the 1N'locdt"tail heconws tmportant Vlhen thest" >tacklllg ~eloa
USt"d to dt>fine veloCJtJes for tlllte-depth comt>nJOn or migra
wc 11nestigak furthcr 111 Chapten i and 8
rhe eymvalt>nce betwet>n tlw D1x modcl and the dlllSOtrop!C modcl de>CJibed m
CIMpler 2 lctUllt"S a l,~er thaknt">S lhat IS Lu-gt> m comp,ul~On with the wavclt>ngth
of tlw St"Jsmic ~Ignal, and lt"ads toan dfet lt~t" e!lipti< al ani~otrop~ However, reccnt
work ha., shown that thl~ pdrlltlllar amsotropH modcl !S not ~Cl)' representauve of
the eUCctH" ela~lic beha~JOur o! tlw subsurfact" rhl> J> e>~enuall~ dueto the fincly
beddt>d ~trut tUn" ot the real Stth~urface and the common O< unTeJHe of c\,y~. wlurh
mtmduct" a ~tnmg mtnnsJC alll~otropy lt 1., ctnrt"ntly consJdert>d 1hat the cfleclive
\'11 model reprt"sent> , far bdtt"r approX!maiJon.
Helt" Wt' e~;t>nllall~ generalue eyuanom [4lj J.nd r2.llJ fm VTl dlllSOtropy
ancJ faCIOrLted Vfl
(\WtCJ"Ogent"OUS
(homogt"llt"Oll> dlliSOI!OptC
dlllSOttop~t mt><ha) Tlns lar~t>l)
and the more
recent \\m k at tllt" Colorado School ofM11ws (rsvankm
fhe am.,otlop modd> Vle t>xamtne are fi1~11~, a homogent>ou .., modcl, and >t"Condh, d holtzonlall~ st1 anfit>d. wquence
twn

Time-offset relationship in TI media

rhe homogt"IleOUS tJaOS\CJ~el~ ISO{l"OJlH (fl) moJel J\lustJateJ lil fl)I;Ul"t" 1 JO-a
15 totallv destnbt"d, !01
b the thret" Tbom<;t"ll pa1amt'te1~ a,.
or V"' (1n out noratwn), r and , mtln
dtJtt"d m Chapter 2.
llw tra\elnme for d rdlccnon on a hon7ontal market at rlcpth l, exp<Lnded ttp
to term~ m h', 1> gnt>n b the tollowmg formula (Alkhalifah and lsvankin, 1995)

172

[4.16]

Thr j){jW!neler h 1epn:sent~ au unpm1dnt new add1t1nn to rhe l hom<;en par,meren,

and 1., defint>d .J~ follmv~ (Tsvaukm aud Alkhdhlah, 1995)

[4.17J

The ,1'/oCif) r' has the ~ame ddimt1on foran dlllSotwnc mockl ,~ tl~,t g1ven abo\ e
tor the ;otmpiC c,\'>e, IMilld~ the lmutmg \alue ofthe ot,ICkmg \ekllllY ,<; the nff'iet
tend' to zem
11 ,1 homogeneouo am~otwpu medmm, th1s
\eitllal ,-elocity, dnd 10 w1itteu,

vdoot~

\', .,

l~

dille1ent fmm the

11 equdtlon f!J 1{ij, the h' tcnn 1ucludeo a compeusat01y f,Ktor ro, ount for term~
be\nud the fnurth-orde1 111 h
It 1'> ~A-orth notmg that, f01 the dhpt11 al dlll'>ntropy mtrodw.:t>d ahovt> as a .,pecldl
ca~e ol VTI am'>OtJOpy, when f: = &, rhe paramcrer h w11l be ?ero. Tln~ parameter 1'>
oltcn deMnhed a~ the
For T] = O, heme fOr clhptlc,]
equauon [4 16] becomeo truly hyperbolanNJtiOp).
11 lhe ora1kmg \e]ont~, howe\'er,
\dlue hom rhe vetJcal pmp.l\eiOI 11~, un le the parameter e = O ts .liso zew, 1 e the modd reverts to
an i~otro.ac honwgeneom modd
shown 111 Chapter 2 fo1 the [)x modcl, companson of equat1ons [4.16]
ancl [2 11) enable~ a honwgeneou'> amsot!Op!c modd deftned b~ th1ee pdrdmeters
ro b, estabbshed Tht~ thn:e-tcnn dlllSotroptc modd ~~ equt\'dlcnt to the heterogellt>Oih modelm teiill~ of the vanauon 111 na\eltnlle w1th ofhet 1t depends ou the
thnct" mterval \e]()( meo describiug the heterogeneit) \',,,, \""'" aud \' ,1

than thdt fm mstdnce

111 Flgun:s
id\t>r-cake' ofhoru.outalld~ero, e.1ch homogeneous and
Jfferent ndi\Jdudl paiametero Tlus modd 1~
Cn\i.,aged by Ba1ku'i (1962), and de'>cnbed 111 Chaptc1 2
\\1th the tluckne'i~ of the la~ ero being con'>ldered largc compared w1th the wavekngth ofthe '>eiSffill S1gnal, so that tra\dtlme; 1an he cakulated mdt>pendently of
tluu-bed effecto, Alkhalifah (1996) proposed an extem10n ofetuatwn [4 lfi] ol the
follm,mglorm
C<~cl1 po'>se~sing

173

z~
(a)llumo:en~ousantsotroucmodd

t2=t"+(2h)2
0

v,;m,,

2T],u(2h)4

el ht~

formula po~~e~ses a famihar otOJ<lure

(u<;ng- thc notauon of Figure !J.lO-h

V,~,, 0 (t")=f fv~"'"'.t 0

u

Snml,rJv, thc
tt:t: denotcd

[119]

V,~n"(t;v,~"'"+(l+2lJ,rr)(2h) 2 )'

,~1

t0 =

i:.t
"1

0 ,

Howe\et~

v,"' 0 '

\""'"

=a 0 ,~.

cqu,tmn [!J IHJ l'i rt>pl.ited b)

gwen bv (Alkhahfah, l00fi)
111

nO\\ ,1\eiag-ed d~ follows

dll

[1201

cqunalent parame-

AlkhahL1h (19011) demonott\ltcd th,t Y"'""dnd r," <ould he e~tun,ted u~mg commonmtdpoint trace g,\then U'img , thn:e-term velo< itv anal~~~~ n.undv, Wlth t, fixcd. we
au V,,,,. and TI"' to find the combmanon
the be'it ;umnldtlOn hio m fad
tepre~enh du alterniltl\e to rhe 'thrt>c-tcun'
dnli)M~'> de~cubcd earlter.
B.qudtlou f!J ! 0] no\1 cn,hlco ,n mterpretallon ol the re~ult to be made 111 tcnm of
,n t>Hectl\'e an1~otrop1( \1 r ~ubou1 t:ue mudd
<;<

174

(nterpretation of v ....c~
In

thl~ ~edmu

we kep to thc b,I'>IC. hor17o11tally ~rranliul, !Jetcmgc11eou~. J~otropK

D1xtau nwdd Ilowcvt:I, wc rerurn, 111 th1o !Japtcr and mon: ~peol7 a11d H, to wh,n happcn~ tn the '>[,](king \elout~ whc11 thc carrh

Cooventional interpretatioo
1he first (_QI\l111C'nt S that thc otackmg \C]o 1ry dcpends, as wc ~a\'1., on thc n,xJlllllll ofhet u~cd m the .,,ckmg veloutv anal} SI~ flgun: 1 11, t,ken from , n:al
1 l-a 111 wluch tlw dll!Sotropy h,., lxcn nt>gle( tcd, tllmtr.ltes
(Flgnn: 4 11-b) 1 he d1fferencc
cqual to dcpth (typaal mute ahw)

Comequcutl~, most ol thc tune thc ckpendc11ct: of V""' o11 otf"oct 10 ncglccted and
rhc follo\'lllg convc11Uonal rule-of-thumh 1S u,ed 111 tlw mdustry.

(a)

D~e>v.aterdeJ>Ih

model

(b)~tacl..mgelucityasafunctionofmaxlmumoff<et

175

...

:!~:~~~~~~l~:t~~~ :;~h~r~~:~t~:eo~~~n~~~~c-;;~cr who as~umc.~ the pe,t'n~t' ol

h~Kmgt>nt:ity on]y Ir !S

intercoring, howeve1~ lo co!llfldit the aualy~~ tanied o~

to be hcrcrogeueou~ aud thdl wuh , ~ub~urfae cons1d-j
Firsrlv, 1f thc vdocit} aua]y.,s ts di ncd out omcntion~
nmc-off~et curve, equatmn~ ~4 El] ,md f4.20], uegkctin~
that the
m thc V rr medium i~ controlled by
lfl)'l'r llclHe, even fOrvny
not be a vert1cal veloCit)
10 demunou,tc
wc un,gmc an
homogeneous modei,
equnalcnt tu thc hctcrogcncous Isotropic oue Th1~ lcads lo the f(llowug 'rule-ofthumh' cqtuvaknt tn rclatiOnshp f!J 22]

111th rhc suhsmface

crcd

d~~umed

l h1s last chOI(C 10 JUSI one opllon J:quatwu f4.::W]

tlldt th1s case Is mon
lompl!catcd and would be unprovul b} spllltlng the effecUve medtum 1nto lavers fOr
a bctter inte!p!etatton Theoe 'laver cake' mcthod~ wtll be ,dche'ioed extensi,dy in
Chapte1 8 The mes~age here, once agan1. 10 that an~>otwpy adds a uon-ti'I\'Jal leve!
ofomplexty to the hetcrogeueous case, \dliCh unfortunatdy ex1st<; 111 the eaithl

Meani.ng of the fourth order parameters

It we caii) out a thn:e-teJm or fourth-ordeJ anal)>!~, as.,ummg thdl recordmg !S
carrwd out wllh au offset sullinently long for the mea.,urcnleuts to be cons1dered
rehabk, au eXlid term io obtamed
A.ssunuug a polyumlllal
baoed ou equatlon [4 15], and ueglccting
the two terms
and b(t,) obtamed can be mte1 p1eted b~ companng
equation
13] w1th [2.11 ], Le
a(t 0 )""Vnn<(t 1,),

b(to)= functJon(to, V m>' v(4))-

[1 24]

Ifthe ea1 rh ~~ as~umed am~ot10pu, we mu~t {_omp ..11e equat1011 [4 Ir1] V>'lth equauons
f4 E.ll. [4 20] aud [4 21], fwm which we deJl\'e rhat

a(t 0 )==V""'"(t 11 ),
b(to)o:-function(to, vnmollell ).

[4 25]

l"he nwanmg of \'.,,.., m rhe aJU~otropiC case should be 1emembcred It IS an 'nns'

averagmg of the Inten,] \ """" Jt~df dependanr on the m tena! \eitHal elocn
and the mteJval delta paramt:te1
/"he pa1ameter b 1> tontrolkd b~ the parameter
ILIT Tht> two me..tstnements
,nd 11... do not enabk us to obtan1 the th1ee
parameters totallv de~cnbing the modd In p,rucular, the three-term \cloutv aualy

176

s!S doe" not g-1\T <lCCC~s to \"'(o ,,), and lwucc not to tlw deprh
vrl) wnple modd

1,

t\Cu lor

tht~

Velocity analysis with dipping reflectors

The isotropic case: classical Levio's formula
tJ,weltmeequaunn
,eneoll'> and ~utropll medmm o!
~omrtr} 15 tlluotrated 111 Fgure 4 12 In
figu-e, we sh~Jw ~rendar rap orrcspmul1ng lo \armm offocr~. but to the same ~hoi-J'tlCJ\TI IIJ!dpomt, heuce MnmlatIllfl" tt . f~ uflongmg to a .,ame b111 Gcometn_a] c:Jn~Jcr,\tlnns ,nd '>UHIC .1lgebra
]c,d 1o thc cquanon of naveltunc .1~ , lunr]on of offset, lirst pubh;hcd by J.evlll

nw

!971)

t'(h)o!;+~
(~'~osef

['i2GJ

denote~ the lime fm Lero-ofhct 1kncc It IS the two-way tnnc

N-X," whH h ts thc llOJTilaiia~ cmerg1ng tn X,.P
analogy wtth e_uatmn ('1 IJ, (aud p1ov1dcd the e.1rth !S rcally homogeneous),
, ~I.J(king \doOl} .1nalysb pcrformed under the.,c _undJtuns wou]d y1cld a stackmg
\elOCil\ V,.~,, gJVeu b~

ln thto et[tl<lttun, t,

In rhe hm11o~e11eom medJulll, rh1~ lmmuill<; exan, a11d the ~ta< kmg veloclly exh1b1ts
no depe11deme 011 maxnnum uli>et, a11d
equal \',,.,,. Huwe\TJ, the
~ratklllf{ velont~ show~ a
the refkctm This is the
fi1 01 llmt> we oh~en't"
l'vloieovn,
4 12 shm\'i
m
gather along
equalloll [4 211], we sum IC1le<l1011S belo11gmg lo
chffc1Tnl lo<atm11o on the
tht~ 1'> the well-known nflerlum-jJomt \j!leadtng.
Both otatk.mg \douty depe11de11ce 011 d1p and rdkttron-poml ~prc,dmg lcd to the
de\clopnrent ofDMO 111 tht> 191-\(h, which will be addressed m a later se<liOn
Stacking velocity and dip: the anisotropic case
1n the <a~e of alll~otrop), e' en 111 a homogTneous medmm, H 10 drfficult ro genelaltze th1; formuL1 furrhcr, <;lll<e a 11Umber of orher effe<t~ become 1nvohed. For
lil~talHe, the formul. m L2 71] exp1T;s pha;e \clocity d'> a lumtion ofrhe '11<omsen
p.rametef'i, yct rn order lo <alculate tr.neltuneo we abo 11eed to m.Jke use of group
\elont1e~ l11 adchtwn, the vclonty "11l dt>pend on the propagatmn angle, 'illlce the
energ) 1\lll 1101 pmp,gate w1th the same velout~ 011 H> outgolilg a11d uuonung path~
for a gwen offset
Fm exampk, m the s1tuatro11 11lu;trated 111 FlguiT !J 13-a, o[ a d1ppmg reflecto
~rtualed u11de1 a homogeneous amootropu V'l J mednm1. we observe that the .reroofF;et 1ay 1; rectrhuear he<ause the med1um 1~ homoge11eou~. ~eltt 1~ not perpendiu]a lo tht' 1TflectOJ; as would he the <a~e tl thc med1um l\e1T <;otrop!C 'Lhe ray
propagare; w1th a
a11glc 6, the relat1on~tnp
betwet>n the
[1 :'JH]

178

at ern-ofher will be equ,] to rhe rclkctor's d!p O 1 he g-ruup

an abo ht> deduced tiom O, E and , usmg equatlnm
, retlelled ldV rclmded w1th a half-olhet h. Snell\ law of 1elkctwu m

equ,1non
;JfiJ!lioonupH
(140)). ho\1e\e1; ougg-csted a
appm"- 1m,tmn ro the van,tlon 111 thc nmo \elm H)
and weak anJSOtmpy, rh1~ e],nwn~hp b wntLen,

\',,,

"'th d1p 6 for a VI

model

fu tlus exp1essmn. V,,, (O) 1~ the muo \Tlouly f01 1.ero dtp. as gJVt:n m
[4 ltll \ni,otop~ rc,tturcs 111 thl~ fonnula \la tht' parameter , whl]sr a
also ;ecn, ~mibr to th.;r 111 lhe Le\ m d1p tum. Ir ts pn:nsdy th1s d1p whJCh JS corIU ter! Oo1 .tn J~otrow caoe) b) the dip mo\eoul {D:\10) proces~ ddincd later m thc
;

the tcnn {1 +siil'tp).

, tt'Hn fatorlled by (E-). wtulh hencc (ameb out 1u dhpnc.llmedJa
Til!S 1,Jtlt'I tt'Jill lS thus an Jud!Cato ofthe impal l of ,ndlipticit\ on thc \'a!Iatwn of
111110 \donty wllh d1p Ts\aukm
dt>mon~u,nul that lfm rmelltplral)
1.1
In thi, examplc, thc paramcters ill'C
deii\ed from _un: mcasurement~ \''"" = 3301::\
13-b correoponds to the te! m
1 e thc ontribution of the
am>cJtropv lo thc vaatwn m
e\prc.,.,ed by Lt:\lu'> formula In
\illl..tllon W1th clip that c,nnot be a_tounred fOr
formt~Ll (a torrect1on "h1ch alm<; lo _,ny

a,

Transformation to zero-offset via tite DMO correction

Why is NMO oot sufficieot in the preseoce of dip?
In rhc lolllmmg ~ectmm, 1\t: 1eturn to the ;otrop_ 1\orld where tht' equal!nns
;IJe <~ g1t>;U deal ea>lei to handlc l he weakness of tllt: 1\:\IO co redwn ]Lllle cleaJh hn m thc ~mphCJty ol thc undedymg horuonr,llv stratdlcd modd. Other, mol'C
gt'uocral11ed appio.tchcs IM\t' bet>n proposed \\'e havc ,Je,!d\ meul!Olled the WOJ k

179

ofl.cvm (197l), who g,l\'e a l(h) limnnla lora thppmg-rn,rkcr 111 a 3D homog-eut<ous
medwm, leadi11g lo a ~ta kmg ve!()( ity expresscd a~ V/ os(dip)
fh1~ 1~ 11\uslratcd m 2Il 111 .Figure 1 12, wherc the pmut P Iepie~enl> the retlt"(:.
tmu poinl for the Illldpomt tr,ce x .. , ami o!Tset 2h 011 , rdk lm wilh a clip fl The
tia\ellunc a\o11g rhe palll ~Pr 1s g1ve11 by cquanon [1 261
Ir 1~ c;-;enual to note liom tht~ fcnmula lhe tlldt llllle t, (more oftc11
'' rhc tnnc alo11g the normal
rf N 'lhe wmmm,-m;dpo;o,

for 'e1smu data ~howu m F1gure 13, thc

temain
on Il' cornnmn-olhet garhcr at coordmatc X,,., as illustrated lor in;Ldtl(t" 111 F1gure
114-b

not olfopond to the ~ame

pomt For example, the trac gathe X.,,
mJude-; a trace fo1 a rene t1ou al Q at off~et ::!h, as well a~ a ti ate fo1 a rene twn at
pomt P wnh , Jfferc11t ofhct h, ,~ ;hown m Fgure 1 14-b Any pnst-1\"~HJ stack as
de>tribcd m thc pre\iou~ ~ectJnns, will add nformatiOn otiginaring trom 'ieveral diffcrenr ~ubourfacc pomt~

......
-

~-~_,_"_i~---_'e-_~
:""~,__ ._""-'
!
1

..

_+---

(a)DepthmndeJ(rrumFgure4.12)

(b)i\lidllointgatheratX,,.=4000

180

.
<(h,l

7'~

Thts
Lt'llll

111

.111tearm; phcuollleiiOn, 4heady mn .-~hove, 1\4'> quannfit<d by

{~ce F1gure 4.14-4 f( uol4(1on)

2D ao Iollows

2h 2

bl""--sin8 cos8,
VlN

l bxl""~=~sm8.
eos8 VtN

l!J29J

Ihe DMO m DtjJ AJmeout opt>l.-ltJou was ptoneered 111

c1\ problem 1 he ongmal pnm1ple (fudson el ol 197{-i,
tirst published
u11de the commerClal 11ame 'Devih~h lt wa'i 011!) ~ome ~ear~ larer that the 1dea V.'aO
tulh
ndu~ll), but 1t hao ~!me been rhe <;ub_tt:Cl ofa large uumberofpublc,ztJOII'>,
thar o! Deregow~ki ( 1()Hfi)
DMO !San opti4l!Oll that hao beeu >ylfemat1u!Uy uf1Jhed m rf{ jm!l.f'l.\!ng }equena1
lor dec,des Although, 1t is incn:aomglv heing replaccd by 'Kmhhoff prest,zck Lime
mzgranon' 111 todav~ procelng (a method dJscu~~ed 111 C:hapter 7), 1t remdm~ a very
unp01taut opt:Iatm m the proccsomg loolbox
1

Principie and basic equations of DMO

4 14 and 4 15 illuotiate the D:\10 protedurc of fmn1jonnmg a
rJjj1fl 2h lo one al
If all tommon-ulbct sel nono
thcu thc
lLm<,fonned mto the ~ame

181

advanrag~ ultht> dat.L rcJund.mly (01 mult1-lold overagel ah~<tdV encouurered m

Chaptcr ') wc now expla111 how dn~ g-oal rs ICiKhcd
Imtcad of f:,>10Upmg trace~ toguhei by common 1111dpomt, \'e gwup thcm by
comwon ofhet. a~ ~hm,n 111 F1gure ~~ 1:\, deta1lrng thc vailou~ ava1labk g:athcro m 2D Hy onve11tn11, cach trace on a rommon-ofEet ~ccrion IS pmitioncd at thc abscis<,, of lh mtdpomt. Cornmon-ofisu n:~pon~e~ ofa hut>ar fhppu1g rencctor 111 a hornogeueotl~ mcdium are >howum Figure J!.l::i-b [o variou; common-oiT'iet >t:ctrono: the
unagc of lhc Idlector l'i ~hown for olbct~ ol 1300 .-md ;)000 m, a., wdl as for 7t:rootlsd, wJnh
0~10
po1ut 1' 111 Figure 4 15-a (the same a~ Frgun: 4 12-a)
re orded wilh offset 2h,. will be ptNttoued on thc 2h, common-olfset <;e tlon verti-

Equally,
(ra~> ~hown

X,u

rn Ftgure

ob\iou~ly al a diffcn:m time

t(h,)
Rt:(all rhat the goal of the O :VIO operauon !Sto t1an~form rhc onnno11-offser
scctron mto the >e<.tJon that would havc be-en tccorded wtth a zew souHe-n:ceJver
oflser 2h "' O \\'hcrc would rhe rdle( twn po1nt P be recorded and J~plaved Wlth a

t 2 (h}==t~+-4 h 7 ~~s:Sod~.f ~~2 --~h"~i; 1 ~.

l430j

rhc rcnl! (2hf\')' ~ugge>l'i the appJranon of an :"JMO corn:ct1ou wrth \elo(tty \:
l!w, lcad~ toa 11ew tlllle t',, defined bv

e(h)==t~+~,'-

f431J

2-~n8 =p=~:-

[432]

As the \aJuble p ts nol cxphntl) depc11dcnt on Y, thc 0).1() opcrathm a11 he bmkcn dovm iulo lv.o '>Kp~
-\n nutwll\IAJUwnectum ;_'t/h 1'1'/ont) F, a<cordmg to cqu,\tmn lJ! 31], thl~ 1~ the
(Onertion wev.ould apply for a 7t:JO dtp rc!1ector
.\ ocumd (Ol'IC({vc ope1at1o11 whcrc rhcre 1~ no long-er any expll(Jl depcndC11<t: ou 1 do< tl), onl~ on thc .1pparent dtp of lhe rdle< lm v..uh time

182

(_l<;Jll);"thr v,1nabk., rlcfincrl abO\C', we c,m .,J10w that thc DMO late la] 1111!-jT,lllon dJs(u.,mg tllt~ not.HIOII of F1guw 4 12), IMsed un equatum~ [4 2Gj
ranuo. b" =
and 11 291
tan be V>Tillen .ts

t~
to =

~t;-.-(h p):

[4 341

Jntrw>tmg-lj. thr~r la~t

runfirm that. onte an NMO correcuon tiom
w1th \durlly
been appl1erl ro thc Jata. thc DMO uperation
on the ullocl v,1luc ancl the apparcnt umcrllp p = rlt,/rl"
tu empluy ri1e term 'DMO tunettlun' unly fur thc toncttlun tcrm
and H 34], namdv whrn the N~\0 tmTettwn ha.,
llus l> thc ddimtmn
atrrarh bren
that \\f' u>e m

Dealing with all possible dips: the DMO operator

\\e can .,ee dearh that fur p =O, 1 e furhun7unt.~l nent., un the 7eruuffset oectwn. L'l.x = O anJ t, =
]n thJo sJtualwn, the tunrcuun ,.,di tullap,e tu a ,mgle
l\"!0 oJTeClJOll
nun7Cruuff~ets, huwe\Cr. the D:\10 turJ-et uon wdl cuntam a lateral tumpunent Ll.x, anJ a nun-zeru \ertlt\11 cumpunent 1n
tlw tmm of a tune rorrcrtiun [[~ the~e dipdcpenJent curretti\e tumpunenls that

n~~,

,lJld

Th1s locusl> l..nuwn ,,,

Ihe shapc of ri1c dhp~e dcpenJs un h,
ume
Jt no lunge1 ~hol'.s am dependence un\' Th1s clhpse ~~ partltllllpunantm rhr .Kuul llllplemcntauun uf DMO Tlus aspcct '~ de\dupcrl m
the ncxt oert1un, hut
tu thJ~ 1t muot be po1nted out that cath pumt un thc
J he DMO dlipoe t<llJ hcnre

In

hgwe

183

In ,lrlrlltwn, we al&o l..nu1\ thitt the poso;1bk \dlues of the ume-d1p puna zero-offset
sert10n are mcvtably con~lrdllled bell>een the honzunt,l reflector CdSe where the
lllllC-tp Js ECHJ (m thc homogcncous ca~e) dnd rhe vertttdl reflector 1'.-htch has a
maxlllllllll time time-rlip p = 2f\T T!m mean~ thdl DMO nugration wll only be
tJOS'>thle along- the .ut of the clltp~e rlescnbed b1

.Vote m 1fn1

lillf

the /wk btluem d1j1,

and tire ltmtts of !he DMO operalor.

Thi~

torrc,pondeme ~~ u~crl
tu
the Or.lo uperatur, either to protert ag-atmt aha~mg orto liher out unrcahsttc apparent thps dunng the DMO opcr.ltJon, a'i l'.t!l be seenlater

Applying the DMO operator: the convolution approach

We have u~t ub~cned the d!~placemclll (Ll.t, tl.x) that a rellectJon underg-oes when
hum 11> ong-mal posttwn on , commun-oftset ~ectJun tu liS theurencal po~J
tton on <1 Lero-uflset sernon Frum tlw.we ha, e bccn able tu deduce equatwns [4 331
- [4 .~5], l'.luch go1ern the DMO nng-ratwn unre 1\ VIO ha~ bcen applieJ Hol'.e\Tl;
use of rhese lormnla~ mean~ that for each refkctwn, the localttme-dip at zcro-offset
t<; kH0\\11 at e\'el)' pomt un tlw common-ofhet scttion, 1e that the result JS klwwn
e1en befure .Lpplyng- the currertwnl Tlus 1~ of cuur<;e 1mpu~~Jble m prattKe.
The pnnc1ple ol superposittun, alrearly menuoneJ 111 Chapter 3, , thercfore
unce agan 111\0ked tu recreate the zeru-ufhel ~ectlun COJTespondmg toa 1ommonuff:,et secrwn
pa~smg

184

DSRt>JU<Uion [.~ 18]

p:,endo-hrperhola underg-oeo; Iirsl an NMO rur recllon, lhe
"\J)..IO-tuneued pulnt lhcn beng ~pre,1d aloug- lhc
elhpsc The
result wll be ,1 >IJtn of .Lll thc~c clhpsc' (thi~ lcnd~ ro thc
emdope wherc, as HJ our rlag-ram, lhc ~eT~llHt ;tgnz.l; assnmerl to be an1mpul~c)
Tlw; re~ull g-tYl"~ thc Jffranion hyperbola familiar lo geopln '>lC'>lS, and ; thc rcsult
th.tt ''ould ha\c bccn ubtamcrl wllh an au]Ul<;lliUII array 1\"hcre lhe ;uurre I'.,Js vcf)
do..,e to the ;ngk TTtel\TT

; l'.hdtl'.e required the

tu perlunn
'lprc,Jdmg a magnJlurle prupunwnaltu thc value o! a pumt over ,1 :,ectwn. ami
tepcaring thts operalion lur all poinrs m thc section by summmg lhe re~ult, ~~ tlw
<"Xdrt Jefhutiun ot a tl'.u-Jmlell5JOnal c(lnvuiiJt!Oll U\Tf thc :,ct IJOIII'.Ith
opu.ttur The DVIO upet\Jton "hence a 2D comulutJOll operatwn,
cxpLuns

185

l'h,~ mute
.tpparcnt Jips
g-reatcr than
mute upcr.ttur\ ~!ul'.ne~s valiJe Thi> 1~ one of the rea~un~,., hv an
mcre.1~c m the ~Jgn,li-ro-noJ>e r.ttJU 1> uftcn obsen:cd pu~t-D.\10 Dc~pirc th1s,' the
rmlle ~huuld he apphcd <Hth (<!Te, ro a\uJ usdul nlormaliOH bcmg dmlliMlCrl

The 'log-stretch' strategy

,\s llgtJre 4 lH >hm,~, thc uperator depenJs onlt'> tulle ofappl,catJOJl
tcular cumulunun oper.ttwn UIII!Ol rherdure be ,1ppheJ d1renly
a ~nnple
WJthm the hHt!Jer clumam r\e\crthekss, a (hange m
a rdercn(e tune t 1 , un be perlormed as fullow~

186

WJlil thc eqtutwn tul the

D~\0

upc1atur

thc ncw

lug-uf~tuuc'

coorduMtes thcn

!JellJt;"\UJtiCil

n 11 ~

ope1alor JS no lung-cr elhptn al, ,md Jt no long-cr \anc> WJth tune, -.mee T.,-1'

m lo d<..t mmt dunug nwdcrn ~~1) acquJ~Jtl(lll

11 ~hould be remembered that m tlu~ g-eomdnca.l DMO ,!ppro.Jth, l'.e lMve
rk-.\JJbed thc elllptKaln.ih\fC olthc D.\10 opeutur. butl'.c ha\ e not t.cJ...lcd the ddfi(Uh problew uf rhe amphturle apphed <tlong- 11

Applying DMO using Kirchhoff summation or the 'integral method'

lu rile prcv]{HJ~ ~ection. we shO\>ed what bec<tme ol il point on il common-ofhct
oe 11011 \\ heu tran~krred tu the C01Te~poiJ(lJTlg ...:eru-ufhct seUJOll 1e the D~\0
'\'e nuw consJdcr the uncrse problem 1 e huw to calculate a ~pe-

l!lclt\ 1d1Jal contnbutlom

each putnt 011 the
that thc DMO upcr.ttor Jntenert~ tlu~ spcnfit
DM() operatur g-Jvt'> 11~ clJJetllj thc eqtutwn uf
thc,e pont'>. lt t'i thennecc~sa!J ~unply tu 1cwnte
,]g<"IH<~ bccume;

'JMllltU!at pmnl onlhc .reru-uffset sct non therdurc appcars as

>um ollhe t\ ~cctwn ,unpltturlc'i, alung the cune rlefincJ bj equ,JIJon

187

(a)",\-10-corredcdcommon-offsctsection

{b)Zero-ollsctseclionafterDI\'10

D\10 oper.ttion can be wntten as

!'he 1\CJg!Hs w are mnodmeJ hert> ro emphasue the fact th,u HIS mdecrl a weghtecl sum along lhe curve Jd'ined 111 equatw11
Sullllar l'.eJghts .u e also ion11d
lhev govern the \arialiun m amph.t!ong the dhpiJcal cumulution
turk~ dunng lhe DMO operatw11
are rumplex. ancl mdude a temIO the _w term cncou11tercrl m the Kirchhotf

Sorne comment>. on amplitude

D:\10 uperalwn wuulrl aJm 111 pariKular to

varianum 111 rhe rdkctJun (udf[(ient 1Hth oHSet The ,,ave equ,lt!On
propag,umn betwce11 o11e ofFset
and .mother, grven bt>luw, dlectwely pernuts th1s It c,n be ~hown that ,1 pu\t-stack
lollowing thJ~
thc be~t possJble re~ulut1011.
,fter ~U(h an uper,lliUn
1s no longe1 puso;Jblc, ~mee .t!l
the mfonnatJOn nece"'i) hao; alrt>.td)' been de~trujed
.\nother appru,Kh (OIJSJ,ts of s1mph tl"}mg ro corrct t 1he kmemauc d!',torllun'i,

188

and 1n contrast to the prevtons approa<.h, pwwrve AVO mjnrmatwn lllls ts k11own .ts
arnjJhturL'-fm'.lenwd DA10 Huwen:t, the resuh ts not phystcally 11gotuu~ and the1t>fure
u 1kulating- thc Welglw, w, 111 equatiun [4 40]Js nut ge11crall~ e,tw
the ume-dtp and depe11d u11 the rc-,IJ!t dt>>Jrerl, on tl1e often Jfregulat
011 rhe conJnHm-oiiSet se< tium (a huye a\1 in 3ll). a11J 011 the .mththaomg- rechmqne
cach appltt.ltton ueah th~ m a Jtflerent w,n, but
11 ,erl on the
ahJ'll rule.,
011 7el0 d1ps

DMO as a 'mgraton to zero-offset'

1hC' ~ 1 nu1,ntv between app1ymg L)\fO n~mg- ~mnmatiOll, othcrwt'>(' knuwn <ls thc
the ll"e ol the Km hhofl i11tegtal fur back-prupagat1ng sctSlllK
h,t, led to the method be1ng known a~ Kmhlwjj D,'\!1() l'hc .malogy 1'
usdul
In thc one tase, I'.C me the w,tve e'luatton to bad,-propagate the l'.a\efield at
a g-1\ell dcpth lOI'.ards '' hat l1 ,.,a.,, for example, at thc pomt dttliartor wlnch
rc-enlllleJ 11
In the uthcr case, thc D)..IO case,, l'.avefle!J rccorJt>d at the surtace wtth a
toward the walclidd that wuu!J ha1e

lh1s
equdlJOIJIS wntten (Fome!,

l~J~l:J),

(441]

tlu~ equanon from h lo O, we are .Lble to pa.,s frum a11 oflset h tu a

the -,e< nou at ufhet has the mitial cundiriu11 Till& appro.Lth c.m
or cour '>e be extended b1 ddi11mg a tl amlormatJull c11ablmg us tu mmT from any
lo another h, Hub1al d al (19!)6) cxpanrled thts 1dea furthe1; mtro-

DMO and regularzation

,/

cncuu11tered \Hth
prestad. n11grat1m 1n Chaptc1
llnport,mt a'>peu:. ul ,unpJ,tude-prcsened O)..IO
1 he trate mtcrval
~elltull <; also mdcpendcnt ofthc methuJ and
,~a trace nterpolator, ,,hJCh can be \Cf) cumen1\C \\<1111 a ~horter Trate mterval 011 the final

lit'

189

DMO in the Fourier domain: The Hale andjakubowicz methods

H<tk
propo~ed an apphcatron ol UMO usrng a Fuuner tr.msfurm which,
pwblem ul <alcul,JtJBg thc werg-hto ,mrl aiMSIBg- upcr.Jtor rn the.
Knchhutl D~IO mctlmrl
tnne-dp p. the J)~\0 mig-rauun u! 'mapprng'
<.mbewnttcn(Hlarkl'lo/
Je,ohc~

by equauons
intu the I<ouner
grven trme-d1p \alue p =
(UITe~pond~ m thrs
tu .1 straght lrne u[ slope
p p.lssng throug-h the
uJiglll L"he caku!dtJull> lead tu .1
althuugh not ex,Ktly a Fo11rier translurm, wlnrh allo1'' us tu Sl'.ttch between
lllllc and lrequt>JH' domams Tlns
means, hm\t\cr, that the calculation:. ami the mcthud Jt~df become p<lrticularly
In addrtiOil, a~ the mcthud rehes un,, I<ouncr tran~furm tu pass
11 a~~umes. f(r nunencal effincncy, a reg11lar tTau; ulterval un thc commun-uf1set :.ecuon:. fh~:. a<lS as a m,l)or cun:,trarnt. ao; l'.e have already ~een
Nevcrthde'is, thr'i methuJ 1~ (Ullsrderrd the 'ben(hmark' lo whrch uthen are cahbratcd
,

jJ

d(dx
rs a:, fu\lu,., s
A ~ene~ ol p, ,,t!ues fur 1 = 1 ton bctween O anrl p,,. .u-e dcfinerl
Fu1 ,l \alue
a transfu1m 1~
tu thc coJTJilion-offsct scCl!Ollll~lllg
rclatmnslnp:.
= p, '\Jutc that tlu~ opcralmn r~ larcrallrun,lnant fu1

out
Thi~ opcutlun JS then repeatcrl lur all p,
Fmally ca< h Jll{hvlrlual re~ult 1> summed tu ubtam the fin,] fero-ofhet DMO

Thrs method 1s cffrnent JliU\JJed the number ol lnnc-drps p userl remam:, \,mued,
the numbe1 bemg- determ,ned by the auuis1tiun parametel'> and the dc.,ired qualilY uf the rc'iult lt> exten>~untu 'ID .tnd tu vanable \elo<Jtr 0\f, wln(h 1~ fhscussed
late!; 1s su,ughtfon,arJ, ,J]though 1t reqwre'> a regular trace nllenalrn x. as m the
Hale method

DM0in3D

190

(a) 3-0 common-otlSd data volumf

-~D <~cqu~HJon

1'> that m thc laucr. lhe suUICe and reCcJvcr .t7Jmulh ,ll"e van.~ble, due
lo l,tble feathellll)l;, to muluslwamer .~cquJ~lllOll or ro CTO~'> shuot1ng- 111 lancl sun--cys
fo de.! IHih tln,, 1hc l),\[0 dlipt1cal uper.ttor IS posmuncd m lhe vertttal plane
through thc ~ourcc and rece1ver ~egJTwnt ol the trace ro be tran~formcd
~huwn m hgure 4 20 Tu rc,ICh tlus 101ponaTH re~ult howC"\TI, ,1 nurnber uf
geornct1 Ka] .l~JWCb mnsl be takcu mtu ac cuunl

Geometrical representation of DMO in two and three dimensiom

\-, ~t.Jled ahuve. thc mude! that the con;t,mt-lelontv J)\f() tcchni<")tW 1~ b.tsed on
1> lh,u o!" <1 humugTncou:, subsufilce \\'e nol'. ~ee.k. rhe depdl moJd thal wunld cortl1i11 1'>, tu a ~mg-le

191

..,
rht lit~t, wdJ-known pmperty JS that the ~llnl of the dJ~l<iiiLe~ frum <lll)' poin,
on the dlip~c tu the two Jon w.ll ,l!wa)~ be cun~tant Su wl1atevet the pomt oq
1hc depth elhp~e, the propagatwn tune from rhe so~rcc toa pu1nt on the el!ip;
tiCal relkt tor .mrl hack tu thc H'(etver 1~ the ~ame lor ,111 pumt~ on the ntlec:~

reple>ents a &pecular ourface a~ a resnlt of the ~<X:ond

mau1
propcrty of the elhp~e. w!Hrh slates that the normal at
eH'l)' pomt 1~ al~o the btse< tor ol tlw segment~ Jllllllg thl'> pomt to the two
ion
hum tlu~, we can ,l'i(ert<un that the 1mage al thc nuiJ-.lero offset ?h, thc dtstanc~
the fu 1 of rhe dhp~c, l> Jndeed a umquc relkcuon po~Htonerl at the
anJ ltme t,, the propagation tune lm the rd1ection frum sonne to
elhpsc 10 n:CcJn:r, for ,my relkcrwn po1nt M on the dhp~e (F1gne 4 20"b).
1 he ~Jze o(
the rlepth dumam 1Hll JepcnJ un thc half-otl'set h and
homugcneuu'i mcrlmm Tlm ellif!Se 1\ tlrr non-uro-offiet
nflei/ron
aL twvdtmre t . Anuthcr ""ar
thtS

Tu obum the mpuhe rc:,punse uf the DMO, l'.e now smph neerlto rcmemher
that DMO IS the ttan~formauon of a non-/ero-offset ~eclon Lo uJJe at 1ero-off~et. In
uur cxample,
morlclhng. 1 e by rav trating
with normal tajS,
elliptical
model. Jtsclf dcrned from the 1mpulse's
depth mgrat1un un the nun-7cru-offsct ~e< uun
For an ul't'IYICW uf ray-ba:,ed murlclling and mgraton technJfJUC~, thc rcader
shouid rder to Chap1e1 5. Nonc thc k'i~, tlus geomettJ< al tnterpret,ItJOn ol DMO as
a non-zcru-oflset mgr,nwn lullowerl by a 7CTu-oll~et moddlmg, (arrwd out w11h the
~ame constant vtlocity, g1ve> anuthcr pcrspective on 0\f lt enabk., us, for
mstanre, tu unden.tand mtwtneh l'.hY the D:\10
not on veloCJty
\: but soldy un time, sJncc ''e ~ec that
lhe vcloulv dunng the modelhng phase compen5ate'i lur that dunng thc mgr,ton phd~c
fhe eXlClhiUn tu three d11nensun~ JS ,Ihu maJe castel by th~
prdallon :\1 ute that, lor fairly ubvwu~ ax1al svmmcll) rca~on~, ,
subsurface
morld m the :,hapc uf , rutatwnall~ srmmctncal ell!p~onl, whose IJOJJzont,t! dXJS is
the ~traght hne joimng thc ~hotpu1nt lo the reccivcr anrl who:,c gcneratnx JS the
\(TIJCal dhpse descnbeJ abu1T fur thc ~-D case, ,.,,JI abo )1;\Ye , unque rdlectJon at
fur tnne t, ThJ> 'half mgby-ball-~hapcd' elhp~oidal rdle<Jor, 'ihown m FiWJrt
ts the 3-D unpuhe rcspon~e fur a prestack dtpth nugrat1on at non-zero-ofl~
>ctand
In the samc ,.,av,
Jo snmlar rca~uwt~>unatcrl wHh the symmeln ,md t.he
prupcrtJc~ uf thc norm,Il, muddlmg thts three-dJmcnsonal objCCl ,t .rero-otl\et will
gvc cxactly thc ~ame ei!Jpllc.tl 0.\10 opcrator m the \crucal o;hot ,nd JTCellcr p!ane
as m 2-D. In dfe< l, all nurnuls to thc rotauonally srmmelrital dhps01d wdl pass

range of d1ps n ~patc (slope'> and anmuths) uJrre&ponJmg tu the tangcnual planes
tu the elhpsolll of rnolunon, anJ that a parrtui,Ir puml un tht<; uperaror alluws

192

JJllJgmg ol .tll dtp> m the 70ne >~tuated on the senncHdc C ou FI,rut"C 4 ~O 1 he

oper.Itor I!> G>o-dunenstoual, bur n.tnsfl)rm~ a rdlectmn rt:'{_Oided with an ofhet 2h
mto ._ rccordmg motlellcd at 7ero-off~et, whatever it.s rltp or a7imurh in 3-D ~pa< c-

Sampling of the DMO operator in 3-D

Appl)mg ,ny 2-D opetator, mdudmg thc lJ\10 operatoJ, 1n a ~amplerl :l-D
donuin poses d parTicular ~arnpling problem, "lllth 1!> tllustratctlm Figure 4 21 rhc
amplitude for thc- tntce !>ample di rhe CMP .1nd tlmt' t. 1nil be '>trt't< hc-d along thcOMU opnator m the vettl(a] pLme pa~~lllg through the soutLc dlld tT<t'ncr
Hol\'('1'<"1, thi~ !>pa{_e 1~ ~ampled mto bm1 ul fin1tt' s1ze, dnd the <,ource-It'Ct'tver .,cgtnl'lll .,]Jown m Ftgmes 4 20 dnd 4 2lmtcneds the;e hm~ m a haphazard and trreguldf\\,1\.
Mure olten thdn not, tlus chffitulty !'> rc-sohcd bv a pragmattc (alb('!t appmxlmat!l .tppro.Kh, 111 whl(h the opcr.ItOI's '>ampk 1~ posiwmc-d at thc- {_('nfre oftltt' bm
cmsserlll\ the segmenl, antl the dfCct!Vt' rlt.,tancc of the St'gmeut from the bm'~ centre, as \\el! as the lt'ngth of the ~c-gtnt'nt. .1rc both dtsreg.Irded
An ,ppmach ln\Oiv!llg samplmg theor) was propo~cd by Bt'a>lcy and Mohlt')
( 1988) 1 hc- couccpt 1!> >~mpk ,\ contmuous funcnon ~hould nor bc- >ampled unks~
an ,ntt-,tliasmg filter hd~ bc-nt apphed bet(Jrc-hand, ensurmg that al/ frequenct's
th..tt do no! penmt pre'>erv.mon of the ongmal chosen ~amplmg rarc- .1re remo;t'd
1 hts JS lrned out by applvmg the !>amplmg thc-orem, and f worl.~ a~ wdl n 1-D f01
.1timc hmltu)n (..t' lor m>tdurc t'\Cr) t1me 2 ms ~etsmtt data 1s rc-samplcd dt ~1 m~),
a> m 2-D or 3 D ;vhen dealmg \Hth a rontmuou~ Impulse opcrator, such .!'> the DMU
thdt mw,r be sampkd on
l"he concepf ~~ ~hown in F1gure

"

applK..tlJon of .Ul ann-dlt.I.,mg filter arlapterl tu the hm ~llc-,

~.nuplmg by t..tkmg the value ol the !>pat1all) dnt1-al1a.,c-d Dl\10 operator at the
<t"lltre ol the bin> conrc-rncd

(a)DMObmnm;:

(h)Propernm>lin;:ofthe
3-D DMO opentor

193

3-D convolution approach versus Kirchhoff DMO methods

Verv schematiCally, the 3-D convolulion application of DMO 1~ then as !ollovs:
hntly, clara are bmned and ~or ted by olht't rangc-s w1thm a bm, thu> creatmg
'conunon-ofhet hm cuhc-~
Dueto trrt:'gularitie~ n thc- arqul',irion of mmt 3-D ~unqs, e<1ch bm cornpnst'& d \ aruble numbt'r of trace,, C'd( h ~< tth ~hghtly Jfft'rent ofbt'ts dlld locations
wnh respett to thc- hlll {_ent1e, ami vauous d7nnuth~ \See e.g Fl,'l.ue~ 3 :!0 and
:~ 24} .\ c\dta Iegulanzanon pnxe l> then rt"tUirt'd at thi~ st.1ge
Tius proLe>~ Iuvohes ,\It'~Idu.II tnOVt'Out corre{_( Ion [(J {_Ompt'nSalt' for rravelunw c\~crc-p ..mcies dtw to tht' aLtu.tl oHset wluch I> dilterc-nr from the nomma(
olbet a~~Ignt'd to the tuhe lt
a]so rndude 'da~tiC btruung-' to aclneve a
rc-gul.1r tr,Ke count Hr each hm
modc-rn pioce&Mng, tht'~C' opt'r.ttioOs are
now repLwed by tr,tce' mterpotuwn
E.1ch tr,l(e m tht" rube 1~ then i\.\10-coiTC'Ctt"d vnth an rninal '>tackmg veloci1) ficld' (the term 'rno\c-out velocltv' lotdd .1lso be u>t'd ht"r-e}
E..1rh ~ample of a (now smgk) trdte lll a bm b ~pread ovc-r rhe DMO operator,
1\'tth tht' .tppwpnate wc-ight and antt-alta~ liltc-r .1pplied, ul.tng account of the
actual ~hot-ft'CE'Iver ,v:nnuth
Th1s opc-rauon Js repeated for <~ll bms m the mpur common-oHSt't cube
In thi-. wd}, the targt't tc-ro-otf~et data uJbc-, vduch 1s regular!} -..tmpkd by con-.uurttou. 1~ b'I'adu,IIly filled m each ne1> -.ampk f.tlimg at .1 gtvt'n time satnplc in <1 giVen output hin I'> .tdded to the existing- valut"
Tl11s 1~ rqwated for all cornmon-oiT~c-t urbe-s
The rr-.ult of thc-se ope'rdUons 1~ ,serie!> of N cuhe~ .11 .r.t'ro-olf>et, whtch ,hould a11
bt" Idc-ntJLII, pruvidt'd the &ubsurface uHlfrm~ to tht' hmnogenc-ous ~ubsurfrtce
modclm Ftgu1c- 4 14, \\htch 1~ the hast> ofrhe dt'vdopmt'nt of DMO theory, agam
allowmg ior mult1ple rd1ectJon~ and nOJSe
Tlns 1~ of cour-sc- a htghl} optnlll>ltc .~~~umptton, and ''T shallietUin to tt m the
nt"xt '>t'Ctton to invc-sug,ue pr.Kllcal apphc.ttiOn oi the lllt'thod

DMO and stack as a double summation

For thc- momenr we a~sume that tht' baste a-.,umptwns undedymg DMO are vahd.
Ead1 of tht'~t" tero-oftst't cubt's 1s then Mtmmed to obtam thc- 'D.\! O \talknl-r.>ulume'.
Tlus
{_Oll>!,tent wnh the aka of mulr-fold <OVt'r.Igc-, 1mpruve~ both
s1gnal-to-noise
prirnant's-lo-mtlltipk ratios. A particular t'xamplt' u~mg tM
D:\10 ~rackt'd nrbe 1'> the re~ult oi a doublc stunrnatlon
.\.n Illtt.I] ~ummatlon 1~ carnt'd out b) 01\10 m tht" (t' , x)-dom,un of rhe
NMO-corrertt'd cummon-otfsd settlon ll.p(h,
x).
.\ second ~uJl1m.Itlon (divided b) tht' numht'r
twn x,u, constan! along tht" oO".et
Thi> douiJic- sum c,m be wntten,

Stack(xM 1,t 0)=

-:0- w,
h

h,

11P0, (h 1,XMr ~ ffi.,,t,(t 1,l<r.x,))

[4 4:l]

~'

The .1mphtude at a pomr \uth coordm,lles (X,,, t,} m the Dl\10 stdck IS thus the

194

re~ult ol the ''c1ghted sum along surLlce S 111 Figure 4 2~ of tlle prc>tacl. data 111 tlu(x"'' 1" h)-domam Tlus suriau: S J!> ddined umqudy lilJ (x,,.. t,) and Vhy thc equa-

110!1., rl 31].md rt
ll-,c of D:\10
comphcatmg the subo,urLlce model >mcc- u tmolvc-s corrcctmg Jor .1 tacto! that, >trictly !>peakmg, l!> unkmmn, namdy, thc- dq1 It unphes an
add1tmnal '>urnmatwn for the :\1:\10 correctum to be C.Irrtc-d out HmH'\Tf, tlus surnmatum t> perfornwd IOr a lumted apertuJc, and thu~ I!> le~., cmtly than that
dc~nbcd m the exact mugmg pmcedure m equauon [:1 :!4] or [3 ~5].
\ , 111 KnchhoiT Imgr.Itwn, the .,pecular r.I\ Lom-c-pt Lan once .tg.Im he used whc-n
IH' '>Lek the LCto-o(hct nnagc lor thc poinr P onh th<IL p.1rt of the lJ\10 operator
1\hH ] "tangcnta] to the fmal zero-olbet unagc \Hllmakc a po~III\C tontnhutJon to
thc 'Uillll1<1tlon (!>ee Figure 4 16} flu~ \Hll abo rema1n true f the pmnt P ,., .1 pornr
thtll<tt tm On the surfare S, the >peLular Lontribuuon to thc fin<tl ~umnutJon of thc
Jmage 1m the potnt P wlll he along the 'so-p' ul!"ie shown m F1gme 4 2~

DMO and velocity analyses

The ideal case
.\lto>r DMO has bcc-n cdrned out, ~e h ..!\ ea number ol .,ectwn~ IHth difiere-m mitia] ntl.,ct-,, but each ofl'-hich h<1s been tran~formed to model d zcro-oHsct ~cuion

m the ll!ei.Iture, are m

wmmon-1ejleawn
..~~ dlu'>tr.Ited m Figure 4 23 J !u~ d1ab'l..tlll show> the g..tther
ro midpoim X, . .., from Figure 4 14 From the um.,rruction of the
llMo ,1( Ll!llt' t,. we obsene that the rdlet !Ion aL poun P 1ecoJded wnh ..tn ongu1.1l
V. JI! he on the tl.tce for an rmti<JI oil~ct h. \\hiht the retlcuwn ar the S<IDJC'
but \\Ith ..tll otf>er h, wJ! be lound on thc tta<e unicspondmg; lo <Ln \llltJ<tl

/!i!ll!f 01

' 0 ne~pondmg

195

o,

DMb,tacl

3
(h)Mld-IJOinlgatherallerDMO
X"r"'3400(X."'ml

The real-lifecase
lhe subsurf,Ke 1~ of (our~e hctemgenc-ous, anda grear deal more lomphcated
than
rht> mudt"l tlut we have' used a'> the ba~1s lor DVJO theory
Jt IS
theory that I'> apphcd m pr..tl(l(T The applK..ttwn ofD'M,
wh1le 1t doe> not e'nable us to obram the tdeall7ed re~ult ol Figurt' 4 :!3, provule> us
1,ith an approximdlt' rt"'>ult, such a~ 1s ~hown >chenMtJCall} m F1gnre 4 24 In thts
exanple, thc
cont"spondmg to ~e\ eral ddlerent offscts are- d1spld}t'd, 1\'htch,
onre DMO
<~ppl1ed, w11l ht"!ong to the >dme CMP gather Jocaled
Liter \\e show that tht> rdlerflon pomt> w!ll not
f01 the normal ray emt"rgmg at X.,,,
although m real life tlus efl'ect 1'
comcucne
correspoudmg to the >ame markc-r but dt difkrent ofht>ts wdl not be
pt>l[ectl: al1gned on the CMP gather Tlus phenonwnon, smcc- 1t h,s d >Jgnificant
eftt>rt on the qudhl} of the final summetlimdge, 1~ lorrectt'd 111 a pt.Igrnatil way as
follo\\ S
-\lte1 applpng lJMO ,md sortmg the trale~ mto C:\IP g.Ithc-r~, an mverse
NMO correl'tlOn IS applted \\Ith the velocuv w,ed m the onginal NMO rorrectwn pnor to D.\10
Ccrtam of the>e gathers are- tht>n scleued ror , ro'>t-D\10 1elouty analpts,

196

o"

o"

(b)Mid-point~ather

aftn DMO ll'ilh

V~., 0_,,;o

(c)Mid-(lllintgather
aflcrDMO,NMO',
finaiNMO

,lJld .1 st<1ndard st.tcl.mg velonty .tnaly~i~ on these 'de-<ornrtetl'

c,u-ric-d out
Jiu~ gl\es a post-DMO stackmg vdooty field
\elont} field ma} be \dnahle m ~pateas wcll as
nscd a~ the final NVJO vdouty, after mversc ~ MO and DMO

g.~tbers

I>

~<e show how

vahw, duJsc-n fm the COIIsrructu)n
<;ubmitted to po&t-lJVJO \dotit} <ln<d)SI~, h.1~ .mimp<lU 011 rhc final
\elont 'alues The1e 1~ thu~ an 1n1on~l'>Ten{_-y In the protc-tltJrc dc~utbed
abo\ e, ~llltt' the fina!Jmage ohtdlllt"d !!> one which pos<;c~sc-~ '\JMO \dontiC'> whKh
are dJffclent from tho'ie U>ed m the vdoot} .Inalys1s l'h1s prohlt"m !S
<;econrllkr,JtJOn of the .HU<e&s, although thJs IlcratJon 1~ gent"r.IIl}
kt\e llltlc impatt [ the mitial '\JVJO velouty wa~ carefull} cho~t"n
vdonties from a
~unT) can he usc-d, or a sldndard NMO
cndeanlllrlllg to pKk stackmg velocme~ corTero sub-honzontal d,p., Tht~ lattc-r appm.1th IS hased 011 tht" prev1ousl}
th.tt the prc--D:\10 i\ 1\10 correcuon vdotlt~' <Otrc-spomh to a

oftlw

gather~

~tacbng

J)MO, descnbc-d late! n th1~ di<lptt'r .tlld

ha> been developcd, bur 1t h.t~ nol
111 pr.tcnce
JHT~lack tune n11granon, de-.cnbed 111
p!O\Td to be .1 hettt'I opt1on than V(t) lJVJO m modt"rn pwce>'>lilg

197

applK.ltJoll of DMO unnpn~t"~ foUT suge'

ofan lllitial NMO-lJVJO ~c-qut>nn' ~<1th appmx11natc :\11\10 velo(itlt'~
lllVt"r~t"

198

NMO rhn..trn!C unrectwn on..t sclt"(tton of the CMP

Gardner DMO

Returnmg to F1gure
we ,.,..
ohrauwd h) stachln.( al! 5<Unples l)mg on ~urt:Kc- S 11m summ,\tlon IS mudlh
carrwd out 111 two ~tages
an initi..1l :\11\10-DMO '>u mm aliOli m the cornmon-olhc-t plane,
followed by a >elond ~ummatwn m the '~o-X"'' dmnam
tlu~

ne"

k=Vh:-l<.x 2

and

I!Ltl\T

douhle ~utnmalwn m L110 dJITerent dmnam~

oOSet k and a nc-w lllllt' t 1. defined b)

t,=t(h)~

r444J

lhe new parameters k ami t, were mtwduced b) FoiTI ami Cardner (198:'\), hecause
, sunplr NMO->t)le relatHm~hlp ex1~t~ brtween l., t, ,me\ 1em-oflsc-t ume t,,, gven by

r4 45J

l'hr ldOCity 1n th1s equatm 1> for a medJu!ll ,"u1nrd to hr homogeneom, and 1t
Cdll be detelnuned <lt thl> stagc m the mc-thod u~mg the usual 1clout) anai)SIS techruqlle'>
lo summar11e, C.ardnrr DMO 1> carned our m thrre -.tagr>
hr~tly, dll ntegral\011 of the DMO ~urface S of Flgurr 4 ~2 !S peerformrd,
ueatmg a' ommon-nudpo1nt gather m thc- new (k, t,)-domam
'-:.econdl}, a standarrl vdox1ty analp1s IS carned out, allowmg a ,ldtl.mg vdouLV to he dedu<ed TI1i> veloCJt), qualifng a~ .1 'post-DMO -.ralk velonty', 1~
rq1ul to rhe 1donty th,Jt would br oh~erved JI the mrthurn \\'ert' homogenrou~
Fnally, thr NMO torrecnol1 and >tack are pc-rlmmrd u-.mg tlu~ velocit}, gtvJng tire rmal surked DMO tero-oiher Jmagcliw .u\vantagr ofth1~ method hes tn the fact that 11 dors not rc-qlllre an '\JMO vdont} hm( tJoll to hr c-srabl1~hrd dt the outset On the contra~, thr 1rloul) .Inal)~JS tako:-s
pla(c pwt-DMO, 1 r on(e d1p efl'ects have airead) been rc-mO\ed frO!n the reflelt!On
llalcltnne-. Tht-. \\111 not he perfcnly exdct, according to thc- h) pothr~e~ tJnderlying
thc tht"ory, m p.utKular rc-gardmg the homogenelt) of the medmm J he m;~jor d!>hc-s m thr f,Kt that the method reqU\res , changr to a new
t,), and hem_c- a mampt~latJon of the rnttrc dat<tset

199

What do post-DMO stacking velocities represent?

'The DJ\.10 method ~~as devtsed. a~ ~<e havo:- ~een, to dnuuate d1p efl('ct~ m connnonl
m1dpmnt gather kmem.Itin It 1~ for this rea~on th<Lt the post-D:\10 stackmg veloc,
1ty 1~ usu.Ill) assurrwd tu he a dtp-corrn!ed ,/ackmg wfonty l'h1~ l> ohv1ousl} exact bj
con>trucnon for the homogeneous modo:-1 of vdouty pmvtded that the NMO COrl
rt'l.tion vdonty u~ecl pnor to DMO 1'> aJ..o V In tht- real heterogeneous amsotrop~
world however, e\Trything bo:-romr-s , great deal more complicalr-d.
:

v:

Influence ofinitial NMO velocity and heterogeneity

;
l<.ven for ah) potllew.al humogeneotlS ~ub~urb.< e, ~uch as that ~hown n figtlni
1 H, ~~e 1muld nor know m advance what the nece<,sary :\IMO conectlon value ~
"1 he as~nmpllon gene1ally made is thaj
the diffeen<.r- lwtW('en
tlworetu al
the value .Ictuall) found w1U bf
neghgrbk tf the unnal NMO velocit} 15 rr-asonablv clo~e to thr- corren value V. 1.;
Ftb'lHe
the t-fl"t-ct 1~ quanufied m a vr-rtK,tl vclont) gradtnlt case- hb'lire 4.16
slumed
to pred1d where d rdle<ton rr-corded wuh a g1ven off~et ~h woul4
'uugr,te' 111 tht- NI\10-DMO ptocess Conve-rse!}. ~<e <.an use- a tnal-and-erro
process tu -.ean:h l1 the rdlection m a mude! th.It w111 nugr.Ite toa predefined mid:
pomt locatmn .-\11 the kmem,tlcS of the p1ocr-s~ .1re wdl dcfined by travdtimes and
tnne chps that can bt' computt'd b) r.1y traong m the modt-1. .1nd rhe processm
l hJs techmque IS ust-d to compute the rmdpomt g.1ther ~hown in
lt 1s then
to smm!.Ite thr- next ~teps mver~e !\l\10 conccnon.
an.II) -,s .1nd fiualh
gather <.m-rectr-d IHth rhe final post-D\-10 ~tackmJ
1douty Figure 4 26-c ~how'> the po~t-DVJO M<Kking velontit-s as a functon of the
llllttdl :\IMO conectwn \'M'"""' "\Jote that once- we know thr- pos1t1on of the reflector
pouJt th.1t
to rhe- selected gather, wt- can trace the (OITespomhng rays.
= 2000 m/<, and ofhr-b !00, 2000 .1nd 3000
5oevo:-ral connnents <an be madt- on the re~ult~ ~hown on Figure 4 2fi-<.
For small
po<,t-DMO -.tachng vt'locHit'S are nut ven -.enstll\e
2WK
<iround !ht- theoret<.al rm-s veloul\

Tite
1s no suq1n-.e
:\lote that thr- ex.I<T vertu:al rm~ vdont) 1~ not obtalllt-d ror 1ero d1p th1s JS
e~sentull~ due to the JlOn-hnwrboh<. fourth-order tenn tn thr- time-ofTset
ctlnt- "lnth 1~ not accounted fr he1e The dl"ect ts -.ttll very lunltt-d m tlHs spe-nfic case 1\'her(' tht- nMxlmum ofhet IS equal to the depth oftht- rr-flettor.
lbe rerm 'error m st.Kking velonty !S unfortunate MJU e thr- velocH} obtame6
1> tlw one that best f1attens reflectlon~ on tht- post-01\10 nudpomt gather, and
henre g1vt-~ tht' be-M unagt' po%ihle fr the \ ~"" ""' dtost-n Fven >o, thb image:
1'> not the be~t po~Mble
.
"\Jott' ,J~o hum thr- B\& traced 1n hgurt' 4 2ti-.I that the '<ornmon-reflecnoB
pomt' obecnve 1~ not reached pr-dectl) etthet there 1~ ~t1ll a .,meanng ofthe
refle<.flon zone
1 ht- <.un('S m Ftgure 4 ~ti-t ~ho11 th,t m order to he able to hnut th!-. lna' lll the

200

""" An Jteratloll startmg tinm ,m

in ord<Tto dcn1e ..t ~tackmgvdocit\ value,
wlud1 , then Jll turn u~ed a~ ..t new V NM<> """ ami ~o on. The shdpe of the {_UJ"VCS Jn
Hgure 4 2ti-c mdu.ttes that d
Jtt'fd-non should ht" stl(Tinent,pL111{Wng the prob'LidJent FlhTUre 4 27 repe.tt~ the
proce-.~ in order to mve>t1gate the 1mp<1ct of the pre>enlt' of lateral velonty heterogeilclt\ a-. llt'll For tlus purpo>e we u>e d 2-D model con~1stmg of two l..tyers ~<lth
tJflE-rent vdontiC'>. st"parated by a chppmg mterfdce The d1p u dllow~ u~ to te>t
dfferenr degree~ of l.Iterdl vdoclt}" changes, from >el"t"i"t' one> (u = 10) to no
lateral 1.umuon~ (u= O")
In the case of no tlteral chanb>t'>
rhe ~tdcking H"lo1 IfV IS 1lo>e
1'hatt"\tr thC" valuc of V""'""" thC"
rerm n tht" tune-offSet cune
neghg1ble dnd Dtx'~ .tpp!UXJmatJon 1s 1ahd
WJth tuer.tl velodty change~ m the medmm, lhl' lfru;kmgveloatylfpart,jrom t!U' vl'r~lfq/m.\ udouty m an unpredu tal!le rrumuer n can bt" clther notJceahly lughC"r when thc
mre,tace ha-. an oppo~itt" dip to thC" rdknor (u. = -1 00) or lo>Yer m the oppos1te case
hnctlh. notC" the re~alual Mneanng of the rd1ectlon tone 111 th~> ~penfic case, 11
t"Xceedo l2merrt"s

201

2800 VNMO,.Ot

Other DMO operators

DMO in the V(z) medium
Thc ~ub>urf..tce model on \\hu:h d1p moveout ., h<1sed 1., ITry s1111ple, }t>t the' rraN
lile >uh.,m fal~ 1'> nnc-r homogeneou~ Tlu~ hyporhc~Js th(mgh 1., nor ..~~ nnportant as
11 mav >cem, e~penally >lile~ the NMO-lOneruon ITio( Jl1c-s .1pphcd hefort" DMO are
111 fact\anahle
'l
:\lnc-Ithde&'>, 1t 1s not ..tltogt"ther >urpn~mg that <l mmillt>f of authon. ha\1!
endc-moured lo nnprO\e Lhe n1ethod,
to t"Xtt"nd DMO tht>on toa varill
ahlt> mc-[hum. and m partJCUidr,
vanes \t>rflc.Iil} (ofi-~n hnear~
111th dq.>th l'hl& l'> the tcchnJque knoNn a-;
J
HO\~evn, tllls exten'>lon unmedJ,JtCI) cncoJmtc-rs .tlllf!]Ol pl.Kfllal hurdl~ In tM
>tfuauon, tht> DVfO oper,nor 1~ no longcr <i -.nnple opn.ttor situated m the vertl~
pl..tnt>. but d tlnt>t>dnnensumal opeldtor Th1~ mean~ that f-, ~ub-.equent apphcati~
becomc., much more costly, limltillg lb applicatum on a largc- .,cale. dlld moreoVefJ
puumg tlw tt>chn1que 1n duTct nnnpet1t10n W1th otht>r t>qudll) d~manchng. but mo~
1~
~ulh a& pr~'>ldck m1g1..ttJOn
c.1n conct>iv.thl) be- cakul.tted h) nonndl ray trdong wnhm a dept:IJI
modcl

202

trwolve~ the fullowmg opcr<tlton~

()dimtron of tht" vertK<tl velorny funrtro11 V(;).
,\pplvmg thc NMO correnro11 hascd on tlu~ la\\
At e<t(h Lorrel red tune, calculdt!1m of the ::1-0 Dl\10 operatut Fo1 d
rvpe \'(7) funcllon, tht~ oper,ttor, 11hi(h depcnJ> on thc ofhel, lhe
p.lranJCl<'"I'> \, and k,
the corrccuo11 tune, 1an be cakulatcd

1 he ,;ppJw,tmn of such an opetdlor

k'

'"

m ],1\, til)fr.temg merhod~ mu~t be (Omldctcd

hu e<tch ron~ld11t-oHSel UJbc, the V<~luc of e,JCh pmnt ~
,t!o11g the
tluee-dnnen~lon,;l DMO opcratm, thc re>ull bcmg- lhc ~mn
ea(h of these
IJ,~ed on , genciahLation of thc pro1 e\\ Iilusn,nctl m
d generaht.!lJOn of the method m Ftgure 4 1!l (dll
( hosen,
11hetc the form of the Knthhoff
~~ ,kul.lted (al~o m 3-0), m the
appwach oi JakuhOI\lLL ( 199) can
u~ed. whcrc each tlme-dtp l'> lrcated
1ndiiiJually 1 ht~ !altt>t methud 11 p.!rttotlarh wcll adapred lo the appltcalwn
of DM0m3-D

Certain ~holt-cut~ ,u e lhm ,pphed tn naLttee 1 he mo~l ob\wus one 1s lo con>tder

nnly rhe 2-D port1on of the DMO operatOI ~rtuatcd In the vclttcal
Tlus
lht>rcfote
an aZlmuth

Offset-stretch DMO

111 ro11tr,~t. ~ho"n

applymg V(t)
D:>.lO, notabl) wlwn: slmng vclocll} contrJ.St> nd sreep chp~ ,re encomrtctcd. ~uch
In thc "\Jonh Sea (H<mlan\ d al Jqf}!)) f\leverthele\S, rhe operational mt> ufV(t)
DMO 11 stlll t'Alt>pttonal, t>~>enualh
and the net"d
to Cltllnate a
tnput
sutliuc11t preCJ\Jon 1 he~e
DMO entcrs mto unpdlttou 111th PieST~I, a merhod \\hKh
111 ca1c~ of dtllirult tm,;g-mg- t!.~He.,
a~

Anisotropic DMO
In lhe ~ame 1\il) thaltlts log!Calto lry ro I'Atcnd lhe DMO operator lo hetero!it'ncoth nrcdta, 1t ~~ l'JlMII) naiUialto Ln to exlenJ
An cxten<;l011 takrng- account ol ell1ptH al an1sutrup}

203

devdopcd hy Uren el al (19~0), u~mg .1 gcneralvatwn ol (;ardncr DMO Howcve

cxlcmwn ro rhc mote general case of V ll-t}pc amsotrop} pre>ent~ mote fbfiicuj
by an approach dcYe!oped by Anderson an.
tic1 An nulial ~o!ulion wa>
hvanbn
ha~cd on
D."\10, blll ll> tmplementatton rem;un~ dtUicult ~
rhe
domatn. Alkahtah (1996) thcn propo~ed an alternanvc approach t.tu
!cht>d on an expl1nt cakulanou uf DM() upctaton u~mg r.y tranng, and .1.pplica
lun of lhe DMO u~ing givcn ofhct tang-c~, as aJvocated by J.tkubow!<Z's method
Thc pnnCJple~ belund the>e dtvenc f01ms of D!\10 havt> heen descnhed previousl
111 thechapter
Thc c.;lculauon of the D\10 opcratur 111 heterogeneom and am~ottopJC medil
C.ln be Cdrt ted out h}
traong a~ fm the Y(z) DMO We only havc to add al
stmplc~t \>ay lo do th1~ ~~ to a~oume a factonzerl VTI>,
~oftware stULahle for tht~ type of medm~
tf\>e wt~h lO 1alculate the to~
ce""""e nf<he OMO operator, whuh IS illlpottant 1fwe a~~ume a medmm Wllh Iat
vanatwn~ or general am~otn>py Howevet, the nledtum may be assum~
model possessj
tng.; ~mgJe \elttral \'elooty vanattOn.
,!
In ~ULh.; mt"Jium, and 1f, more<>H"f, rlw \I'IIJCal hderogencttv can be reduce4
LO.; hnear gradtent, the ray
can he >nnphfied toa numencal >olutJOil of~

S) ~lem of equations (l a nf"r,

~
ApphLation of am~ouupK V(t) DMO a~~ume~ that the heterogenetty pararne
(a \ertical velouty funruon) and the armotropy (E and b from the VTI modd)
defined Leurehand The vclocitv fimuion willm fact Le the :'\':\10 LOfl'tLt!On velOG
lt) for :rero d1p The problem ~~ thu~ the ~ame ror V(L) llMO 111 both Jsotrop!c and
am>otroptc mecha, .;s m ~tanJMd DMO
"ll1e alll>otrop) patamelels pteoent a much more LomphLatcd problem. We sta~
ed prevtouslv Lhatthe kev pMarneter for all p!()( t"SSlllg tn the tunt" domam 1~ a combmatlml of the parameters e and b, defined m equ.1tion (4 17), and known as 114.
(Alkh.ahfah and Twankm,
Mc.tsunment of tlu~ paramctct on real dala coiJ.
sutule~ the LaMS of a gTeal
of rc~eatdt at thc prc~enl tune, anJ applicatlon cJ
amsotroptr DMO a> desLnbed aho\t 1~ snll rare n mdustry

In thc altcrnat1ve approaLhes n1rn:ntly bcmg dcvcloped, u~e 1'> made of the;
'off~ct-~lrctch' concepl ,Jre&d) mentioned fot \ (z) D:\10 Th1~ con>Jsts firstly olj
negle1 tmg the 3D pan of the D\10 opet.uor, and ~uh;equeutly a>~ummg that th~

~~t~~-~~::l:::::,.~rl~~t:::~~~~~(~) ~~r~a:~:;~~~o::~:~~:~:!:'_::l:>~~.-~~g:~~lip/~c~~:::ttf~

ant~otropJC

stan(~~

appears thal to carry out an

V(t) Dl\10, cven approxunately,
DMO G\11 be applied, but onl) bv 'chcatmg' with tl.le
Tlw rano
Jedl ofl-sct hall(\ the opumal ofhet h' 1~ dcchut"d Lv pctrormmg severa] ])\lOs,
wht( h Lhe ratto h; h" JS vaned Expencnre ~how> thal the dloJCe of opt1JllU
parametet 1-, JffinJh, the dlfterences hemg ~nbtle unle>s two arrnals w1th V

off~et

bctwet:n~~

chiTerenl (\ip~ Lut ~rntlit anmuth dnt ( tmns at< se< n at the Sdill< po~tt1on In ad~
non the \\ork uf \lkhahf1h
showtelthlt the aru~otropJL DMO operator
eAIHblts
to .m elbp~t tXlept fot a ~ery lrmttt d range
Thm lt 1~ un!Jkeh that liJls technuut known
the future
m standanl ptoLe~sng-thenfott Jcnram> \en mu

204

m 1 ~ mfan(_y Mmemcr we prcrhu that any devdopmcnt wtll be lor prestad: tJffit'
Jlll);r<~lion

rathct than DMO

Common-reflection-surface stack
fhe co11Cept of common-refler llon->urfa(_e Sl.trk (CR~ ~lack) \\a~ fi~ltlllroduced by
Mulle! (1999), La~ed on previou~ wo1k by l'rol Hub1ar~ group .u Karl.,ruhc
UnJVt>r'i]{V

In d.t>SKal NMO stack, the stacked data a e ohtamed irom a summauon over d
cune ,\long thc off~el coord111ate as ~hown. fo1 IIISlarKc. 111 F1gure 3 17 DJ\10 add.,
a thmemwn to the ~ummauun, a~ mrhcJJed m Flg1ue 4 22, but th1~ i\ LO compeno;ale IOr the fau that tlw local rhp J\ unknown, anJ onlv the 'spenJ)a' unve contuhute'> efletll\ely to the ~ummatJon The prmuple of CRS ~lack 1~ lo su m along a
swi:tce of spenJial umlrtbUliOII~ ftom a .,egment of a teilector mstead of .t localized
rcllecnon pomt TIH> 1~ dlusttated 111 fgme 4.28 lhere \\e ~how once agam Lhe tra\'<ltune surface of ~peu1la rcflecllon~ fo1 a
Jellector R m the 1mdpo111t-offsct
19 m Ch<~pler 3, whcre we d1~Th1\ figu1e 1~ ~mula!
dnd thcLew-o/1
scl tnne 1, 1~ tlw \Um of ~ample., m the >Urface hghhghted m grey 111 Fgun: 4 2il
fht> aun 1'> ro dettlmllle the shape ur tlm '>mface for the l"t'al data tn order lo he ablc
to pc1fmm thc summ.ltlon

The CRS operator

'>uri'accoftbcrdlcclor<<pecularlra'eltlmel(x""'h)(s~cdboFigUre>

17)

205

to rhe nmma\-ra) cmetgencc pmnl X,,,, (.,ce

<,C{ h

,,

dcfimtwn~

m Figure 4

x +h' ('
'1.
-

'( X, h)2 sma

1 2 t 0 cos-a
-tu+---' + -V,

V<

R"

~H)

and halt:o

[146]

Rr-. 11. )

The veloury \ J~ IC \clmny allhe ~Uif.tce whcrc the teLotdmg- 1~ petformed and,
whtch wc tntwdll(ed m equatton [4 .'l] h 1~ a~~umcd known. rhrcc ncw paramete~
are llllloduced hen: u, R, and R,,. ct ts thc emergente .lllg\e o the normal ray,
,,hu::h wcwtll mt>ct .tgam tn Chaptct J <~nd ., dt"noted tlc '""m l'lgme., J 05 and 5.0&,:
R, 1'> the radm~ of cunaturc olthe explodmg tf"llertor W<tVdicld measured at tho
>urface (again a romt>pt 11e ,,i!lmtroduce m Ch.1ptcr .'l, m n.trtLular 111 Figure 5.03)..
Fmally R, 11 s d gencrah!dllon lo (hppmg non-fLtt rdlc<tots of tht" parameter r..
1\IHch wc mct ne1 1<msh 11hen l>e pre~ented the ~IHftcd hypct hola ptmnple. \Ve caQ
check that equatlon l4 4bj reduce~ lo equallun 14 i] \\heu n = O ami R, 1, = ct (f\at
hmtzontal rdlecto1)
Equauon [4 "16] Jefineo a patametettzed ope1alor aud tt 11 \\orth noung thatthe
opetator can be defined tn the dala domatn, ure,pecllve ofhat happem in the
~ub~tJif.Ke Tht, 11 ''h) the metJ:wd ts of the 'velouf) mdependent' k1nd
Practica\ optimization approach
othei velocitv <~nalvsJ~ Let hmque~, the aJin ~~ now to find v.tlue~ for 11, R,.
rhat wtll tndXltnt7e the .,ununatton ol actu<ll dala u\'er thc CRS surfaLe for

.;\,., tn

tia\ R, parameter> :"Jote that one

prmi~ional .,l<lcked zero-ottwr .,ectton
An J.utomattc pnxedure ~~ rhcn u~cd lo pKk rhe tune d1p .md loLal curvature
of any laterall)' cohewnt evem on thc pwvi\tonal staLk. Thc~e two parametcrs
are dtrenly related to ct and R"' (\o\'e \\11\ ~ec m Ftgme 5 O.'J tite re\auomiHp,
hel;\,een n and dt/dA lot R"' =u)
;
fhe ;et of three pMamcter\ i~ u<,ed a~ a [j., gtH''S lora rinal 'fne tuwng' wtth \
a global optumzauon ~Lheme The end prodw l JS th1ee Jielcb of parametcrs
tbat 1 an he used lo compute tht> lin.tl zero-olbct ,ection
1

'j
j

Advantages and limitalions of the CRS stack

1 he ~un:malton O\et a ~eg-ment o a Loherent Iellector dra~ru allv tmprove> the}

~tgn.tl/llm~t> ratiO, d~ the fir~t Jea! data t"t:~u]l., ~hm\
has lmuts h~wever as trace

:rlm

Jntx-~~; 1 ~:~~:-~:11~11,~s~~;;~f 11;:~ 111::,1.:1t1~~~~~h;~:~1~-,~>~~:;:~I~:~~~0 ~aranl<'l<'t ~ pnvtdc us1

;igmficant mlormation on tite- subsurfa.::c structure. tbr in~taw '. tite em:rge.nce ~
.mgle 1'> computed everywhere and <an titen be u<;cd lora normal-rav map nugranon J
(<;ee Ch.tplet !'!) M o eme the curvatures
a11d
(an be- unertcd ro )teld dued i
model-bwlchng ;
methudolu,!.,>y

1\lth

206

J-lo\\cv<t; the method rche~ ou <tutomalt< ptcktng and thu~ .Kc~ ~t'~erc pt<ttlJC<tl
prubklll~, espen<tlly m the prc~en(.e of muluple~ l'tckmg 1> pertimncd 111 tlw non
augr<tte,--1 dom<tm (<~> for DMO, but rontrary lo pr:tack
autom<~tH pwbng ha., to .tdrlte~~ thc ~~~ue of pos~tblc
lllldgc~ m
ctom<~lfl

1 he th!eC~lep

mcthod 1~ a tJmeconsummg approach lt~ cxtcn~Jou lo long-nonoJhet\ .md 10 '1-D IS not str,ughtlml-\anJ In thc lattcr r a~e, the numhe1

h,1ve ,tlltlldmln.Jl future and, at pre-,cnt. Kuchh.offpre>t<tck tlrnt' rl)]gratwn appeat\

to be ,J ,r;llOU\ competitor Howcvet, lodav (human-glllded) autom.tttc pickmg lcad.
mg tu h1giHknsJty scl\rnh <tUIJbule> <tnal) '>1'> &nd the Lonccpts of data-dnven pro
ce~~tng are berommg inueasingl) importan
1\0\\ tlldt

IH'

IM1e uht<tllled a 7ero-ofhet vulumt', 1\1' Cdn pro< ced lo the neH ~tcp m
th1~ uvolves thc postSla< k tmgat1on techmquc~

207

References and further reading

AL-Chalabi M (1973)
non~

Scne~

approxtmauon tn vdouty and tt<tvelume computa.,

21 78:1-795.

AI-Chalabi
Alkalifah T (1996)
GPOjJ!iJSU 1, 61 !147-96:1
Alkalifah T (19!Ji) Kmemal!(~ ot :1-ll DMO opcT.tlms m tr.tn~\end} JSOt!opic
med1a GnJfJh)'.IICI, 62 1214-1219
Alkalifah T and Larner K (1994). :\hg-l.ttJOn error m transvt~eJ) JSOtmpu:: media,,
GrOJ>hy~JII, 59 140.?-1418
Alkalifah T and Tsvankin 1 (1 !)!)5) \c1outy an.ti)M~ oi transve~el) J~olroptr medJa.
GeojJ!t)'IIC\, 60 l.'J.'JO-I.'Jfi6
Anderson JE and Tsvankin 1 ( 1994) D1p-moveuut proces~mg by Fou11cr uan\lorm
m antsotropu medta 64"' ~E(, .\nnual 1\leeung. Expanded Ab~tracts,
1~13-1216

Artley C and Hale D (1994) Dtp-moveont proces>mg lor depth vanahle vclooty.
(,I'OjihjliC\, 59 610-62~
Backus GE (1!162) l.ong\\<tve elast[(' ant~otrupv produced by houzontallaering.
r;tOjih)'ilcal /lcscanh. 67 4427-4440
Beasley CJ and Klotz R ( 1992) Equahzalton ol trregular \pattal samphng 62 SEG
:'l.nnnall\leeung-, Exp.mded Exnat 11, 970-973
Beasley CJ and Mobley E ( 1988) Amphnule <tnd ,nUa1Ja~tng treatmenl m (x,t)domalll D:\10 58'" <;EG .A. nnual \1cl'lng-, FAp<tnded Extracts, 1113-1116
Beasley CJ and Mobley E (1 997) SJatla] dealtasrng ofthe 3D Km:hhofi'I>MO operator 59" EAL;}: Annual Lonftrence, Extended Extracl~. -'I.O!2
Berthet P, Lafond C and Williamson P (1996) A.m1otropy detemunauon frorn ~ur
fat e se1~nuc dd!d on a case ~rudy 66"' S~:C~ Annual :\leenng, Expanded Ah~tracts,
!R58-IR6l
3-D ~emnJC Jmag-tng Stanford Cm\t>n1ty (http //sepww/
~ep/bwnrlt/Lcnme~,')

BlackJL, Schleicher KL and Zhang L (199.'1) True amphludc mldgtng and dtp
moveuut Gt>oph)')IO, 58 47-.'J6
Bloor R and Deregowski S (199.'Jj
Lo zero ofhct fi.'J'" SEG t\nnual
1\lceung, Expanded AhMr.Kt~,
Byun BS, Corrigan D and Gaiser JE (1989) -\msotroptc vt>loclty ana!v~1~ for bthoi0)0'dislnminauon (;roph)'IU'\, 54 15&!-1574
Canadas G and DunandJP (199.'J) . .-\VO
m the parabohr Radon ansfonn
domam 65' 0 SFC. t\nnual Mce1ing-,
1.'170-137:!
Castle RJ (1994)
no! mal moveout GrojJit)'-lln, 59 9R:I-999
Cordier JP (1985)
m RefleCl!on Se1~mulugv D Rt>tdel Puhhshing

curved

208

Normal mo\'<'Olll reVJ>Jled

Geopi/1,'-IICI, 53 113-1.1)7

lnhomogcncous medta and

pe Bazelaire E, Hocht G, Majer P and Hubral P (1999)

~e1sm1c~ anrl opnc,perbolae and curv.tlun~ 61~l EAGE Annual Confeence, FAtendeJ 1\bstract~
1'042.
De Bazelaire E and Viallix JR ( 1994) Normal movcout 111 lon1.' GeuphJI!cal
Pw,jJerlmg. 42 177-199
Deregowski S (l986) \\1Iat ~~ D:>.10;, Fmt Breali, 4 7-24
[)eregowski S and Rocca F ( l9ill)
ulhet ~ertion~ 111 l.wered mecha
Dietrich M and CohenJK (1992) 3D nngratum lo
du;nl rm analytualjunnulalwn Centre f(n \\'a\c l'henmnena, Repon C\\'P
Di:x: eH ( 19.)5) SeJSml< veloutle~ from surface mea'>uements .-I'OjJhyvo, 20 68---ilfi
Doicin D, Johnson e and Hargreaves N (JtJ9!J) lmptovcd 3D p10cessing- nunround \Id automatK vclouty p1cktng. 57th f.AG~: Annual (.onlcreme, Extended
h~

.,C~~IOII

:'I.IJ,trau~. ~e~~1on

no:u

olfvt ttmliNUrJhon m them\', Parl 1 Stanford

Fome! S (J99.J)
ExplotatJon
Report No.
Forel D and Gardner G ( J 9ilil) A three-dunen'>lOBdl pe1 spc< U\ e on two-dunens!Onal J1p IllOH'OUt .tOJ!h\'SII.I, 53 604--fii
Gonzalez A, Levin FK, ehambers RE and Mobley E (1992) Mcthod of correcung
'l-D D\10 for the ctrecrs of \\&ve propagdnon n an homogencom earth 62"
SH, A_nnual Mecung, Expanded ..-\hmacts, 966--969
Hake H. Helbig K and Mesdag es ( 19R4)
UH'!Id\'I'TCd
Hale D (19il1) Dtp-mmcout h)
Hale D (1991). Dtjl Movrout ProoNng- Cottl\f l'v'ofe1
Hale D and Hartley eT (1993) Squcc11ng Dl\10 for depth-\rtllahlc velout)
GnJjlh)'liC.I, 58 257-2G4
Hampson D (1986) Jn~cnc vdouty stat::kmg f01 mulliple chmmat10n ]ournalofthe
Canadum .Sorty of f.'xplomtwn reoph)lirii/S, 22(1) 44-55
Hawkins K, Cheng ce and Brmstov.ski M (199!'!). A Y(z) DMO dcvelopcd l>lth the
'\:orth Sea Central (_;aben m mmd ..17"1 E.AGE .A.nnual Cunfcrewc, Extended
Helbig K ( 19H4) hmndaf!Ol\S or <llll'>Oll'OPY fm explora non ~e!Slnl(S H1111dbl)l)k o)
Groj/iy,iral f.'xplmatum "~Nill.m 1 Sei.wm E:J.j!loralum l'ergamon l're~s. lnc.
Hocht G, de Bazelaire E, Majer P and Huhral P (1999) SelSIOICS and opt1o hyperIJolae alHI wrvaturcs ]ournal oj Ajrphcri Grophy1u1. 42(3,4); 261-281
Huhral P and Krey T ( 19RO).lut~mal Vd011tl1'.1 fiom Semmc nmr Mra~uumrut1 SEG,
Tukt
Hubral P, Schleicher J and l)rgel M (1996) A umfied app1oa<h to :J-D ~emmc
ref]t'UIOll llfl<~gmg. (;rOj!hJ>lO, 61 742-/.'lR
Jager R, MannJ, Hocht G and Hubral P (2001) Common-reflcrt10n-~urface ~tack
Inuge and attnbutc~ Grophy1us, 66 97-109
Jakubowicz H
A ~unplc eftinent method uf d1p moveour correcnon.
221-24.1

209

Judson DR, Lin J, Schultz PS and Sherwood JWC (1995). l'qu.tlizmg rhe ~t.trbng
\doulie\ oi di!)Plllg evenl~ Vla DEVTLISH In DMO Procnsrng (cd. D Hale), pp.
:!-6 :-.o< Jetv oi Fxplot<ttJon Ceophstu.,r~ (H.epnntcd <tnd exp.tndcd from SEG
Ahwa< t~ ( 1976) 44(:1), 3:!6)
Larner K (1993) Dtp-moveout erro tn
JSotropK med1a wl!h hnear
H"ioCJl} \.tri<tllonm deplh
Lehman HJ and Houba W
of thc determmatJ.on ol 3-D
!>taLkmg- ~elout1e~
Levin FK (HJ71) 1\ppMent vcloCJt\
36 .i']0-r:il6
Levin FK (1990) ReflectJOn from .t chppmg- plane-tranwenely l>OlfOfllC sohd.
Geoph)"U>, 55 8.JJ-R5.'J
Muller T ( 1999)

ofD~\0 lTl tJavd-umc lll\'Cl~IOn

Shah P (1973) U;e of Wd\efront curv<ttUIT lO eLite \tlSmtc data wuh
parameter\ (;eoj!h)IIC', 38 tll2-R25
Schleicher J, Tygel M and Hubral P (1993) P.u,tboh( and hyperbohc paraxtal two-~ 11
\\av pomt traveltJmt"\ m 3D medM GeoJh~.\1((11 l'ws~eclwg, 41, 4!)5-514.
J
Taner MT and Koelher F ( 1969)
~pectla-<hgn<~l cornputer denvatwn and
R5!.1-tl8l
51 19.'l4-1906
threc pdl".tmctcr cquat1on: At
dliuent tool ro cnhance thc ~LILk Gcoph)'.llfS, 59 297-308
!
ThorsonJR and ClaerboutJF (1 9R5) YeloLil-;tack and ~lalll staLk \lOt::ha\tK mver-i
~1011 reuf!h)'Jirl, 50 2727-2741
Tsvankin 1 (l!l9S) Normal movcmtt l'rom d1ppmg reflecto!\ 111 amM>trop!L medtaJ
Geoph\'WI, 60 268-284
Tsvankin I (2001) Selsmt( \lg-natJne auJ analy~1S of refle< lton data m aw~olropid
media Handlmuk oj ExplomJirm (,eophylln l'erg-amon !'re~~. Inc
Tsvankin 1 and Thomsen L (199~)) TmeJMOn ofrt>ilcct1on navelnme~ l'or transvcrsej
ISOlropy Gr()phl'WI, 60 1095-1107
Uren N, Gardner G and McDonaldJ (l9lJO) Dtp mo\'eout 111 alll~otropK rned~j.)
Gcojlh)'W>, 55 H63-867
Williamson P, Sexton P, Robein E and Berthet P ( 1996) Stack111g vdonty tnven.J
Jn dntsolopK med1a !ltl"' EAGE Annual Confeicnce, Extended Ahstr<tcts, XOI ,
Williamson P, Shiyu Xu and Sexton P (1996)
oh~cr\ations of seJsmifl

YH;:;~'I9H9)

Se1~ml(

37

35::::"'Gj
(ed~ M~-

Yilmaz O (2000)
dald
Dala
tf!l l
Cooper and SM Oohcrtv), p.
Yilmaz O (2001) ScJ\mW dat.t d11<ll~ts In
Analy11\
2 (ed~
Coopt>I and SM Doherl}), pp 1001-2027 Souety ofExploration Geophys1CS .

Chapter 5: The zero-oflset or stack domain

Sel~mlt d,ttd w1th a ".fJO-ofts,el ch~tance ben,ccnlhe souHe ,wd ICLenel pla; a ~peci<tl
JXJieuJlhc\el',miL HlJ<tg-mg-ptmess
toa wal rccurdmg, but a1c thc re~ult
1, na111eh lhf II!HNJOWn

Zero-offset rays and normal rays

A ~-0 SldLk '>ecuon, a 3-D ~tack \Oiume, or mdecd a 'ew-ofhct \eltwn' o ,t '7eroof ~esm1c ncoHll that ;,ould be oh~ened
ofhct\olume' 11 the
auWiltiOn ~J ~lt'm
the ~ource and recei\er wee posiLioned m the 1ame
a~lunung 1Im to be fca.,Jhlc m lhe field
F1~ure :J 01 ~how1 \\hat \\OUld be ~een under ~u eh LOndillOill al thc 1nstant of a

211

ontra~l

~!luanun

rontigurarmn, m t
to the
dqnctcd m F1gute 3 2, only n:cctver
po.-ttioucd al [SR] w1ll rcgl>Ler Lhe upgomg rcllcded wavdleld at tlu~ posJL!On. ~
t~norc rhe ~omu: >ig:nalurc th.tt the rcceivcr would .tlso rcron:l ~mrc only upgoin~

\\,W~~l~1 ~<~t~11~~~~;r,~~i:~st~:~r~~~~}~~~:1~~(~tci:::ed

w1th

the dO\>ngomg elasur

and Je!lt>tted dllhc nHerfaLc, h,J~

a ray For a 1ay

J

wave,1
cmit-1

LOrre~pond

lo a reflec.
are l11ghhghted in,

Figure 5 Ol-a lm rcneuors

The normal-ra} Lasc 1> not an
p!ereqm~Jtc, a~ airead) mdu::ated, but
such CXLeplton~ are raJe, dnd thc1r tmagng !S not of mtcrcsl he1e. A 'zero-ofh.et''
tr.tLe will thcrdo!t> show rellcrtcd evenls propag,nmg along nonnal rays A~ was
<,uch rdlecuon., (){Cl\r at the LMJ-\\a) propa!!,.lltun tune <~long these

Flf,'llrc 5.0 l ~hows dldt severa! rPjlected wy1 11wy emnge frorn lhf mierjarP al lfw mmt
jmml /SR! Th1s !S the phenomenon often refe1 red lo a~ 'reilcLlJon lnphcauon', and
JI 1~ a~~uciareli" ilh the lmdgmg ot ~ynchne> or complex p1opag.ttion velociry fields.
l"his should nol he inte1p1eted .1~ meamng d max1mum ofthree reflecllons, a~ a far
largcr number JS poss1ble, dept>nding on lhe geometriLal uJilfiguraLion of the
Iefleclol, wlur the ~ub~w fa< e p1opaganon velootJe~ dl"e above th1s pa!ucul<tr refk"<:tor, and thc prc~cncc ot cJffr.KLJOn pomt> Thc ~LhemanL l"C<.ordmg .:.:orresponding
ro ~everal lid< e~ for the model in Flf,'llre 5 Ol-a 1~ ~keiLhed 111 FJgtue 5 01-b
The 'Lusps' tn thcse 11nage1, gJVmg nse lO the Jstmcttve bow-llc
<ate "'ithm the modd'., dom,tin the
cau~ed bv
Such C<tuSIK>
symhct!C, ca~e

Kirchhoff migration
hm1 a waveield could be back-prop<~g<~ted untJ! tl was focused
1mage pomt D, u~1ng d ~ummatJon \\'e then '>d\1 hm> we Lan fon~ard
the source from the ~urfau: to D aud, bv applvmg one of the unagmg
cunchttoiH deptued lil F1gure 3 05, \IC Ldn denve the rdlectJVJly lll D, wluch ts the
objec!vt> o! se1~mll 1magmg
Next, e ~ho\1ed that rlw three oper<ttJOns rould he Lombmcd m a ~mgle \\t:Jghted sum, pro\1deJ th.tl ~ome 'de-s1gnalUJe had heen apphed lo the data bef01chand
leddlllg to the 'K1nhhoO ~ummauon" lie~cnhed bv equatlon
Ui]
Fmally, we lnddt> a ch.mge of vauahle~ to trdmfmm
thc common-shot
domain lo the common-olhet domam <tnd wc mtroduud thc notion of 'multifold'
<over<~ge, lo an 1ve e\"t>ntu,!llv at the de~Lnplwn of the 'pre~t.u k Klrrhhofl" nugranon' method summan1ed h, equatmn [3 21] and ochemdllcally tllnltlated 111 lgure
315.
:'\'ow that 1\"e aJC m the tt>Jo-o!Tsct domam, the quesnon arJ~t>~ as lo what 1~ new.
o Tlw tint obviou~ comment Js rhat we have only one othet to proLes~ (th1s is
\>hy we reduced the otl\et dunemton)
o Secondly, e ale tntere~led onlv m 7ero-othct ra)s whe1e the upw<tnl pwpagaI!On (Creen'~ ftm<twn) ~~ the ,dme as the dmuJdrd one
In
on to

prop<~gart>

212

are- preprocesse-d, lit practJCe- rhb -,tep ~~ pe-rformed \t'l) e-<~rl} m the
he-fore ~tackmg- ve-louty analysts,
t'>ddincd.
thc l~rce-n\ fuuLtJOil ts cakulated, hut only one-1\ay, ami theu the- tnne~ dTe
multiplie-d by two,
d II'Ctghte-d -,ummatJOn !S malle of tlw ~<~m pies of the- zew-off~et ~e-ctJon along
thc (,t"Ct'"t fum l!on cune
tht~ t'> the l'.cll-kuown
a~ \Hll be ~ccn
t!itfi actwn
thc IC~ult
~umnutwn ; placed al thoc un,ge p01ut,
thc operation !'> repeatcd for aH poiuts in the ronoc of intere~t

wme but not all of thc ternarks made for the gent'rd!

t a~e

213

to wmcmbe1 thrtt lo umsTrud the 1mage, 1 e tQ

the

thc Greeu\ lunrltons

mu~t

he t<llrulated, and

pHlp.tg.mon
model mu;t thndon: be knm'n l'h1~ modelts
ro dS the 'rlllg"ratwn \Tlonty fieh!' V\'c JCturn lo lhts k"
LJter.

th~

rdre4

f
Wlrctc thc \:lonty morid beromt>~ coJJJpltcdtcd. the
funcwm maj
be( o me mu)U;alut'fi, mcanwg lhat ;t>\CI.tl rhllerenl ~ample~ m.t} contnbute t~
the ~urnmalon for the ~dlllt' tr<t<-e 1 ht' ts thc problem of mulnple arrival~
who~e lmpdt ton ITIJdge qualny has been dmply de-monslr<~ted M:thods usin

;~~~~:~:~~~\ Illlf.,JTiltJOll (rln(nbed m Chapter 6) pnw1de

soluuon to t h ,

Ir b nnporLHH to note Jut the ofhet .dnnensron Ira~ now dt~appe-ared, wh~c.
rucan~ th.tl wc cau no louger check tlw
of the ;e-locny mode-ls
'
d1~pmdl for bu
;chtCJl\ mot!el ll11~ w11l bt> rh~cu~~ed m later chapters. :

111 the ~tack process.

tppmKht~

thl

Other
equt\ tlcnt m pttnoplt> but hequt>Htl} \el\ dJfferent m
unpletrJenl mon ,,]} bt> prcocntcd ~htJllh m tht~ md the loiJm,mg chiiptel before
dtfiiculr qut'"stton of dt>SJRlllng the mtgr tl!Oll \clont} lteld ts t Kklcd Chaptcr 6

Diffractor and reflectors at zero-offset

sa} fm potnt 1) 111 Flg j o~ l tlong the dffra
ol thc s,unplt>, on thc 7CJo-off"d sn:twn
re~ult Onl} ~.mlplc, ad.Kt'"llt to thc ta
Jbelf, rhuo corrcspondmg to t
norm,J m
connihutc to tht> final imag-c .Jt 1)
\\"t'" JCl\lf!J to a11 C\Cll ~nnple1 mude\ n ht,'l.lrC ':i 0')-a ro Jllmtratc tht~ pomt o
more m thc zcro-offsct domam fhc methum ni thJ\
1~ .JS\umed to

214

(b)Corre~pondingurn-nffcl

eclioll

Diffractors versus reflcctors

In our modt>l, pmnt D 1s not <In bolalt>tl pomt but 111 fact !S part of 1lw rdl~ctot
cvcry potut adpct>nt to R r , al~o be cousrderet! a
TI~ r1" 11 Iudtvtrhtd! h\perbo)]( dtffracttOn unage /\.pplvmg
thc reflt>Ltm\ comprmte mage wdl be tht> sum of
de\ti\Ktl\C unerlt>re-11ce occuiJt11g c;t>IY\\hert> eXCt>pt along
thc cmclope of lhe hyperbo!d~ bt., eu;e-lope con~l1tutcs tlw Lt>ro-oll~t>t
in tnne fr reflectm R fhe diiTraction h} wrbola for p0111t

J. rt>tter<HHJII of tht>
dt~cu~~ed 111 Chapter 3 for tlw nww gc11CI<li cbe o! a 'multt-olht>t'
for tmlance- Flgtne :'. 1R)
only need lo find thts sample m oulcr to gam an tmagc t!nettly,
and tht~ .,, in some re,pert.,, 1\hal 1' dCcomp)i,hetl by thc '1111rmol~m) n!lgla/rntl
metlwd de.,u tbed latn Hownc1; ~uch a le-chnH]Ut> rcqtlll"C'> tht> local rhp to be measured ateten
~omcth111g that poses huge
problerm 11 1~ tllerdorecalcuLJtmu~ ami mage
Losth to r artT out numt>tou~

The 'exploding reflector' concept

Otlwr merhorh C:\.I.,l. bc~tdt>s the Ktrchhoff ~tumnatwu prnented abme, of nugratmg zero-ofbet rLua !'he
'explodmg efJertor' t'> a CO!l\t>lltent wa; tri
l!TifodtKe'oelt>I.Jl of
ll hds been ~tatt>d above that a ~el~nlll trace at zcro offse-t, or stacked tmr.e tf one
refer~ ro tite 1\,l} u ts

215

216

[331

Normal-ray migration
Ftg"

q,.,,,~, that the '>pecuLJr uormal ray illlks th<" ;ell< u, ~\Jlllt D 11Uh the
point, X,= X,_,,. dl thc Slltfl<t' Point \) lws ', the eml of tire norand on the- 7t'ro-otlset imag-e Jt wdl

me~'urement

mal

Ll~ ,

Estimating the normal-ray paramctcr

uw-ojfiet '''c/1011. as 11iusnated 111

by dll cxploding- reflecto !S rcconicd ar thc
cmergcnce cmg-lc !:!.,""" ~lkr tnne t," <11 fl\ mg , a pomt
mfiuitcsm!d]h, do~e. X," + dx, at wne t = t, -, dt., The cmergcncc angle t(,,.,, JS, tn
gene1al, not known m a ~t'tsmtc IITnrdmg. where only tbt' verfJC,J! component ol the
1'<1\cheld J'> measu1ed Howner, dt,.'dx can be me,1~\\Jcd Jmkerl, 11 1~ thc apparent
rrm m!ltdhr!t" IN meu.1med on a

Tht> "'ncfrout
H

217

~ecttou, ~mee

<hp ofthe It'flector on tbe zero-olhet

10 !S the lime on rile section
A IS ~1mpl;. tht' honzontal 1 oonlmate. Ekmt'ntal) tngunometry mdiCates that d!J<bj
IS equal lo thc
paramettT dt the ~nrlaee, and lwnee at ncrv pomt ,Jong thc!
toSnd!\ law
'
>~!

Note thc ound,rll) \\lth Flgutc 3.06 (ahd'>trl)\ of dw

tht' <hffercnu: "e no\\ u<;e tWO-\\<l}' times

Tt'l

01dcd ",velield), but also

Principie of nonnal-ray migration

In CIMptcr l, we rdrcd to Sndl's rdidLIIOll law as fnUo"'s 'J"he pro:~ectiOn ol.
lht' olo~; ne~~ veetot 011 to thc Horm,J to the
vcloCit\' gTadwnt t~ con;
ot<tnt' Thi~ i~ mon u~ud!ly tJan~lated by
]aw for a plan,H mterfaee ia
2-D, 1c

sm9

y=const.

[!!41

tire lm1e-ritp, dt/dA on tl1e Icro-otfset seenon aliOI\~ us to trace th~

r<l\', for \,hKh we no\' k11o" tht' ray pardmt'lcJ; pro\tded tlle propagatto~
\elonty JS ,]~o known
i
For the moment, we a~~umc tt 1~ known and ft'~tnct ounclvt's to tbe mtgraho.!!
ffit'tllod tt~elf In C:hapter 8, wc ronstdn Vdnous method~ tbt'd to estmmtt' t~
H~locJt} ficld
~
thatmaybemedtotraet'~

218

~Ji],!Ct'

l.'i.IJ]

Hxz)

_'
j

~~ ..

UIIti]l:At=l.,f2.1

219

o The rd\' rs rhe11 b.L{ k-propag,te(\ m rhr~ llC\1 drre{ tmn durUJg a ttme At, grvrng_
a nc" pomt, (x, /,)
The pmtT'>~ r~ rqwatcd untrl rhe tot,li pmpagatton trmc rs rcarbed.
0 Ba~ed on tire
tlw fin.tl pnrnt \lrll he
R "hce the
at umc lm thc t,rcc X,

1 he- tter<ttton process de~crrbed above- 1!>

pr,\Ctlle, .rmunber ofrmprmement.,
and raflld
traung The methnd employed wrll abo rkpcnd on thc mam1er m whrch the
modd hd'> been defined ami paramctC!ilcd

as'>oliated wirh usmg the (\ +k 7) model

In pract](e. a rrfle-Cior (a cune 111 2D ora surlaLe m 3D) !S con.,trucred pomr-bypmnt from fllcks made on a 7ero-oltset sectwn An mterpolauon Lune or surf<Ke !S
then ulndalcd betllt't'n thc pmnl~ ro pw\ rde a umrplele dcfimtron of the rdkctor
111 SfldCt'"
lb reuprtuLJte, fmm a prck on a zero-olhel ~ecllon. ray mtgTdllO!l allows the
rrconsrrucnon of rlw gcometn of
rdlectm'>. pm\tded that we know the
.md more o; e1; that wr have
/a;er slnftjnng,

ln thr~
ceo~'>e~ dt the zew-ofl'set
stdge 1S
by a pha~e
and ptckmg of a grven
numbe-r of rcflccton. Ray mrgrafton only beunncs mvolved m the final stage-, where
rhe Iesult ofthc p!Ck 1~ posttioned spatially,
fiehli'> kuown 1 he lt'LOn'>truuron ot the
lllldgmg proces~
~ection

220

1Ull i l i l l
~~terpr_etandpickreflectorl

2 Computelime-diJ>sdt,dxj

--

1_ 6-lnterprelandpkki!C:dhorlzml
Computcrimc-diJ>s_ _

(c),..orma]-raydtpthmigrationaflersecondhori.<o

ton .md cx.tmmt tb role m the

pmce,~mg

chaur o!Jmagmg-mtcqncLltJOn-dcpth

CO!l\t'T\1011

Normal-ray map migration

l'llc 1d\ migrar ion p1orcs~ 1., rksrribed <tbo\c for two duneli'>!Oil'>,
<tpphed n tbree spdttdl
~ U8 ,[!O,\> an example ofray-mdppmg 1111gra1iou In
ouly 1 111 evn;.
10 notm,\l rc1y;, '' ;,hown ln su< ha dt.,pl,y, the ~el ol pomt& repre'ie-ntmg raw mJgr<tted data at rhc cnd o!Horma]J<Iy'> mu;,t sub~equcntl) be IH!Clpolatcd dlld mappcd
ll.lUttnel)

221

011 to a surEu:e (~hown 111 the figure) uMng- tnangulatmn, gnddmg-, kngmg
Chapte1 8), or othc1 mtcrpolanon techmque~
Jls \\orth 11on11g that, m practKC, hmu_m\ arl' not nckrrl m
but 011 ,
the zero-ofl.,et hmzon~

(~ee

that rhe thcory umicrh tng Ta}-m<!ppmg- nugration i~

pn11npk~ we have ,J!rc<tdy outl!llet! Thtl
recordcd 011 a tno-ofbet sctt1011 !S back-propal
MTOHidllCt' I'>'Jth the
Lom cpt
cxplodmg
u11td 'urnc
d'> ddlned b} the 1magm1
pn11Ctpk Thc mcthod 1~ thc11 appl!t'd renustvch,, basct! onmtcJ pre-tanon and ptc
mg-of the nn,gc at lero offset

fh1s secl\011
a natu1 al

demon~lrrttcs

of thc

Impulse response of rnigration

\\'e 110\~ u,c the-cxample ofrdy nugrauon to 111troducc an uic, that 1\tll be ofwpeat~
ed ll'>C m thc follo\Hllg- rhsl usston thb 1~ the 110\!0ll of a
re.lpomiiA

222

(~) lmmb~

un a zero-offs~t ect10n

(b)lmpulseresponscofdcpthmi)lratioll

po;s1bk lo um;~der tlw response ofan t'xplodmg efkctor ~y;tem along a (onnnuom rdkLtor dS the sum of the 1m pulse 1esponses o! ead1 mdiVJdualtmpulse (pomt
dlfffa(lol)
the reflector 1 ht., l'> auother \\a) of expn.,.,mg- lhe pnnnple
Tius

nJcnnrmed
In lhe Cdse of 1he Impulse response ofm1g-ratwn, llw nnpulse 1411 l1e modelkd
by a Dnac Jumlwn on a zero-olTseL ;ectJoll. the w;tem lwing th:Jt ot d depth tmgT<~
uon proce~> In olher 110rd;, \\e 1\ISh lo kn011 whal lhe morid of lhe ;ub;urface
rdleL!or~ would be for an explodmg rdk1 tor-tvpe hypo1hen1 al expenment that
pwdun., ,, 1ero-ofhe1 sect10n 111th zero :nnphtudes dl t>H'l) pomt (x, y, t) exu~pl <lt
an l'>oL!Led
y, t,), thatr,, all f<'lt'IVer; at the ~urf:J1e remam StdtH except
fot the
:~t.\, whnh ob~enes 1he passdge of d \\aYt-front. :~nd rael\TS a
tnnet,
lo tlns problem !S dqm 1ed m F1guns 5 09-J. J.nd 5 09-b }OI
1J on tlw <:ero-oHsel 'e' tmn, while 1he ltnw ; de;Hly ddined, tlw tnnenol be, and tl11s means thal all tnne-dtp; w1ll lw
po~s1ble "Jiu;
thal nonn:~l rars enntted from <~ny dtrectton will
..tbk lo rt'<tlh the

saresfurtheh\o-11 av
rton 1 he two-dnnens10nal nnpube respon;e of the nngtaL1on m a homogenetiU'>
mt-rhurn 1'- lwnce a 1ude In tlnee dimenstOD'-. th1s geomelru allo1 us be1 omes :1

sphere
rn o homogeneom mPibum 1s a

""''""'""""''"'""JI)
223

Ray tracing and thc impulse response of migration in hetecogencous media

In the c<t;e ,,hert> thc prop:~gatlon ~douty ~~ uot con~tdnt, Liw nnpulse re,ponse
ol tht' migr:~tion wrll become drstorit>d, and w11l of coursc Jepend ou 1lw ~donty
ficld n~ohed lmagme th<lt IH' tsolate pomts at 1, 2 :~nd 3 son, trace atlocanon }{~
m :1 Sl<11k sen1on <tnd 1l1al 11C d~Sullk that
modelt'> rhe onc shown In
ht-,'l.Jrc 5 10-.1 Tln' 1omplex 2-D modelrs known .1;
. model, dt'VISt>d by
IFP (inMJlllt Fr.Jnt,:J" du Ptrole) ;md oht'n u'ed tn mdu~t1-y for te.,ting nn<~ging
<tlgonlhms Thc three nnpuhe re~pon,cs of Imgration corrcspondmg- lo thes.e
1mpuhe' 1n thc stack don Mm <tre repte,emcd w bgwc 5.10-b lhev are dt>noted in.
one-11<1Y propag<ttton tune, rt>specttvely O 5, 1 O aud 1 5 s Note rh:~t thcst' unpulse
responses are no longt>1 the
cirde of Hgurc ~l 09-h, but bt>come compiCl(,
multt\:Jlued
The tavs <tnd \\a,efronts li! F1gure 3 10 11ere 111 fa1 1 ca]uJ.Jted by I.ambaret al.
(1996) to estunak tlw Creen's funnions of rhe depth model. between tlw ~urfuce
poml X, and allnnage pomt' ltl tlw subsurfce po~shly Iliumlll<Jted hy a source at
thi; loratmn '!he fi;ille illustr,ttes a
nwtlwd frcquenllv u~t>d m <.~rcen's
fim_Jon clcula!Jon A set of t<IVS w1th
~ propag:~krl When !he r<tvs di\crg-e berond <1 [-;"lH'll
rav p<lramelers <~re mterpobkd and a new rav "propagated from thl point When rays 1onverge, one of
llk redundant fdV~ 1., stopped l'hrs <tilo''' a
samphng of lhe \\a>dront m
1omput<1t1on of (,Jeen's time'Jl.!It', 11hi_h ., parlI uJa\y

224

11on'> )Jote 1he nun1euu~ I<IUStiCs ''h11h occur wht>n l>.'.O d1fkrcnt rav; <trnvt> at the
s.UTW t1me at tlw ~me pomt 1n depth, as at point [) for mst.Jm e
p-tlh' must be 1akt>n wto accouut in the Kirchhoffprcsta1k >Umnution
1ll Ch.1pter 3 ('Amphtude ;md muhtp<Hlnng'),
As, fin;!l comment on the r:~y-traciug nwthod, .Figure 5 10-a shO\\s dw ongmal
dd<tJled M<HmousJ modd, hut a smoothed vcnmn uf 1t 1' w,ed for the .11 tu]
conqaJtanon ot <..~reen's fi.mct1on~ 111 F1gurt> .IJ 10-b "11m IS lo <tvoul sh,up velocltv
1011 rra~ts m tlw modt>l that C<lll cau~e the rav tfdCJng lo be Wlstable Sndl\ rdr;Ktmn
l<tW (t>quUon [1 31] or t>IJU<!on [5.6]) IS very ~ensJ!ive tu the estJmation oflhe vt>lmJt\ gr,llhent VV(x, z) in Figure ~l 06 In a brer-(ake model, for m'tance, thc cstllll<!le
of thc hon?on d1p 1S cruCial "Jiu~ problem IS solved by smoothmg the modd The
tkbate on how much ~nworlnng -, dlceplbk tn order to obtam an oplnnal lnl<!!{e
n K1rchhoff presr:~ck nHgralon -, s111l ongomg amongst SCJSJTill lllMgers

Migration considered as a convolution

Alter th1s dtgress1on on tlw 1alculanon of (Jreen's fimc11on, we rcturn to post-stack
rmgratwn and present lwre a geometn1 al approdl h to 1mgra11on I1 1~ nnport<tnt to
rcmember t!Mt this <tpproadl dJs1anh all ;1mplilurk Js-,ue-, 1h:~1 appt>arwhen appl)
wg tht> fui! wa\-e theory It IS, howeve1; very u~dul to under~L<Hld sume simple pnnuple-, of 1mgr.mon
\\'e now know from F1gures 5 09 :~nd .IJ 10 how to tJ1 ula!e !he nngranon's
1mpube rbponse anrl wew1ll use 1t lo present new w:~v of lookmg :~t lhe nugratJon
pn1ccss A g-1\en powt on thc sta1ked ~e1 tion Gil! be consukred :1, an m1pulsewhose
1~ equ:~l w tlw amphtude oflhe pomt. :~nd !he ent1re zero-offset secnon
the ~um of ea1 h of these lmpul~es \\'eh:~\ e seen how Lo comfor ea1h of the~e 1mpulses OUie ag.1m. applpng the
ilw nHgrakd ~t>ctwn 1s seen lo be the -,um of the unpuhe
krnunologv, the mtb>T:JtiOn c:~n be cons1deted as a
1omolutton
mmt (lhe zero-offset sectton) 'WJth the nugtatton opt>rator's
Impulse respome Note hm\CH'I; IIMt tlus convolut1on 1~ nmlt11lmwmonal, ,md that
the npen1tor v:~nes contmuou~lv m ~p<~ce Th1s w~ prevJOu~ly observcd m the
:~ppl!(d!Jon ofTh<:" DMO operator m Chapter 4 ('Applnng the DMO operatm rhe
wmolution approach" ami f<ig-ure 4 ! 7)
Migration of a reflector, migration of a di:ffractor and migration noisc
F1gure 5 11 Jlluslrates riHs 1de<t for !lw 1:\\'U very SHHpk cases of d 'wgk reflector
nkdmm he 1.ero-ofhct sectton m
.Jnd a Jffractwn pomt m J. 20
Lh1o model is considt>nd 1ero
except ,tlong a
de( ornpo~t> mto a ~enes of "nnpulses' In our hvpothe-,1~ of :1
liD l. t':J(h (lfilw~e unpul-,es ha, a 1lll.J]ar respon~e (Figure 5 09-!J)
~ lrlk \'afie<; hrwarly W11h the lnne 1,. of e:~ eh 1n1puhe ,md the res11i1 (Jf the m1granon
IS the >mu ofeach of these unpulses lfthe pomrs on1he zero-oftsel secton are suf
lil!t>mlv clo~e, rlw 'ummUon ofdw 1in.uh1r impulse re~pon!.(~ willlw 1onstructive
along thetr envdopes, hui destll.lctlV<' ('\-erywhen ehe
!'he 'edge efk1 ts" of mih>Tation are worlhy ol <tllen!JOn and c,n be Jlustrated
hcr<:" In ftgure 5 1\, \\C dealr wnh 1:\\'o chsnnct cases
On the nglu-hand s11k ofllw reOeuor, we assumed that lhe rdleltot"s nnage

225

(a)7.<>ro-offsefirnageofrcfkcturanddifflactor

was tt>rrrunated, as pndJCted by them), by a rl!ffracnon hvperbola l<.ach pmnt

on tlus hvperbola w11l h:JVe liS own tmpulse response, and ll the!.(' responses
1\111 contllhuw to tlw imaging- of tlw migrdtt>d rdlector's termllaiJon ThlS termmalwn wdl thus br sharp ami udl drfmed
he other end of thc 1.ero-off~et refkctor 1'> :~ssumed lo stop ahruptly Tius
h<tppens "' .tl!tlw edgc~ uf secnon~ At the end of dw rdknor's un:ge, the
urcubr
JTsponse wlil not be compensated b) lts ne1ghhounng
responses
11 rema 1m ~ISibk on thc mg-ratcd sect1on. k:uhng to
pnJ{ csstng :~rtef<u ts known as mtgmtron 'sm1les' or 'bowl1' lwmg observed on the
nngrated section Very excephon;J!Iy, the 'bowl' may (Orr~pond to the geologtc<tl re<thtv of qu<N-urcular svm lme, wlnch would fou1s al\ ft'fle 1ed t'nergy
at Lhe surf;ue
~ole thal m1gwtwn
<tre not only prodnced b) an ab1upt termmallon of lhe
llldrker's nnage 111 the 1ero-offset domdm but can abo he fmmoked '"' wmatwns m
"mi'bi~!' af,mc '''" othen.l!ie apparentlj wnlmUOIJ.S ref!edor, duelo olher ;u quisuion or

Duality bctween Kirchltoff migration and migration by convolution

hgurt' .IJ 11 d!so \lows us to ]\uslrale dw dtMhtv between K1rchhoff nngrat1on
;md nngratwn b~ lonvolmion, by t<~bng the CX<tlllpk of , p<~rticular pmnl 1' Th.Js
pomt ma) be m<~ged
m the zero-offset dmn<~m.
or !Jy
on the
rn1gr<1ted '>t'LIJon
1 he two esu!t., will he the sanw In !he first, ~pecubr mformaton 111 liw vtCllllty o! l'wtll be ~ummed 1omtmtnvely <tlong tht' hvwrbob, wh1lst IIl the second, tl!S
the specular pornon oftlw nngr;JIon's ln uh1r unpul~e respome 1h;1l wdl tomnbute

226

to theo lin;Jinnage lt ts ofcoune tlw norm;J!tJ.) tlldt (Qnnects Lhe.,e two umtnbuttons, a propeny ]n~1dy exploited !or ray 1mgranon
In KmhhoH nugratmn, the nugrakd lilldge !S um~tructed pomt-b-pomt, summmg , ea(h pomt :~long a gtven cune on the st<tcked sectHm l111s is HkntJCal to
the mathematJCa] owrdfiOn of correlatwn In umvoluton-hased nHgrdlton, the
poten na! contnbutum ot each po111t on tlw Sf.J( kd ~e hll 1~ m tlus wy 'pmted' or1
to rhe tmgrated sectum
Mtgratwn therdon perlonn~ three d!ferent trans!ormatwns depend!llg on the
m.tlllret choscn lo rcgard 1t
(h.,placemcnt of connuuou~ evenh (hen( e thc ft>rm 'nugtdllon'),
fo( USlllg of dtflTctiOUS,
Oe<ttJon of 'nugratwn ~nulco' m re.,ponsc to nnpuhes \\lthm the '>t<tckcd

1hcoc elfects are tllusrr,Jtcd

b~

a rco1l

(d~e

m hgure !':i 1;!

\\luh1 (onvolmmn-b;sed nugratton 1S mver,

(0!1\0lunon m the dcpth domam,
:~nd partJCU!Ml)

111

pr:~cttn,

Depth versus time migration

227

Definilion of 'migtated time'

\Ve rcturn now to hgure ~l 02, wluch Iilmlldte~ Ktrchhofl depth llll[-,'Ta!lon.
Cakulating a (,ret>n'~ funcuon requncs a htghlv det;ukd knowledgt> ot lhc subsur.
model We assume tor the momem that rlus model1~
taLe
these

Th1~ rehJllonshtp 1~ none other th;m the average velonty definton [::! 3].
Tlw 1wo-11av \crtwal nme wdllw equalto tune t for a zero distan ce x corrcspondmg
ro the <~pex ofthe h)pcrbola ddined b) equatwn [5 7J nns tune IS denoted t,,.~ in
Figure.? 13.
fh1., relatwusll!p ''ould allow us to ust> Krchhoffngalton lo creatc an nn;1ge
of pomt D di depth Z snnpl~ b~ kno1'mg thc two velontic, V," and V.,,_ A..s Wt> S<IW
m Chapter 1, a first approxmi;Jllon to V,,Jt,,.,,) !S g1ven by stacking 1elouty analysJs,
allhough \'" remams llldC! esstbk 11hen u~ing surtace setsmtc alone
In othcr 11ords, thc rd;Jiiou~lnp between thc verl!al tune L..~ and thc dcpth Z ts
not known Th a'o'd thi'> Jfficult)", geophv~icis1s nn;1ge the poml llm hg. !':i 13, ~ay,
Z) d~ for a "depth
but at it, km)\\ n position
The
in th1~ war 10 1he llme-mgrated
p10V1ded al! the as~mnp
lmw should reallv lw known s the
as we ~hall sce ~horl-

The time-migration process

lo (any out <1 time IlllgratJ!Jn, we no longer need to know V._,, and
as<,ummg all fl>n11., greater llldn x are negkued m equdl!On [5

'"

228

pmnt

1;

l ht., <,CLL!On 1M~ shown th<lt

c;Jlcttlated pomt-bv-ponn :~s m depth mtg-r.lhou,

bemg ol the s:~me t)pC med 1n dq>th mtgratwn
the conyoluL1on tcnn
alre<tdY CDLoumcrerl
c<tkubted IHih prenmodel rherdon. m
or tlll', ll'nu m:~Y be

d 'llme-mtgr:~kd'

tm<tge ol tlw subsuda( e ( :~n be ( omthe propag<~hOn veloutw,, but thts ts :11 thc
Tht~ unagc tqJI havc <1 vertu ;] <IXJS,

""''hf;m"'"''""""""'

229

The advantages and limitations of time migration

1 he ad~anL:~ge~ of
srem dtft>( tlv from ll'> gutdlng- pttnctple. Tl11s !S a
Ttchn~qt~e \\ht(ll pnm1t; a
uu;1ge (JI the ,ub,urface to be c~eated u~ing
ouly hmtted mlot m.ti!On on tlle pJllpagatton veloone., Tite velo( u y mform;l{lon is,
toa lint approxtnMtlon, tlw ~:~me as that !'t'~ultmg fnnn the '>lacking velocny analy~~., used for !'. M0-0_\IO correctmn "l h1s advant:~ge ~~ ~ullinentlv great for Lhe t1menugrated tmag-e to rem<tm hv lar the mo~t unport.mt too] m mterpreLaLion. It is
therefore allthf' more
rnogruu d~ hm1h 'lhere are at k;~st four of them
ami Lhe1
strunure
problem asfolstate for !he moment thal an attempt !S made m practtce to
"'~" ,.,,p,icoll'v '" allo11 mg the \',.,,(!) vdonty fields u~d
Qutk how much vananon 1~ pernHtte(l .,a queslwn of the pro(essors JUdg-emenl :~nd expenence.
No exacl rule ex1.,h lor ( h(KJSlilg thts p<trtl( ula1 p<tramder
Tlw (,nen\ fum Hon !S onlv lwperbohc for <1 lnmted :~pernue r:~nge bevond
wluch the pproxmmt!Oll lw(omes prog-re~.'>tvdy le~s eXdct An x-v]ue that i~
brge 1ompared Wl(h dw depth Z lil fonuu]d rs 71 COfl'e'>pO!ldS lo f<lyS Meepfy
dippmg Lo tlw Yetti(al, suggesring geologi(al d1ps lhat are also
d!ppmg 1-b,J( Kmhhotf rmw nngratton wtlltmage Lhe~e dtppmgmachul mole .,opht.,fl( a red too!~ ( an lake th1., m lo :10 ount It will be dtsChapkr 7
\\'e kilO\\ thal Sf:J( kwg vclont) 1s often onh , mugh :~pproxtmatwn to vert1cal
rm., "do( JtY llus d1~crcpanq mcrea~e., with
<tswell a~ bteral ~anatwns m ,e]oCity \fe tcturn
er the .,sue o! con~tnKtmg the nugr<~tJon ye]mt~
ttes 1n (.hapter 6
bnally,
a geologKal sect1on.
In comparison
slower !rm;nions. fa~t
:~ppe<tr thinner than
thev :JJe m redl1ty Moreo~et, where lateral veloC!ty vri<lt!Ons do occur,
a tnne-unag-e nld) become m~erted (compared lo geologtC<ll
mtroduced
the tmlt'-depth relal!Onslllp le;~dmg Lo
known a., 'pull-ups' or
.,een An ex<tmple JS gin-n for presL;u k nngr;1Lion tn

/)rlp!ll' the11' Jodamlogel, tonr ll!lfiralrm rtmmm the 11101/ w1dely used W111[.;1ng tool

Time migration and image rays

! une mg-r<tt!Oll make~ the <hMlmptmn that no breral vanat1011~ 1ll ,e]m llV ;1re pre~
ent lt tlwrefo1e ~hould only lw u~ed m 1egmn.. where the tedonn rq:;ime 1~ suffi( alm for lht~ a~~umptton lo hold !\one the kss. the rnelhod., one thaT lS .,ysused
\\'e need to ex<tnrme tht' error mYohed 1,heu K1rl.hhoff lJme nngr<~tlon ts apphed

230

(a)~chcmatlcdepthmodel

,,

""'"'

'

'
'

'
(b)Zero-offsetsection

x.,.

(c)Time-migraled~oetmn

(d)Time-mtgration'plnm<''

lo <l /l'to-ofht'l sectlon, where lll<l.JOI later;tl V<lftatlon~ m velooty do occur Black and
Brm-,1ow~kt (1991) an<llvttC<tll~ addres~ed tln~ t~'>ue, empkt;tztng the lnmtdttons of
Jntdgeray-,
hrstlv, we look at tlw prohlem~ observed for a pomt dtffi'( tor, '>uch as that m
hgute 5 14, ltdore gcnerahzmg- ro ntle(10r

Definition of 'image ray'

In a 2-D lwterogeneous nwdnmt, d 11<11dront cmHted lrom pom1 dtflractor D ts
no longer orcubr, and tts tmag-e on a stack sect10n '"11 thcrdore no longer be h}per-

231

ts~

bohc. On Ftgurt> 5 14-d, the first pomt dltht> surf.tce reached by the wavehont
l)ing ;11 coordinare X" At this pomt, thew<tvefront will be r,mgenual to llw sur[
Tf 1t wert> not, .mothet point on tht> wavefront woulrl arnve hefore Jt
1hs IS equivalenr tu statmg that at x,., the wwgr represerrt~ng D has a u:ro aptJa
llmt'-rlzjJ rlt,;dx =O, or alternattvt>ly, 1ha11ht>re ts a fd\' enntted from D 11hn heme
onhogonal!v to the smtwe ;11 point X,R Hubral (1977) cztl!td thts partiCular r;y
lmage TO.)' Tlw H'd~on lwlnnd tlus 1\111 be exp\at~ed bdow, but first we note that
docs nol gencr]]y he \ertK;IIIv above D, except m the special case of there bemg~
lateral v;ntanon m vt>lontv In tlns case 1he tmagc ray !S pt>rkctlv vt>rt!c;J '
greatet t.lw he~erogenely m tht> subsurb1e, tlw g1T<1ter the probabthty that

dep;~L~~1::~,~~,

a~ <~ppro)
velocj

of x,R, tht' 'lt'ro-otlset' rt'spome of D 1an he constdet ed

tm<lteh hvperboiK Thenfore we cm define an oscubt111g hvperbob, wtth"
1~ ci!JSe lo that ot lhe vert.u al n11s \elouly at tlH~ posttton. that gtves an mMge for Q
sumlar lo thal seen lor lmmed wrtuft' (}igure .IJ 11-b) Bv 1 onslructton, Kirchhof
tnne nngratton wtll h.J! us
\J
althougb
tlw nnage wt!l be postltoned at
t..~l a~ we would
Wt~h (Ftgllft' 5 14-c)

The Hubral correcrion or 'image-ray migrarion'

Thus we ~ee that ttnte nugr,uon doe~ not postttOn the powt \J exactlv wherewe
1\<tnt f to be. Nevertheless, the tmage-r;IV concept allows u~ to correct thts error by
the 11m e doma m nto the depth dom<ttn Tln~ cor11><-Hul>ml um,ctwu, ~~ performed b\ <1 ray mtg-r<ttion a long tllt'
tmage ray. lt JS very ~Jmtlar to the way th.tt nngratwn usmg normal ray; ,]]ow~ us to
depth migrare an event ptckt'd l1l the /Cro-off\et Lime dom;ltn
Ftgure 1) 15 1'> an cxampk of mMge-r:~v nngrauon In contra\\ to norml-ray
nll~,'T<!tlon, there IS no need to measure tlw ay parameter lor the
nun:~l sectmn, swce JI~~ ]read) known by ddnuwn,
aud The unage ra} JS tht'refore JllltMllled verncall) to the
bck-propag,ued in <JCconlance wnh Snell's ],w m exactl the same WdY s shown tn
lhe '>!heme m
ts athwved,

,,

F1gun .IJ 15. based on a

ex<tmpk, tllustrales lhe appltcatJon of the
Huhrdl 1 orrection to lhe posuioning of :1 wellusing <1 time-nngrated tmage Ikspite
modenlTe la ter] vatl:Jnon m vei!Kity, the vertiCalmje<.:tiotl wellmust be po~lltoued
d!CUfdTdy Oll the ~U U! lun\ fl,mb he first medmm {'Jl!OUlltt'red !S a"unwd to be
homogeneou~ wnh 'l!donty V, clown toa suuctured unronfornHty, the serond nwdtconst;mt vdoCltv
th;m \', Observe that 1t ts
homogneous. that pmdnce<

.t

232

(a)lnterpnlationonthelime-migatedseclinn

(b)lmage-raydeplhmigralionoftbeinterprelation(a)

.\s m normal-ra} nugrauon, nnage-ra) nugratwn 1~ perfnned l.tyer-b}-laye1~ w1th

unckrlymg layeH calculaled VId rhe first ulterface
In the fir~t medmm, rhe nnage 1-ay~ rem<~n vertHal up to the unconformlty
The ume-nllgiated 1mage ot the llllerface !S heme an nnage m \ertc<~l t1me
The path-lengtl1 !S
= = Y, t/~ The depth po~mon nf th1s mte1face !S
therdore ea"IY
mulnplymg the one-way m1grated Ulne hy the
.nerage\do(itym tllt:"layer
Aher pas~mg thiOugh tlus flrsl IlllerLKe,
mg to Sndl\ L1w. The depth-unage point hes
SU{ h that the '>e{ ond leg 111 the se( ond !ayer hJs a length =
lf there were mort:" la)ers, ray rracmg would carry on through
lavers
:-.Jote the maJO!" d1Herente frorn rhe nonn.1l-ray 1mgrauon descnbed 111 Flgtrre
5 07 r.tys do not need he re-shot th)lll !he surface, as the r,y paramet.er !S
alwdyszero
ha result of th1s rmgrat10n exen1se, we d!S(O\er th.tt the \'>'ell should he located
llotu:eably ro the nght of the mterpreted posmon morder to he able to ach1e\e as
larget cm re( tly In the real-lile SlluatJon on wluch the example !S hased, the rt:"I]Uired

233

~h1f1 lotalled mott: than 150m, a di~h\llle more than >Uffinent Lo miss the tarp;et i(
the rnrrernon had no! been marle
Figure 5 L 1s ~ketcl1ed m 2-D, but 1f1ht> 2-D ~eruon 1~ not ~In( tly ',]ong-dip', in
order Lo he exattlhe mmgt>-ray tracmg should of course Lw (arrwd out m 3-ll as a

Limitations of the Hubr.tl correction

\\'e return 10 Figure.:; 14 The d1ffractiOn ctll"Vt' for pmm D !S nota hyperhola in
a heterogeneous rnedmm lt (,iJlllt tlwrefore bt> torrectly t()(U',t'd h) , Knchhoff
migr<~tion that assumes th,u the Green\ funct1on IS hyperboiH C:onelattng a nona <,enes of hyperbolJc curves dot>S not g1ve a \h,1rp' solution,
tlw result 1'> Slllt>ared uno aplume {Bev( el tJI 1995), one of 1\hJ(h IS depicted m }gurt:'~ 5.14-( ami :i 14-d The plume reprt>sent'> the time unagmg's Impulse
1esponst> lllll> entlrt:'ty Ir I> chsnntt tium the response of tlw llllgratmn toa pomt in
tht' notl-llllgrated domam, as 't't'lllll F1gures 5 09 and 5 10 l'h1s re>ponse e&'>enta\ly dqwnds on tv.iO par.tmeters
the actual 'hapc of the ddliacuon, vduch depend' 011 the prvpagatum wloaty
lT

!S (QJTdatt>d w1th dunng the K1rchhoff nugtatwn

rfloutvfidri \',,,(>..,y, t,,,l

}Igurc 5.14 >hows sdwmancally the lwhav1our ofthe nugrat10n for <1 d1p of-30, I.e
t'ITIILLed fiom pomt ddfr<lt tor Dar ,m anglt> of -300 to the \erncal l'hts repray for , refle( tor V.Ith a d1p uf -30 p<~ssmg through D. Its surlate t'merge!l(t' pomt Wllllw at x_,P, and 11s unage on the dilliacllon curve Will he at
d,, .. Ha>ed 011 the pnnnpk hehmd Ku'lhhofftmgratJOn, the pouu 1\111 tlllgratt' to
rhe .1pex of tlw mgr.won hyperhola, wluth at thi~ po!Tlt 1\ll be rangenual to the
dtfli-acuon CUJVt' Ob>enrt' that the tUJvaturt' of llm m1grauon hyperbola wl\ be
defirwd b\ the nHgratmn \'eionty at 1('> apex, 1 e at ilS mgrated posJLion, \',.,)x,.,,,

y.,,,. t,,)
On the orht>r hand, pomt d,Rcorrt:'spondmg LO the t>mergt>nce pomt ol the unage
uy will not moYt' dunng the migration. a'> 1ts tmgra(IOII hyperhola wJ!l by definition
bt> hon.wntally Lingent1al to the ditfracno11 CUJVt' l'he ra) (rft>,ponchllg to ?ero
thp Wlll not ,rnve ex.tttly \erucal at D due to tbe heterogent>ity in pmpag.tt!Oll
\docitit>' It wdl therefore posse>s IL'> own d1stmct tHne-nngratt>d lllldge Comersely,
''htht 1ts ra) Mth !S not rt:'( nlmear, the ra) .lrflVIDg \'erutally ,t D V.!ll ha\ e a prupagation time
u me, due LO Fennat's
nmnple In
hgures 5 14-a ,md 5
tlw nme rmgratwn for
the pomts coHespondmg ro d1ps of 0 a11d +i5"
There IS nOLhtng Lo ensUrt:' that tlwse nugrated pomts should all comude, orto
g1ve~ a plwne-Lype shape
ib
nnperk( t focusmg \\'e aho '>t't' how tlw plume can be dipcahhr.lted, as mdit.ltt'd 111 F1gure 5 14-d In addJtJon, there I> no rea;on why the
expetted to 1w \'erl!call) helo1\ D .1t time
has

234

(a)Schcmaticdcthmodel

(b) Time migation of the retledor R.w

(c)Tmemigra(innnfthcrcflectorR....s,

Tiw Hnperf"t>ct fo(usmg prmHled hy the mne llllgidtiOn l'' generally not nOtJ(eahle
'>!me holared pomt diliLulOJS are m redhty rdre None rhe less, Fgnre 5 16 1\usl Tsmg again Lhe prmnple of

fhc llldm rondu~mns oftlus sect1011 can he r<:'(dpituL!tt'd as follows

'/)mr nugratum 11
iobfUJnstrurterlwhm onlya
lmutnl arrwunl
o{ the ml[!,mlwn vdonty
fidd

235

 "lhe mform,nion aboYe !S, m arldJt!On, onlv

llll);\J:atwn LiteJ, lit:' 'hall 'ee ho1\ the rmgTdtiOn
1mp,1tt un the e1entual refle( Lor po'>itwn

Kirchhoff time demigration

Demigration in 2-D and constant velocity
For any gi1en propagatJon \'eioty model V(x, ), ..:), '>U(h ,s that m F1gure 5.17a, the norm.\ ray for a rdlectnrwnh local d1p O can be tra(ed, gtYmg , pm.mon (X~ ...
the :>:ero-ofr>et dom,un An dddJtJonal calculauon glYt:'S tlw tllnedip dtJdjj;
the pomt, e g by tracmg d
or by mlllg the 1ay par.nneter formula [1311 01 rL32] lhe
for tlu> pomt (X,,., t,,,l, usmg
Kud1hofT Jmgr.ltion, 1\li he at
pdsse> through tl1e pomt,
1s tangenual to tl1e
srennnmg from tl1e '>uperpo>ition pnnuple outlmed

neglect
~C\'erdl e\auonhnk the coordi>lups, Irst pubhshed by \\'h1tcombe (El91), can
nare~ of tbe pomt lll rhc ero-ofhet domdlll 111d1 rho'e m the tlme-Jmgr.ned domam
and their respeltiYe tdngenrs

rsu1

The not.mon !S rhat of Figure 5 l i, where Ax""' 1> tht> ume-nugratwn dJ'>I.ance

one
error' approach
The ( omerse situatwn 1' ah o'' onhy of artentwn i\fter pKkmg thc po>nmn ,mrl
d1p of a pomt un a refleuor m the tnne-m1grated dorndlll, ,\lld knmung the umevelonry field, ho1\
the zero-ofF

236

(a)Schematic2-DdepthmodU

(b)Timemigratcdstttion

(b)Zcrn-offsctsection

Ax

""-

=t

lhs

mog

tnug V~,~ dtmog

4
dx '

1 (~~g dt,mg]'
+ 2 dx .

r:Jt2J

1' 'kwnrwtrl!mtdtrnq;ratwn'

Demigration n 3-D with a variable migration velodty field

1 he etuation'> ah(We a>swoe rhat Lhe tane-rmgratmn ye\onty field IS lo{ally {Oll'tant. 11hrth rs generally not the cct>e, mectn!llg- the equcttwns musr therefore be modrfied ro take sud1 velocny \',rullon> mto atcount In addnwn, equalJons [5 JIJ and

237

[5

1 ~].

fnr the ~ili of ~lmphcll), are >hown lora 2-D llHJdei onlv Ir 1~ llt>( t'%ary

~~~;t~;~,rl~::;:~:~ ~:~~~:1~~1; 1~~b~~~~,aml \,mable \eloCJttc~.

The use of demigration
Denugratwn, a'> de>{nbed here, has only

~0~~~::~:~~1 ;a)-h,!'>ed tlldfl

ft'(enll}

.,

alrhough th.l' Joes not,

heenmtrO!IUted mdustnall

dlla~~~-~~:eq~:: 1 .:;;~~:. 11;0:~&tl~llh~lp~~r;~~~~-~~

pi{k !S not geneL!lly easy, parlaularly 1n 3-D1

Lern-offset Ume domam Su{h a

bel.IU';e
of the hon1on; 111 Llm, domam, ''here a connnuous geO:.
logiral ewlll may
multJ\alucd, c1en ennrely
e.g as irj
hgure 5.01-h Ir 1' J greaL de al e.l>ler ami hds be({nne standard
therdOrei
to pa k cwnh lll rhe tunc-Jmgr,tcd domdm J hu~. the map nHgranon proceduti
{OillflOSt:'S(IVOSld.gt:'S

'

detmgTaton o! the ume-m1grated pKk usmg the auual mgro~tJon Ydoci~

field and rtw equatJOm, gJ\'t'll a!Jove, nr the1r extenslll lO 3-D ,md vanable.
velonty,
tlw de1mgrared lllllt:'; and tnne-<hps, nov Jt 7ern-oflset, are used suhsequen
ly ro perfonn .1 depth map 1111grarion usmg nm m,\
l tw deJDJgr.ltJon tednnque
a poor nrne-Jnigration Ye\ooty field
heen K1rthhoiT nme-1mgJ dted, , dermgranon
by a norrn,l-rcty depth
rmgLitJOn wJll be exad. SHKt:' denugr,ltJon should COJTelt
rmgr.ltion velouty lield ,\lid the dips Th1 melhod 11

be true prov1ded a poor dwKe m time-nugr<~tion \'eiocJtit:'S

the nugr.1ted nnage suHlnenth to skt'll the mterpreter's
should not the1efore be u~ed asan excuse to negk<t the
tnne-nng1aUon ye\oot) field, as the re.,ultmg 1mage, and consequently Jts mteqretatlll and pKks, 1Hll depend stwngly on tlu~ ch01ce
\\e return to the thoJte of tnne-mJgrath>ll ye\(Kity Hl Ch.1pter ti Jnd to apphcanons of denugro~non m Lhapter 8

f-k migration
Relore lllllllg on tn rhe recwsne methods dts<u~sed n the next chapter, we condude OUI re11ew of global
methods
\ookmg dt an e-::tremely rap1d
rmgrat10n
wlurh operdtes m the Founer
H pre.,uppose; , homogeneous subsur, strategem, ~tlil bemg used, to run Jt wlth le'' re'>trictive
d.SSUlllJlllllS
C:on'>tant-velonty f-k rmgratwn JS a rednnque th<lt Lan he apphed equally well m
depth mig~atJon a'> m nme rmgratwn, 'mee in homogeneous med1a, depth and tmle
mmges only d1ffer by a Sllllpk thange m vcrtJr,J sc,Je (an ,ffJne trdnsfrmauon).
\re n:"turn to rhe wayefield represenred by the ?ero-olfset ;ect1on i'l.p 1 ,.(.,., t).

238

k,'w

'"'"'~--

dtr/dx

, , . Fmtm"n'"l

l =~

or

k,=~:_ V~k'

3-Piaccresultin(k,,k,)or(k,,kT)
[ 4-Kepeatforallpnint;m

Thc lonner tLill'>folln o! ltus un.1ge (ml"o dmwmwm,) IS

fretuency w
The

IS

used here msread of Lhe lrequenq 1 w.cd m rhe

SUIU W

= ~:n:f

of an e>..plodmg
=0

239

"

()\yous\y, the 1.ero-ofhet sectmn ,1nd the nngrated secnun are not m the same
domam one !S m the (k., w)-domam, the other m the (k., k,)-domam '\lone the less,~,
the 1mages are linked by the batk-propagation of the '>urfact>-reconkd v;,ves frum.''
all. nmes t ro t1me t = O, ,md from all posJtwns at tlw surface (x, 7 = 0) to all depthrmgrated po&itwm (x..,,,, 7,,,)
Bctck-pwpagatwn being etUI\alent Lo fon<.ard-propagat10n, Jt needs tu be carned
out (as mditated m Chapter 1) hy satisfying d1sperswn rt:'LitJon>hip r1 20], wlud1, m
2-D and mdudmg the half~\elonty tem1 hnkt>d Lo the explmlmg rdkltor pnnciple,
will be

'>hO\>'t:'d tlut tlns relatJOm,lnp enabJe., us Lo express the JOJgTated

Fourwr tran'>forrn as a tnctwn uf the zero-om,et sectwn\ Founer transform, usmg , s1rnpk ''t:'Ig"hted change-of~vanable

Stolt

~P(k ,, k)=
Vlk,l ~r[k ,, w=-"'~J
'
~k:+ k;
2
'
' .

[5lnJ

f-k migration: a schematic example

Figwe 5 18 shows f-k mJgr,ltlon fu11tt1on; m2-D for the >penal case ofa ;mgle
refleuor of d1p O 111
gi1ing perhaps a better underslandmg of exauly ho1' th;
Based 011 the e.,.plodmg reflector pnnuple, all ponw, on 1h1' reflector emita
;1g11al >(t) aL time t=O, ueaung a pla11e wavewhiCh propo~gates upv.ards to be recorded by geophone> at the smce Tlus 1' Lhe .-:ero-olhet secuon ll.pl, ,(x, !,-,) ofF1gure
5.18-.l The a1m ,lo Lramform tlu& 7ero-ofl&er 'e<lon back mto tlw depth model
from 1' hiCh 1t 1' as ueated
F1rst, 1e carry out the 20 }ouner transforma non ofLhis nn,ge (Figure 5 \8-b)
On our exarnple, compo&ed of a '>mgle d1ppmg rdlecto1; Lhe spe{ Uu m will be
zero evemvhere, except along lhe slope dtrecuon ljw equal Lo the Lime dip dLn /dx
of the reflecto~: and hetween the 'ei>miC &~gn,J's Lwo extreme frequencws Olmn and
Lhe po>ltll'e
are depl{ ted, w1th neg,!tl\t:' frequenne& bemg
symmetrv
a>wnarecl IHth rhe Founer tr,m'>fonns of real func-

An) pomt m{k.,w) on Lhl'; spe{ trum {Orresponds Lo a smg-le-frequency eve11t uf

frequencv w a11d ;lope kJw = dt,jd" Tlm !S the fwtuem-y {omponem w of Lhe plane
1me }or mstance, ponn a lll Hgwe 3 18-h IS the 'mgle-fi't:'tut>my w, component of
the respon>e uf the nnage of tl1e reflectO!
The change-of-vanable [5 161 above '>tJ.tt:''> rhaL , po1nt m of the 'pectn1111 m Lht:'
first domam I,IIl 'rmgrate' to rhe pomt M m tlw 'ewnd domam dt a posmon (k.. k,),
suth that the di;perswn rdauonsh1p 1s samfwd, 1hus ddining the ~alue of k, a>

=~ 4v"(0: -k~

240

[.'i 17]

Usrng<~ hllie<~lgebraandnulmgthat ~=.!s._=~

can be ~hown thal

o

dx

ro

and

~=~=tane,
dx

k,

the { hange-of-vanable [5 lti]Is equJ\',!lent lo mrgratmg the pomt m dlong Lhe

normal ray of emergem e angle fl,
the mulnphrative fanor IUVolved 111 rdatmnslnp [5 16] 1~ equal Lo the cosme

r5ISJ

lo rt:'{dprrulate Lhe pnxedure.

he ~pecuum fl.PI, _ n(k., w) '' the decornpo>ltln of the >tacked secnon mto
~mgle-frequency plane 11a1e; (:'\!olt:' that we have ,Jready Hnphntly used the
derompo'>Ition of a so urce mio elemental plane w,nes in l"lgure> 1.21 and l
JO deterrnme amphLude ,H dL 1\PI,_,(k,, k,) from amphtude m ,t /\PI,
ponent w
llsmg Lhe supeqlO>ltlon punnple agdlll, tlu> Lnne m the ti't'tluenq domam,
spet trnm fl.PI, ,(k,, k,) !S recreated by 111dll'idually rmgr.ltmg each pLme 1\me,
the result hemg the sum of each uf these rmgranon;
rhel't:'fore, H !S >nnply a matter of repe.nng the oper,mon ofnngratmg m_....,
Al for all pomts lll spertrurn /\PI, ,,(k., w) to ohtam Lhe mgrated sect10n's
.,pectrurnAf'l.
k,)
_-\n in1erse Fowwr transforrn then gves the e1enlllal m1grated sett1on
1\pl,_,(x. l)

Depth migration versus time migration in the f-k domain

lo ohtam a timt:' llll6'Tatwn, we s1mpl) need to note Lh<1L Lhe depLh-to-venical
tune tran~formanon JS V.Tltten

T(z)= 2 ~zandk 1 = V~k,,

[5Ell

1\hne k, !S the l'ouner var!.lble corrt:';pondmg tu the 1e1m;~l tune vanable T (denored as ~tllh Lo dJtl'ert:'nriate 1t fr01n w) ll can eas1ly he shown that this change-ot~
\and_hle ntroduced 111to rdat10nslnp [5.10] corresponds toa 1mgranon m tnne

241

Stolt migration in a variable velocity medium

The m~ror adv,!tlt.tKe uf t~k nugrdnun ile~ lll 1t~ gre;tl '>peed (ompart:'d to oLher
nngr,mon tcchn1ques, hm rts lll.tJOr drav.back l!t:'~ m rts
neo u~ rnedium Stolt
suggt:''>led lhat tra( n
srretched
>hi(h d (nstmt-\eiOCJlY f-k rmgratwn n)ll\d then lw dpplied

lwns
a
Lhe ;arnples sumrned along the.;;e \~anablt:'
/t:'ro-o!het trdct:';
yeJocity hypt:'rbolds art:' stnnnwd ,1\ong hyperholas dependent only upon a srngle reft:'rtll<t:' velm ltv, denoled \',"!'
Ttm ft:'quues definmg , dr,mge-of-\anahk, t--+ t' = f(t), such tlJ;ll

1'

A ch,mge-of-vanable v1h1{h adhere.;; to the'>t:' rondmons lor a\1 pos'>!hle m1grauon

\elority tlmn1oll'> dlld dpertures A JS dedrly llllpo.,sbk Stolt proposed usrng a
change-ot~\anable 11h1Ch rnade t>tu,non [5 ~01 appwxlllldtt>ly \al!d !ora lnmtt:'d
apcrture x lli'> (lunge-of-\'anable h

t~t'(t)= :~ 1 f-rv!Jr)d.

[5~11

In thl& formuL1, \',, represents d ronstant

the eflectl\e nwdmm, 1 t:' tlw
t ___,. t' hds heen carned
\t:'lonty used m thc Jmgrdtwn once the
out HiH~Yt'l, tlus change-of-\anahle !S not perfelt, Slll(e beS~de'> lwmg approx!rnate for changmg the dJ!hacuon ctiTYt:'S, Jt lead& Lo, dispersion rdalron&lup drtlt:'rt:'Ut fiom
171 Imlt:'ad, the new
relatwnslup for a dt:'pth
ol ch,,g,-ot-;;o,l>l'

242

(b)Velocit)funetion
, - - - - - - - - - , " ' (c)Stretchedero-off,etse<:tFon
[l-\'erncalstretcht0 --->f 0 )

Tht> /.t>ro-offoct secttOn ts -.trdcfwd \Trtlally mmg changc-of-\'anable [3 21]

fht> chOice ofV~, JS tmportanl for anlt-a!t..tsmg constderatton-. From d pracnc.-tl
thert> s no problt>m tn usmg .1 vclont~
t) \aryng
vertical!\ and latt>r,tlly, but cat't' must be taken that
\,trianons
are nuld to cnsurc a suttablt> comproml-.t> bctwecn the method's approxtma-

f-k nugration,
as thdt tllustJated m Ftgurt> 0
1 ht> Tt>Sulr of th1s mtgrdlmn \\Tll be .'>trctched along the ttmt> axb as, result of
tht> lllltTaltr,m,formatlon, a Tt>\Trsc 'trctch !S tht>rcfort> fWrfmmed to comt>rr
tlm 'mtgrawd snt>tclwd' domam mto tht> llme-mtgtated domam

243

"

"

nug-ratcd -.trf'tch ltme T'

IOTmuJ.

.,.,
..
tina! mg-rated u me 1 ts carrwd out usmg the mvf'rse
---,.,~

to

Tlus operat10n, ~hm\n m ~-D 10 Figure 5 l!J, 1'> eastly t>xtended lo ;)-0, and 1s par\Jcularly dfincnt m teTniS of ldlculaung lllne lompared lo othcr 3-D mtgralwn
nwthods
Despttt> tt-. theort>tKdillnpCJfcl twns, tl11s mdhod rt>mans \\tdt>ly t>mpltJyed m a
number of ltmc-1n1gratwn .-tppheatwns. Due ttJ tls computmg cffi Jt>ncv, tt ts tJften
w.t>d asan mtermedtate stt>p 1n thc prestack tmt> nu_g~ations dcalt wtth m Chapter
7 Stolt mtgratJon can a!..o lw deplO\ed in :1-D ao an mtml skp Wlthm a seguenct> of
\'clonty-ca-.cadcd migratiom, a techmque treatcd m Chapkr 6

Turning waves or the migration of 'seismic mirages'

\\'e toncludc th1s chapter wtth a spt>ufic nugrat1on problem tlw nugr,JtlOil ot 'turnmg \\aVt>.-.' or 'acou-.tle mtragcs' \'t>rtKdl \anatwns m the vclonty of hgth rn the a1r
lonn tht> baSJs of the \\cll-known optlCal phcnomt>non of nuragt>'> Sueh ft>at:ures
rcsult from refracllon of hght ray~ m abnormally warm layers clase to the ground,
\dlt>J-e the rdractvt> 1mkx \.Jnc.-. m an unusual1nanncr, allmnng tJb]eCts out ofthe
to be seen 1 h"
that JS also ob-.ervcd for ela-.rt>Cogmzed m the
that for the first time a
carly 1080s (e g
number of spt>tldl ular
sohd apphcat1ons
gt>oph}Stcs wert> puhl1shed (Ratdiff el al 1992).
10 tht> (.ull of Mex1co,
conditions, 11 \\,J.., pms1blc to muge bcne,Jth -..-~_]t
ht>yond the horu.ontal 1 he-.e p.Jrltcular types of \\ave
u-.mg the rt>lraction
propagatwn \\t>1C
nus plwnomcnon"' dlu-.nated IT1 Ftgurt> .) 20, where Wt' ~t>t>k to lllldl{e a pomt
P lymg undt>r a salt o\erlung 1thm a scdtmt>nta.ry em1ronmt>nt >dwrt> lt>locity
llllTeascs rafndly \\ tth depth, a geologKal -.nu.thon ti MI ts h't'IJUf'ntly cm tmnkred in
tlw Gulf ol \1c>..JCO Modt>llmg ol rays
P (d1ITrattwn pomt)
,b,m-. tl1at, undc1 su eh conditions, 1ays
anse
ongnute .Jt 1~ propagate
lir-.tly dowm1ards, then bt"Comt> rclraued
thc \do[]ty gr.Hhent and fimsh by
tm1ard.-. thc surface, complctdy ,1\oiding thc salt ovnhang
obsta le lo tht> SC!Smtc t>nergy's propagatwn 1 hus,
normal rays from ~~ associatt>d wnh tl1ese pro]Mg-auons and wluch havc managed to
avmd the s,] dome, mm \\t>ll be obst>~-ved at thc surfact>.
For tht> lmagc to exl'>t on the stal ked '>t>CIJOn, a number of condtnons mu.-.t bt>
Hrstly, .-t '>Uflioently lrtrgc vclout} gtMhcnt must be prt>-.ent WJthn tht> ,ub-.urfact> for the wa\t>s lo 'turn raptdly t>nough m arder lo aJTlVt> at tht> surface
a reasonable d~'>tanct> hom the domt>

244

~<uc '-'~u~,

nocu a

'~'"'""'0

'""'"

~UUOC-<<:<<C<J

<no.; "" ""

<<" ' " " '

o<:;ooCC-UUU~

Ul

be recordt>d smct> tlw~c w.tvt>> arrivt> with a tr<-tvt>ltimc sJgnilk,mtly greatcr

than ~tand,ud dtrcct arrt\'als
Fmally, the mformauon conccrned mu~t lw prcscrvt>d duung- tlw proces~mg(mutc)
and thcn concctly -.tackt>d 1ht>st> rcllt>CtJons
h,t\'e pdrtlCularly
cvcn negatl\'e
stackmg
d' J)ustrated by e g
(I!J92) Tlm
rcqunt>-. the u-.t> oi
special -.tdckmg and nugra!wn tools

(b)

DtllbctioncuneorP~GreenfunctoonforP

245

r.h.,ae.s
thc 'tUTnmg pomb', .15 1mphcd hy prense
l9l::!.l) \\'hdst thc {~J't'en's fum11ons 11111 appear
mcompktc dut> to
sh.1dow zonc r1t>att>d b: lhc ovcrhang, lhts ohould not be a
ma_or Js ..,ue, .'>mee lor thc K1rchholl SlllllHMllOn only the .'>pt>cul,r 7tme w11l conlnbutt> to tl1c
P,
torrespond~ to thc normal ray,
20)

1 ht, turning \l'a\CS dpproach to Jmgr,mon

m ~-D, but can
also bt> extended to thrt>t> d1mensmns. Othcr Ktrchhoff stack mlwatJOll tedmJ(ues
havt> addJttOnalh lwcn propost>d for individual cases, espccully lor 'pha'>t>-shift'
nngr.lon mcthod.'> 11e nm\ lllt>t>t tn Chaptcr 6.

References and further reading

Berkhout AJ {1085)

F.ni'Tij)fn fl(n,eFielri

f.xflujmlalwn.l'ru/H

BerkhoutAJ (J9B7) Applied ,\('1\rrtu

ThMn t.hc1wr, ,\JnstcnLml
Bevc D, Black J and Palacharla G (l!J93) Phrmc., Rt>spomc of lunc mJgr.ttlon lo
J.-ueral vt>lonty v,nJ.Jtron
60 1118--1127
Black J and Brzostowski
Sy~lcm.ttic~ o! t1mc m1gr.tttOn crron
Groph_\'Sirl, 59 1-fl9-l-f:14
Chun JH andjacewitz CA (1981) htnda11rt>ntals of lrcyut>ncv domatn nugratron
(,eojllr\ln, 46 717-76!:!
ClaerboutjF (1976) haulmnmtu/, of (;eophwra! Dala I'JOII'\IIfll', \fc{,rdii-Htll Book
Lo, Htghtsl<rlln
C1aerbout JI<" {19B!) lnwgmg /he F.m!h\ lntenor BL1ckwt>l\ S( tt>nttfic Pub!JCdtwns,
Oxford
Claerbout JI<" and Doherty SM (1972) DoWJmard connnualton of scJ~mopdms
(;eOjih)WS, 37 741-7;);)
Hale D, Hill NR and Stefani J (1!J!J2J Jm,g-mg '>a1t wrth luintng- .,cr.,mJc \\,1\t>s
Ceoph1w5, S7 145:1-1462
Hubral P (\977) Imw llllh.-ranon ~onrc r,y tlrcorcttcal '"'pccts Geophyual
I"'mjJelf71tg, 25 73k--745
Lambar G, Lucio P and Hanyga A {1996) h10-dnncmHmal rmdn1.tlucd travt>1llll1C ,md amp!ttudt> maps by umlmm .,amphng- of ray ficld Geoph)llruljoumaf
[i/emai!OIIal, 125 .)84-.l!JB
Loewenthal D, Lu L, Robertson R and Sherwood JW {1976) Thc wavt> cqu.tttOn
app1it>d to migratmn Groj;h_wcall'w5jll'll111p,, 24 380-399
RalclifiDW, Gray SH and Whitmore ND (1!J!J2) ScJ~IIlll 1mag1ng of oalt slructurc.,
rn rhc Gu1fofMcxtto 11ul.eadm.!;!,
11{4) l!-:11
Stolt RH (1078) MJgldi!Oil by Founcr
Stolt RTI and Benson AK (10!:!6)
(,t><rphysJCa1
Prcss, St Pt>tcr

:-.r,

Ed

Ed,

Chapter 6: Post-stack recursive mjbrration techniques

11 tln~ chaptn, \\t> tacklt> a range of mtgratton mctlld'>. whtch as m thc Irchhoff
mt'!hod .JtT
to thc t>ntne 11nagt>,
lll a ft>Curst\C fasl11on
rntgranon tt>chniqtw'
att> ,)~o oftt>n tallcd

Ht>rc, \\t> look only .tt rccUDlVC post-.'>tack nugr,tttons ,tpp!tcablt> to st>tsmtc data
at 7c10-ofht>t, but \\"t> rcturn to prestctck J't>CUf'>l\'t> tmgrauon mt>thod\ n Ch<~.ptt>t 7

Principies of recursive depth migration

The recursion pmcedure

lhe gmdmg
tht> \'>'a\Cfit>)J", ltd\T

at t!lllC LCTO +
of
compo-clwmody di,tus~cd m prcnotl'
n 'enes The teUIJ ston conct>pt ts out-

1ht> recursJOn can be tlllttah!t>d by nottng th,lt lm( 1 =O on a

1:0 l!) dcfimtwn 1magrd al a drj1/h
= ()

z.no-n(firt 1echon

that

thJ'> llCWlt>StdUd) Se!Stnll .'>CCtlOn 8p(X, 7 =

atdt>pth 2 ,',.,
Tlus proCt>'>S t'> contmued unttl the dt>'>lrt>d m,xtmum mtgr.Jtton dt>pth ts
reachcd

V,(~,y)

chost>n -.01all cnough for

nt>glt>cwd Lateral vanattons Ul vcloCJt\ m.ty be takcn mto account, hm\TVt>r, "' 11ill
bt> shown later lht> sole hmll on thc vanabthly ol the mtgrauon \'ciOClt} modeJ.,nll
tlwreforc be thc mgr,mon step /17 Thts constramt does not nt>Ct>.,.,anly havc to be
O\t>rly rc-.ntcttvc, -.mee /17 ts uouo~ll} -.mall compatt>d to tht> .-.t>JSIIUC 1\,wdength and

250

J'> hkt>ly to be Wt>IJ beyond thc re~oluuon W1th "h1ch propagat10n vclouues can lw
cstimated.
In briet, rccUl".'>lVe methofh allow us to m< orpor,Jtt> ..t h1gh degrce of hetcro.(<'IIt'il} nto thc prop,g,uHm 1docl!y morlel. vduch expl.uns tbCJr \\Hit> tunt>nr me

Migration step and imaging sampling rate

fht> Jrtlgrauon 'lt>p /:illS gt>Jlt'tdl!y ],rgt>J than lhe re>olution of lht> fin,Jlnnage
nugratton '>lt>p o! around 20 m JS frcquently chmt>ll, 1dl!hl the deplh-Jmgralcd
>el'>III!C tmage IS oftcn produced with , \'t>rtical dz samplmg ratc of around 2 lo 4 m
r\one rhe
111 tlwotY nothmg prtl't>nt~ recursle 01ethods .tlso bcmg apphcd
w tbc dz Hltt>w,] of lht> final
rlw, ts not done m pralt!CC beca use of the co~t
ofnumcnc.tl JnstabJlity At cach .'>lt>p m rhc
~t>ctJon wlll be calculatcd For m~LlllCt>, lo 1magc a
.'>lt>p of ~O m and , 6-secondbt> talcu]alt'd TIH'>.

,~

Ic.,.,,

nldS> o!
to be numpuhttcd, dcspttc the Lu t
.,JJOrlt>l" \\Jth the Jtcr,lon, ~omewhat rt>ductng tlw ulutl.-tlltmS
'Je,erthclc'' to 1nigra1e rt>cursvt>ly 104m .'>lt>p.'> \\ould requu-e 1!lOO JleratJOn.'>,
u1e,mmg thc calculaton tHnc would be lhe lllllt>' a' long
\fore
as t>ach resJdual 'ecuon IS calcu]alt>d lmm lht> re~ult of tht>

251

Yligr.-t!t'rllm.Jge(l Az

+ J J.~:)= Restdual Seeuon,(!

= ~J dz '\')

[6.1]

tlns '>lt>p to samplt>d rla, rcgutrt>s mtt>rpolatum, .1~ t = 2J Jj\' 1~ not gen,
a mulnplt> of thc temporal ~amplmg llllt>w,J ust>d Ths partiCular step IS
inevitablv onl}
rigun () ():1 ~hows the 'kmks' thal nuy
appear on tlw fin,] llll<l);t>
lhc mJgratmn mtcwalchmt>n 1s loo >\!de for a
I"t>g-mn of srt>ep dip~
fht~ dct.-tll m the
ol tht> J"t>cuntvt> mt>thods tllw.trak'< lht> trade-off
tmoh t>d m ch()(,.,mg a
.. tep
loo 'mall .-tnd the m1grat!On bccomcs costl} and umt.-tblt>,
.md the ..avmg 1'\ neg.tted b~ the mtmductton ol artt>facts mto the
In

the

dm\n\\"ardo from the sulfate, \nthout use ot a

tlm 'glolul' b'clc-pncpn;.nnm
entire re~1dual occtmn
no\ nt>t>d
),lote both the SHliJi.!ll!lt>' ,md dttft>rt>nces \\Jth tht> reCJ.ll"Sl\C" technnuc
bt>t>n rec01dcd
depth 1\1 tS Lhe
bndc-m>p-;,nm> u,t>d up tonO\\" 1he unporlant dtsttnctlll 1'<
that 1t IS now thc
wuvejirld th.Jt IS ealculatcd, not simpl~ that for 1 = O
alone "J hts h.ick-prougaLJon t.-tkt>~ place lll
of depth !:.1, m subsurface
la)ers that a1t> not nt'lt>~~..tnly partltul.nl
anda'\ mdnv ttmes ,s are
ncces~.lr\ to rcaeh tht> dcoi1t>d m.-tXlmum llllagmg dt>pth Z

1hc11npactofthcapproxmalc 11nog,ng
mu>l b~ reduced Modem mtgra11on

''"''"'"oloo>gdonmn

252

 In It:"<:lii'SJH
thc- W~Idu,J sc-rt1on al deplh 1 = 1 tu. I> med lo c-alcul,ne liw
'>c-Llwn for thc- succt:"S'>l\1:" depth mten.ll <. = (1 + 1) /17
llns 1~ l'.hy Ill'> known a~ a HlUDl\1:" prolOS In ordn to unage depth Z, .di
the \ucceSSl\T stc-ps need lo be- ldkulalc-d
,\llc-rnatl\dj, 111 KuLhhoH' m1gration, a t<nget rnav be dJrc-<tlj and lllll<]Hdy
1n depth lhc- re,pedJ\e arhant,ge> ,nd d1sadvanragc-~ of c-ach
1\eigh 1r1 faHJur m one or other ollhc-m, ,dlhough al pn:-sc-nt mo~t
1 ero-otlset deplh m1grdtumo used mduslrJdlly ,re relllDl\1:" K1rrhhoiT mlganon 1'> used pr rnopallj m 3-D lrme and depth preolack mrgrauono

Back-propagation and the residual seismic section

(j 01, tale-n timn F1guw 5 01 rntroduung lhe 'e;..plodmg renedor' umcept,
thc- rdea ofa Jeqdual se-e non .\ Wd1efield enutred at time t =O bv a set of
hwwd e;..ploding-relkuor oourcc-~ propagare-' t1manb tlw '>UIKe Lach wa\dlont
uo,.,e., planc- Z = !1t, befre contm11mg m Jt~
IIorn !1z to the o;mfaLe,
1\ht>Ie 1( w11J finail\' be JeCOideJ [[
thev wouJJ h,l\'e
l"t'lotded tlw Ie'>Jdual '>edwn ''e are ~c-c-lmg
tlu., ~~- of comse, onh an
c-xpeumenr, 1t doe, allow a tlwmy to be dev1-.c-d lor the Laludatwn of the
~c-rtwn al /1 bj
Tlw residual

hMk-propagatiOn of , 1'.a1dield, narndy lor thc- W<lldidd to beat a

lerr,tin rkpth, basc-d on tlw l'.,t\elield me,!Silwd al thc- sHrftcc- Tiw pwn:-quJ'>Ite.
olllt> ag-.un, 1s that thc- prnpaganon\ vdooty fidd Is kno>Hl bdllt:"t:"n tlw sHda('c- <tnd
llmrkpth 11.7

Kirchhoff back-propagation at time zero and beyond

Thi'> 1nfmmatwn (111 pre.,~me ot

be 1ecorrkd at umt> -r by d letel\ei placeO at .\ and we mil
't'e ll oll the leS1dual .,t>l lwn ,t th1~ nme 1: Hurgcm' pnnuple statc-s that dt lh1s pn:-U't> In\tant. po!Tll ,\ wlil beh:l\c- l1kc- , nc-w sourrc-, w1th d pown c-qu.t! to rhc- cmatc-d

253

hngc<>[L\~

11~

(h)Zero-offsetsecttonrecordedatZ-0

(c)Zero-offsetresidualsectionatZ=IY.

fi.m<:'llon w1th a tune- ~h1ti dt w1ll g,:- Llw un<~ge at

~ection for rkplh 1'.7
thl~ nwrhod, all ~ample~ lymg
on thc- ft'Sldual senwn's ~e1~mw traLc- al
be :-aJ ub1c-d for allnect'~sary
llllle'>.J Jt. Tl11~ IS J]Justrated lll f1gUT("~
dlld 6 05-J 1 e tiw batkjill!jifJg(J/11!11
ofu'rolorl~ tmJullantwith tnnt
On(e a ITd<:'t:" "complete-, the p10redure IS repc-dted unt1l c-.trh ol thc- re~Kiual
'>t:"<:'tlon'~ trdrc-~ has be-e-n aJtuldtc-\, henre <.ompleting ll1t' gnd of p01nts uf the
:-;du.tl sectwn {Flgul"(' 6 05-d)

Back-propagation with which velocity?

The tedmuue usmg Km hhofl summauon 10 bark-propdgdte thc- l'.a\efield
L'.p(x. 1"" O, t) from Oto L'.z. 1 e lo (d](ulatc- the re~1d1hd sectlon al depth 1'.7,"' 'ihown
modelm ]ayn lO- AL], thcllw ~wfarc- lo poml D,
for t}lt'" dw'>ell .tper[UI"(' lo{)(" ]ot.tlly (Oll\l<lnt l"he (~leen\
anal}tJCallj, dlld ll will be- tlw nol'. LunJ!ldl dlffr<lcUon

254

,>-'>

'

255

onf tmu lo auother

(l((OUnt jor lalflal

i'anatWII.\ the operator (~
6.05-c 1~ nnw lllv<ln.tnt but can be (.tnd, m prdrUce, is) space v.triant
fmw
wlil ad as a deJy <~pphed to tbe Jntllal ~edlon, ~liKe le~s 11rne IS
n:-qum:rllor an e\ent to arri,e ;:t depth 1'.7 than at the surfarc- This i~ parlirularly
true for the la~t dat.t recorded <lt the SLuf'<I<:T ,md hence, the res1dual sert1011 v.11l be
;hortc-r than the ongmaluunal sellwn

Recursive focusing of a diffractor point

In pradice, the (~reen'~ function 1~ limJtc-d to a parunl!ar aperture, a~ F1gure
6 O! <;how~ the aperture bc-mg as s1gmfic:H1l a p<lr<lnKter 111 rc-rurs1vc- Imgr<~Uon as
lll K!rchhotT nngalwn Dw operdtm'~ apc-rturc- 1~ related to thc- maxnnal inridence
ofthe rap used 111 the calculatum ofthe oper<ltor, a~ well a' dw w;nefront's propa
ga11on angle v.11h the \'eiLKJ.i Lumlmg the aperture means ch~cdrdmg mformanon
propagated at an angle 111 cxce~s of the maximal m< 1dence, and bemg unabk to
Image mfmmalwn lhat dunng 1ts prop.tg<ltton from the e;..plodmg reilertor to the
.,udace h<1~ pwpagaled di , gnen m~ldlll <1t ;:n <Ingle gie<lter than th<lt as~onted
\\!Lh ilic maxnnunl aperlure
6 OG sho\\~ lww a poml <hlfrdttor m a mednnn Wllh lateiallj 'anabk
1~ gr<~duallv locuscd m the renn~ive proces~ tl1rough a ~ucce~~ion of re~1d
Ltal ~ectlon~, <1nd 1s eventudl!j unaged, once ns focused m1<1ge aruve~ al lmw t = U,
on one ofthe~c- ~etmns On the mitia! ~edion, the <hfh;: twn 1~ non-hypetbolic, due
to the lateial \doCilj grad1ent Dunng back-pwpagat1on from E.= Oto l = l\1, lhe
llllildl sell!Oll l' ond.tied >\lth d sene-s of(~recu~ fUnctwns, ,t,tlwnan m nmc- but
v.luch van laLei.dh in arcordame v.ith the IIue \'eio<ity V,(;..)
Only Creen~ funcnons ldngenrul lo the dt!frallmn >\ll contubute construrtlV<'
!y Lo the residual seuion In Figure 6 06, two C.rec-n'~ funt tlons are shown for D.
They are tangent1al lo rhe d1frr<lllmn <une at chp., -300 and +4:) 0 Theu ume~ at
apex T'"" <1nd tlwu n:-speUlYe hj perbolas wtll be d1ffetent, ~lllce thej v.e1e cdkulated with two diOc-relll migration ,eJoultes .\t depth L'.z on the rc-sJua!.,ertwn, they
D, whKh IS ~pc-nfic lo the~e <hp'> Note- tl1e tmrespondc-nce
produce- .111
betwec-n the
fm these nc-w pmnts and 1he mtnsenion of
r<~ys fnr chppmg- rdkcton pas;mg thmugh [)
d1ps of
Jespecuvely, e.g. the ray emitted from E 111
6.04 he chffr<KIJon on thc- restdudl St'li!Oil <1t dcpth A7 1<, shghtly bntei
thdn on the

256

mttial ~auon, wnh lt~ apn. dt~plated towrd poml D's absn\sa
fhe recunmn LonlHiurs w1th fUnher b<llk-prop<lgdllon to rkpth ~ ~z. thrn to
:l/17 On !he 3 ~/ sertion, the rhfTiallwns .tre prrtiraiiY C<]lldl to thr Lreen's hmcUoil thal would be ralculatrd IOr X,. or :t.,. \Vith the next Iteiatwn at nme t =U and
, 1bsnssd X,, 1t therrforr br:-omr'> erltJrelj fon1sed . md 1s finally lllldged at thr lOTre~pondmg depth, Z,
[he lfCUTStl-'f mgrallrm o{ iOUI"'f le111L1 lo thf )Ginf lfsult a1 thr K~rddrofi m1~1almn (01

pomtD

b"I'-P'"P'I<""'"

npphed lo the nrttre 1J'mlf:{iefd (1

1Jp, and nmmal

reLursJve m1grauon, wherr only .1pnula1 wjormatwn 1s

h, 1_J..-pwpagated through the nugratton velooty modd

A short recapitulation on recursive migration

In bnel, a traLe on a IeSJdu] srcuon can be rakulatrd by rorrdat1r1g the tmtlal
sellmn mth an operator (Green's funct1on), v.hJCh IS mvanant 10 ume 1h1~ operator will ckpend on the pJOp,tgatmn vdor ny Hl thr layrr [O- A1 J. partK:ularly 111 the
Lone do'r to the absci~sa ot thr trdcr COTKernrd In rrahty, the ~do1 1ty m th1s zonr
JS a..sumrd LOilSl<lnt .tnd Wlll br the vdocity at X,., thr back-prop<~gatwn operdtOr
1'.111 thu, be hj prrbolll When :-akultmg , ne1ghbounng trace, d d1fferent veloutj
lll<l)' be ass1gned, pennltttng drta1kd ]ter[ 'ant1ons 111 velouty Stnctlj speaklllg.

V,(x)
V1 (x)
V 1(x)
V 4(x)
dcpth

--

0JtTracunncuneoll
re"duJ],ectJOnJ..:'I7

OJITradwncuncon
'""dual<ectwnl\

on<ero-offsetsccnun
._/_j:rr,~n,runchon,IJ-..:'1

(h)Rcsidualscctiondomain

257

we >hould dlso Ldke 11110 dlLOnnt loLdl \<lrtalton, 111 the l!Jdngle cmered hY the
<._;,een\ funltton, jC'I thts 1', a sc-cond-ordn refinc-ment, and 111 pr<tl\t(e llt> U>ually
negltTtc-d The ldter,tl vanatwn 111 \eloul\' ts adc-qu.ttely auounted for by rlte fau
th,t_t the ba:-k-pmp.tgatmn 1dontv m eadt layer 11 fj,, (1 + 1) 81] mav be- arhJtranly
asstgned
K1nhhotl '>ttmmanon bdlk-propagatiOn all(w,., U'> to e.xpl<lm thc- umrqtt of the
rc-stdual >e<.tion and e'>t<lhlishes thc- ronrKltwn bd\leen relUI>t\e migr<~twn, nonW<:'IIf'>I\T 'global' Kn--chhofl nugratwn and nugratwn usmg norm,t! ra1s Whtlst this
ts not ,ts '>ll(h applwd rn pra<:'ttle, thrc-c- dr!kwnt dasse\ of mnhods are
1 hey werc- seen 111 Chapter l

lts prd(ltLal import<llllt:"

Recursive time migration

So far, we h1e pw>enTc-d thc- pnnnpk lwhmd recursl\e mtgratton wtrh tlw wsult
bemg gnen in depth Wc- now see how thc- TelutSI\1:" mnhod Lan also be U>ed to
obtdlll a tilTW nugrdtlon ana1ogou~ to tlw Ktnhhoff ttme nngr<~tton dc-sn1bed m
5 1\C'\erthekss, H wiil he ~e-e-n that thts recunmn m thc- time- domain rs an
phy>tral meamng pr\l(kd there aw no l<1teral

Back-propagation in time
F1gme 6 O:i shows how a wsrdu<ll St:"Uton ts ,]u],:-J fm depth /j,z ln thts
approdlh, the nugratwn veloUij modelts, once agalrl, e>tablt,hed m dc-pth
For tlns and other re,t>ons rhat beuJme clear ,.,Jwn wc- dt>(U'i> fimtc--drffnen(e
nugr<~tion, a cltfferent appro.trh, >llol'.n 111 Ftgure 6 Oi, t'> actuallr usc-d m Ulllt>
nngratlon.
In Llm
l(X) =

wn-tant mut equal to a_fxerl

knml'l! m tire
lJoi'.S hark-pwpagatwn to be- Larrted out Wttb d Creer fttrKiton
the\elouty \ "'wttlun the /j,(x) \ayer. >nllll.tr Lo that u>ed rn the Kmhholf nugr,ttwn
<;hown m Ftgure 5 15 The equallon governmg rhc- Green's lim( t10n LUI"\T ts

258

!S mvokt:-d .tnd tl1e mage al t "'

1 h1s w1il .]so be val!Cl fOr unagmg ml(T\,]., dt, sm<11ler than lhc- nngranon mlc-nal 1 herdore thc-u:- IS no nc-ed lo
o\ll lhc- procerlure shuw n 1n F1guw 6 02
contlnues wnh a riC'V>' res1dual sc-uwn (J.kul<~ted from IlS prc-rkre.,~or
and .1 Grc-c-n'~ funLtiOn whirh IS rlepenrlc-nt on rhc- migration vdonty lll thc- sc-(ond
Lwe1 [~T.:! ~Tl rhe nnaglrlg pnnuple 1> then .1pplwd al 1 "' O, and the tnrwllllage <ll 'mc--deplh
tune\! Afw1ll be ohl:uned
th1s method, ne1tlwr the

+ lJ !lTJ
analy'>l> .1nd applaalwn olthe Dn: founula lO
tlns \elol) lunn1on.
1s laken .<; equal lo tlw Illls velocity from lhe surCare
do\\nw,uds We shall return below to Lhe (Oil~lrutlwn ol <1 tmle-nngr<~I!Oil \dooty
lidd, lb ad\,mt.go a'> wdl <1~ ns lnml<IUons, hut here \\e Sllll]Jly no re rhc- c-ase Wilh

259

\~hllh

the H:louty field mav be e-,t;:hhslwd, expldllllllg (lf not fullv IUSillytng) the
pn:-sc-nt-d.r- l'.!de~pread use- ol tnne-m1gra1mn Krhruques

The 'thin-lens' term

.\ rkpth ,elonty model doe~ not nec-d lo he gl\c-n exphutlv m tune nugrat10n.
For nun-rt'lU~>lve IIllg.mon, we ~aw thc- re,er~e of tlm <11leged adyant,tge, 10 that
where Literal yeiodty ~ariat1ons do orcur. thc- flme migration does not rcpresem
e;...alllj a \eriK<~liy ~trt'lLhed ,:-r~lon of thc- dc-pth nnage. llus ~ame drawba('k !S also
~een in !TlUI~i,e tmw nugr,ttion, and oCLurs from the ~c-r ond ltc-ranon onw<~rds.
llw fi1st wsrdual sc-dmn obtauwd through bdrl..-propagatlon, howeH-r, will be
(almo.,t) exart, yet wrll drtler from that gr\Til by depth mgrat!On, smce rt represents
llw zero-ofhd sc-UIO!l that would ha ve- beeu reunckd ior a l.tinally vrnng depth,
!l.7(x). l he rc-nnswn 1'> pnformed, a~ mdrLatc-d m figure 6 07, onr a ronstant hmenligration mtnval !l.T
flw ~urress1ve ITSldual ~eumns are con~equemly recordmgs caltulated WJth
It>spc-rt to datum jilrme.l
IS thc- sum of the relame depths at earh
tmw-nngratmn mterval,
bj \''"._,(Xr-~ 1 ):

1he- bn thatlhe~e SIKCC"SS!ve !l.~ are not hon7ont<ll mtorhKes errors 111to tlw tnnenngTdUOn poce~~ Thc- Rayle1gh ntegral [3 61, for lllSldllCC, as~ume~ a honzontal
rd'erc-rKe Llse of a non-horiLontal referc-nce pl<~ne ,.JI ]so IM\C an imp<lll on the
two amphtude ami tllnc- tenm m the Grec-ns ftllHlwn, although the efku on amphmdc~ 1~ ,v.,tnnalK.tlly 1gnond (e, en whc-n the WeJght1ngs for the (,rec-rls funcnon
are efleuwely ralrulatc-d m the t1me nugr<~tlon)
The efTeLI on prop.tg<~llon t1me~ <; ol rnme pralllraiLorllern !'!u~ phenomenon
1~ shown m F1gwc- 6.08 The <'hange to , AP Ic-ferc-nred lil time by a (~een\ finKtlOn, >uch a\ that m F1gll!e 6 07, dS~umt'~ t!Mt bdlk-propagatwn of mformatJon toa
grven x po<;llJOII Wlll O(CllrYertlr ally Th1~ as~umptwn dTutyeJy mearb 1gnormg the
rellallwn at tlw m te JIduO AT, whKh OllUr~ beuu~c II.Z JS not l1<1t 1\ote thaT \I'C find

pwp.tgate\ fi-mn one lter.ttion to tlw nc-xt, dnd an 1mage ra~ ront>spondmg to data
w1th vertiCal c-mergence ran hc-n(e lw followed !Iom one APto anothel dunng the
nugl.tlJOn
Thi<; IS lliu\t,ttc-d m F1gmc- 6 08, a\ .. el! as m hgllTe 6 09. tlw laner beu1g analogom to F1guw 6 06 desuJblng bark-pmpdganon m the depth dom<lm 1\ote the
d1fference between the two approlrhes m tune mlgralloll the G1een's luncllOil
llll\eS all ha' e thc- same ,ertKal time T"'' = Af fhc- byperbolK pan hnked to foru~
mg, howe\ei. l'i ~mular to the Green's functwn., u~c-d m dc-pth 1mg:rdt10n
flus mean~ thaT thc- Jff;:rtton froml) ~~ ste<lrhly fiwusc-d during the n;Lurslon
steps, wh1lst a~ <~pex rc-mam~ (;:pproximatd>) at ab~o~sa X," In Hgure 60!-J-b for
c-xampk, the ape.x drrl\TS al t = () rlunng thc- fourth 1teranon step. w1th a po~1IHHl

260

'Virtual' ray tracing in the time-migrated domain

oi the

roncept
d 'Hrtual' ray Withm the tune-1mgrated domdill WdS first mtrodtKed b} Re}naud el ni (1003), .tnd allows exau mudelltng of rerunl\e tnnellllgrdttOn (m denugr,tllon) klrH:matllS, Jn tlw S<lll1C WdY that Wlntunnbe's analYttLal
formula~

r::,

l!J ,nd

rs 121 pcumt ktncm,tu

modellmg m KnThhofftmw nHgr;non

261

.. j ~ ..::. ~~
d~plh

(a) Uepth dmnnin (unknown)

_____

____!?itti-;JcttOL1~uneun

re>tdualsecl1un3..:'1z

(b)Residualscction>domain

(c)Timemigratlon

R<~yn.tud'~

mc-thod nnohc-s ra\' lracmg- w1thm a lhlrtKUldr l..md of nwdnun, smce 1L

.\sd rc-sult.
no/;_Jan'

tqual Lo the !()(al nl!gJ.IIOil~\dmnws

addttmn, the type ol
this particul.tr mc-dnnn ""ill depc-nd on tlw h<1t k-pmpag<~tion merhod
usmg the K1nhhoff mnhod gwt~ an dhptllal <1n1sotropy,
ph<~~e-~lult m limtc--dlileremx nwthods
to gl\'e Il~e toa 11101'(' <.ontphc<~ted am-,ollopv he<.du~e ol rhe1r more
h.tndhng of rlw nngratloll
,c-]outYfelrl

262

\ftt"r ttm exteii\Jve !lescnptwn of thc pnnuples ,mrl over;ll .lspctt_\ of reCUJ\IW'
nugr.ttmn, .tnd \Lre\~mg- the use ofKuchhoff sum-b.1~cd back-prop;g-;tmn methorls,
nm mo~e 011 lo tbose
metho&, t 111-renth use!l m mdu~tJT
Note th;t the umclusio11s
rccursi\l" mcthods al~o rematn \ahd
l\l1e11 ex;rmnmg rmgr;non tcchmque-. utJII7mg thesc methorls
IH"

Phasewshift backwpropagation and depth migration

l be jJhil\e--.luft back-propag.Uon method Wil\ mtrorlucerl h}
Jcmam-. v>idelv used torl;y rlue to 1ts -.peerl lh pnnupal di.mb;ck b
\ahd "hen" no latei.J.i \anatwns Jtl ,eJocity ocnu, although tertam 'tucb' rlo at lea~t
p.!rtmll} enable u> lo lumt thc cffects ofth1-. theoretwal con~tramt Hllt\'Cr,
n ur>J~e. thc mcthod wtfl dMl welf milh untunl varwtwn' m the rmp,ralwn
[n Chaptcr !, the dJ~per-.1011 rel;tJOn>lup fl 20] 11a'> mtroducerl as a
thc \\<l~C equ.J.\1011 m thc Founei domam, st<1tmg til.lt n~ \'<lhduv onl} extended to

263

prop.tg.mon wJthm a mcd!Um of lonstant vt>lonty Th1~ dJ-.pCI~Jon rt>ldt!Onsh!p cm

therelorc be ust>d ro< akulate thc JesJdudl scctwn ~ub~equent to ba<k-prop.tgauon f
to be con~l<llll Note that de-.plle our de-.cl!p-

swularl)
\Ve rt"t.tll the problem lo he sohed we have d zero-ofJSet stctwn Jecorded at the
;urfale ~ = O, and w1sh to cdl< ul.ne the 1t>< ordmg that would have been nldde ata
depth 1 = tl7 A sumldr pwblem has .tlH".tdy het>n ~olved lll Chdpter 1 (\1orlelling
plpdgatton In the .Founcr dolll<lill' and
1 11), v.here v.e 111\herl to find lhe
change 111 tbe wa,efidd a~ a functum
muea~mg (propagauon) or decreasmg
(bad.-prop;gatmn) time
A sunilar appmach 1'> userl herc, usmg the explodJng-retle< tor model. It amounls
LO statmg that 1\e knl\ Ap(x, 1 = O, t) and v.e ~eek !l.p(x, 1 = 1\z,
the 'upv.;J'
fmm tl1 toO OCCIII'> m a medmm
pwpagMmg
frmn Oto tJ. mohe~ mtegiating the wa,e-pwpagation
equat!Oll 1ll lhi'> medmm trom l(S JtlltWI value Ap(x, f.= n, t) lo lt~ e\entual destrerl
1alue Ap(x, Az, t)
A m.tthematual way of rle~cnbmg thl'> pm!Jiem !Sto use a pmperty of the D1rac
O(z) dHnbutwn f'unUIOn

v.here * md!C.tle'> a <omolutJOJJ operauon, wttll upeiaLOI O Iep!e~enttng lhe Dlf<ll

funltmn
\\bdst tbe a hove rel.J.tamslup !S only a detimtmn, 11 pm~e.,.,e~ a Sllllple eqmvalent
m the Fouuer !lom;m A 2-D Founer tr.tn~form <.tll be pt>I-foimerl of tlp(x, z = 0, t)
atl(\ Ap(x, 1\1, t) with re.,peu to the vaiiable~ x ;rult, 1 e

~p(x,z=O,t) ~ 1\P(k,,z=O,ro),
~p(x,ilz,[) ~ ~P(kx,Az,<O).
u~mg tlu~

[fi7]

not;non, relalumslup [ti ti] c;n he rcwlltten .t'>

Here, we ha1e sunply v.ntten the generah.t.ed reJ;tmmhtp henvecn the mtml anrl
re-.idua[ ~e< tums m tbe Flmner domam. :-\lov., v.e 1\ant lo expn:'>s the fact that one !S
rleduced hom tbe other thmugh h<lck-prop;gattml. 1 e that the tvlo 1\.l\efields ;re
hoth wlullml~ oftbe propagatton thwugh the V/2 merlmm Th1-. 1~ .tccomp!J.,herl by
>ldllng that k, m tlw abo\e exprcsslll mu~l umform lo tbe dJ-.perston rebtwnsh!p.
Todo thi'>, rhe relalmn-.h!p must he modtfied lo ldke accounl of the fact thal, m
the explodmg-retlt>Uor model, the propagatmn velonty w11l be rltvtrled by rwo, as
11ell as t>xpre-.~mg 1he unknown k, as a funcuon of 1he other pa1ameter~ fh1s eventu.tll} gJH"S (for 3D survevs)

264

One-way wave equation and multiples

Observe that 1n explt~'>!Oil
tht> po~1l1\e >quare-Joot 1'> hosen 1h1s mean.,
that back-propagatlOll of upwani propagating
,1,,unung, wllh the convenuon
,1t.t, 1 e fwm the explodmg retlt>ctor towarrls the surfae, w1!1 he umquely
expre~sed by po~lllve k, values
lhi.,[astremaikiMsa

The phase-shift back-propagation operator

Rcturnmg to phase-sluft h; k-propagauon, the I'CSidu;l secnon hack-pwpagated fwm Oto 1\z usmg the wave equatum can finaHy he wntten 111 the Founei domam
mlllg a combmanon ofequahO!l'> [6 Rj .tnd [6.9]

[ti lO]

Jn,read,

1h1jt
to denve the resJdu<il secl!on m the Flmuer domam
unagmg pnnCJp!e
1 e l<lknlaliml of the
111 tht> (x, Atj-domaul at t =
Ibe ~;Jue of tlw Fourie1
tl,lu~form at t = O can be 1\I'!Lten <1'> a sum of the !l.P's along tlw frequenues We
obtam AP(k,, k,, AL, t = 0), 1\ho.,e Flmner nansfonn m the ,;n;h]e., k,, k. tben gve~
u~ the migrated Jesult 1\P(x, y, ,.,_z, t =O) for depth At llus c;n be ~umnllirlled by
the lollmung >et of ope;(lon'>

n,1] ~ccnon, hence

pha'e Jotation alloW'>
1 IJ., means

1111~

u~

'P(k.,k,,M,t ~o)oc ~r(k,k,,M,ro),

i'P(k"k,,Az,t~O)~'p(x,y,M,t~O).

[6 "1

265

The phase-shift migration procedure

Ftgure 6 11 shm1~ a po'>;tble orgdnllatwnal
2-D

266

~theme

f(r

plM.,e-~luft

m1granon

Hl

 The recurs10n, OIICt' hegun, LOIIt!llues >Hth P(J(h tnm m the ~pcctrum bemg
multtplted bv <1 ph.i'>e-~luft complex tenn adapted ro the nugr;uon veloCtt}" \e,
m the fint lave of thwkness 1\z and par.mwte!'> ("', m)
'lhe undglng prwnple 1'> tben appberl ~Id summdtlon to 1al1 ulatc tbe selond
!me of the nugtatcd nndgc at deptb 1\z 111 tbe (k,. z)-domdin
\\'e then beg111 thc nextller.J.tmn, v.here the tiC\\ re~Jfhldl >eltJOII unrlergoe~ .1
tcrm-b\-term multtphlalton by the operdtoi tOirespo11dmg to m1gtallon
1elouty V, m the S('conrllayeJ [Al, 2Az]
Thts 1~ followcrl by an 1magmg, and '>O on
The recur..ion tonnnue'> unnl the fin;] dcpth Z !S rt'dlherl The rc.,ult 1~ the
complete nugtatcrlJm.J.ge 111 thc (k,, t)-dom;m
](complete the proce ..... antmcrse Jioutte, tr.tn~form mthe \;mablc"' ts then
cdrncrl out .tt ea1 h depth lo g1\e the final depth-nugrated nn;ge
lllt' nugratwn \Tiooues \', uscd m each ~tage or the depth tTlur~ton .J.Ie ulent!Cal to
tht' nugrdllon velm!Ucs rlt~cm~ed abo\ e for tbc Km:hhoff dppmao: b
fht' phase-.,Jnlt mis>ratmn method ts extremclv taptd, anrl1~ often u~ed lll 3-D
J(n nHgr<ltJon ,eJoc!ly
Sulh tests mvoke a sean of nugt.J.LIO!l \docltv functltJllS fht~ enables u~ to
1mpact ofthts crittcal patametcr on the final
trnage, ;nrl evt'ntually ro e~tabh~h dtl optnnum Jmgrdtton velocll} ficld

Phaseshift time migration

\\'e ha> e Jml g1\l'll a defimtwn of ph.tse-'>llllt mtgr,\lmn m depth, }Ct thts t;;pc of
mtg1.tnon 1> actually mo~t oftcn U'>ed m tune nugratton A~ the mcdnun ts asswncrl
no l<1teral ,elonty v.Lrtallons, the lime rmgrallon !S den~erl from the

nngrdllon meth()(l, 1l ~lllllontams one '>tgnrftt.mt

1t does not pcrm1t laterdl velouty \<lriauons. Ccrtam authors
h;ne therel01e .tttcmpterl to ll'tonult' the benelit; of the techmquc's speed wuh
dttl mpttng, .LIIleJt .tl tbe cmt of certain dppmxnnation~, to extend its range ofdppliC.itHm Till> 1~ the topH of OUI next ~Cl (10!1
Interpolated (PSPI) and corrected phase-shjft migration methods (PSPC)
Ihe Fouuer n,msform tll the x- ;nd v-1ltret twns meam
thc sp<1t1al local17,1tJOll of e~ems, and p.illlculatl 1n our case,
1\.vo difierenl
tl'[)t>~ ol UJJtecnon CXI'>l LO dcal w1th ~nlh vdltallon~
!P'\Pl) method1,
!P.~P(;) 1IIPflwd1, aho knov.n d> ljlhi-lttp techmques
1'\P/methods were first mtrodwt'd h} Gdzd;g and Sgudaero (19R4) Al each step
tn tite recurswn, they opcr<ltl' usmg the followmg scheme
[he dcsied mJgtation ~cloc!l} field m thc i" J;yer b denoted V,,, (x). dnd \'"'"'
,nd \',,., di-e the DMXllmlln and Tlll!llillum \'C]ot lJe'>, rc'>pt>l ll\Tl, fot thl> l.t)er
A ph<l'>l'-.,Jurt back-ptoJdg,mon ~~ thcn c.J.Jncd out on e .J.( h ofthcsc \elouric>,

267

g1vmg mu rt>s1dual '>el t1ons m the (k .. m)-domam

Tht>st> 'Max" ;nd 'M111' res1du.tl sect,ons are rhen ~ut~ected toa Founer transform along k, \\hKh gt\CS rwo new rt>~idu;l secuons 111 the (x, m)-rlomain.
he final rt>s1dual scctwn, m tlm samt> (X, m)-domam, JS obtamed by mterpolaung the ~pcura ofthc two 'Max' anrl 'Mm' nsdual
non x, a~. fUnltwn of the lm al
d!ld
The resu!t from th1~ operation"' thcn tran'>ferrcd hack lo the (k,, w)-doma.tn
for thc rccurswn to begm ;gam
effecu~e m rlepth mgr,ltwn and 111 tune
Th1s rechmque. de~ptte
nug-ranon, !S tate!}
A number ol othet appwaches, extended lo case; of latt>ral vanat1ons m veloaty, have heen pmpmed lo t<~.ke advdntage ol the henefits
('>ee e.g Pat HlRR, Koslofl' anrl Keller 19R7. Stolla ff al
mtrorlucerl tbe '>el ie~ of met ho(\.,
1pht-strj1 Fuunn rwthod.
he fir'>l '>tep tons1sts ofu~mg ; pha~e-.,Iuft tu c.tltulate the te'>trlual secnon m
tht> (k., w)-domam correspowlmg to the avetage \elooty V.., m !ayer [O- 6.zj.
\Ve tl1eu move to the (x, w)-tiomam, where the approxunate fe'>idu,tl ~e1 11011 in
=O, m), JS cone1 ted hy an operatot 11hJCh 1~ a funrt1on
bet,..een the rle.,u-ed local 1-elontv V(x)
Thi~ .,ecoml operation tilll
bcwntten

res1dual '>ettlon caused h} the use of \ '"

l'he back-pmpag-auon JS hcnte perf(rmcrlm two ~tages
An nunal.,t;ge auns to apply exattly rhe hack-propagat1on dS'>otJ.tted wHh the
ma1or p<1rt of the velocitie~
Thc sctond stage !S a correct1011 for the ~ert1cal prop<1g-atum only of the lotill

d1~cu~s

latcr

Finite-difference back-propagation
Batk-pmp;gatum mcthod~ u~mg- fimte-ddf'creme'> ha1T been lor m.tn year~ by tar
the most w1rlel} u~erl m prattrce The} v.ere mtmrlmerl for tbe fihlllme m an arllcle by Claerbout and Doherty (1972). whKh hd'> since become the Sl<i!Ung pmnt of
morlcrn 1J'a711'-rquatwn-bawd wmmc lr!Wf!,lll!i he'>e methorl'> lll\olve cal1ulatmg the
re~irlual .,ecuon using a rnunetical integratmn ul a modiiied \eiS\011 of the \\ilVt'
equal!on
In Chaptcr 1, \\e sav. h\\ a \\a\ e cou!d be prop.tg.ned fiom <111 JIIJlla] "a,Tfield

268

u~mg

fimte-drtlert>nce methods \Ve <1bo SilW the cqmvalerKe betwccn propag.tlmg111 one dnecuon and back-propag.ttmg m lhe opposrtt> dm;clmn. fnally, we showed
1 1~) lhilt pmp.tgatmn, aml con~cquenlly hd(k-prop<1gauon, could be
euher by propag.ttmg tlw wmdidd m lime slcps for all
or by deplh '>leps for ;]] tune~

deptb~,

Our problern lhi'> time rs lo bad..-pwpag.tte lhe wavefield Ap(x, z = O, 1) hom depth
= O lo depth z = ti~, ,mrltt !S dearly rhe second alte1 n.tt!Ve th<1t we need The first
!'> cqually possible, and lea<!.. to re;n>t-limr trchmques, a'> we will ~ee shortly.

J]m-,, we are aamng at calculaung the wdvefield al a deplh A1 by knowmg the wavelitld at deplh z =O As shO\Hllll Flgurc 1 12, bdtk-propagatumin deplh necessllalt>'>
knowmg the wavcficld at rwo depths morder to tompute ll .tt a th1rd deplh This
tesull'> from the prcscule of<1 selond-order denvati\C m /1\l the WdVe equalion [ 1 171
The authors 1nennoned <1bo\e sug-gcsted an approximaiJOJI to the wave equalmn
th.tt 1\0ulrl allov. d ~1mplc first-orrlei ~cheme to be
Th1s mcthod invohed

wl'iung an M'""'""""""~"'' bu'>b"'atwu

all v.;ve~ propagatmg m the nnmedJate \'ICI\llty of .t paiLrcular axis, m our case the
\Ctlicalaxl'>
The paraxial wave equation
JO mtmduce thc paiax!dl v.a~e equdllon, we retmn lo the dtspcrston relauon[fi 9], w}uch represenl~, .t~ we have ~een, <111 eIUIV<llent to tl1e wave equanon
withm lhe Fom1er domam \Ve remember lh.tl vertKally pmp<1g<1nngwavefionts corre;pond
=
=O dnrl lhm mmmg aw;} hum tl1e vertKal llilltmolve ~tcadJlv
anrlk,
~uggcsted .t 'lit} lo! ~elles expansum of the d1spcrston equai!On w1th
Jt>'>peu lo lhe.,e \allable~ The mm e lerms IH' arlrl lo the expanston. lhe more preI l'>t> tt w]] become fo mcrea~mg rltp value'> A ~econrl-mder expanswn gJ\e~
~lup

k=

'

( l'

~ -(k~+k='),~
V

[ (k'+k') V'J

1 - - ' - ' - - +(k1

8w'

''

).

[6 14]

1he two-lerm .tpproxrmallon (up lo ~,') pn>viUes .t good approxnnanon where

V/w) << 1, Je for 1\avefmnt'> pmpagatmg qua'>l\erucally 'Jle grealer 1he

or k, rhe more we ;re dealmg 1\llth v.;~efronts prop.tg<llmg bcyond thc
thc more approxuniltl' the relalon~lup hecomes. Such a
the Ytnmty of a veril-

269

[G 151

lt ,m lw rewntrcn as follow.,

[6 16]

h;ne been ddderl to ~trcss tht> f.tcL Lildl Ll1e dbme equatJon rlemon~tlaLe~ thdt batk-pn>pagallon tfom Lhe surf<1Le f =O lo dt>pth At C<lll 11011 be ;ccomph~ht>!l m L11o phase-sh1ft '>Ldg-e~
l"he tii~L '>tep JS lep!e.,ented h} k,, = O ;nd k = 2 w 1\zf\' Thts tmTesponds Lo
a 1erllc;] pl1)p<1gdllOJJ as IH" will '>ee below
Once thts fint phd~e sh1ft has been <1pplted, the second tnm m rG 16] 1mohes
Lhe apphcdtlll of a '>econd transf(>rmatlml to tbe result
!he

p<nenthe~e.,

operator

mt re~ponds tu <1pplpng a ;nnple tune sh1ft ot rlcla}

2-6.7.

'""' =y

to the dat<1 fhts tune 'h1ft 1~ not ne11 lt l'> Mmply tbe tenn we

IM,ealrcad)
tion opc1 ato!
he apphcauon of the second ph.tse-shift opeiaLur e
m fact to the ~econrl dement ofthe opei<ltOI m F1gurc ti 05-b: thc
teuu Remembe1, hOIH"\CI, that th1s operator JS only .n <~ppruxtma-

The retarded-time wavefield

..Q(k,, k, ,z =O.l) = ..P(k,, k~,z = O,w)

t..q(x,7=0,t)~Ap(x,z=0,t+-r"rt), v.lth-r"n =--

270

l:z

[617]

\\lth rlepth nugrauon nr (me mtg-Jauon

1~ cqual to
foi liepth

~z

'V(x,yL wht>JT ~~ ,., the dcpth lllit,>Ta-

l;yer [0,

~1],

The paraxial equation in retarded time

\\'e QJJ~Jder JJ0\1 the .,e,ond te11n lo be apphed to the retaided w.tvefield
the lMck-piopag.tt!On, 1 e the ~e onli >tage operauon

~Q

lo

,1n 01 upl1-,h

lfi18]
1 be

par.txml dtspeiS!Oll rclatomh1p for tht'> operauon can be wntten

equatwn "llu~
dt'pth onlv may be u~ed to compute the \\.tlelit>ld at .tnother depth Thi; JS because the smp!Jfierl dtspct swn rclatlonslup exphcllh (but .tpproxl)nately) relate' k, and not k-, to powers ol k,, k, ,nd w

1\one the le~-,, tbe Midmon ot extr.t tenns obuouslv greatlv ncreases the callulatJOil ttme cq111rcd \\'e recall
Tbe first tetm
dw<ogcof-,,moblc,
edw;ndield
To tht' \\avdield. we apph the '15a back-propaganon tenn, ,ep1-csenllng the
1ht'> lead~ toa '!.)o back-prupagated Fidd'
tbe k.'-tenn n the expans1on
denvatl\eS 111 tune and

271

fourth-ordCI m x ,nd y, each opctallon btxommg ~tcMhly more lostly tn terms

of r.tlculatton~
St>veral authon ha\e thcretore suggested altern.tllve expammn; to the Tylor
expan'>!On, expansions mote .J.daptcd to the prohlt>m al hanrl, e g the Pad polynmmal
Wnbout g01ng Jnto unnece~~.in
we ~tmply state that
llilurate 1ascarkd nU1!1PJIIal 1rhPmn hme been
that allow large

Sorne comments on paraxial equation in heterogeneous media

Once .tgam Jt '>hould be noted t];t the equ\alcnlc bctwecn the v.;ve equatwn
and tbe d!~pet'>mn relatiOil'>htp !'> onh Sll!CLly v.thd for homogcneom merl1<1 Ther('equdttons w11l only he
vahd 111 sulh homogeneous media.
fore the
can ne\erthele~s he mcd lo
rnunenc.tl ~cbeme., that may be
reason.thle levclofaccuracy.
m equauon
IS the ve tlc<llllme tr;nslallon teun fot the Ku"lhhoff bad,-propdganon\
funclton, thc ~econd term
repre.,ent~ an appnrximatJoll to the hvperbohc or 'focusmg' portton oftlus functton.
Keglectmg the,docity \"aiWIIOll'> m the ahme equattmiswtll effccti1elv be the '><l!Oe
d'> a~~mmng thc \elouty to be const.lllt wttlun the tnangle sketclwd m figure 6 05nothmg prcvent~ u~ fium takmg a rltffcient
RcalJSUlally, rcn1rs1\e Imgratwn
111th !,lter;l veJo ny vanatlon; that have a wavelength
~evera]mgrdtton sleps in length 1 hts <1ppmxim<1t10n is, howe\-cr, 1hlfcrent from thc
"thm-len., <.oncept u~ed m ttme m1gratmn that we mcct .tgatn m limte-dtfference
tune nugr;tmn

From differential equations to migration numerical schemes

\\'e h,t\e JUSI rlcfinerl <1 new JffeJCntJ<ll cqu<~twn
appnlxirnation, folusmg closc to thc \Crncdl
1>
to the Ietardcd wavefield llu~ equatJon .'~Uille~ that the wavefidrl1s contmuously known. Tlus JS obvJously .tnunposs!bJhty stnce ~ectmns ate s<1mpled 1n the three 11nenswns ofx, y .tml
t., Arldl(lollallv, the \\a\Tfie]rl., kno\Hl <1t the ~urface, and v.e w1sb Lo exLiapolate 1t
ro .t di'>UTte depth l!.z
,-\., m Ch<1pter 1 fot forward propag<~non ('Ex.tmple of the Slllmlatton of 1-D
prop.tgatJon'), U'>lllg the mohfied wave equ.ttJOn we define a fiTnte-d1ffetence equanon, fwrn whJCh a numencalmtegtatlon scheme, 1 e a batk-propagatwn m laver [0,
A1 J, ldll he rleduced
As .J.lready mdJC.tted for prop.tganon, l<ll"C mu~l he taken lo centte these rlifl"erence ~chemes in the tr.nsformanon TI1e approxun.ttlon of rlerivatives U'>lllp; rlifference'> 11tll be all the more efl"clt!ve f the samphng lllllTv<ll ofthe vattablc IS small
compared to thc Iate of change m <~mphturle wJth th1s \art.thle A~ ms sampling
tune mterval1s gcnerally ~ufti tent lora preu~e e~nmate of the parttal denvat1ve 111
tune fo1 se!>mU frequenCJes le~~ th;n RO Hz

272

Jhc problem IS greater for den~J.t!Ve~ w1th respe<t ro the ~patial ~an.tble~ x .md y,
wh1th tan be to.u~ely
A srtmphng- mten.] uf'25 m m y 1~ commun m 3D
se~IniC 'lhi~ 1~ <lose to
N}fJUist fref)uem'} (the frequeiK}' alia~ing Juml)
j(n dip'> greater than
.1 ;e1smit frequency uf HO H7 lt 'hould be nuted that
tlw ,Jhasmg condnion~ gnen m Chaptc:r :1 (F1gure 3 06) mu~l be ad<~pted ro thc tl'.o\\dY ume of the 7ero-off~et donMII!, or eqUJ\'alenrly, rhe velouty mu;t be dJV!ded b,
2, dtcordmg ro the explodmg-rdlenor pnncipk
Jt ., theiefore de.,!rrtble to try lo reduce rh1~ trace mtcrval (01 hne llltervalm :)-

Example of a numerical scheme for '15" migration'

Below, for a parucular numental ~rheme, we gwe an exrtmple ofthe d1operswn
clatiomlnp usmg the '15" approxm,tJon' fh1s ~1m pie 2-D ca~e offen an opporttlllll\ tu r.me ~eveial~;~ue~ lll the u~e offin1te-d1fference nugratwn~
l hc notatlon 10 that of F1gurc 6 12, where
Q,, denotes the sampled ret.trded wawfield L\q(J L\x, O, 1 dt);
P,, denotcs the &ampled hark-propagrtted wavefield (reqmred re;durtl ~ecllon)
J.! depth L\z, Ap(] L\x, M, idt)
l6 201 mmg numecal deu~an~e
\Vnh th1; notrtllon, thc differenurtl
<~pproxJmatJOilS Sllmiai to ll 25j 01 fl
1

P,.

+ Q,,,).
lfi21]

1 hio, !(JTmu!J. " a hnertr comblllallon of a ;et

the n~rarded
\\,\\efield and "X ~ample~ (PJ
l) lhe codficJenl~
,\ and B lll th1~ tombinanon aJe a limction ofthe d1ITeren! ~ampling JnTenals L\x rtnd
dt, of the nugranon velonty \ at X, m
and of a parametcr b fiorn the
Cr.mk-Nu;hol~on numerical scheme
ana]y;~ ha~ pwYJded optunal ~alllt'S for thl'> parameter b, whKh en,ure; that the numencal Kheme remams not onl)
dfinen!, bu! also stable
In Figure 6 12, the 12 samples from rel,J.tiOmhp [6 ':!1) are nrcled for a certam
po.,ltlon, (X,, t,), to illusrrate a parucular aopect oftlu~ ope1atwn Severa! &amples on
thc reMdual sertion, and nO!JU't an J~olated sample. will be hlllctions ofthc ~.unple~
ol' the mlllal ~ectwn These ~amples he on two !me~ along the talntlated ~ectwn,
\dwh will shortl) help to dlustrare how the boundrtry umd!llons are accountcd for
b1 tlu; numencal Kheme lhe ~dwme should. fr m;t,J.nce, be appl1ed 'upwards' for
ckcrea~Jng- time, 1 e. lme P +' mm! be calcul.Jted fr; morder to calculJ.te lme P, fhe
prore'~ will hc recunive and w1ll be lllHali7ed ar depth t,, .. 10 the rctarded field Th1~
ro be made abour the wa~dcld at th1s depth, nameh, that
Tlus a~~umption prov1de~ a fin.t bounda1 > cond1-

273

lnp~l sampl~

-1

Resol\

A Time omlml comlmom

J j+l

Lotera\ 1TI1111 ~ondnonn'

ji

x.,

J J'l

-'
E

(a)Retardcdwa.efieldatdepth

z~O

&.6.A.+AAAA&A
(b) Rcstdual

~<'CilOD

at

z~Az

tmn on rhc mtc:grauon of tite dtfkrenual c:quatmn, rhc: cmre~pundmg ~ample~ are
ma1ked h\ lrtangle~ in Ftf:,'Ult: 6 12
An tde-ntical problem 1~ encountercd when ,Jttemp!tng to calculate a sample m
lhe fist or la~l <-ulumn m 1', ..An asoumption mu~t be made ahout tht> wavefield's
\alue Q, be.,ond lhe mea~urement 70ne One 'olutton ts ro asmme that the wavefidd ~ 7t:ro In Lhapln 1 (~ce: Figure 1 14), we sal\" how ~ucit a hyputhe~t& alTects
Wd\C pmpagalion Il amount~ lo a,~utnmg that thc: acoustic unpedanrt> ts miimte
hc:yond the measurement zonc:, estabh~hJllg m tht~ 7one a fictt\'e tefleuor of mfmue
All e\.lstu; wave~ rearhing thi~ rdkctor dlll"lng p10pagation or
bocK-pcp<eg<euon wtll automattcally rebound !mm tts tnterla<e llu~ pmvokes the
ob~erved on thc: ~tde~, a~ well
as <1l lhe hottom. ol mTgr<~lcd section~
Olhn, more a~tute <Jssumpuon~ <-<lll he: mJ.dt: lo ltmH the,c: edgc dlecr~ loi
be locally modificd to mrroducc "u/Nnhmg
whtch may allow the l.tter.t] refleuton to

Rnmntng tu fmJte-dtHen:-nce CfJilaUon

note
sample~
lrom tite rc~ultanl ~ecnon are mvolved anJUnd a g1vc:n po~ttton X, lor rlw ~ame u me
r, (Ftfrlre 6 1~-b) lt ran hc oa1d rhat the ~ample hemg cal< ulaled tmphcly appears lll
lhe c:qu<~lwn, or altetnJ.ll\eh lh.tr lfrl' 111111/l'ruallrhnnt 1111'1(11 mjJ!wl fbt; dtfficulry

274

1 ~ .tddre~~ed hy ~ohmg lh<:- splem fornwd hy t!Je ;e! of ~unul!aneou~ ef)u.tnon~ tOl
w>pondmg lo lme P \Ve do lhJs by an mver.1wn of rr ln-dwr;onnl mnlrnc, a numcJ'lC.!l

1v r.1p1d operalon
' Another ~tralagem used to r m;umvent lhi~ problem 1~ ro .tdjuSt parameter b m
tocflioenl; .\ and H m rel.ttionship [ 21] .tnd hgure 6 12, w1lh respetl ro llw lixcd
m!-(Ia!IOil prtramcten A7, M .1nd \;lo trtntel out the rot>ffinenl; 1n P .. ,, .md P, ,,.
]1 1s g-1~e; rrn etphnt fqMiwn 111 P,, and an exjJ{u/ numenral sr h<:-me. Suth ~themes
re.,ult Ill further approxnnarwns being- necr:ssary to enMire calu1lMmg eflinenty and
.(' no longe med I<1r linlled1fkrenre nHgratwn
.\ dilferenl .tpproach of an
l'h1~ addre.,;es efliuenrly the

Reverse-time migration
ll~e

of a fimre-diller<:-nce equat1on pe!llllltmg lotal

of rhe WaYefield, a;
bark-prop<~gauon, ~tcm;
lhe need lo deal
"'"cicyY~i""''" llnfurtunalel}. rreMmg a finlle-dillerence scheme for
m deplh pose~ lhe pmblem of the depth boundary condltwm. lt
~peakmg, be ncr:r:~SM"")i ro know the wavef1dd M L = (} as well .t'> Jl'>
first ddwau~e ltl mder ro he able lo appl~ d1rectly a ~cheme wluch was e-xact The
1~ lo w.e an .tpnuxlmale ~erswn, the p.uaud! CfJuauon, .Uthough
an manurate re;ult, e~peually 111 the raoe of~teep dtp~
In Chapln we ;rtw that the- pwblelll wa~ dilTerent when <1 wa~efield wa; prop
d~jJ!r:d 111 time, 1 e ;eekmg lhr: wavefield al .111 mstanl t + At when knowing the
m<,t.ntaneou; field at nme t Smce propagrttwn and hack.-prop<~gation are- ~ymmel
litJl operauons, Ha\~al e! al {1083) sugge;led thallh; idea could be put to hendiual me tn n11gr<1thm, wuhout havmg lo appl any approxlm.!llon other rhan thar ol
detJ\all~t>'> b) dilTerence.,
The Jiincipk Imolvo con;Jdenng the z =O Je(_ordmg a~ a hound<ny condJtmn,
.1~ m ~trtndrtrd re(_un!Ve nugranon The l"t>(_unwn~ mmal ~tale w11l be the 'map~hot'
o \IJ.\elield at tomrant lime
{maxmmlll erordmg trne) for wlnch only lhe\\<J\efield at deplh l = O 1~ l..nown \Ve then add another houndary condJtiOn the
\la\efield 1~ 7Cro-valued for all
= t,,.,.-1\.t)al tJine
The approxunottion ol den\afl~e; by d1fkrences le.!d., to .t finite-dillerencr: ef)ua!ton, m 4 snnlar fa.,Juon to lhe way ef)ualton fl ';!8] wa~ e~rabltshed m Chapter 1,
an exten;um LO ::!-0 or 3-D, wlnch m.1k.es 1t mort" <wnhenonw
gong m ro the del<lii~ of" llllle
meth1Jd~, ltgme 6 13
dtagranunatTcally rmnpares the fo<mmg of ,J.
mmg JecunJ\t: depth
mi.p.mon wilh tb.tr u.,mg rr:curs\e lfVfl\1'-111111' migJ<ltmn
In rhe forme: depth bad.-propaganon treate~ re~idu.tl secnom on whu;h the
diflr,KtJOn 1~ gradually fon1~ed unul an Jm.gmg al tune t = O and th<:- corre
~pondmg deplh z 10 rertched
In lhr: re\t:r~e-lJme 1mgranun protr:.,.,, sn.tp.,!Jol~' of lhe suhsurfdte .1re takuldled . .t~ Wt> 1egre~s m ume fro1n
tune l"" lo lime l = O,
where lhe '..,Il.lpshol Image 1~ lhat of the explodmg
fo our s1mpk
<:-Xample llu~ JS the pomt dillractor

275

::~--

:~J

,.---,",-,.,,-,.-.. ,~ '

~
r

7 " '

-- 1

JcmnpuleJotc,., ..-A<

----r"' \ ~- ....
7_-_- _-_ - _-_-."'_ _- - ~j'

__ --_/._\_
1-~~\

..

[',~,:.~, e '? ~~
/

'

"' .

J ,,. "'

m~./:]'<,-------~:..j. ~s----_- _-_-_. - - - ~- .:_

/
t

-~

~-~

'

....

---

lmgmpll-

(a) Migration by back-pmp11gatlon in depth

(b) 'Revene time' migntion
figure 6.13: Rc\e"eume mJgrntlon In rewrse tint mogratwn, the mttoal condnoon '" thc recoal al t""
Thc \\a~efield IS ba~k-propagat~d 'i!ep-by-;tep m t1mc usmg tbe /cro-ofhcl 'ectJOn !01 bound,uy
conduwn> Snapshob are ~omputed until the 'snJp>hot al 11m.: t ~O, wh,h ; exactly the depthmlgrntedsectmn

1h1s d1agram clearly ~how~ how recuniVe nugra11on ~tead1l) filh rhe (x, z, t)-~pate
followng rhe f"ntJre touroe of the explodmg reflenors' propagatwn from rhetr !lllual <:-m~'>lOll unulthe1r eventual recordmg at the ~urface In de-pl!J,ha.,ed renu.,ive
migTaiJOn, th1s sprtct> JS oc(_up1ed by const.lllt-depth z plane~, wlulst m reverse-tlme
ImgJatJon 11 w11l he filled by planc:~ ol (_Qn~l.Ull nmc: In the lormer, 1maging will be
perlormed a~ the bark-propagat1on progre;,e~. wlubl 111 rhe ~econd wc: ~ee the
carned out automatlcall) al the condu;JOn of the back-propaganon
procc:~>
1.1 hrnt<'
more tune- and romptn mtmorytndu~ll) lor ourl~trc: se~m1c d.tta as,
mtemwe,

276

de~p1te 1l' theOJetKal ,dvanrdge~. Its disadv,uHag-e~ become evcn more marked
when ueaflng 3-D data. l'he melhod h.t~ howe\er lound ldvom m wdl ~eismiC pw<e~~mg, where data quanlllie~ are .1. greal deal ~mdlleJ

Finite-difference time migration

r he prenom di~cus>JOn regardmg back-p1opagatmn u'mg limre-dilkrenres conerned defJIIi rmgrutwm, where the final unage 1~ (_on~tmcted d1recdy n thc deptb
dom.un He1e, we come hil<k agam !o rhe toplC of tune m!Kralwn, <1 te<hnique m IeaiT(\' lar more w1de~pread rhan It~ d('pth counrerpart 10 do th1~, we constru< t a 'wJ\'e
m V('rtJcal t11nc' fwm wluch a fimte-difkiencc paraXIdl ccuauon <an b('

A~ already menuoned, the a1m when migr;tmg- m time JS to con~uuct an 1mage

m tt"nm of~crti(_al time, even d it JS nol pcifectly met. A defintllon for ~etu;al tune
,,a-, gt'ITH by relauomlup l2 3] m Chapter 2
fh1s fo1 mula defmes a chang-e-of-vanable from a depth L !O a verttcal nme
denott"d [ {7) and someume c.tlkd the
fhe Wdve equallon, oll tbe othei
hand. de~<nhe~ prop.tgdtwn m
termo of propagauon time
r lh mtroducing tht~
~ __,. T mto the l'.d\'e equauon, we Cdn
den~ e ,m equ.ltwn ddinmg wav(' propagat1on 1n an
f) 'vutuar dom,un as a
lunctJOn of propagarwn Ume 1 It 1s e~~ent1al In the
dhcmown to distm!:,'111Sh clearh between the~e two tnne parame-te1s the pwpagatmn time ol the wave~
t, ~ersu., the vanahle r, l'.iuch do('~ not corre~pond lo a ph~tcal parameterbut repre~ents a lfdn~lonnation o! the dq1th vanahle
fh1~ e-quauon <an hen<eforth be used to ba(_k-propagate the l'.avdield fromthar
recorckd at tune-depth l = (} to the l'.avefield ~een al ume-depth ~T, where thc
1\a\efield al tmw-depth T = O 1~ the l'.dvefield recorded at the ~ud.tce l = O lh
<1pph1ng the nnagmg pnm 1ple at propaga(lon nme t = O ro th1~ new WdYefield, an
1TT1agc at nmc-dqnh t.T i.-, obtaJ)('d, m a similar wa) !o rhat de~cnhcd m Figure 6.07
!Oi K1rchhoff t1me nugranon
relev.mt to fmite-d1fference !nne nug-ranon, l'.e
__,. l{z) to the 2-D rl'larrled fil'lrl 15 p.1raxial equatJOn
lJetOIIJe'

z---+T(z)-f~.
0

V(x.z)

' f

~=0.

l6.2':!J

Alsummg that the1e art> no lateral vanal!OJH m velocn,, ar lea~t locally, a JdatJon'hip can be found smular 1n structure to tbat gnen !01 depth 1mgrauon JJl equarion
[6 2!]
A ba<k-propagauon numeru;.J s(_hemc exa<tly eqmvalent to that fo1 deptb
nJJgTauon c<~n then be .1pphed Thc velocny 'dnation hypothe~Jl made herc IS ol tll('
"illlle orde1 <lS that m depth nugiation
the hypeiboiK po.tlon of the
;ev('ral nHgratiOn mtenab
( l('en'~ funcnon ~elout~ vanauons wah
l<mg w11l he thmc ~tKcessfully a u ounted fo1

277

InentJoned, by applymg tht> change-of-vanahle

.q(x,z==O,t)=od.p(x,z==O,t+iil)
lo sumtmllllC

thl~

f6'L)j

senwn 1l ;lumld he dear

th11 dwf!lrr wgmdin.g rnumv<' llm<' 1111gwtwn rrmmm '""''J"'l'"""-"','l"'""

lum.

Consequences of using the paraxial wave equation

The paraxaJ equ.flon ~~ only an approxlm.tuon ro thc: wave e-qu.ItJOn, whi(h mean~
thrttthe rc:sultanr llll!_.,>Tilt:d unagc: wdl not be perfc:n fn partJClllJ.I, tnfonnation wiii
not be (OITecdy posl!JOnt:d Tlm, pmmonmg error m(re.~e~ wnh
but wiii also
depend on the frequen(_y olthe ~eisnuc ~1!_::-l!.!IItsell. Th1~ ~~
dhfn'nwn, m rhc: ~amc:way lhat l'.t> refer lo frequc:ntv-dqwndent d1spenwn m propagauon velouue~
hgure 6 14 depu;t~ tlns plwnomenon by ~howmg rhc: p.!raxi,J.I equallon~ nnpau
m the l~k domam .\ pomt lymg on the ~pec!rum AP(k" / == O, w) co1 re~pondmg to
a '>mgle-fic:qucn(y plane wa\'e should nugrate toa point lymg un a urcle deflned by
the exact d1~perswn relanon~htp m the ;pectrum ~P(~, k,, t = 0), ,J.~ ~hown In
Figure; 3 1il-h and _; 18-c
If ahernauvely, we apply the lint-ordei paraxJrt! di~peiMOn relatJon~hip [6 14],
the ,pectral
w11l
to a pomt on the parahol.1 rhat 10 defined by rhe
Th1o i~ known as 't!Je parahohc 15" rtpproximanon
For a gven dtp (a
~traight lmc: pas;mg
tlw centre:
Fourier specrnun), rhe error vanes
w1th frequt:n(y, \1h1k (_onver-.c:ly, fo1 a gl\en frequen(y (a straig-!Jtlmc: with a tonstanr
w-aXIS ~aluc:), thc: (Orrespondmg enur 1'.111 vary Wlth d1p.
:\lumen(a[ dJ;pt:ISIOil mnoduce'> rrugwtwn arltfacll, \'hiCh be(ome par!Jcularly

278

1'>10
t;, , LOncept lit' mlwduu"d m
,n exdmple ol ~m h dll nnpulst' rt>~pon~e usmg
15o pdrax1al equ.ttum Note m
JMitKula1 tht' po~llJonmg error ob~t'rvt'd for d1p.'> ht'y<md 15, a~ wdl .t~ the numC'r-

resp01nc' nught
1dwu unnp;ut'd 111th 1-k nugratmn,
grcat advanLJ.ge ]H.'5 111 theu
to
aetiJlmt lor almo~l ,u y kmd ofvclonty nmat1on 1\owada}'>. algnnrlmts much more
pm\t'rlul than lht' 4!o .tlgonthm ,u-e uscd on a daily ha&JS.
The traH'>111on from a !Jffcrcntl.tl cquanon lo <1 fimte-dfcrcme equat1on also
lnHJhes a numbt'r
1 he mo~t 'cn,l(1\e para meter mvoll'ed \vdl be
IfvlCIHTC toreducetlw;
di<,Unc.e betwt't'll nmlpomt hnc5 \IC would h.tvc ro mcrease thc mnnber of sunev
dlanJalilally. and th11s thc dur.ttwn .tnd co5t ol the >uncv lo le>sen tlu>
tht' lmt' mtt'JT.tl 1~ tommonly redutnl dunng pwu.%mg. b\ the we of
mtnjmfiJfmn
1 he resulting J;tcr.tl Jeoolutinn of the se1smK
un.tge !S demou'>ILJhh
thc n~k of ,uJYey-dcnlt'd data. ahasmg
tlnt'~ remam A< qm~1t1on }J.l1"<HTJCtcrs
dm( non. lwc mtt'n,J, etc) must
1hert'f01e bt' <idd.plt'd to

'Cascaded' or 'residual' migrations using a series of velocities

In mtgratwn scheme~
cquatwn. to'llhKh a
greater acuJrMT and

279

Usmg the tc-rm rr:;!dualtmgmtrmt, Rocca and '::><lh<ldOJ'

nugnmom m ~ene' m anorber domam They had
a
;ero-otl~n sectwn already rime mig-Iated wJth an mitial velocity V, u~mg a new
velocny V,, wa~ eqmvalent, m a homog-eneous medmm J.nd ,1, parax1al scheme, to
canymg our .1 ~mgle nugratwn with a ~elorir, V, ddined by

v=K~v:".

f6:!4J

The result IS ea~1ly proved tiorn the Foune1-domam tnne-d!~per~IOn equauon,

deduced lrom thC" parax1al Wa\(' C'lUatlun m IC'Tlt<-al tune [G 22], and wntten

kr =ro--

v:;\)k~

l6 ';!.-)J

11hC're k, J& thC" frequC'/l(\ coiTC'S]JOnd1ng to the tme-depth var1ahle l Th1s vaitahle
ph11~ rhe ~ame role a~ the v,u.hle k, lll depth nng-ranon Ir ha~ the ~ame dnuen~lons
a~ w, as T ha~ thC' dnHensmn of nme AppbcdtJon of rh1~ relatwn;lup 1n 'elleS wnh
.1 veloCity \'. ,md then V 2 k<~{h to the disper~!On rdat10nsh1p,

[6 26]
f'rom whtdl thC' ~elonty relat1onsh1p [6 24]1~ den1ed
fhts fC"mlt ts often appll('d aswe see m Ch,tplC'r 7, where we de~(nhe a pre~tad.
nrne-mtgT<~lon te<-hmquC" whc] consJsts of a pha.,e-~hdt mtgratwn, wtth an inial
velouty hmctwn V,(T) v.n,thle lll tune but laterally constan!, m ~ene; w1th a finned1flerence Illl!_.,>Tatlon, w!lh . wholly ~arymg velouty field V,(x, y, "1) &u<-h thar al every
1, f) the relatwn~htp[6 24]1~ &ausfied for the de,tred fmal velonty fidd
that N
n11grat1ons rould be put 10 ~ene~ w1th a velour~
C.tmhoJ~ (1001) '>lwwed th<ll tlu~ re~ult could he extended ro h1gher-order
d1~perS10n relatwn~lups, and that !l will tend toan exM t solutwn a<, N tends to mfinJl~. In urher word~. by m1wdmg trml' 1mgwtwn ustng ~elontle' lower than thC' fmal
desJed vdonty at each step. a full exact time
The u'<' flfwswdrd migratwrh wrth rr
In

f-x-y (or ro-x-y) migrations

/mt
a~ ~hown

Ftgure~ 6 O!: and

h<1~e .tl~o ,]wwn that u;mg a
on a se<-llon~ oamples ts eqUlvalent lo unielauon These
two ob.,ervacions natmalh lt"ad us to conclude that ba(k-propagation can be exadly
and ettiuenrly rarned out m the (x, , l, w)-domal/l, 1 e alter a hmner tr,m~fm manon ~olely of the propag,mon t1me ~anable r
In th1s (x, y, 7, w)-domam (rt"d\l{_ed here to thC" :!-D dom,un fo1 a ;unple nota!!On), wa\C' equatwn [1 171 beroni('S

in

~um

280

(/d.P(x,z,w)

a .P(x,L,w)
2

4oo"

~+~=- V 2 P

x,z,w

[6271

'\o denval!H' tenn m w appe,J.rs hc:re. lh1s IS !mked ro rhe prevJOusly mennoned
J.trt dur e.trh frequenry cowponc:nt withm a seismt( ~Jgn,J.l 01 wavefidd w11l prop.tt;<~te mdependenth ol all other fc:quenue~ flu~ 1~ a propert~ WJdely ("<ploued 111
as airead, seen 1n f-k
For our pn:sc:nt case, 1t means that eaLh
lll.t\ he hack-pmpagated Jndt\tdu,J.lh ro ue.nc: the res1dual ~e(twn, .tn ob;ervat1on "'hl(h m lart 1'> rrue f01 al! barkplopag<~ttof' method~ [Je pha~t:-;hft le(hJJt<ue above C:AJliOltt:-d t}U~ p!OJlCI!y by
eAtendmg Jt ro thc: full Founer doma m (k_. k" w), although l.ttFral vdm ll> vauanom
\,ere not allowed.
lbe m'!onty ol finJle-dtfferenCF nugrauon software palk.tges also makF u~c: of
thl'> f<>alUJT The Lew-off~et sedion 1~ urtnsforrned mto the Fourier domam Wtth

tnto ; frequen(~ plane for the

ch.n,gc-,,1-"m"l'lc [6 :!3] rtctmg- untquely on
of the form
[6 2tlj

th1s

1~

the- firsl lnm uf the parax1al T<1ylor exp,tnswn of the dtsperston rf"l.t-

frequc:n()' plane ts lhen hack-propagate-d by J. finlle-dtfletence scheme- m

thf" dts(_rele domdtn x, llowevet~ the lramformanon of lhe ume~ tnlo the Founer
domam doe~ not resol~ e problem~ hnked lo lMc:ral vdouly vanalwns, whtch mc:ans
tlt.tt we Oll(t: more need lo eslabltsh paraxtal <:-quatlon~ at 15\ 45". 60" 01 htgher
\5 paraxTrtl equdllon l(w th<:- relanfed wavefield [6 22]tn lhe (x, w)-domatn t>

1 ht> dtffetennal eqU<lll011 wtlllead, for w = comtant, lo a far

<:"<ll.ttlon than equatwn [6 21], ofrhc: !mm.

1' -(2-a)P+P,=-Q,,+(2+a)Q,-Q,

~nnpler

fimte-dTflerenC<:-

[6:m1

1 he: patameler a, depend; on the local velouty at X, lhe mtgrated frequenq w, and
!he <,;mphng and mt!_.,Tl'aOon mtc:rv.tb, ~ and b.L, ~ome ol whllh ma, be (Omplex
tmmbers Only ~1x ~,tmple~ atT lt>.ttured tn tht~ <;<heme, a~ dtfkr<:-ntlatton '>'llh
1<:-'>pecllo t 1~ carri<:-d out h\ mulnph(ation by w m the ahove relatJOn>lup lht~ lorTllltla 1s also an 1mphur equa!lon, w!ll( h ma, he '>olved h} a tn-dtagonallmear sy~
tem lot poml~ X, rt;~ori.tted wllh J. gt~e-n frequel)(~ lt b .t vety mne-effirienl owr.t-

281

:\Jore soph!St!Cilted \.(_heme~ havc ~mee been dcveloped, brt>ed on rhe fmllC-differc:nce temporal '>e heme., 'een abme The lll~<tgmg phasc of f-x nngranon ar llme zero
a~ f01 pha~c:-shift ml!_.,>Tation, b, ; ~ummation alung flcquende~ at (x,
= umotan./ rile IelUI~JOn 1~ then ll:Lommencerl1n tbe (x, w)-domam fm the 'ucrc~Sl\t: e;idu,[ ~ecuon; alllL, 2!11, etc

Back-propagation using convolution

The u~e of fJJllte d1fferenLes 1~ a way of <J((OUnllng fu fater;;l veloclly v,tnalwn~ durmg ba-propagatJOil hetwcen O and Az, l'.hen: 'phase-~hlft' md!Jods do nol permit
llu&. Nevertheless the~e ;u e melhod~ we Jan 1-elurn ro, normg that tnulnphcanon by
an ope1awr m lhe Fourwr domain 1~ eqmvaknt ro um~oluuun b, the opei.ttor's
lran;funn n lhe Inlll.tl domam HowevCI; f rhe ope1.1lor ~& mvanable when apphed
bv mulnphcatwn m the }'ourier domam, m tht> lime domam lhe con~olutwn liln be
gc:nerahLed to a van,tble operalor Thl'> ohseivatwn, ,!long W1th lhme m.tde for
nugt<~tion m thc (x, w)-domam, le<Jds dn-enh lo the convolutwn-ba&ed recurstve
mig1ation methodo wluch h,JVe come m ro voguc: for application 1n 3-D, based on the
wor!.. of H.tle ( 1991 a,b)
\Ve rc:rurn to the ph.be-~hill bock-nopg""''" equ.ttwn [6 101, lo wlnch we
appl} an mvcr~e Founer lran;form
lo x, denotc:d below by TF 'x Th1s

''""''_!,V

!.\.P( x,d.z,w) = !!.P( x.z = O,w) * TF-!< [ e v

[6 311

lhe opt:Iator * de~cnbes lhe umvolutwn of thc: h~quenq pl.me AP(x, 1 = O, m)

along x (m ';!-D) wirh an operaror which !S the mvc:r~e- hmner translonn m x of the
pha~e-~h1ft operator Op(k, w, V. llL) delined above hy eruat1on [6 111
Smre thc: wavefleld ts sampled at th~til!KC x, time t and frequency w, th1~ operanon dfectl\elv reduce-~ toa di~crete convolunon. he- convo!u(!on operator or ha{kfora
fillel

ll IS
lenglh, wlnch 1~
not an 1deal ca~e We
u~e a truncrtted yer~10n, wHh a fimle length (2r>.i +
\) sample~ long, as .m <~pprox1matwn The length ofthe ftheJ, gwen by :\1, will repre~enr .1 compromi~e between eflioenq (~mrtll :\1 preleued) and a<-curac~ for large
apertures, ht:rKe
d1p~
:\1 p1-eferred) The ha<k-prop.tg-atwn owrat10n

~P(x,.~z,w)~

Op,(Y,,~z,w) ~P( x, ,.z~o,w)

[6 3e]

J=N

ator 1~ dlfierent and ohould m mnuple

The we1ghted sum above 10 ermvalent ro lbe Kln;hboffwc1ghled smn m h:;ure
m the cunstrtn!

282

m <oime<tJOn w1th lirute-dJfference h.1ck-prnpagatton, equanon [6.3~]

J(">Lmhle; an 'cxphcit' solunon of the f~x migiatlon limte-difiercme equauon, snce
,~ -;dmple m rhe ba<k-propag-.ued secnon will be
,;a hneM <ombmanmi
1rhemf
0 ero-offset 'amvks h is hence kno"'n as
1 he pra< ti{_al pwblems mvolved m umvoluuon-based back-propagatmn ext~f
e'~enuallv m thc length ,md the numhe1 o! filters that need to be cakulated Theo1cti<ally, d filter m u.,! be <al<ul,ued at e.1ch velonrl' encounrered m e.1ch Stdge o rhe
'"'' union, for e\Tf\ he<uemv pldne l'he longcr rhe lilrn, the mme d(CUrate u w11l
lw (p.1rticu!.nly fm oreep dips, as the andloo wnh rhe C,reen's lunctlon dpertUie
~1 10w;), bur rhe <akulat!ons w1il he long-e and the edge dk< b ~!Cdthly more d1srup-

(l~J91 h) thar 11 <an be dll<Iently apphed m 3-0 survey, We renun ,hortly to one ol
1rs '\penli< appi!C.!IJO!l~ m 3-D nugiatJOn w.mg the Hale-McCkllan filter

Specific considerations for 3D migration

hndwff. 1-l Stolr ,md plu,r-~h!lr migrat!On~ al! nJ.Jk the fr,nblllon \Hthout any
theoretl<al d!Hi<ultw~ 11om l"-O lo three dmwns1ons, deSJ.!lle the lau that the quanof calntlatJon~ m< na~es enounously Th1s mvolves 'snnply' <altulatmg eJthei the
(,een's fumnom n 3D (Kmhholl
or <arnmg our a l<oUIJer tran>form
r)-domain lo the (k"
tit~

domam m
vha~e-shtfr 1\ITI(' migtanon TII!s cxtenSIOII ~~more
comphcated, however. lor fimre-dftercnce and <Onvolunon-based ba{_k-piopagatlon~, where vclonty V.II 1anons m al! dueuwm mu~t be ae< ounted for
Finite-difference migrations in 3-D
The lmph<Il fimte-differen(e <''luatmn for f-x mgranon [6 :10J does gene1ahze
ro thiee d!menstons (t~x. y' migr.IIIom), m ths <.!~e wtrh mne samples 111 a frequenC} plane wnhm the .'1-D volume bdck-prO(Mgated ds a funct1on of mne ,amplcs 1n rhe
li-equeng. plane w1thm rhe teJo-offset volume Th1s lmJ.!licit e'luation meam a!! rhe
,md \ 's m rhe
mnsr be cal< ulated snnultaneof rra<es tn rhe x-dne<tmn) wulmeans th.1r e1the1 d hncar
unknowns must be ,ohed 01, .therndU\eiY, the
III\TrMon
d square marnx
mne non-enJ dtagonals must be c.trrted
Oll! Thts 1~ d lughl} <umbeJ.,ome numencdl operauon, evt'n fm a
tion, .!'\ the ptodu< 1 "\!,N, will consist ofat least 100,000 tra< e~ even
''l-D ourvey, and the~e da}~ wdl often be m excc~'\ of se\erdl m1lhon traces

283

Two-pass migrations and x-y splitting

\\'e are lorced once ag-am lo '>OI>e rhe probkm by makmg apvrox1manon!>. The
, ~tmethod, u~ed when :1-D se1smic \\d'> m l> mfanq, wa~ tuo-pa.s mlgtatwn Th1s
COII'>I'>Ted of rme-Jmgralmg each 2-D secllon m lhe x-dJrectJon usmg one rechmque.
The rlat.1 mvohed m th1s finr-pa;s was lhen ~01 led
2-D seuion'> m y, \\hich
wee then
m 2-D A true
replaced by N, 2-D
x, followed hy N, 2-U m1grauons along y Vihilsr rh1s two-pass
11 can eds!l} be '>ho\Hl th.1t 5uLh .1 breakdo\\'nmto
p<~s'>e., can onlv he exact when the medtum l'> homogeneou~ and w1]]
be mere!: dppwxlmate m all orher case~ Mmeovei, 11 wdl be rest1 1LTed ro u~e solely mlllne ffilgi,Jflon
De'>J.!Ile th('>ewcll-known ]m[,Jilom, rhe merhod V\,IS, for a long-penod unt] the
begunungof rhe J<J90s, the solc 3-D nug-r.tt!On method to beemplo}ed on antmlustrial ba>J~
The method ha~ b('en .!handoned and replaced b} anothe
11 rarrmlout ateacf llf/Jirl

m d!recnon x rn rhe frequency

plane. S!lmlar lo th,It '>hO\Hl n ('quation
fi>r rhe Fio mgration, ye~ m
practHe more soplustc,l!ed n form
hnally, the Sdme 2-D scheme 15 apphed, but thr~ ttme m rhc y-chreLllon. Such
a proLess Cdn be pcrfrmed n depth rmg-rallon as well as m tJmc mrgtallon

propaganom \\lthm a .,mgk drmcn;ron

mvolved 111 each recursive ~rep h "" lollows fm
of.,ve
'are rnve1ted, fol10\1ed h} N, tn-dragon,l
comr~ls ofn111e non-7ero J,gonah ofs1Le (N. 1'<,)'
numeJC<t!ly lar more etllcirnt operdllon m term; of <omputing t1me
re'lutreill('!l[S
In order ro understand rhe con~eluencc ofs11Lh a .,hOitClll. v.e 1eturn to tl1e (k,.
k,, w)-dom,n W1th (']attonslup [6 101
Thr hreakdm1n mto two SU< ce.,.,tvel; ca5caded baLk-propag.ltton~, eal h of wlmh
15 a'i51lmed to be w1thout approximation, but with J,]f uf the verrual t1me ~luft
applwd dt each
ro ('IlSIHe that the full t!lnc 5hilr JS
would
rmpl} rlw

k,

[.'\3]

f111> relanomhrp, not ,1pphed m pracnce a'> lnghcr-ordct .!pploxlm.!l!on<o ,re herng
U5ed, 15 g1ven >okh ro demonsrrate rhar rlit> sphr mto two ~tage~ v.ll onh be exal l

284

tor k, or k, = O, 1 e kn d1p~ lymg along etrhcr d1p-due1 non x or srnke-dtrectlon >

All error will heme anse for all mrermed1ate a11muths, and for .1 g1ven Mmmrh, rhe
etror ,]so increase~ \\ilh the actual dip The err<Jr 1~ m<Jxtmal for d1p' whose ,zimurh
he~ ar 4!'" to the x- or y-dnect1nn
he errors tepresented are moder,Ite, dnd \H:'Je <11 tually tg-nmed lor some
tnne, unnl two alternaflve technt1ues wete adopred L> the tndusrry
the 'L1 lilter' for finre-chffereme mlgtations,
the cunvolul!on-Ld>ed H,Ile-l\lcClc1lan method.,
Li filter correction
11 Jimte-d1flercme techwques a paraxr,J equauon !S uscd and avphed m an x-y
manner Come1uently, two
une ts lmked to the
et-order (more expensive) ">Cheme,,
rhe other one ts hnked ro the sphtm x and y at each bdLk-ptopJ.gdt!OIJ step m
the nllg-ratton protednre, a> illu~rrared m cquat10n [6 3:~]

~pht

1 1 1l 991) ,n,Iiysed tht' rno !}pes of error. \\hJCh depend on the degtee of rhe p.traxIJ.I appwxinMtion used, aml propu;cd a filter to compemate fot them Ht> showed
tiMt the en m~ c<ln be teasonably Vlell Lorret ted lor by appl}mg d re">tdu<tl phase 'htft
,lfler back-propagatton ami bdi>le the nnagmg <lt Len>-ttme !S pedmmed
The vha.,e-~htft ( O!leC"l!On operator devends 011
the hequemv 1t~ apphcanon 1> rhu~ best suited
rntgtahon metllOtb,
rhe par axial e1uattmtused lll~ rlwn ,Jgmithm
!he Jlllgratwn 'tep and the x ,nd > tt<lte
rl1e mtgration ye\otll}
Tlu~ [,ts! pomt makes avpittdl!On ofthe opetatm ,Itg-htl} more comvh<ated ~:uher
a omg-k \doCJt)- ts dwsen ami11 can be applwd very eHi1 tenlly as .1 vha">e-sluft opetMnr tn rhe tk, k,, w)-domam (\en ~mular ro the ph.1se-sluft n11g-ration), or mow
~oplu~ncared tedmllJile,, '>Uth a'> phaoe ">lufl
6 16-d <1ml
raken fmm

d!'>talll e~ (poor ap!JlOAJffiattlm 111

both fm rhe ,Iigorirhm (1t tedn<T'> the nobe evcn
axio, hg-mc
16-b) J.nd for the X-} spltr dfet t (the tmpul~t' response 1'> <loser ro a \J.!here, hgurt>
lG-d)
f-x-
pensatr~

(j

l('t;Ul.Irdcpth step'>

Migration using the Hale-McClellan filter

Extcns10n ot back-ptop.!gauon con,o!utwn filtets to three dtmellSions ts tarned
out b\
the 11\o-dimensiona\ opetatm
Founer trJ.nsf01m IS
opetdlot fe<ltUled tn
ot the filtet'>, once cakulated,

285

of dromul4.?" cont>1 tly, \lhil~t d value of N = 20 ~~

order to conform lo lht>
It>qunemenb of modnn tmgtallon sothvare Dtrcct
apphcdiJOil ot th1~
requne~. for e ..uh frequenq plane dnd t>,ICh reuHSIVC
~tep. N, N, operatm~ WIIh 39' ~arnples (retlmed Lo 'only' 200 when ~ymmetnes aw
con~tdeJe(l) hJ be {di{ ul.tlcd, and then tbe d[JIJV(' umvoluuon opt-rahJr to be applwd
ttJtJt:'S. 1 e ~l9' mulliplicatJon-, ..\I1d a.ddtllml~ tor t:dch 'amplc of each freqtlency
~tep

y)
trans\ei~e

t'>otrop\'

(k}+ k,'= con~tdnt) m rhe llequcnry domdm, or (x +(= 1omtant) 1n

temporal dmnain

The

286

MoH:'O\Tr, ope1ator Op "'11! only karure a~ a mono-rhmenSIOilal ope1ator "'ho~e [11ttl value~ are used for each taSLade'~ resulr ro provide rhe fin,J convolutlon IeMJh
nus teLhmque or orher mprovement~ on lt (Soubarao, 199()) aJe now userl routinch in 3-D nugianon, olten replat mg- the rrachnonal (f-x-y) !imte-d1fference merhod~
"uh rhe Lt tiltel

The standard post-stack time-rnigration processing-interpretation route

\\e LonLiude m tha!Jlcr. ,tnwd so f.1r at de;Lnhmg- methorlo. w1th .1 fe"' par.tgraph'>
dcdi< ated to ;om more )l'aLII<di aspect-, ol thc u~e of post-'>l.Kk rtme mtgianon ,nd

the 1cidrerl ewmate of rhe tlme-mlgiJ.Uon ~dotHv field .

\<; wc .,,.id earlte1, runc 1mgranon, whethe1 pmt-DMO <~nd sld<l or J'reSTM. 1s
LCit,unl} by far rhe most \Hddy uscd ofunagmg too!~, }el by delimllmJ tl onl: offe.,
c~n 1111.1ge tn tnne A tlme-depth LOllVenion 1~ tht'refore requJit'd afrei InterprctatOn
to r1eate a depth map
f<Ignre (j 17 more ope< fc.t!l; re(apnul<~tes !he dtfferenr step'> m the
pioCe'>Sing-Jnterpreratwn HJIIte when po'>l-~fack nme mgration i~ used, c1ther ,fter
'\11\10-DMO, or more and mote often, <~l'tei PreSTM-Mo\eS follm\ed by dcrmgidtiOn
to onnulate a 7ero-ofhet oratk volume l'reS'!":\1-Mo\eS IS considered m derailm rhe
ue>..tdiaptei

o Creat10n of the ""'lkmg vdmHv

Pn.'STM pi ocesses,
o EMm1at1on of rhe final time-mgation \eiO<I~ fidd, tovered L} the next
SeC(IOII
0
! he 11me m1g-rdl10n ~rself, CO\efed by Chapters 5 and 6
lnrerpreratiOn ofthc t11ne-m1grated sesmtc cube
to-wdl Uc, , top1c ilddn.,sed m Cl1aprer 8
o! nme-mig-ra!ed 'isoLhrones mdp~' for a JI horizons of interest
o Hoons are rhen trdnsformt'd IUto tsobaths maps h1s mvohes a rf".<;oibng
ofvd()(lfleo, g-enerdlly <artographuall} 'Stackmg veloctlleo, m1vanon velon!le<; and well-based
mcaouremcnb are all raken uuo con~ldeiatiOn,
of the

sel~miL

nnag-e uswg

Estimation of the post-stack time-migration velocity field

we h<tve seen, m t11ne mlgra!Ion !he key vdoGty wdl be the vdot uv thar

.\~

b-

2-D dffr,JCtton curve~ ,nd 3-D rlffacnon surfaceo ('Cheop~ oper,Jton') F01 a
~ubmrfiKe modd assumcd IWlTOJ.!l< and wlth moderare later.tl vdoury vananons,
fotmtddo [3 101 anrl[6 4] sugge.,t thar a \erlcaluno \eloCJt} "'thc mn'>t suitablc
thl> operat10n, where aperrun., are lnmred to (roughly) !W1te tlw depth
1 e .1round 4 5o of d1p
betrer a((uracy and thus W1de1

287

lor rhe Dtx subsmface model, fthc nngratwn scmt-apertwc 1., ,ssumcd to be ofthe
same ordcr as rhe max1mum ofEet m the stat bng velout; 1akulanon, the~e 'tuckmg
ve/outle,\ ought to wnnpond exadly lo the fomsmg tJr/oufn 1equnrd m po,l-\tack ttme
mgmtwn When the mtgranon ape1 tu re become., stgnificantly chJTerenr from rhe offset v.:thw, a coire<tton cou!d he emisaged, h11t 1., ne\er attuJ.l!y apphed m pracnce
There are also ,1 whole scne., of dl'e< rs thJ.L ma; artect thc sta_kmg- \cloCJUes
Thcse \~tll be d1~1 ussed tn Chaprer .S
Construction of the initial migration velocity field
In da;-to-day snuanon~, ti](' wlution ado.m:d to deal wnh tl1ese lumtaltons ts
lug-hly expcnmental, and lfiYohes rhe me ofpartJCtdar 'rcupes' ,lfhcr than a fullytkdg-cd, rat1onahzcd approach Lsing rhe argumem rhat anv llme mtgranon wtU be
'relatt\elv tnscnslti\c to nugatJOn yeJouty', and as.,uwmg no lateral \clooty Ya!la-

288

r1on'> ,re mdeed pre~enl, \\e atm ro llnd a smooth m1grauon ve!outy fie\d, \\hr< h
wh1\e rdlectmg only slow (longwavekngth) Literal \ilTlilliOns also appcar& 'gcologGtlly rea~onable'
01 <oune, SUl h C!liCll<i \\111 mevttahly be subje< 11ve However, once a fldd hao
been <Omtructed, .1 ~enst\ty Leor 10 performcd, mdicatmg the nc<cssary ]()(al or
,ugc-s<ale correcl!ons LO the tmllal fidd lo dercrmme rhc linal mgr.!IIOn vclonly
field
>\ rnore <ommonly used approa<h JS that shown IIl Figure 6.18 Ir umstsrs of rhe

followmg sreps
Choosc ~everal kc; honzons H,, H,
H,. forwhch 111nes TH,(x. y) are J.!l<krd
,nd then mappcd These honzono wtll have heen selected etthci fot thctr
tmpollance ro rlw mterpcrarion 01 thctr corrc~pondence to maor \eloury
<onrrast.,, two <nlena wh!Ch ale Idielv contradJctonT V\"hKII .1nd how m.:tny
hOitZons are< ho-,en 10 largcl} rktermined by expenencc, but >Jmpk, constanrnme honzon~ <1re ofren u~cd
velo< JI)- funcnons fi,>m prev10us pro<essmg r!JJS povalue vcititally bdol\" each vdotity analy~t> at t1me T,,,

289

.....
mavs h,we a chsnncnvc appearance, dLsp\,png ra11d (lugh-frcuency) la!eraJ.
\artatJOIJ~, 1 e 'bull's-eye' or stnpmg- :U:1omahes, w\\1( h 1eqnw: u 1trong erhting
al;onthm so that only rhosc velot itv vanatwns wnh the longcsr ~<.avdength are
ma; he .!UlomatiC,
the possib!lity
well dar.t bemg
or 1t may be entrely
manual, n wl11ch case thc .mJ< cs'>oriLnrcrvreter attempts to rcd1aw !he map 50
as to lntq;\~arc .!'> mw h non-quanttfi.:thle
mlormauon as possible,
such a, annchnal rrend,, large-.,1 ah
\\e can ;ce hm\ problenJs or lilaLtuiaCte' m thc piC"ktng of the vdontv ana!y,es can
kad tu
that d!\ erge locall} from 0\ eral! trench he se \\ 11! need Lo be eiim1

returnmg to thc or1gmal velouty ana\yss p1cks and edmng out the
'""""''""'"'"'' 01 by a stmple mute of rhe olkndtng potnfs IloVIever, th1s oper,
at1on, petformed e1ther m<tnually or usmg geo-statl'>ll<'> too!'>, ts not mltsdfsuffiLient Mednun,fi"<'qllem} anomd!ie~ may abo be pre~enl wuhin !he map The~e may
he caused b; onr of rhe mm1erou~ phenomena mfluem mg- srackmg- velociries
rnent1oned '\V-.,hawd' or 'M-.,h,Jped' anomalw., (Figure S 09) mean that addit10nal
prote~smg-m the frm of re~tdual-,tatl< torre<Llon'> may he ne<r~sary
rhe
for h01von TI,, can also

r2

la
!S] al cach poulf on the map Ome crealerl,
II!IS m!el\al-velotil} maps
tan m turn be edrted, smoothed or redrawn manually. In general, 1t IS eas1er to
appl}
to mrcrval vdot itie> rhan ro rms velo< !les ddined fi<nn
rhe
, smoorhed mrenal->dotty map guarantees a m.1p ofr1115
\doutws from the sur fa< e, wluch !S -,moorhed, whilst the Op!JO'>Ite !S no! netessanly
true 1 he In tena! maps ma} rhen
1he rms vdonty maps defmed
ti-om !he '>urface (ome .tgam
Comments on migration velocities

to IIVPI(I,T~?' Vfion/iel lnformation from \H'lis should be used \\th care n snt ha contexl. = t(z) functlons ntroduced m Chap!er 2
2 02 and 2 03)
mformauon on verttcal aver,Ige velonttes. hui
\dounes for nme tlllg-ratton must not therefore be tahbrated ustng these
:-Jote thar an rm~ velonty log lan be lOmputed lrom wdl ddta, \\luch tS also
all too r<trd} done Ilowever, rh1s approach LKks mfiwmanon on the hetnogeneit}
of !ayer> belween rhe surface and thr firsr somc log me.:tsuremenr
Ah~olute mtcnal-\elm ity values dcnved dtrectly lrom v.elh mu~t nor be used 111
the
of
velontle>, hut tnstead luletol uelont) orwlwn

oj mfonnatwn rn the MI\IriiCIWn nf the /itl/1'-mJflalwn e/IJith jirld

290

Ab~olute statkmg veloclt}' Vdluc~ ~hould he used Lut only ,frer <trie/,([~ have
been remo\ed
\\1ulst omoothmg I'> a plJ\Ierful techwque, 1t mu~t ,!l~o be prcndcd h} an edil
mg pha~e to clm11nate the most gl<~nng anomahes ,md
them front
rhe d!opl<~v, 1 e bemg redU<cd m 0\Ttall
,fiect

ro rhc tahbrat!<ln of lntna! ;'tuwlwn tund1 m

~!dtk-

Migration velocify condifioning

tlmc-JUigration 1elmttle., ha\ e been eotahhslwd 1n the form ofhonzonthe veloories mu'>l Le cond!tiOned lll order toLe ~lllt.:tble for the
mtgldt!Oil ,IigoiJthllJ; 11110 ta~k, C.liiJed OLit by the p!o(essmg
d1tler.,
to whoher KirchhoH m1grat!on or JTcurstve
phd'>C
()JI( e

con>~stenr mdp~.

rhret" ,md ren are nm malfy uoed TIK' mtervals between thc~e bOIJlons ,re therefme
qwte w]{le, often seve,J hundrcd menes tlmk, \\lmh mcdns tlut an} lme,u mrerpoi.Jlton of the rms \elocn; functJon \\tll represcnt a speofit III'>lanraneous \clot ll}
fu/1( non for each mterval ton'>!dered Thi., corresponds, for a hnea1 im reaoe in rms
1cloul} wtth t1me gJ\Cn b;

11he1e k,,..!'> rhe rm'

ofthe fon!l

\do(]t}~

mne grad1ent, to , runc-dependem mtel"hll velooty

111!, fuflll!Oll !.'> Olli)- a!Jpr\.llllatd)- !mear, !he gr,Id!ent k IS do'e {O (.1 k,,)' 1 , 1e
greare1 thdn a g1adwnt expres~ed 1n Ims velmtty
Other mterpolanons, miluenced b;
LOII'>Hier.!llons, <an also be CIJ\IS,J;ed, e g an Ulstanrancou~ velot ll}
the wnJC
\\'e ohould thcn
ba.,ed on
cho!le of
70~1

[637]
Yet n the maonty o pl<iC[ILJI appludtiOn'> wth ronsuinatwm are no/ tnkrn mto
'lfCmml, anda slrnple hne<ii mterpolawm JS ~uHucnt, ~tgmfpng nnphnt fixmg of

291

un e\\Pnf!all; lmmr tmlrmtunPou.\ vPJC11)' m thr la;'n, wtth a gradzent 1 7 bmes grr.atrr than

thr ratr oj mnruse m mrxmlum 1_1e/ont1e,

Conditioning migration velocities for recursive time migration
.\'> WC saw above, J.!haoe-shilt anrl fimte-rlfference f!mc-migraflOIJ J.!aCkages
rclmrc provagauon-vdocJL)- tlmcnon~ 10 be hroken down .lC<ordmg- fO the nme1lllgration step. a lcngth ot some>.\here between 1O anrl ;!0 n1s The p1medure used
!S rhus -,hghtly dtfterent \Ve srart, none the les'>, by cakulanng an rms veloctty funcuon \',,.(i Ll.T) oamplerl at nugrJ.ltmJ >tep Ll.T ar cvery voint (x, y) wnhtn the nugrated volume, m exactly the same\\<IY as for K1rchhoH'migranon, shown m figure 6 19,
where we sho\\ the omoothmg of the vdocuy law thmugh lime hts omoothmg may
result from smoothmg performed \\lthm th1o dom,un 01 tt ma; he rhe result of ednmg or map-smoothmg c.:trned out as suggested m figure 6 18
Agam, as m K]]( hhoff migration, sampling ma} be IIIlcar bctv>een J.!lCk pomts,
wnh the a'>SOCI<Ited d!~cus~Jon also JemJ.tmng ya!Jd
1 he oampkd funcllmJ 10 then transformed mto an Jni> tnterval velonry funcnun
,u nugatJon stcp Ll.T, usmg D1x foJmula [2 18] once more
Thu~ a tnne-nugratlon
fumuon !S <ahulated thar can be regardt>d a~ a
'>elpwncc of \CJtl<al nns
\elm lLJe> lhe n~e of rms nterval velm irie~ over

-k-

e~
1-

292

eJ' h m1g1-allon step, wlule en:-omp<tssmg tlw vcriKal hctcrogem:'lly of the l<~yer,
Jocs not, a~ we h.~~ e aln:ady ~tated sever<tl umeo, <Ompletely de~<Til>e the propagduon wnes lt~JUStification however hes m the focusing srep of the h<~l:'k-prupagallon
h,mdkd Ly tlns vdo:-ny nus ts after .]] the ongm<~l ;um of unw nugrat1un
[he formula employed ro 1/lHTt velories mlo lllten<~l velociric~ may he numerJt,tll~ unsmble, espeually fo1 ~nMII tl.l' ll11S dTccr Lan he reduLed rhrough rhe \;mou~ ~moothmg st<~gcs carned out Cdl'hcr m the procedun', yn dcsp1tt' th1s, 1l will sull
bL 1wcessary ro perform qu<~lay control on thc outcomc ro remove any abendnt valtiC> rhat IIMY Iestt
lhe enfile sct of operJtmns outhncd 1n
19 ,re 111 f3.Lt ,I((Oillphshcd
,JUIOIIlJU<allv and tr<~n~parently ro thc
s1mply needs lo 111put <1 senes of
smoothed ~ta< kmg \e]o:ity funct1ono m ro the nugranon program
Testing time-migration velocities
A., in any Luhndl) reope, con~trucnon of <1 tune-tmgratlon vclooty field n"qmre'i
a Lertaln cxpenenLe and kna:-k to know whllh fimslung tou:-hes to make.
fhs final 'lin1Sh1ng touch' m our situation w11l very mLKh depend on the pwcedures ~peufic ro each partKular :-omp.my. !1gure 6 20 .,how~ one mcthod that ~~
olten u-.cd Jhc miti<tl vclucity fidd ohramed hy thc mcthod ahove 1S muluplied hy
. '-t:IJC., ol codlinenh, gcncT<~ll) 1n the rangc from O 9 to 1 O.'J rhe st<~Lkd data JS
thcn Illlgr<~ted w1th each of the~e 1-espeLti~e veloGty fichh, w1th the staLkcd volume
bemg seledt~cly s.~mpkd to n:'duce thc nm-tnuc, for mstancc nngr<~tmg C'vel) two
tr,H e~ and two !mes SJmtiarl), for thc (m, x, y)-domalll uugrauon~ descnhcd C'arher,
the number offrequency pbnc~ to mtgrafC' may also he redtJCC'd to savc umc SuLh
J (O~Huttmg C'Xcrnse, though, must nol he allowed to jC'opardlt.C' the valtdtty of thc
te-r and L1.11Tent compuung po'l'.er mdkC'~ 1t mLreasmg-h k~~ nCLe~~ary.
We thu~ obra m .1 <;e res of 3-D ~olumes nugr<~ted with vanou~ pe1-centagc~ of the
fidd. TllC' nC'Xl
IS p<tl'tlcularly ddiC<ltC' ThC' optnual codli"""'d "wmimm' the outcomeo of thc mJgranons The dd-

focus1ng of (llffralliOD~ or synclulC'..,,

the po~lllon ola r.~tilt plane rel,HI\C to the edgc of faultcd hont.ons
P<~rtl<ul,u

c,tlC' rnust be takcn lo avoul m!mdu.rtng a11y (Ulditionallateral vdoaty

,:~,na-

!"he Wd)' thal correclne factor~ dl't' .1pphed 10 the final modcl v<~nC'~ A s1ngle corre< Uve LO-effinC'nl
be <tpphcd lO thC' entlfC' vdooty fidd, 111 whJCh !:'a'K' 'I'.C say
tlut we nug~ate '1'.1th
of thc sldchng vdouties", cqually a tnne-~aryng multlphc<~llve funcr10n could be .~lloLated over thC' ent1re inlllal field
The...e <lrC" the two snnplest methods to tmplemC'nt. V1ihcre necessary, we nMy
need tu compute hon7t>n-~peLific COJTeLnon map'i. Tht., 1s ~hown m Figure 6 20
'>uch maps should ne\enhele~s remam Lonu~e The nugranon-vel(XJt) maps seC'n
m h){l.ll'e 6 18-c <~rC' thC'n nmltiplied with the corn:clion maps, beforC' dnother recondltmnmg of the ~clollrle., to g1~e the final nug~atJon velonty fidd
Fxpenence demon~lrdtes rh<~l the cone01~e faltOl' JS usuall~ below one, .1nd

293

1 - fhtild lnitial Migration velocity field } -

~'

typtully dose to 9:i'i{ The uuerpn:tatwn gncn to tht~ phcnomenon ts thatlhe corr('ltlve tenn <;CTITI'i to OHnpensatc for the theotctlul and ;yolelll<lt!L dJ~crepancy
het.,..cen rm .., and <;lackmg vdocit1es (Conher, l9R5). whtht also no doubt compcn~dtmg lor thc tllll!m!C amsotropy scen m day-nch Jonnatiom. a topc 11(' come back
to latcr 11hcn \\t' <;tudy the impan ofanl,Otwpy on mtgrauon proccs~c<;

In bnef. thts fin,tl otagt' m conMruct111g thc ttnlC-tmgrauon vdout} ficld emplflcally compen,Mt'o <1S [;u a<; pos~1bk foJ Lhe nmc Imguuon\ hmlt~ wherc strong vclocallhough ran need~ to be taken m tlu>
wtar;l' lo1!1l(1, / wunolm am U'il)' gunr-

294

References and further reading

Baysal E, KosloffD and Sherwoodj (1983) Rcverse ll!lle rmgrctlton (7mph)lt(<, 48
J.'J11-D:!1
Bcrkhout AJ (l9H5)
l\lii!,llllwn
J<.xtrupolatwn, Pnrt R Pwc/1ral &jin/.1

Bcvc O, BlackJ and Palacharla G (199:)) 1'\umc~. Re~pome ol tnnc llll).,'T<ltlon lo

],llera\ vdoc:Jty vanatton Grof!h)lid, 60 11 Hi-1127
Blacquiere G, Oebeye HW, Wapanaar CP and Berkhout AJ (1 9H9) 3-D tablc-dmen migr.Jtion. (;eoj!h)'Iflll Pn!lpnimR, 37 92.)-9}8
Cambois G (1991). A pmof for thc cornergem:e of D 0 cascadcd r!llgrd!Jon (~hort
nolc)
56 2110-2113
Chang W
McMechan GA
.1-fJ acoustl< rcver~c tnne nHgJatJOn
Gr'Of!ll}>tca/ Pro~pectm;;, 37.
ChunJH andjacewitz CA (19Hl) Fundamentab ol frcquenn doman nugTatlon
Geoph)~trl,46 717-733
ClaerboutjF (197R) hmrltm!f'rltal< oj'Geoph)llcal Da/u Prm.eWitR M<{,ra\1-Hdl Kook
(o , I-hghbtown
Claerbout JF ( 19H!':i) hiWRtrl.f!: tlw Earth '; lutnwr I3lackwcll Socnnfi< l'ubltcanon~.
Oxfonl
Claerbout JF and Ooherty SM (1972) Dollnwatd umtllluauon of setsmogramo
Geophysrn, 37 741-7H
Clayton RW and Engquist B ( 19HO) .\boorhmg boundary r onchuono for 1\.we-equdtion nugratwn Geoph;mn, 45 R9!':i-910
Colou T (2002) Tunc-lapsc fihcnng and nnprmcd rcpeatabihty wah <tutomattc
facwnal co-knglllg (AIACK) 61" L\GE ,\nnual Lonlcrcn<e, Extettded
Gazdag J
W.t~c-equatwn nugrJtlon wllh the pha~e shdl method C:euphl'>ICI,
43 \.1<}2-l3!JI
Gazdag J and Sguazzero P
of ~Cl~IIHC d.Jla by phaoe slJJft plm
mteqJo]atton (;mfJirystn, 49
Hale D (1991 a) S1ahlc cxphot dcpth extrapolauon of selSTTIIC Wd~didd~ Gf11{1hystn,
56 1770-1777.
Hale D (199 1h) 3-D dcpth uu~ratlon vm .McC\clbn tr<Jmformauons C:eojih)-'01(1. 56
1778-1/Hj
Holberg O (198H) Toward~ opt1mum one-Wd\ wave prupagauon Gr,ophy~m{
Pn11pecimR, 36 99-l \1
Kichtenside P andjakuhowicz H (1987) OperatordcsJgn lor :1-D dcplh mgatlon
.'7'h SU. Annual lntem<tt!Onal .\1ecling, ~xpanded Ab~tracls, J:>R-J.Jt!
KosloffO and Kessler O (lYH7) Acuuate depth nugr<Hion by a gener.thsed ph,ne.,hlflmethod (;roJh_wo. 52 1074-1081
Larner K and Beasley C (l9H7) Ca~c<Jded
lmpto\111~ thc accmaq: of
firutc dJfkrcncc rlllgratJon Gr'o{!hJiO, 52
Li Z {19Ql) Compcnoating fimte-d!lrercncccrmrs 1!1 3-D nugr.Jllon ,Hld nwddhng
(,rophyu~, 56 1650-IRO
Pai DM (19t!H) Lencral11ed f-k.
nugratwu m <Jrbtr.mly
\,lrpng mecha Gi'of!II)'.'IC\, 53

295

Reshef M and Kessler D (19R9) Pra(_tlcal tmpkmemauun of Lhrec-dnnen<;tonal

po~t.,lMk depth nngauon
54 309-318.
Reynaud B and Thore P
ume nugratwn ope1Mors >nnulaLed by
am~ot!OpK ray tranag
Atmnal Conferencc. Extended .-\bsttans,
C04!
Rocca F and Salvador L (1982) Re~Jdualtmgrauon 52''" SEG Annu;t] Imernational
Meeung, Sess10n SI 4
Schleicher J, Hubral P, Hocht G and Liptow F (1997) SeJ'illlll constant vdonty
lkuugr<1t10n Geoph;\tll, 62 Y:'li--99
Sexton P and Robein E
Dtffert>nt ~mntlauons of the hnematJCs of tune
mtgratmn A -edew
i\nnual Conference, Extended AbstracLs, XI R.
Soubaras R (199\i). Exphnt 3-D Mtgratton usmg Equtnpple Polynorntdl Expansion
and Ltplauan Synthe~t<; C:enphyw:,, 61 13t!-139.1.
Stoffa PL, Fokkeman JT, de Luna Freire RM and Kessinger WP (1990). Spltt-step
h>uner mtgranon. C:eoph:,rcs, 55: 410-4:!1
Whitcombe D (1994) l<J~t modd bu1idmg usmg detmgrauon ami 'itnglc-Mep ray
mtgtat10n Gr'Of!hptn, 59 4~19--449
Whitmore D ( 19t!3) h(']"aiJVe depth nugr.ltlOn by backward ttme propagatmn 53"'
SE(, Annual Internatlonal Meetmg, Se'i'ilOn SL4
Yilmaz O (2000) SeJSlllK data analysts. In
SM Dohenv) Vol. 1, 01:
of
Yilmaz0(200)

Chapter 7: Prestack migrations and veloties

Introduction
gave a lirst msght tnto prestack ckpth nllgr,ltlon m hoth Lommon-shot
U)lmnuJJ-oJiset domam~ In Ch.tpkr 4, we showcd how <llld undcr wbt(h
,l',.,umptlons we c:an reduce" the oiTsct dnnt:nSIOil ro omiUlatt: 'ero-offset' data
C.h;1ptn j wa~ dethcated to the 1mgrat!on of 7ero-oiT.,('l data morder ro pmducc .tn
of t]l(' ~ub~urfau:~ m ckplh or 111 the non~phpJCal but pr<JgmatiC Jmgr.ttcddoman In Chapter {), we tnlroduced a senc~ of wave-equauon-based tcchlll<jlle~ to Imgrate zem-otlset ddta slep-by-step, whKh W(' called 'rcLurslve mdhods'
J-lo'l'.evn, thc Zeln-offsd \tratag('m' h.ts lnnitations fhese an: mamly uf thn~e
l\pC.,, whtLh are SLhematlcally t!lu<;tratcd tn F1gure 7 Ol
}<,ven m fmrly s1mple
~ettmg~. thc sLatkmg velont~ analys~ JS
performed
IS CMimdted roughly dlong lh~
nonndl ra) tire -ueloctty ann/y.\"1\ n rwl pr1 f(mnfd m a
nns has
unphLatlono when w~ want to u~e stdcking vdocitics
ro build the tnn~nuganon velouty field or to conv~rt rndp; from tnne to d~pth (see Chapt~r R)
Anoth~r conoeqtwnc~ of th-, fdct 1s thal m thc zero-ofbd domdm, mulnple
drrlv<Jb (Fgur~ 7 Ol-a, oee abo F1gures !':i Ol dllll.'J lO) dfe qmte common. EdLh
arflvdl h<~, ll~ own opt1mal Sldckmg \eliXIly, even after DMO, whKh often
mak~s the pitkmg ofstackmg \doCities ambiguom (hgur~ 7 01-b)

(b)Ambiguous
mid-pointgather

(c)Disco1111uuous
d~pthpointgathcr

J( pwdurc <l 7C"IO-o!l~cl d.lt,l~Cl from raw data through the NMO-DMO-Mack
pmcedure, wc assume Lhal the tune-off~et LUITC" of a rdlecllon ha~ a regular
~hdpe Tlm .t~~urnpnon lncaks duwn m Lumplex medJd (Fq.;ure Ol-e)

In rnan~ ca~e~. the fi1~1 dnd ~econd 1ssues are well .Jddre~~cd h~- prcMack_ tnne nugra11011 (Pre~ll\1) fhe thml one, wluch Lorre~pond~ to 1m<lg1ng lwlow Lomplex structurc~. acLes;ltatc~ Lhe uoe o! p1e~taLk depth JTIJgTallon (l'reSDM)
I3oth l'le.'> Tl\1 ami Pre.'>D\1 hecome slandanl pnxemg tools Ttu~ chapter then
descnbe~ m more det,lJI the teLhmque; dl om d1~po~al wnh spenal cmphas1s on
then mleralton w1th 'dooty an,lh~t~
\\'e L'an ]., the~e too!~ aLLordm;- to theu le\ el of complexny (.md root) m accordancc \\Jih the muca~ing kvd of
complex1ty ~<ith whiLh wc are dcabng.
nu~ 1' abo schelll,ltH .llly lt'prc~cntcd lil
7 O!!
In a 'fwrl) .,mpk' t"arth. cxpencnLe
~hown that the '7t'ro-o1Tscl roule' IS
~cry n>bmt lt ha~ mdeed heen apphed to all data'ieh until very n'rTntly,
de~plle t~ thrm't'tK<lilllmt<lfJon~

Thc nexl ~tcp in ~ophioucatwn 1~ thc mcthod known <lS Lhe Moves'" teLhllHJUe,
oticn reknTd lo <lS 'prest<lck tnnc mgrauon' Th1o technque has been applicd
to most manne ourYe\o smce the late I990o It maks onndar a~~umpnons
abom the \elonty modd <lS lhe JllT\IOU; IHC"lhod, hut ha~ the advantagc of
-

~
', (a)~:\10-0MO-Stack
__
_-,1~,;,;;_
~ t \ ""'11:~..

l'od-stack

Mlgraflon

Fodll'rcSTM

TimeDomain

Depth Domain

298

C"n.tblmg thc stackmgvdonty ;tep to be L.nned olll 'm amtgrdted

COTKC"pt that wdl be explamcd later

po~Jtwn',

An imponant otep fllrther Jll compkxuy and L<>mputJng efl:u!l 1; 'full KnTh-

hoff PreSTM' Here wC" entn the domam of 'muJt-oJls('t <hllr,J<tlun <;t.!< k'
,here the se heme LOll>J~ts uf ounuiHng samples along C.rcen'; lunoions. who~e
\ocu; m the pn:st.!Lk ume domdl!l JS mtroduLed as the 'Cheopo p1ranud' 111
Chapter 3 In thc La~c of Jull Km_hhoiJ I'IcS rl\1, we a~~ume a Lontmuou~ and

\!llple.

"
too\ ~
lt r('qu1res exphut bu\dmg oJ th(' velouty
modcltn d('pth ,md the culHputdlwn of(Jreen'' ftmLUon~ through tht~ modd.
mdudwg multiplc ,lfn\a]s The Chcop; pyranl!(\ ma1 no longer look hke a
pyra1md ami wdl bcunne multlv<Titwd m mdn~ Ld~C";, a~ soon a~ somc complexlty appea1s m the velo(_JIV modd
'Double fo(_using' IS a method that e~tJmdte~ Gr('en\ lunltwns w1thout
exphntly budding the 1douty depth modcl OnL(' the C.recn\ funcuons ha1c
been c,wnated, the1 mmt lw uwcned mto thC" depth modd for the fin,ll
dep<O~nuge<,uon ~tep

Hiw;~;q;wtw,~bw,;d me!hod.1 1Hll avo1d the cmnpurauon of Greea\ funcuon~.

hut not the explJCit buildin~ of the model lherC" 1~ a oenou; extid Lumpllling
atta(_hed to the'ie tedmhjU('S, espeU.1llr thC" finlte-dilTeremc one; fhq'
dle ne\('Ithek more and more fiequend) uoC"d and wdl gradualh epla(_c
othc1 te(_hmques m the futmT
Fmally. m ln<lJl\ (_d~e~ the >eln(_lty model L'OmpkxHy must be funher mcrcaocd
wtt!t thc mclmu>n of mwoi!'Ofi). especially f ~<e want l'reSDM TC"~ults to m,tch
we\1 data

(_mi

pnnoples were prc~t'IJtC"d m Ch.1pter 3 dlld the 7ero-ofls('t route' n

4 10 6 \\'e now need to Introduce thc Mo\('S'" and thC" "fui\ Klrchhofl'
I3ased on the undeJ~landmg of these pnnuples, we shol'. thatm
<1 homogeneouo medmm, the tOur wute'i dfc cquii;Jient A hornogeneous earth s
ob,iously .1n unreahsti(_ .l~~umption, but 11 wi\l\c,ultu the dtSIU,sion ofthe ad\al!t,gC"o and hmitanons of e.1ch teLhruque as the sub~urf.t<e (_omplexty mLreases
l'lc~D.\1

Prestack time migration: the MovesM approach

b1 M.tr<oux 1'1 rd iil 19H7 111 a 2-D verunder tht>
IUme 'MigratJOn for Optmmm Vdontr Evaluatmn .md
lwn(_e the aLinll)til "Mo>es'.
fhC" red>Oillng behmd the IIIC"Ihod IS that onC(' t\ NIO aml D\JO have bcC"n
.1pphcd, a cubc of constant-offsct naceo m punupk n:semb\e~ a 7ero-ofbet Luhc
1 his i~ bccau~e we dS~u!lle thdt th(' '\l.MO-DMO procco~ tranofonn~ dll) data reulllJed IHth an off~et ::!h mto a >Hlml,ltcd Leru-oflset data~ct, tabng the dtp of the at tu,]eflector nto dCU>Unt Cunv('ntiOndl St<lcks <onsist uf ~llllltlHIIg post-I'>iMO-DMO
tubcs frurn d serie"\ oJ off'id~ to obtam d \J,t<k (.Ube'. whiLh thcn undetgo('S 'po~t
.,l;tck Jmgrdllll'.
~IOn

~tackmg-',

299

Aht:rnattvdy, nHgr.ltton c,m take place 'prestad,', each cube bemg uugtated usmg
the samt: vdonty fidd and the same mtgtatton .J!gonlhm, except that the summatmn t<. only taTncd out when thts muh iplc llligration of individual tubes h..1.s be en
cornplett:d Such an operatmn reqlllres ).! tmw~ moJ-e t.ero-olhet mlgr,HJons and
kads lo exal) tht: samc re~ull a~ the conventmnal 'post-~tatk' 1mg:ration b('tause
It willtherefore only be use-

The basic Moves sequence

The key .,tt:ps m tlm Pr('STM pmces>mg scqut:nte are outhned 1n Figure 03.
Imtta!ly, the .,elsmtc data are preproccs~ed (data-na\'lgation merger, notse suppr('SS!On, splwncal chvergenc.(' e ompt:nsarwn, mult1pks removal, apphcation
ol ~taUL corrcctlons, Mgn.Jtun: pnxc~smg, etc.) and son('d mto c.onstalll-offs('t
f;tngeo In p;tlallel wtth the con~entional tt:duuque, vdooty analyses Me perfornwd, enablmg an llllllal stathng ~dollfY Ge\d to bt: ddined Tlus ts then
ust:d 10 appl) .tn )JMO LOITeLtion fOI\owed h\ a D.\10 p!Oct:ss to each of the
onstanl-oflst:tcubes
Ha;.ed on the prmuples outlmed m Chaptn 4, tlus allows us lo state that each
common-oflset cube hdo been (al ]e,lst approxtmatdy) 'tr;m~formed to 7elno1Tsef m the pwces~.
At 1h1s stage a velocity fi.mc110n V,,)l) 1s ddined to t.ltTY oul tlw lntermt:dtdte m1gratwn~. Th1s funct1on wtll g('ner,ll\y he snwolh and rdau~ely s1mpk,
wllh no ldtel"<ll vdnatwns rh1~ IS notan ab,olUle c.onstramt, but <lilows fastn
migration algonthms to be used such a> th(' Stolt or phast:-slllfl tethmques
ckscnbed m Chapters 5 and 6 Although not th(' opt1mum tmgtauon velocuy
fidd, l doe~ allow a parnal ml('rmediate mtgration
111graung each of these ton~t.mt-oiTset tubeo g1~es a ~('l"IC~ of lo>~ fold co~et
age nugrat('d cube~
lt l'i ar thts stage that W(' mtmdute th(' processmg stcp thal c!tsungwshes the
tt:chmque fmm 'po~t-stack' nn~rauon In an Hk.tl world, al\ these conslant-oft~
S('t cubes \\ould be alike, but m reality rlw, will nor bt: the <ase for at kdst two
Jt:a,on>
- '\JMO correcnon assumes a hypeibolt< ume-othet rcbtwnslHp (In fact, only
an appmximatton)
- Thts torrt:ctlon lS dctually apphed ustng rdat1vely coa1 ~e ).1.1\10 vdoutws.
Post-DMO and premigration unages for the ~anw ho1iLon tht:refort: ohow a
silght d11Tt:rencc from one oiTset to dllOlher, a chiTen'nce that may be acct:ntuated h) rhe nugrdlwn .tpphed lo e<lch cuhe A residualmoveour (RVIO)
analys1s, as de>cnbed m Chapter 1Js therelorc reqmn:d pnor ro stacklng In
order lo obtarn the real bendit from th(' m('thod (1 e
,malvse, m thelr 'nugraled posttion'), lhe foilowing, mort:
preferred 111 pralfl<e
So1tmg lhe tonnnon 'nmlpomt' gathcn lrdce~ 111th tht: s.tme bu1 (x, y) pos!
tJoam cach tuLe di"<' tollected tog('tht:t at lhe pos1t1on wher(' ~e wlsh to <arry
out the vdouty an;t]y~~~ Each trace m tht~ new gather h.l~ a dlfferent otiginal

300

~<luchare 111 ~ome way., ~Jmllar to those

dC"pth domam.
Each gdthcr undcrgoes dn mversc N '-10 conet Uun usmg thc uuual Sldckmg
velocitvfidd
Thesc 'de-conclted' gathero are then fed mto a ~ccond sC"nes of con,enUonal

301

\'doCll\ flcld
rhe final ~taLktng \dOutlc~ ;J]<;o a!Jow the lO/lS[fU(t!Oll Of a final JTUgra!Jon
veloul~ fleld th,lll~ more ~ophl'ilKdted rh,m
LHer
we ~ce to wlldt extent thl'1e neil' ,,docitil'\ ar~ lirttn
-udocit1e:;lotlwtmk
Thc pl"('viom step kavt:~ u~ wHh a Sldlk Lube whtch l"> pani,dly nngrated at
H:locn~ \' ,/TJ \\'e h<Jvc lwo opl!Oll~ ,l( thto olagc
- Thc PreSl M ,t<l<kd tuhc 1"> 'denugi<~tcd' usmg- the
mg d fmal ol<lLkcd Luhc cqlll\<llent (01, I'C" hope,
cube th<~L would be oht<Jmcd ,fta :"-l"t\10-DMO .,]one Dt:JTIJgtation l'i the
revcrse pro<ess of llllgTalion \\'e met th~ LOIKept whcn wc addressed kmt:mattc denugratwn m Chapter 5 Ht:rc, howc\er, we de<~l 'l'.tth the whole
dataset
0

nngr.uwn pnnnple (al~o known ds

mgTatton)
m Chapter 6 The prcrequi~tte 1~, howcver, that V,,, 1~ cvei\Whcre less
than the final nugrauon \donty so th,1t equMwn [O 24] Lan he apphcd.

LUS~ed

Demigration to zero-offset or 'DZO'

lfif l'rcS"l.M-Move,'" processJng sequenLc

tcqure~

two mput vdonnes to ht:

Lho~en

Lhe mltlal ~t<JLkmg \dOCJl~,

Lhc mtermechale nugrauua veloclly, V.,,,( l)
The re>ults art:

\\'e haH' already ob-,cncd

kast four d1flerent \doCJt\
lntroducI3loor and Deregowsb
mg denngr<~lmn lo t.t:m
the oamc
~equencc <J~ l'reSTM de~cnbed
JlllermcdJatc migratton vdoclt!es are constan! and t:qual 111 both operauon>.
E1en thoug-h 1hc procedure ~~ tden!K<Jl to Prc', !.M, lhc authon m rhe1r p<~pt:r
tll~JSt on Lhe conLeptud! diffcrence Lhc ann i~ nut sm1pl) to Hllltate , prestack migratmn, bm actuall~ w Ldrl} out d tnte nnaglli)\ ope1atmn wh1th ~~ IT\ersb]c 111 as
mudl as ;,eh relkcuon undergoes an mvn~c 1\,1\l(_) Lorretl!Oll equal (though al a
ddferenl tulle L._,) to the 1/lllldl cuneltwn
Comparcd Wtth Movcs'", thc method bcndib fmm hmltlng lhe number of t'aitht~ mcctn~ thc mtennedtllla\ be u~ed,

302

Why the zero-offset route is justified in homogeneous media

(fgui"e> 5 0!-J to 5 J
begm w1Lh .t
half-olhet h ~ illre.tdy mdt(ated 111 Figure 4
a Du.IC funcLmn lying on suth .t
-,ctwn \\111 br (,msf(umerl by rhe N~fO-DMO pr()(cs' mLo .t seLJon o .m elhp;e
Jh1-. ne\\ ,e(l!Olllrplesenl, a nan-,formatJon Lo Eclo-ofhet of rlw 1n1llal hypo'zeruo!bet' nugr.tlHHl
,1 umYolutwn-ha>eJ nugr,nton J'i u,ed, sm1lar to the ont Jeptcted lll hgure 5 11-b
In arldnion, wc assumr Lh.tL Lite homogrneom medn1m posse<.ses il constam yeJonLy
\ L'nder tlll<; onJJtwn, the unpube re~ponsc for , Jepth nugr.ttwn at 7ero-olhrL 1s
,1uc\e, with , r.tdius plnportion.tl to thr tnnc uf the ,ample to be rnigT,\ted
In our hvporhcllcal C.t>e, each po111t un the DMO operatorw11l tJan;funn lnlo .t

(b) Impulse

re~ponse

ufprestack migntiun

(humo~eneou~

medlum)

,.,

tu ele, w1th thc result that the DMO opcrillOl ~ nugr.mon 1'> rhe erwdope of e.tch uf
the~e t m ]c., A geomcrru.tl .tnillYM" (not dc.t]t WJtll heno) erlilbk., U> tu Jernollstrate
that th1s eu~elopc will be an ellip~c, iluJ mole to the pumt, ex.u rly the s.tmc elhpse
ilS rhat .,hown m bb-ure 1 20-b for thc ~-D t.t.,c ilnJ pre>cnteJ as rhe unpulsc
respo11sc of ]Jlestatk depth nngrat1on Ir .,]IOulJ be JecalleJ thilt ths 1mpulse
response Wils Jcdw cd geomctrrt all}. u..rng- two ol thc propcrtiCs of thc elhp~e
lu the 3-fl l<l~e. thc /cm-olbct Jc.,pon>e JS still iln elhp.,c 111 the \eltJC.tl pbne
Junnrng tluough tl1e .,oultc-ntel\'el .,egment (lg-urc 1 2fl-il), but thc LeftHlff"l't
depth-n;og""'"'' 1mpulse
a1e hillf->phclc., lhe 3-fl
of all
20-c

NMO

DMO

l'mt-st..uk depth m1gl.tt1on "'1'1-eSDM

m .t homogcneou~ mcdJUm

From depth migration to time migration

l he t ommotJ-ofhct clhptlcill!mpulse JC.,)JOIISC for pre>tilLk dcpth m1grahon can
be u,cd, as rn 1t~ post->Lilt k
fo1 rluct t 1maging uf prc.,tat k >esmic Jata
.,oJtcd by tommun uff~ct
111 ~l-D) Y>il\clront-bilsed pre>t.tck
m1g-rill10n tooh h.t\e bccn
tu
Mhilntage uf tln~ pwpert} llowe\er,
prcscnt-day tooh p1efcr the
y,.a\-c-cquatwn-ba~ed .tpproilches deo;cribed
111 th1~ t hilptel
~c\erthde.,.,, the Juaht} betwrrn the two
~~ snll wurth uutmg ami
thi> 1~ ~chematu allv demuustrateJ 111 F1gurc
rhe arnphtudc uf the nugrilted
rllfli-ilctor pomt t a11 be cknveJ
cnher by .t summatwn aloug a thflrilt tum curve,
or il> the rrsult uf the ~upe1 po~JLion of all nnpulsc e,pon~e~ (>preadmg the
ilmphnKk of .m 1uput point m thc c,ult domain)
l'he forme .tpproach ~~ pre.,entcJ 111 Chapter ~l and .,uf lll<\]Or pr.tctKal nnportauce lu tlu~ spct fit ca>e we J\lusuate our pomt m thc t urnmon-off~et domillll, as
1.')

eqm\.tlcw e bet11een nmc illld dcpth rlllgTiltJOil> 1 e

Impulse

Jespon~r for a tune mig-ranon 1> .,irnply il \Trt1calh .. netched \erswn uf that tor

Jcpth nng-riltwn lt 1S thu., al su an dbp.,e

Morr sJg-nificautl}, Fig-wc 7 0.7 .tlso mtrodwr~ the JfferenLr hct11een pre<.tack
In depth 1mgratwn, thc JT>uit of the
po'>JtJollrri ilt thraLtu-

304

'-~~'L

', :;, :,; ,:;~: ~e":~.:><"' " '

'"'

--~~

'"'""''"""" ,. . ;;)

i mo~-" " ~,;~~~

: ..

305

Velocity analysis in the Moves method

Tbe tbree velodties of the MovesT" method
As we h,J\T ~een .JbU\e, m thr 1\fuve~'~ ilpproarh the \'elnut\ anal}Sl'> Js pcrfmmedJn thrce
alter DMO ilnd
a classKal St.tckmg vdo(ll\' aualy~JS such .~., that pH'~rnterllll Chapter 4
4 03 to "1 05) Js <ilrrwd out, Jlcldmg rhe 'Po~t-Vlove~'" sLackmg

Thr Je;ulto; ul Prr.'.TM-MU\es'", namclv the ;haqmrs> ofthc ~rJ>tlllC nn.tge .md the
\.Jlue-, uf thr 'pmt-PreSTVl' ;t.J< king \rlonlle'> l\111 depend on hoy, wcuratdy we
thr actual prop.Igatmn velonty field m thr subsurtace The e.trth 15

tJcill van.ttJon> m the migr<1t1on Yeluctl\ fuw twu,

Velot IL} rstmMtlun 1s dcalt w1th hy thr mt'
menoourd m the pruce.,-,mg sequence .1bovc
\\'e thrn llil\e tlm~e pr()(cS>ing paramrlrls .tr our dl'ipu~.tl for th1~ purposr
Thc m1hal \""'" ficld,
thc mtrrmrdiate migraoon \eloCJty !un< llon o field, \ "" ;
the final ~tilckmgvclo<Jt\
-\.11 tht'r p.trametcn mreract <1nd
diOKc h.t~ an unp.t<t on the reo;ult Thc
ubjectivc~ ofth1o; ~eltitm are twofulrl first!y, 4 brtter uuderstandmg ol wha1 wr mean
b} \ta<kmg ~elunty .mal}s1, l!Jthe nng1<1Lcd pn~ltlou', 1\hJCh 1., une ufthe .tdvautageo; uf .tll l'reS l'M method.,, anJ 'e((mdly, an .ma]\.,~ ol thc l!Jfluence uf\'"'" ami
\' "' ou thc fiuill ~tackmg \elOCil} field
1ur v.hich we
c.tn compare the Je~ulr' wlth

The 'migration' of a reflection during tbe Moves'" process

\fe ~tart h} lulluwmg a ~mgle Jrllecton 111 Jt~ 'nugr.ttwn' dunng the ]\{oye~'"
P1eSTM pruceJUJt' Tlus 1~ ]]u.,tJ atrd m Flgu1r 7 06 for a ~ngle hal[-uffset h .md fur
a hurnogrneou, rned!uiii
Fu<,t, tl1e rdle<tmn at P un thc Icllector 1' rccordcd by the receJ\er al x .md 1'i
pu'>ltJOned 111 rhc Jata.,et atthe ollset 2h m thc m1dpmnt g<~ther X.,., The Jellrctwn
~~>111 appcilr<ttts 1ccorded Ume t,, 1 hr :\IM()with velocitv\ tnu\esit to t1me r, withour ch<1ng1ng 1h lo<atwn ,mJ DMO move'i 1t il<<urJmg to the filp ulthe eflc<Lor to
rhe luciltJon X" anJ the ume t 0 X , the <oorrhu.tte of the emergetu r pomr ol thr
liHJ-w.tv zcro-ofhct tlalelllme a long 1h1s r.tv Wr 1\11]
IO<atrdm X at thrnmet,aud lo1 thc
Final\y, ffi1gt'.ttwn w1th \elontv V movrs the reflrctmn to IL'i expected pos1Uon,
on the \ert](.tl through P ,md ,t .t tune equ.tlto thr 1crticill ume
\\'r
X, ata tune l, iludfm
7 06-rl)

306

1 he ;.tme proLe'' 1> .tpphed tu illl other common-offset d.ttil~rt.,, m tlu~ "'"} cornplctmg the fint ,tep uf PreS !'M 1d1ecrwn~ <1t 1' rt'ordcd 1\lth othct olt~ch are mlllalh placed at dli1etent n11dpmnt loLiltiOm, .~., stiltcd m Chilptt>r 4 (Figure 4 12)
None the le'>'i, after DMO the} illl mo\e tu thc ~ilmc dcpth-pomt g.tthcl~ ilnd ahct
tlllg1anon to the s.tme tmage gilther locilted at the venKill ul the tdlcct10n pomt P
:\ote the change 111 tlu; me.tmng and 111 the namr of the g<1thcn
thc ptocs<;

Stacking velocity analysis in a 'migrated position'

1he >ltUatlon tn F1gurr 7 06 1., .111 tdeal C.t>e finrlv,

Y> e

.~~.,urne

a humugeneous
dat.t ~~

307

(b)

D~pth-point ~~ther

~l'ter

(c)lmagegatherinXA
al'terl'reST\f-NM0 1

(d) lm~~c gather in X"

after J>reSTM-'11\fO 1

in XA

1\ "\10-D"\10-1\)10 1

(e) lmage~ather in X.:

nfler l'tcSTM-'11\fO 1

uuder.,tand wh} PreS l M leads lo

l"ln~ 1> ,chemalKalh tlht>lraled m bgure
llcrr \\e assurne a typical ~ynllm<t! .. uucture, wlm h lc<tJs lo lhe 'l..tS,IC.tl multtDMO rn.t} 'olJc liv .tddre.,~ lhr iSMif" of dtp \"an.tbiln} betwcen
07-.t), hultl dor., nol Jeo;u]ye lhr mtrtfrrcm e bclwecn atTt\als,
lhe nndpoml galhr1 afte1 DY:IO (Ftguir 7 07-hl
aftcr PJtSD,f to lhe

(Ftg-wr., 7 07-c tu
mg .,cqurnce m bgure
thc \.tluc of the ungtnal ofhcL 1s
<llld
-:-.JMO orreCltOtl can lhen he 1rmmcd Thc g<~lhelo; are rcarlv tor lhr final ye]ocity
<tnal}St>, hut no\\ fo1 Jenectlon.. 'm lhctr nugrated pu,ition llowcY<>l, nug1 atwu ts
smce wc u,ed <In .tpproxmMle mtgT.tllou \TI()( tly fielJ, w1lh \eJo tl!eS
the final one

Earth heterogeneity: the necessity ofthe final stacking velocity analysis

Dueto appwxun.ttiom m the PJeS11\f-MmT,"' srqucnce (e g cunst<illt-\cloaty
DMO, lnnc tmgr<ltHlJI wtlh a ;muoth n11gr.tlmn \"c]uny field rather than Jepth

308

n11granon wJth thc 'true' ydol{y) anrl a ;ub-optunaluuttill rhottc of p.tr,unetet~

V,,., and V,.,,, th(' tnMge gath('rs .ue not fbt ilftcr NMO-D\10 and mtgT.tLIOil We
cncountrrt:'rl a comMt.tble ~ttuaftoll Wtth [)MO onlv (~cr Ftgure ~ 24), ,mrl ~inutu-

't\-MO-rle-Lotiecterl'gilthrn
Jn pra LKe, a~ f11r DMO only, the latrer opnon 1~ hmen most ofthe t1me, hut no
throrehc.tl reason~ JU~ttfy tlu~ choicr
ilftcr M!wes 1 '~, .,,kmg \"eloclflr~ are ;ttll
muth 'procc~<.mg.,ub~urfacc. hut

Influence of V ,.., 0 and V~,

hgure 7 06 showed the I"Olltc followed by a smgle reflectTon 111 the o;ub~urface
dmmg the MO\e~rM proces~, hrfore 1t e\entuillly appeared un the m1<1ge gilthcr
(,onversel}. b} a tnal-and-enor mcthod, wr (illl find m the turrent model the pmuon 1\hen: a reflectwn appe,Uing un
the sub~urfat'
\fe med thi; ;tr.ttilgem
4 2b. ,mrl wr wJl mcet 1l ag,un wheu cono;1rlenng model-bao;ed >Cockmg-wl<>Ot>

309

a rkpth uf ~\OflO m bclm> Lhe lo(_auou ul lhe tm.tge g.tther fot wlw h wc .,nuul.tte thc
vd()( 1tv an.tlv.,t~ 1hr tnt>J,um h.ts a vrrtta] veJo ltV-gt.tdtcnllunctum er.ual tu\"()
= 2flfl0 + fl 6 Z (m/>) l'lgtrc 7 08-b ,lww, the e1oluttou ot >la kiug vducllie> aflt>r
Movrs'" a> a fulldlon olthc tmtlal N.\10 \'doHy \'~'"''
frorn 1.700 lo ~l.'JOO
111'>, anr! lur .,x inrrrmcJiatt'
1600 to 3600

I11 ,umm.tq, wr can JJal\ a fe, (undu>wu> ,])()ut

.\fo1c~"' fromlh1s modcllmg cxrl-

8, whrrc wc .nkhe>~ lhe t.,o;uc of turw tu-deplh comrr.,OD

\eJoJllr' \\'e will ,,-.e thal 'takmg 1clocit1 111vrnion, Y>hl(h
bch.JI'tonr of Mo\e''" 1& onc 1\.tY o! lnlrtpretmg the
real mcawng ol 'po'>l-MU\rs'"' s.kJJg leluJlte>

310

 1 he chuue u! \'.,.,, ~~ 1rnpurt;mt ro eusure a

po~JUon', lluwc\e, wc h.t\e no Jtcri<l on v.h1lh
dency ~~ tu dw..-,~e a low
bU! th1s lll.t} leaJ ro , pour unra~dling of
!'he
U>ed as a QC tuol 1~ 1u fa t a

are<l

tu the apploxmMtwm made 111 the p1oce~>, thc ~mear olthe Jeflect10n
uot total!} soheJ .tnd m.t} be not

l'

A~ soun as >mue d1p~ or l.tteJ,ll \eluclt~

-,hghtly relaxcd hy t..tktng the foUI th-order tenn mto accuunt, but 111 muw
complex c.t~r~ unl} l'reSDM Cdll ctfiuelltly .tdrire-,., dw 111lagmg problrm

Principie of full Kirchhoff prestack time migration

\Zlll<lnt mtcnnrth.ttr nHgratwn \rlouty Juncllon \,.,, anrl a llnal '>p.uc- .tnd tJrne\<ll'!anl \dmlL} tirlrl \.,.,, Js a pr4gnMtJ( v.,, ofrcdw1ng tl1e 1rnpat of ttn~ tlleorctical con~tr,unt m thc prestn r ofvdouty \ariatwn~ 111 tht> ~ubsurf.ter N('H'rthek.,,,
thc lmlltatlon~ uf the mcthud ha~ e bteu -,hov.n m
re<tl LaSc.,, e\ en when the
mrmmgto-war full
techwquc wc nov. descnhc 111
l'Ull Kirchhoff PreSTM migration: focusing at the Cheops pyramid apex
1 he full K1n:hhoffPreSTM method .,a 'dtffrmtum-lt(J(k method' th.tt doco; not me
tl1t <tpproxnnate ~pht oi the nHgTation
Ou the contr<~ry. Jt is,rl) ~nmla1
111 11> pnnuple~ tu thc ommon-uffsct
l'rrSDJ\f techmqur. IJJtJOduced 111
(,]upttr 3 and ]]u.,tJatcd m hgure :1 15
hnw<>vel,tl
1nq11c ,md, ao ~uch, .,
lo
llngratmn,(h,cmsedm Ch.tptrr3
Lhc main feature., of post-'iGJCk tnne nugatmn comp.tred LO pmt-.,taLk depth
llll)\l.ttJOn <1re .ts follow.,
!3 wlth hgure 5 02)
nngr<~llon ape1 turc. It doc, not need lo
dmll<ll!l In fact .t rmgJaton \rloutv field Jdlncd a~ the rm.,velo( ll)
11o11 ol vena\llmr 1~ ~ufficieut
B.t.,eJ on dns .~.,-,umpnon, thr adual dJflr.tCtlon ( urve (Green's fum non) !S
<tpprmnnMtcd by 4 <,mooth ( onl1nuou~ curve th.tl wr t411 (ompute .ttJ.tlytJcall
The Jr.,ult of the Km:hlwlt .,unmMnon .tlong the (l!fir.KtHm L\lne JS po~J
tloned .tr the .tpex uftJu., Jifllactmn cunr

311

lhc maJOl advanr.tge of po~t->tack (LeHHIIher) lnnr unagmg w.t., th.n the actual
dcpth fhJ not nrcJ to hr c;lnn.nrrl .tt .m eilrly ~tilge and il ]llmtrrl knowkdge uf rhe
\clocitv morlel, namel} the \erlLal nns \cl()(ily, Wil> ~uffi, ienl tu f()(us rhfflacllon~
anrl nug-ratr rdlecton
thr vot11al ftmP 1" nt whuh ti'P fJiare
nuh tmn;rd jmznlt\ no/
thr 10ntmr). the
l'annblr

312

ly con&tructed and knuwlcdgC' ufthe verncal ITII~ veluoty functJun 1& &uffioent
rhe <tdvantage ofthJS approximauon !S that the Green'& hmctmn and lb k memal!( p.iii, the 'Cheop~ pp<tmJd', which Js the exten~JOn tu mulu-ufhet oftllC'
dlfir<tct1on curvC', can be cumputed I<tpidly and dC'pend& mamly on the veruas diSOISsed bdow
Data ,JJ'C'
by common-uff~et .,ect10n~, each ul whi(_h b procC'~~ed mckpendemly
Fur e.t<h offset, the result of the Kmhho!t sumnMIIun 111 Pre~-1 MIS, b> delimuon, po.,ltloned 111 /he >atlll' rlomam as 1111' post-stack hme
namely x. y
and the vettJc,d tune t,.,, hom thC' ~urfacc to the
(sC'C alsu figure~
7 05-<t <tnd 7 O.J-(_) Thi'> tune 1~ denoted r, m thC' figure. lt IS unpol tant to note
that the ~um Js placed at the s;mw ]()(.J.llon (x, y, t",) fo1 <tll cornmon-ufhet
cuhes
ConsC'quently, for e.ICh puult lll the (x, y. t,.,) sectlon, we have as m.nr re~ults
,1~ the numbe1 of JmUal off~ets, ami ~m11larly to Pre~l)M (Flgme 3 I5), we have

ofhet, thus producrng

nnage \Ve re<oguu(' llC're ome
<~gain the multi-fold covC'r.tge pnnople <theady n1et m all tedmHJUe., pn:-vlou&lv de~< nhC'd
- Altern.ttively, we can kC'ep thC' re~ult~ from each oflSet .1nd place them m a
hnuted nurnbC'r of PreST'vi 111/0f!:e gathrn for further loe.] ve!()( 11~ analysl>
- A thtrd nptton. a~ we wdl &ee hcluw when dJscu.,~mg PrC'STM velocH~ aJld]ysi.,, 1s to kl'r'p al/ unage gatlren and then to perlorm <1 re&ldual nmveuut analys~<, m orde1 lo flatten thern bC'fore linally surnm111g <tll offsC'l umtnbutwn&
1 hC' pr()(ess IS repC'ated for all d!IIractor~ D unt1l the whule presta< k tmlC'-rrugrated
'>el twn or cubc and the 1mage gather& di the prede!ined locattons are complt'te

Focusing with which Cheops?

\low that we have ddinC'd Pre~TM as tllC' fucusmg .long <1 Cheops pyramul, we
mu, define the optun.] Cheup> pyJatmd operator th.n \\di ylC'ld tht' 'hest ltn<~ge
]J(J'>SJh]('' at e<t(_h pomt]) A., l1as been ~tated, Ke du not want tn <OIJ~IJUct a modd
th.tt ~~ the ub of l'rc~IJ\ol Nevertllek~s tt should be rernembe1'C'd thal the

ane>tmwfi'O{tlu'ri'G/ti(Weltnne\

now f<tCC' three t.,sue~

<1& 111 thC' /.t'ro-uffset ca~e, we would l1ke tu h,tVC' a Simple but re<tlt~IH
expn:~wm that fully dC'scnhC's the multidinlC'nsiunal Cheop~ ppatmd with a
lumted IJumber of parameters In uther \\ord ... WC' nC'ed an C'xtC'llSiun to mu]tloff&et o! the Dtx equatwn [4 1]
flr~tly,

313

 Seumdly, wc mu;t dcnde what ts the cntcuun th.n ddincs thc 'bc~t Jnldgc'
'Thtrdly, wc nced d methud uf lindmg thc optHlMI p<Irameter~ that ydd lJs
'best Hlldg-e' f(n the pven datdsd
\Ve dosctl.,., the llrsr potm m Llw next .,ectoon and tl1e twu othen dre part uf uur dt&cu~sion on '"'lncit~
Pre:-.TM, in the follu\\ng pardgraph
fhc tlmd po111t JS
eqmv<tlC'nt uf stad.mg vdouty <1nal~~h mtrodl!(cd m
for t\ MO (Oil'C'Ction :'\Jote h(mecr that 111 PJrSJ H !he

Principie ofvelocity analysis with the 'Dixian' Cheops pyramid

In tllnc tlllgranon, ''"do not K<lllt tu butld a modcl. henre ''" l1ave to llldke ~umc
stmp!If)"mg d%Ump1Jons .bout the prop.tgauon \Ciocitr fidd l'or Pre~TM, thcy are
smllidr tu thu&e made fur post-st.J.ck time mgtatoon
If wc dSsume a homogencous e,Jrth wtth a clnnty \', we know the exact shdpc uf
tht> Chcups pyramrd 1L 1& grvcn by the doublc-squarc root equatoon f3 Hl] or [3 20]
n Chdpter 3 for the 2-D (a.,e (S('e d!so Ftf:,'l.l!C 3
mort> redhstic a furthct
Is Lo d~~umc
ll
vanant bu/ >Pa!P
Tl11~ approxunatlun d!luws us to extcnd
tu est<1bhsh . ncw DSR cquatwn Now. as m the
zero-offset Cd~<', the drinng parameter will be thc rms vertJc,d vdooty 11m b illmtrdted Ul Figure 7.10 f01 the 3-D ca-,e Tite Dtx formula [2.14]ts apphcd d first lrmc
tu c .. umate the tt<lt>lrinw T lrorn thc source tu thc drffractor pmnt, .J.nd a ~ctond
ttme for tht> tra\dtinle T frum the dJOractm to thc t'C'CC'Jver TIIC' twu-wdy travcltune

OP""'""P''''"''

rj)~~:;~~~.r~~~
+

~~+ (xv.p+h
V4

C"'Ct-xnt ::J~,,.+h

v",.(L"~l

smCI-~uf

(<)D'>RUOtlnnm
nndpoml,ofl'llotonduimuth.,.ordm"'os

314

t, hnm the ~ource ~ at (x,, y) to thc pumt D ol cuon.hnate~ (x,, v,, z,) ,md ba.-k to the
tel Clcr R M (x,,) ts the sum ofboth tune<; and L.m be approxn11.1ted by tlw equ.ltton

herc

] 1m eqt1.1lm11 1> cot.lblt.,hcd u~mg the {Oordm.lte., o! the som{e .10d r<XeJ\en t,
the ( .hcop, p~Tamd operator Il ts a fu m tton uf thc shot and reCelVer
rnordm.ate;, of the >eJ"tJCa! time
of thc tmag-ed pomt]) ,ulfl nf tllC' \Tloutr \
OL\ rou~ly. t, =
h =
= X.,
In patJLc,
~ .tpplted to commonoffo;ct d.Ha~ets The cquatiUll should
thctefore he re<<l,t m t1w nnJpmnt, ofhet ami ;uunuth domam (sec FI6'l.lre 7 10 fm
dcsLnbe~

J!Oia{JO)

1711

been ]]usaznnuth ranges

Rcturnmg to the vcluuty anal~sr,, 1t IS ba.,ed un the fullow1ng rc,sunmg
We d'>,umc th<~t the e<~tth 1'> luc.tlly ttmc Va!lant .tnd as~umc that the '>hape of
the Cheops pytamtd rs gmcmcd by equatwn [7 1] 01
he.,c cquatwn& are crmtmlkd b .t parameter th<lf
the duncu'>mil ot
\eluuty .tnd th;:t \\e !lO\\' c;:J] tbe 'nugratrun veluoty
\\'e te~t .l ~ncs ni hypothctiL.tl V'",,s and select thc one t1Mt gwe~ the 'be'>l
ICsult' (thc methud .tnd {Tltenon will he defmed
A., a ~p111 off nf the rncthod, and tf \\e heheve th.tt
apptoAHilatwn
hnld'>, Ke c.tn 111te1pret thc optunal \',,,as being- ,\ close .tpproxunatmn tu t1w
,Ktual V.'"" .tn mtcrprctatmn tll,u we challenge later

vm;

'Straight rays', 'bent rays' and higher-order Cbeops pyramids

l he tf.J\'clume., t, gven by the abuvc cqu.ltJOm <-<lll be rOIKcptua!ly ubtamed by
lrdnng str.tight r.tys thmtgh an effecti1e medJU/ll ni const,mt \elocity \',,, Thi~ te{ 11nrque io ufwn rcfeucd toa., .1 \tlfught ray, opfwfor 1t 1s \\IHth notmg, hoKe\er, that
lhe eHnuve medium V,"' dt.Jnge'> at each tllne sample l,~,, and r onsetjuently, we pre/e the tenn 'D1xtan Clleup'>' \\h1Ch refet~ rhreLLI~ to the D1x cquat10n f.trnJi;: to ,]]
(t'uph~so,b Tiu~ >nll a\'Old cnnfuswn >Hth .t hornug-eneou~ medaJm assumptHm

315

Snmlady tu the fuw1h-order NMO an.J.lyst~ m Chdpter 3, murt' eumpkx oper<ltor

~h.tpe~ die often u sed m prdctlce TIIC.,e a1e callee! 'bent r<t}'~ upC'rdlur~' as oppu.,ed
tu LhC' "otr.ught Id}''' mentionC'd .J.buve t"our methods .tre avalable fur tomputmg
tllC' corre~pondmg operatur&.
The first option cun..t~t~ uf cumputmg thC' travdtllnes by dlccuvely tracmg
1<~ys through a nmdel assumed to be lucally 1-D TidUng r<tys tmphC's the cunstructiun uf dll exphut ckpth-veluCity modcl \\l(' rec<tll that the mput mtgratJon vcluuty tield \',.,"(t) tan be ntC'Ipreted a~ a \',,.(t) l"hC' model1s then b111lt
l.tyer by !ayer. W>lltg .m Jm('rse D1x furmul.t sut h a, equatmn [2 IR].
Tr.wC'Itune., ,ue t.o~bui.J.ted a~ a hmd1on ufvertitdl travel1nne t," dlld the honwntal rf;/anu d ur d, between the 1maged pumt .J.nd .t .,oune u1 a recewe 1
point ("ee Hgtue 7 10-.t) Tiit}' are then mtC'Ipul.J.tC'd and added un thC' fly 0
get the travelnme dS~O< Jated w1th <l gwC'n trdce and a gwen VC'rtJCd! tune t,..,,
whost" -,!wt and Jete!Ver toordm<~tC''> .J.re re.J.d frum ;: tr.J.ce header
A setunrl optmn JS lo apprux1mate tr.!\cltime~ w1th d htgher-ordC'J Taylur'~
SC'nes of the \)tx formula. J"h1~ 1~ ~tmJI.r to cqu;ttton [2 11], where we showed
the h'-teim 1n tl1e '>ertC'S ~:qu.J.tiun [7.1] then bC'comes

[7 4]

In tlm t"qu.wun, \' 4, ~ dC'dtued .tn.J.lytiC.J.liy 111 a L1yen:d mudcl trom \ ""' ome
again usmg thC' equivalen! to equ.J.tiun [2 Hl] and then [2 13]
How('ver, f such a modcl ,., u~eJ lor velonty dlldiyss, two tan/\, for mstance
ttm1 1~,. nvw nred lo be swnned makmg the an,]ysis pmce~s much murc
complaated d!Hl tm1e tun,urmng
The 1h1rrl dpproa.-h l> ba~ed un 1svankm and Al KhahLth (1995)'& equatmn
[4
;:]so rccast as .t Duuble Squ.tre Ruut 1n urdC'r tu gcncrahse 1t to preHC'Je, WC' mtruduce exphntlv amsutropv and heterogC'neJt}' m thC'
Cheops pyrannd equ<~llun, through the two ctlet ttve parameten V,rn .. aml T)...,
Jespectdy definC'd by equatwns [4.20] and [4 ~1] 1 he'>e two pdrameten
need to hC' >C.J.nned when thb pdr.J.mete!l~atwnts usC'd :\lote th.u tlus ., nut d
fourth order devdopment .,nr e h" appears di the denununator of equat10n
[4 U:lj
The fuurth appro<~ch uses ~h1fted hvperhol<~s \Ve mtruduct'd the <oncept and
equatons of shdted hyperbolds m ChJpteJ 4 Ag.J.m usmg the not,wons of
FI.gure 7
el, the .,hfted

316

where (' +Ti,-~ )e =(Ti, Y+(~ )e

{7.5]

'"d ( T; -'f)' ~(T;, )'+[ ~:J

r, +

he ,.,.,wnptton of a comt,mt elunty wJthm tl1e opeiator, whtch ts made 111 l'n:S J.\1, le.o~ds tu thC' .l%umptwn~ that Tp, = fp, = lp ami V,=\'"=\',. 1\hah y1cld
thc 'slultC'd hypeihul.t DSR' equaton.

IfiH' ;&sume that \', 1., un1qudy defned as the propag-.tllun vcioClty .l( the ~urface,
then equatwn [7 ] ~ the equJVa!C'nt uf thC' lltxJ.m Lheops pyramd ThC' se.o~rch
p:u.uueter ata gtven tune t., rn the ~lufted pyr.o~mtd' vclunty an.o~lv~rs wdl he Tp
Howevt'I, t'quatlon[7 (ij can be m.de more general by letnng \', vary a., well The
t11u p.r.unett'T., Tp and V, now replace the two p<trameters V'"" and V{, of C'quatmn
[/ 1] J11e adamage uf t!Jl& new par.o~metenl.o~llon JS th.tt 1t c.o~n bC' shown that lll the

the msena oj
Once e.,nmatC'd from the d.tta bv .o~ st annmg
the parameteJs lp and \', c.o~n he mverted mto hetemgeJICit}' diiCi/or .o~nisotmpy parametei.,
formulas, a .... ummg luc.tlly 1-0 medta, are exten~tons of equatton~ [4 RJ,
[4
('te (Sth(p and Bou.,qut, 2000)

Velocity analysis in the full Kirchhoff PreSTM processing sequence

Principies of PreSTM velocity analysis
P1eS fM veloctty analy&IS 1., b.t~ed on the statement tire 'best PreSTM rmagl'' L\
IndC'ed. tu .,>t>t the .,ame
tune lor all of!.,ets mt'ans
tht'
mMge gathers .tnd consC'quC'nth
ltldXllllllng the ampl1tude uf the .,tack Note that the amplitudC' uf the un,ge tor
eacli otlset m.J~ vat duC' tu amphtude-\er~us-oiTset (.\\'0 effects. \\hetllC'r gC'ologyor pHote~.,mg-rclated
lhe goal of Pre.'iTM velonty an.o~lys1~ ts thercfutT to find the ve!onty fumlton
lmatwn
.tnd !or .tllllll){ratC'd tunes t,,,,, th.o~t gO\C'rm the
flatten thC' lmage gathers and ffidXIIIll/e
note m passmg tl1at the PreSTM mtgT.o~twn vcloCity
JS often
C.tllcd 'Pte')Tl\1 stad.mg vdocit~ ', C'mph.o~Siling the stacking a~peu
pmcC'&S
t<~tht'r than 1ts nugialiOH asper t \Ve prcfe1 to keep the term Jlllgrat1on vdutit~, bC'arJHg- 111 mmd that hoth ~t.o~Lk and mgT.Hwn dl't duven by tb1s umque ~<~r.unC'ter

317

+ u;ulualnwwmlf' cuna residual movcout

'"
clescnbt"tlmtt"dnuquc
l he sccond ruute romtst~ ofltet.ttlllg thc RMO routc

In tht follo>nng t\\-o scct10m, Wt" desLnbc tl1t" thret" mcthnrh m more det<1d We dt&cmo tllt'tr re~pecti\C <l(hant;g-c~ and lumt;twns, espcnall~ 111 te1rns nf tlw meanmg
of \",.,,(t" J. lll a foll(mlllg paragr;ph

""

The 'RMO route': initial PreSTM followed by residual moveout analysis

and stack
The wurkflow f01 thts proces~lllg- .,equence 1., .,Hmll sc1JenMtically 111 Hgure 7 1 1
Ftrstl), dat<t dte preprme.,.,ed (datd-Jla\lgatton tnt'rger. IIOISC
.,pht'tit.al dJVergence t ornpensatton, nJult!ple., removal. appllc;:ttron
corn:ct1ons, sJgndlure pote~~mg, etc.)
They aJe thC'n soJtt:d by tommon-ofEet 1ang-e~
An tmlJal vduuty tiC'ld h .,et up, te.,ultmg- !mm a qnot k d<~SsKal vdoot~ l"dyoften llt't.C'~sary for sorne oi the pn:proces~1ng step~) \\'e tJII rt
t)

the coue>pondmg- Cheop~

ae<ecmea ean (setond- 01 fourth-unkr
olufted hyperbo!.J.,)
These operators are apphed to the data dt e.>ch (lffiC' "lmple tu produce <1
~electC'd .,enC'S of Jmage
g-nd ]"he samphng gnd lS
~'iOO
500 m,
tn:nd opt; fur llltreas-

At tlu& stage, un.ge g<~then are g-enerally not flat Jnd anotlwr 'tep ., reque,ted One pus&lblitty .,a re.,tdual muveuut an.dy>& lollowed by <1n update ofthe
1eioutle> a{{onlmg tu formula r4 10] \\le meta similar ~lluatwn \\lth the
Move>'~ teduuque, and ht'te <~g-am the rndmtl)'~ chulee g-enC'r<~llv !anJUrs dll
mverse l\l\10 route a~ follm\~
fhe cumpt!ted 11nage gather~ underg-u an lm('rst' moveout cmrettwn u~mg
the tn!Udl '\IYIO le!Ottty at the11 n:spettlve !t)(_atJoll,, and the ong1nal offset
value Mure preosely, gtven that traces a!l have di!tetent ufT~ets, 11e u;c the
ffil(ldle value of the ofhet tang-e 1 h1s opt'rauun hung~ the g.ithers back ro a
(non-phyMt<~l) non-zero ofhC't domdlll.
'\lext, a tlas~ttal ,eloot~ .Jn.lysl~ t.dll be performed on the.,C' g<~thets
perfurmed b~ the mterpit'lt'r ~1dd the final n11g-ranon vcluuty 1aluC's
mer the mllial co<~L'>e gnd (.,ay 500 by 500 m).
Fmally, V,,, vdouty fum tlons an_ mterpolated (un tlw fly) dl the fin.d x, y and
t '>ampling 1<11<', d Chcop., opC'i<~tor ., computC'd for edth output sample at tlu~
'>amplmg r.Jte ami thL' PteSrl \.-1 Ktrchhotl ~urmnat10n lpphC'd Tlu~ IS repeatt'd foral! output 'amples to produce the final PtC'STYfmage
In mo&t ta~t''>, the H<ltl .]ong the uff~C't dunen.,mn ~~ not pC'ifunnC'd at tlus
On the
<~linnagC' gadtC'rs are pre~,erved dlld undetgo a final
hefore t!JC' ~tack IS t'V('llUdlly pcrformed hrS fin;J
.Jutornated 'fine tumn.( of tllC'
Jl.Jtnes~ ls po~~1ble onlv f the
corrC'~pondmg cmrectJon ts srn<~ll,
tht' ltt'rdnono mC'ntwnt'd m the
prev!Ou'> '>lt'p
the 'fiual
Iod;:n, one or mor(' ttt't.J.Uom ol thC' J.l.l\10 mute ~ Lommun
rrugr dtlon velonty' 1s u.,ed ,., the 'uuttal \elout~' dS mdJCated
the doned !mC' m
11gurt' 7 JI 1 he proce~s 1~ repc<~ttd unn! the tl-\'o 'elouues are ~uHit 1entl} dn~e
Hre cnd products uf tire prote>omg ~equt'nCe <ll'C'
the Pre~I V1Hn.lg-C', oiteu ;]Jcd the Pre~l \.-1 ~tdtk',

319

 the mlgtauon veloury field V, ,(x, y, t)

The ldttet IS ~rored llltb coarse ~ampling gnd. Note that the parametets usedm
the 'linC' tumng' n:&tductl moveout could be used fm a la~t update uf V,,. Thts ts
huKe\'eJ not rlo11e 1r1 pr.tctJtC' Tn a f(Jllowmg- paragrdph where we chscuss the SlgmfICdllCC' uf V, 0 , WC' tome hatl tu thts point wluch ., unpurtdnt lo tune-to-depth conVC'nmn, hut heforc th.lt. KC lit't destnhe tllC' ~etond PreSTl\1 \'elonty analy&~s mute.

The 'velocity sean route' using constant velocities

llte tded of te.,tmg d serie~ uf velocities tn Pn:STM was fir&t mtnxluced by
(1984) and Fmder (19R4) Shmtleff's method, apphed m 2-D, cumi&rs uf
carrymg out a senes ofprestatk tulle m1gatton., al romlantuelotlt\
usmg tllC' pmcedure dC'vt.,ed hy Stult (1978)
Ch.iptC'r 5 (~ee FtgurC' 5
The co11st.nt velmiry f-k appro.tth JS a VC'I)' fa.,t Wd} ofper!onmng
result of 2-D PreSTM ts a 3-D volume wnh the dtmem1ons x, t,,, and V,.,,. The final
unage 1~ trt'<ltC'd hy sca11n111g at ('.tth locatmn (x. t) tlttoughuut t}u~ dald volume a11d
.,e\ecting the Sdmple exh1htti11g tllC' greatest amplitude Stctck
Tius nwthud has yC't to find any mdn.,tn<~l apphtation. C'Spendlly when extC'nded to 3-D datd, duC' tu the lllaJOr rlrawback ojhav111g lo trsl a uw range ofdifferen/ veloc1/11'1 m ordt'r tu be abk to autnre dll at curat y equJVale11t to thdt of conVC'lll!OIId!
vdoctty analy&JS. MorC'over, thC' auwmattun of the sectrch mecham~tn for JJJJxima
mtroduces a number uf pacncal difficult1e~ for n:al-hfe data
velooty fu11ctwm ratlwr thdll con,tdnt vduCitlC'' However,
and
J-D acqui~1ton dS we &hall ~C'C', medn that Stolt's n1C'thod 111 the f-k,-k, domain ~~no
longer appl1cable a11d lull Ku-chholl Pre~T\1 mu.,t be med mstC'ad
~hmtlelf

Kirchhoff PreSTM and scanning of migration velocity functions

J'hJs .ippuach tu \elucny anctlysrs m the PJ'('STI\1 sequencC' ts 1\ustrated &chemdtICally m hgutt' 7 12. InstC'ad of updanng dll mitidl velmitv feld u&ing d re.,idual
dooty .tndhSJS, Ke test >dnous ;C'\outy functlun-, and select the unC's that ytt']d the
best result l'he 'best re;ult' JS JUdged u&mg uhjettlvC' uttena dlld dho more mterpretatt\e une~ llw ~eque111 e ts as fulluws.
The first stC'p l.'> the same a., m the prevtuus method d.J.ta are prcprocC'~~ed a[ld
sortee! hy uOSet range dlld dll inittal veloot~ field ts &et up
Next, d
5 Lo lOva\ues lrom tlO'if 10 llO"k, 1&
apphed tu
y, t)
PreSIM ts Lhen apphed tu C'ath ofthese ne\\ veluclt} ftCld~, but unly tllC' result&
uf tilC' predefined vcluuty IIIleS att:' output, togcther Idth a seleuwn uf lmdge
gdthers along the~C' \me& Once again note that K1rchhoff PreSTM has the
advant.rge uf d!lowmg- us tu compute only .> .,ub~et oftlJC output results.
!llC'se Ie,ults are luaded olltu an tnterpreldtlon wmlstatJon The JnterpretC'r
110\\ hd~ thc task uf deudmg wluch percC'nt.Jge g1ve., tllC' 'be-,t n:~ult' ata gtvC'Il
luc.wun. I k makes hts cho1ce based on
objC'ctive cnteria such as the fldtlle;<; uf tmdge gatlwn,
more ~ubtle cntC'rtd (fur tn..tant.e the respective pus1ttun of !ayer teiminattOIIS and f.>ult planes ur the focusmg of dtfii-dcliulls),
- tot.tl!y mtetpretatJ\e entena, sut has retugmzmg sednnelltologJCal or ~truc
tmal featmes C'xpected m the gl\'C'II envuo11ment

320

 J11e resu]t., of tlu., lughly mterpretJve wsk JS <1 ~enes uf percentage p1Ck.,
unevenly sampled m the (x, y, t) ~olume. The>C' p1Cks die the mput~ to dll
update uf the initld! veloc1tC''> morder to produce the finaltmgr<tttun vclmity
fi(']d rlus procedure JS further d1scussed bcloK
TI1e fui! KuchhotfPreSTM i~ then apphed with the updated field anda& m the
"RNIO mute', we h<tve U\'O opnons at thls .,tage
- C'lther to prodlll.C' thC' final l'IeST\.-1 'st<tck' d1ret tly,

- or prderablv to TUH d line-tumng <lUtolll<HC'd

titen stctLk the datd.

re~tdu<Jl

moveuut

<~lld\y~IS

and

he ~c<tnmng appwath l' more computt"r-mten.,lvC' than the p1evmu> une and abo
more tmJc-con~ummg, due m Mrttu\;r to the inteqnetJVe vdunty )[(kmg phase.
lt ~hould be noted hoKeer th<tt tet hmquc~ ~lKh <~'> the 'a 11011', mJtJally proposC'd by
.JC'.J.nnut .md Berange1 (1994), that tonsi~ts of mulupl~ing the vdocit~ field by a con~tant \aluC' o., sJgnllicantly n:dnce the cumputatnm ellort (AudC'heit <tJH.l. Otet, \996),
\-lmemei, mcluding tllC' mterpretC'r m d<tta proce<.smg is a!Kay~ bendinal FJna\ly,
we \\1\1 see m d fullowmg .>euwn that mtgr<Jlmn velucities \',,, estHJMted 1n th1s way
a e more readily usabk fm Kell-tu-seJsmJc ttC' and tllfil"-to-depth proect., than tho~
obta1ned usmg the R. \-JO tt"dmtqtw

Sorne observations on the migration velodty field in PreSTM

P1c<; J M i' a tllne prutC'SS .\.., such, 11 a;,\um; a locaffy 1-D meriwm, 1 e \ien we

van<ttlUll'>
A rule ul thumb, m \me w1th the a~sumpt1un above. JS to emure th<tt tilC' lal.C'ral Iate
uf vanatlon ol nugratwn lclolltles doC's not h<tve a ,,a,c\engtb smaller than the
aperture

rrucwl and too!.. Lh<Jl perm1t the con.,trucuun of the

the vdoty ptckmg are recummended Quahtr con,eJmJ1\ tro~~-seLtwn~ .tlung the clutllj ltnc~ and ton~tant-ttme \elouty map~ or prderabh hunzon-con~Jstent velocity maps Anomahes
111th no geo\ugK<tl me<Jmng must be edJted, but how muth should be kept and huw
much Ie]t't ted ts <li1l<ltkr uf el'l.peneme
h>J methods ba.,ed on rt>~idual muveuut (R:\10), quahty control!> madC' ea&Ter
by thC' tact that vdotiLtC'~ <tre pttkd dtrectly
Fm the sc<~nnmg mt>thud, VC'iollt~ 11dd btuldmg is more
J he opumal
percent<ge~ are puked on <1 lug-hh Irregular gnd m spate and tllllC' .\t bC';t they are
nckd hunzon-conMstently. To obta1n the Unal nugi<~llon vduoty Udd 1~ a 3-D
IIltC'tpolatJon problem \ICie pr<~gmati'>rn 1'> IllOIC' 1mponant th<tn the01y The tollul\lllg pumt; should be born m nund
The Jllitial as wdl dS the final m1g1ctt!On \donty field~ must be smuuth
It JS legilimate tu a~sume <~t tlu~ &rage that tmgrauun velocltiC'~ V,,, .J.re \eitllal
rm'> ve!()( lites Cun~equently, Jt ., rea~on<tble to state that tl1e rorrectlllg tactors
expre~sC'd <1~ percentages t,m be linear\y intC'rpulated. buth ~p<ttially and m
tune {..11ddmg and geost.JtJ~tKal tou\s ;uch a., kngmg <tre WC'll .J.d.tpted tu tln&
purpu~e \-lolt" '>upln'>ticatt"d
relatiuHship~ '>Ul h a., tho~t" ntmduced wlth equaltuns L6 ~E>] .J.Hd
not ll('te~~ary
~1m e tht> nati<ll ;clouty field 1~ smuoth, tt JS C'd;Je tu build tilC' conectmg
trol

322

ldllor \olume lir~t .md to en&urC' th<tt Jt abo 1~ ~mooth bdort' rnulllplymg the
l"-O fields fh1s should be done on the toar~e ~p..tn<tl grtd
the nugr.Itron vdocit; licld mto an 1r111
u~m~ the Dtx
hi<Ited 1\rth 1\tll dat-1 <;rrc thc latrer <llC average vclont1es 1\hibt the Jonne1
..tre tlll'> ones and we necd nn~ vdolille'> to lunt' diOfJnions p1opcrh
lo ,urn!llatue rhere t'> no onong tlworcttral

lot btuldrng ume-nugr,Jllon

lluwneiiorPrc~l.\1,

e'\1'/t/WI Ill'>lllterlll
th1' l<t,t fine-tunmg '>lep pL1y' a wle ~mul.tr to the
ot 'tacl..mg <tnd nugratwn 1eionty fidd-. plavs m the 'ero-off-

The meaning of migration velocities in full Kirchhoff PreSTM

KiiLhholl 1-'Te~l l\f tnlgiatwn veloulie' J.re l..ev element~ of ptxllt'">lng, but thev are
ahu ll'>td m the mterpretanon prole,~. e~penillly lot tnne-to-depth ronve1~mn Ir 1',

(ll)hnicalvclocil)gradicntdepthmodel
(b)lmagegathcrinX"r=O

323

The specular part of the PreSTM operator

7 13-a shrm~ once
thc rkpth modd, med for rhc Dl\fO and the
and 7 OR hgure 7 n-b ~~ the 1mage gathcr wc
O when we Prc~ l Vl-mtgrate the data W1th
V,,,= !ROO mh, V,,"= 2852 m!s (rlw, ~tite V,""
from the snrbce down lo the rdleum al the lor,uwn ol thc vclorJt~- anal~si~) and
fmalh,
gather are
(.!lrnosr)
upwards or
downwards whcn wc 1esper tJVd)- undcr-nugrate' (too
a ,cJooty) or '0\crImgrate'
a vclo(]ty) Th1s le.Kls to rhc {juestton
th1s happcn, answc1
que~t1on, l'J_~u1e 7 14-a di~play~
Lnnes m the (x~,, t)
domam, x,,, bcmg mea>tned clan\ e to the locanon ol rhe nnage gather of Ftgurc

7I:l

\\'e .1bo plot the 1mage ol the

'pcrfcct' tnnc mtgrat1on, 1 e at tb vertiCal tJmc '\Jote that ll Js not rertthnear
dueto thc vclority g1arltent

324

 hnally, thrt'e Lornmon-off~et mJgrJ.tJon

= IHUU rn/s are
~hown Thcsc die t.ros~-sect1ons of the
rhe respect1vc
offset~ lOO, 2000 ..llld :1000 m .For eat-h offset, W(' ~Jmul.itc common-othet
PrcSTl\f
applymg the tmw-vandnt operatm at all tunes Tlo\\C\Cr, m tJ-e
figure
the operalor that " bring a r-c..tf umtribution ro thc PrcSTM
rt'~ult 1s d!spl..t~ed for cad1 offset l he contnhunng operator p, the one tangentldl tu the Lorre~ponchng n:flerturs, a ronrepr we mct for Dl\fO m po~r-stark
hg-llle !J 02-b) lt ~~ uruque m th1s faulv ~1mplc modcl(no muf-

arrows m F1gure 7 14-.1 Tlus

1,
lltne to the tmage 1s JndJCatcd ll\
m the figure. lhe roncept ofspe<ular Lontnhutton \\ilS presented m Lhaptcr 3, wHh parncular rdercnce to figures
.11H dnd:l 19
A~ au example, datd dt X,,.= 500 m and t = 2 4 s (cm.-le) for thc 3000 m offset
ro X"" = O and t = 1 65 s Tlus rdlectton w1ll
b)

lhe cxern~c JS
fm rhc \\hole rangc of ofhets from lOO m to 3000 m
.l!ld for rwo other
(Figure~ 7 14-b aml 7 14-c) Bv fwdmg the tangency
~t\\cen th(' upcrator and thc reflector, we are ablc to construct lhc mlJ.ge gather of
13-U "\Jote hm1 thc PreSTl\f operator changc~ ohape when o!Ect, apex tmc

.tll

off~els converge to
= !ROO mh (hgure 7 14-a), the long
rontnbutwn
tmlt' th.m thc >hort offset, aud conversely for vclocity V,,,=
(Figure 7 14r) ll1ts expld1ns thc ~hape oJ the 1mage gathers as a funltton of thc m1grauon veloc-

lrace .md lh attnbutes (ray geomctry, tra,eltunc,

rdlc< tmn pomt etc ) are thcrefore pren~ely delincd In
the reflecllon
pomt on the rcfledor c.m be naced halk and 1~ markcd as
A' in F1gure 7 1~)-

100m The Lmre~pondmg llllllKP-Kilther rayo" ..ts we ddined them e,n her, are
>hm1n in Hgm-c 7.13-,J for thr-cc offsets of 1he sJ.mc nnage gathcr and repeated fo1

lnlgr,Jtwn vclooty for a g1vcn modcl, m a very MllHlar manncr to that cJ.rned out
1\ith Moves'" 1n figure 7 08

325

Sensitivity of PreSTM to V
two modelling tests for RMO and sean
The applicanon ofthe re,dual mo\cout (RMO) and the vclonty sean approaches are nol eqmv,;lcnt In hg-ure i 1J. we compilre the t\\O merhoth u~mg once agam
thc samc \ertic..tl vcloc!IJ gradwntmodcl \\'e 'nnulale the beh.wwur of PreSTM as
a funciJou of the nutJal m1grat1on vdonty V.... ,,... by tomputmg the nnage gillher al
a locai!OrJ x.cl
To .,imuLHc the vdouty .,<an route. we analysc dnecLI~ the fbtncs~ of rhe gather by
computng the standard dcvJ,;twH, exprcssed m ms, ol1mgratcd time'.~~ a linKiion
of offsel ll1'' 'ilalne.,s mdJ(..ttor' ~~a wa~ of quarmlymg dlC qualitv of 1he PreSTM
otack 1he 1e~ttlt 1s ~h0\\11 m Figure 7 13-c
To ~1mulate rhc 'RMO route' we .1pply the mvcrsc NMO lOJTtUJon followed by
,; velo<itv ,;nal)-SlS ili,II gl\e~ thc oplimal nllgiaiJon \elontv \,, '\\'e p1ol V, ... ilS a
funct10n ol V,.,,_,.,, 111 lo'gurc i 15-b Then F1gure 7 1~-e can gJ\e us the nill stack
quality whcn we apply the updared V"' tu emulatc the final ~lep m the PreSTM
~equence of Figure 7 11
As an e'(ampk, an Jlllllill thOJrc of
PrcS1M
= 2R15ml~
0 ,,:

326

tbe nnpiKl ot btcral vdorny viln,JtJon~ Wc me thc t\1o-laycr

1ti-a. that 1\C met CdrhcT m FT!,'UIX' 4 27 Vdonty v.trldtmns
mtcrhre &cp.trdting two layen 1\lth rJffcrcnt vdoritiC'S
X., 11ilh thc o,Jmc mcthod ilS thilt
thc rcsult or thc RMO analv>~s for mtcrf<Kc chp
the rangc of llllllal veloLillcs V from 1800 lo ~)000 rn ~ 1 he
an.1h'>l~ ~ pcrfonncd at loLallon X,c, =O {blillk &qu<trcs cune 111 l1gure 7 16-b) ilnd
.tho ill X., = JOO rn (wlllte &qu.~rcs utnc)
hguJC 7 )fi-b shml& the CACrO&C !X'peatcd ror U= Oc
to the case of no lateial vclootv v.tnanon'>) ilnd u =
s.1me dired!On as thc reflector) m order to tc&t
ou<,l,ttcralvilndllow,

long-ofhct rcllcction hes at 300m the

long ofhcts "m cxcc~~ of 200m

lOO m hon1 1'. 11hd~t the

bct11ecn lhc &hurt aJKl

~rneaJ dJ~tan{C

327

...

....

~1,

2400'..:

P
4000-

v ftcrRMOuoly,.

~-~~
~-~~:~'- "oo'~
25''r~~ .
\-_
---

"'TD

2300 - - - - --------

1600

2000

2400

2800

v,.,._,,.,,

(b)R!V!Oroute.finol\.,,.

"'"luo<tlonorv.,._1,1,f"r'h''"'"'"'u.

the two IS unprt'dJCtabk

For u= O' wc ohv!Ou>ly tind a rcsult similar to hgure 7 15-a (no lateral
,cJooty vanatJOn,), 1 c. V,,, 1s closc lo V,,, ahhough ,hghtlv h1gher becausc
of thc tonrth-order tcnn cffects
- For u= -lO" (dip countcraLting vclooty giddJcnt),
ts h1gher thiln V.,,
200 m/s
= +10",
!s lowcr tlldn V,,_ b)- .:'}0 m/~

fhesc value~ are obviously modcl dependen! amllhe modcls onlv two-dJmensmnal hert', but lhey arC' indJLati\e of general trend~ .md thcsc ;re onlers of m.1gnitudc
lO llC'ilr m mmd \\hen de,Jmg wnh Prt'STI\1 nHgi.IIIon \Clooiies

328

Be,Jdes tl1e conclu~wn on vdonr~-, 1\e dho noted the ofhct-dependent rrn<;poslltonmg problem mdJCaled by tmage-gather r.1ys F1gure 7.16-c further mesrig-ate~ tlu~
ernn due to the a'sumpt10n ol d comram velodtr w1thin the PreSTM operaror,
F1gure 7 16-c shows rhe nugr.1ted nnage of lhe 'egmenr AB ol the rdlecrm
thruugh the PreSTl\f roule. AH could represen!, for m'tance, a ulted lault block
helm\ ..111 unumlonnliJ
\\e proccss thc ~hort (lOO m) .uid long (3000 m) olheh ~epardtcly, Jllltlaung rhe
l'nSl r.J prole~' b~- u'mg a m1gr.ltiOll \douly V, ..,,'"" cqual to 2200 m/s A~ 11c \\OU!d
do m d fidd sltuanon, wc rhcn use thc JTTldge g.nhen ro Lakul,;te lhe PreSTM vclo{the rcllector 1lll.1ge The cm re,pomhng hon?on-coll~lstcnt nugrauon
,., the uwvc m gre)- 1n F1gure 7 16-r The vdoUl)- mcreasc~
thc reflcllor d' expelled, Lul ddTers from rhe veriKal Ims vcloot) ..ts (hscu~sed above
~ext, we nugrate the dat.a u~mg P1eST\l ag.un, but now 1\lth 1h1' l.!Ler..tllv Vdf)mgvclrnlly. and we keep thc rc~ultmg unage~ for oll\ct' lOO and 3000 m. These two
uugr.ned tmagc' of lhe reflecto are ploned m F1gure 7 16-c At fir~t s1ghr they 'eem
,rr!llar becamc, ata g1ven
at rhc samc lime, 11hKh 1~

1\.o

m Cl1.1p1er 8
On the conrr.ll), lhe sJtuatmn 1', c1cn more comploL..ttcd .h rhcellcctl<; nm\ o!T~et-dcpcndenl dud IS more scvcre for fJ.r offset' than for ne,u-zcro othels a~ a
re,ult of the rdlell1on poHit smeanng.
1he o,mcarmg rna)- not affect rhc quality of rhc nnagc of thc rcflcclor, ,, the
l'reSTI\llm.Jge g.11hers undcrgo thc final RMO LOTl"CltiOn Ldorc 'l..tLk
1\everthcJe,~. lhe mtluencc oflhc ofhctdcpendcnLe 1111l be not!Leable mLomplcx stnJCiures allhe edge:. of lhr mwge ofthe efl<-ctOI wgmmt upthp 11e lo~e the
long olhet~ m the gdther and downchp the short onc,. The end re,ult ~~a lack
of lateral re~olution

route
1tcrat1on~ are peifonned),
compared to the ~can route, smce lhe mtgratiOn 1' actually perlormed Wlili a
~ub-oplunal vclouly flcld

329

Advantages and limitations of PreSTM

We r,;n now I'CIAJ.ntulare the .uhantJgc~. but aho t1w 1mutalHms of thc 1anous
PrcST.\1 mC'thods, fh~cus~cd m rhc prcvwll'; 'crllom
Prc':> T\1 erMbles us lo ru.n u
;1gmfir antnnpro\ement on
F.xpencncc h..t'> shown thattlw; [(',;ds in rnanv (_._~es lo a dra'itll nnpro\cmcnt
111 tbe ~e,~mJC unagc Jt<;clr, 11hrch explam<; why It ha, bcrome a Mandard proce"mg-teLhmque
Thc rn.un fhffirulty m thc l\foves'" tcchnrque " the need to opltmt7C two
,c]oUlJ field,, 111th no dc..tr CI!lcnonlor
one ts the bcsr Thts
lc.td' lo dtflilultv 111
Suml.trlv. thc mam
tc.tsonably sharp tnldge mav be obt,;mcd wllhout H<;lllg rbe 'optunal' mtgratwn vclonty
An 1mportant con~equcnle of the prcvwu~ umunent' !S that ilrP mutgP-gather
ntte\\fJ/1, bul
for 1-'rcSTM to provide
11e lan
nnagc gathcrs (111thmthc mtrlilsJC
;C!Sillll mcthod) 111th mconcrt \elOul!CS, ~nnply Lccausc thc
rcflcctton 'mearmg compemale<; for tbc dleLl~ on mtgr,;ted tlllle<; for cach
mdtvKiual olhet Tlm 1~ , pomt \CI)' often overlooked by thc mdu~trv
\\'hcn ming the re,idual mmcout ~tratagem,
lomrnenr hcLomc'
e1en truer tl ,rllows , ~h.np 1magc
ro be obtamed wtth a poor
mlgr,;twn,elonty
Anothcr (_On~equcnre of th" fau,, that a sharp 1'reSTl\f nnage 1s no! aguar,rntcc ol coner t po~monmg ofrcDccnous m Lhc (x, y, t."J domam, eventfthere
are uo stgnificant lateral \CloltY variations n thc 'ubMuiale rh1s ha.; an
1mpau on thc ~ctsmK-lo-wc\1 t1c after l'reS 1'1\1
'Image-gathcr
plotted m Figures 7 OR-a, i 13-a, 7 i:J-.r and 7 16-a dcartllu~tr,rte thc
that. .t' soon as
Wtlt of the
thekmnnuftl~

of !he

;_wfocit~ unn/),11>

PreST~t

lowlwn Th1s
m an unprcrhctablc 11a;

the K.Jrr:hhotr l'rcSTYJ

doser to the cxpcdcd
rm'
lhe,c \CloCJtJc~ are howcvcr b1,;sed bv
the fourth-urdcr ter m when 'snaight ray<;' ur 'Dtxiarl operaton are used for
large otfsct' or d1ps
A.lthough 11C ,hall cun~tdcr thl, pomt m Chapter 8, wc can alrcadv cundudc
from theJre\IOU~ rommcnt th,rt PreSTM duc' not e'capc the ,mbtgmty ol any
of !oral 1-D rnake' JL tmpoo,>lblc m thc preslll thc <;Ub~urlale to mea<;UJC IETtical rm'
nugrallon veloCJIes Vm,,
1s proces.,ed mdcpendentlv Fl~t gathcrs, once agam,
arc nota g11arantec of ,
nnagc as w~ 'ta(_k togerher reflccl!on' tbat do
not Lotrc,pond ex,;(th
mthc 'ub>UTI.lle
0 ,\Wa)-

330

eral vduul~,,miltons on pml-~tatk t1mc mgr.111on remam \ahd lm Pre'i 1M

In JhlflJCUidr, lhe mage-r,y wncept~ ,llld lhe po~t-~t,;tk tune rlellllgJdtmn formula~ devdoped 111 Chapter ' ,m ~un ..tpphc,Jh!e \Ve 'hould, however, be
Cilrdul dose lo filults, ddlracnon., or any ,h,up end ofil rdletto
1he pnrK!ple of the modellmg enn 1~t uscd m F1gures 7.0H ..tnd 7 l ~' -7 l.i.
m which rhe dC'lad, of,; specular ,ut cuntnlmlmg lo a
fm , g1ven mgrauon vcloul~ die ~oughT, i~ mcd ilS a
mudcl-b,Jsed ~I.Hkmg 1donty lll1en10H too! presented m Chapte1 R (l<i.,'lJre.,
8 :!9aml8 ~)Q)
Fm,11ly. although the mterpreter 1~ muth more mvolved mthe l're.'-.ll\1
,ocqueme lildn m the LCro-othet N.\10-DI\10 !Ollle, thc mam wm\...llm1
ptote~s"'g-m<cnret,;"''" ~hm111 m
b 17 f('main~ ba~Kall) 1l1c same In p.nricu],;,
tiC., are ~t!ll pre~enl
1s.,ues
:\!une the less, therc ,;re ~ome d1fference~ ln lhe ta~e of thc Mole.,'" ilpproach,
rhe f,mthar po,t-stack nugraton vdoc1ty fidd mmt ~nll be bmlt Ttn~ necc.,lt; no
ex1~1' w K1rrhhoff PreS 1M, -,uue there 1., , uruqut
1'1cSTI\l 1elocttv 1~ a llt:'l-'.' rontept 11lth 11htth
have
,]] tobccowcfilm1har

Other PreSTM approaches

The PSI method

lhe pnnnple ofthc method JS dlustrated

\\'e rewll fir~l that the pnnuple of l'reST\1t~ lo magc a df"frattJon poml by
"'mnnng d,;ta aJong the corrc~pondmg Cheop., pyram1d The nugrauon \elocit)
-,, ,Jt.Jgem -, to tind lhe Cheop~ oper,;tor tll<lt 'be-,' rep1e~ents the actu,;l cliffracl10n
-,rb(e 1 hts !S done by tcsung vdutit~ funtnon~ unt] wc get a Oat
gather
In 1\nchhoff l'rcS"J M we fint oum com!llon-ollset thffrilctlon~ ,;nd
'um all
!he rcsults ..tlong lhe ofhct d1men"un the doublc summiltlon , pcrformed tirst m
the .1pertu!"(' dmu:n~wn ,wd tben m thc oJTset fhmenson

off.,et<; Wc could

~"~

th.u the Cheop> pnarrJld

ha~

all
bet'n tran,fmmcd mto,; {-yhndn-

lt'SHlualmovcuut illl.lly~~ ,;flenv,;d<,

In I'SI, thc author~ shuw th..tt Jf (.,;,dnrr\ DMO !S ilpphed corrculv. the tomnwn-ofhct difhacllon (Figu!"(' 7 17-al, \>hose tra\t'illme lllltialh foilm>~ thc DSR
[3.17], tn fact becon1c., hype1bolt{ (Figttrc 717-b) Con.,cquently 1he
pyraJnid, for wllich no 1\MO {Or!"('([loll hd~ been ilpphcd. acqrure',; cylmwmmetry and the next ,tcp of PbT IS to 'um dat, ,]ong the Cheop' pyrauud
<ll constant t1me m~tead of .,UJnmmg , con~tanl ofhet In thtS new dmn.un. tht' ~umlllJ.tJOJI lot.u~ 1~ a ~crn1unlc
po~lli\e otfset~) dueto the cvlmdncill srnmtll)
rnentJoned e,nhcr \\'e do nol
thcfC' ts data, but 11C un pclionn

331

the summatwn fm all nrcles wah radu m the range of lhc CXJslmg olTsel~ (F1gwe
7 17-c) The rcsult ot tbe ~ummauon IS placed, by cow,tniCtJOn, at the lime l and oH~
to thc tadm~) of lhc gilthct we ate ilrtuallv computmg al lhe localwn
17-d) \\11en a fhllraciJon aclnallv cx1sl' 1n lhe data, 1ts energ} will be
conslmcuvcly summed and pla(cd ilt tbe offset h ..tnd t1mc t '[he ]HOLe~s ~ repealed toral! nmc~ 1 to ompleie thc gather alJ(I tor illllocanom X"' lo cornplerc thc
At th1s ~tage or tbe PSI method we have not yct uscd any vdOCity mformatmn.
So lar, the ilpcrtm-c fhmen<;mn x ha> bcen reduccd to Fcro, leavmg lhc olhei dJmensJon unch..tngcd. Consequenlly, thcrc 1~ still , movcout for the diffr.Kimn on the
gather Th1~ moveoul 1~ dnven by thc vdouty, ..tnd more p1-cCiscly rhc nns vdooty f
wc assume \CI"l!cal \doutv \ilnauon ill!d no lateral \ilnauon (al le,J~t \\llhm the
apct ture) ,\ clilSSical vdoc!IJ ilnaly>JS will rben yicld th1s ,eloutv .l. convennonal
NMO coneclwn followed bv a stack evenruallv prov1dc~ bolh the rms wlouty m the
nugrated po~inon and the PSI irnagc
De~p1te JI> ob\mus advantilgcs, lllilJlllJ the f<Kt lhal 1h" \C]()(ty ,m,Jh'MS tal..es
pldCC m the m1gratcd domam and wrh no miual gue" ot \clocme~, the mcthod ts
not \ndcly used bv thc mdu,try \Ve find sull!l.n hmJI,JIJon~ to lhose mcnlloned fm
the 1\lovc,''~ mctbod. plus 'ome speulic l>'liC' thal mu'r be Midre>~cd \\hcn per-

332

fonnmg the nrcular summatwn, e>penally to avmd ahasm~ ptublcm> \1oteovcr,

thc procc>S descnbed herc only mvolve> kmemancs and amphtudes are tgnorer:L
fhc >ummatwn should, m !al't, be a weightcd ~ummatton, which is not done m
ptacttce.
The 'equivalent offset method'
Gardner l'f ol (1986) o;howt:d that the cm:ular >Ummatlon can he petformcd by
movmg a data pomt from tts ongmal ofhet h lo a ncw offset h,, wh1ch depends on
rhe aperture x and offsd h (Ftgure 7.17-c) Once thts >tretchmg along the oftsel of
thc ommon (x, t) 'trace' has bccn done, the ~wnmat10n along x 1~ stratghtfmwarr:l
Ilus proccss 1> partJcularly cHincnt when performed m the louner domatn.
Hancroft el al ( 1998) extended tlm conccpt of ofhet >tretch and genetahzed the
l'ST method ll1ey notlCed that the D~lO >tep can be >ktpped 1fwe mtegr.tte thc
Chcops pyram1d ducrtly at constant tune (ligure 7.17-a) Thi> p, eqmvalcnt to perfrnung a IUII Km:hhoff PrcSlM, wherca> PSI compare> wlfh the Move-;'"' method
v..tth the common-o!Eet PreSTM operatot bemg >plit mto D\10 and .~:cm-offset
nugratwn
1lm"'evct; the pwblem 1> that the constant-t1me curve of the Lheops p}ranud 1>
nota orclc, but ~~ driven b} the DSR equation r~l 171 where we ~et t = comtant
l ht>>e authors suggcsted a new changc of offset vanablc, mtroducmg thc 'tqutrQ/enl
otfvi', whKh thcy denoted h, and whll'h 1s gtven by

,\fter the change of vanable, the ~hape of the rono;tant-llme Cheop' pyr,md
beco me~ an elhp~c The drawback 1~ th.at the e hange of van.ablc [7 7] doe~ not m.tkc
h tlmt'- anr:l ~elonty-mdcpendcnt The comequcnce 1s that dn Jteratlon of ve!oCJL}
IS reqmrer:l, a-; 1t 1> in the 'RMO PreSTM routc' di~tu~ser:ltn the prcv10us paragraph
I he authon called thc mcthor:l, thc 'equnalcnt oflSet method' {E0\1}, and the
onsequcnt gathcn, 'common scatterpotnt' (CSP) gathen
I he mcthod can be extended to 3-D and Irregular acqutsJtwn data~cts Tr ha> }el
lo find exten>IVC uJdmtnal <~ppl]( al!on~

Prestack depth migrations

Limitations of PreSTM and the necessity for prestack depth migration
There are obvmu~ advantage~ to !'reS 111-f and 1t 1~ eas} to prer:ltct that fiill
Krchhofl l'rcSTM w11l be tlw standard 1magmg method fr sC\etal years This smfC\S ~houlr:lnot, however, makc m forgct Jt> mtnn>ll' hmttauons \\'e have d1scu~~ed
mo~t of them m r:lctat! earhe1 1n tlm chapter, but 11c tccapitulate them agam:
!'reS'! \11> a ttmc procco;o;, wluch does not guar.mtee an accurate posmorung
of evento; m space m the preo;cnce of lateral vclonty ;anatwn~ m the ~ub
surtace.
The vd()( 1ty f1cld obtamed from the proce>smg phasc 1~ a very lfilpOl'tant
p!etc of mfotmauon but H IS stt!l btased Some care 1; reqwrcr:lfwe wanl to
use 1t for othct' purpo>e;, >uch a o; hthology mtet-pretanon, llme-to-r:lepth converMon, etc

333

 l he 1.-trt that the unagc 10m tnne tan be nw,leadJng for mtcrprders, eopeual1 belov, h1ghkature> ('pull-up;' and 'pull-dowm')
l'reSTM .tssume; fairl~
time-offset cune-, ami fails m unagmg reflector.> heJOI\ complex geologKa] feature~ (figure 7 () 1-c), ;uch .!S saJt domes O!
overthnJ'>l faullo,
!'hese pomb an: wdiJllustt.Jkd w1th the exdrnple m F1gure 7 18-a taken m a (Omplex -,alt tectorucs t:nYtromncnt (r:lata coLtrte~y ol \\'cstern(,ecu)
Only llfe,tack dcpth tmgraltOJJ (PieSD\1) c.m sohe mo;t of the;c dtllicultJeS
(Flgnre 7.18-b) i'reSDM JS, howe\el, a complex Jleranve
\\here an ,~etual
'geologJCal' propagation
are pr(){essed
Tlu~ 1Hll be dJ~< us;ed m
Various PreSDM and velocity analysis method:o.
lo d.ttc, the mosl populm l'rcSDM Jllethud f01 pwce~'mg 3-D

334

data~eh ;

fJ111-

K1rrhhofj mgrotum ~hmHJ u ~1gwe 3 l.), ( hapter 3 fhe mam !eamre., of

thl~
are rccapitulaterl m the next >t:Ctlon -\ reccnt
o the
w< hmque l> to -,ort dnd
ddta mto 'hemmmcm~"Pc>chcc,,
h.-t., .,e, eral theorctKal
\Vdve-equdtJord>ascd
la>t
dt"C,\(k .\hhoug-h the1r cxtcnSJ/lll to 3-D v.d-, ddaycd by
thc
p~tKe>;e~. they are now o;t,lrtng- to <ompetc IHth Ktrchhoff
undoubtedl} tak a largc p,rt of the nnagmg rn.trkct m the iuturc
\eloot} an<~ly>~> 1; an mtcgr.tl pan of PrcSD/\1 I'reSDM plus
bu1lding- t> an Jlt"r.-tuve
often -,t,utmg- wJth tune
of an
modd th.1t b ~ub~cquentl}
m .1
fhc comtmctlon of the llllllalmodel and ih updatmg nJethod> are dJscu-,ser:l

Kirchhoff PreSDM techniques

Sorne reminders
J he pnnupks behmd prc>taLk dcpth nHgratwn b} KtrchhoiT dtlTractwn surnmat,on ha\ e becn outlincr:lm detailm Chapter :1 Its pnma1v ad;antage lie> m thc
lact that 1t docs not rcquue a 1Hde range of dpproJ..JmdttoJJ.'>, othc1 1han the relutae
vp/onh m01hl
with the
of geologK,Jl
lb dra,.,bat 1.. 1>
m nnplcrnenllng the method \Vhcn
.lpphed n 3-D ovcr large drea>, Jt ts <urnputmg mtcn-,ive, but tht>" no longcr d
problem "-lth
\\'e bnefly <;urnman7c ~everal of thc k} pmnt~ of
l'reSDM dlrcar:l\
m Chdpter :1

\U1UIImtum Yet, d' v.c do not

~ampks Q pnon, ami more nnportantly the1r local d1p and
must Mlrn dlong thc cntm:- dJtlra< t10n 'hyper-'>UI fatc

335

:1 ho11 thc ddfra( twn KIH hhofl summatwn can b~ p~r

lonncd m variou~
{common-shot, common-olT~et. common-refl~c
tlon angle), common-ofhet bctng the method nJO>t w1dci} w;cd ,lt pr~sent,
c'pruall} for 3-D migratwn
The >unnnatJon !'; cdrrJ~d out m two ~tagc~. lintly, th~ ddfuown ~taek for a
(ommon paramcteJ dlld >econdly, the mulu-fold cme1ag~ >Ummatwn of the
re~ulto of each paramet~r rang~ (~quauons [3.171 and rs 21])
For m-,tance, th~ tint summatJon 1n common-ofEet Klrchhoff take~ place
along thc .tpcrture dnncnsJOn. l"h~ o;econd stag~ COllM>b of summmg all the
obtained tiom cach constant-otf~ct ~ectwn or cuhc l"h1s ~~ llustraterl

Advantages and limitations of Kirchhoff methods

1h~ ma111 ad1a1Jtag~~ of Kirchhotf methmb dre a~ follows:
They rcmam lcss computcr mten~JV~ than 01he1 methods
They allo"" target-OJJClllat~d unagmg, 1 e only a sdected doma1n m the (x, y,
z) space L<lll be imaged 11lis 1> ~ery often taken ad\dlltdge of m modd bmldmg 1magmg d ~mgle !me, 1magmg a oubset volume bdow a gJVen d~pth or
c1~ll tomputmg a -;mgl~ Jnldgc gather o; not onl} pm~iblc, hut ev~n common
pracllc~

They

ar~

also vcty well

addpt~d

g~ometnes

mmt

to any type ol acqwsJt!On geomeuy, cven

b~ comp~ns..Jtcd lr h} >peCJftc we1ghtmg,

The drawbach ofthe method lll(]udc.

All th~ lnmtatwn~ of ray tranng m compl~x media, e~pcclall} m-;tabillt} and
the 1cry lugh ~cll>Jtlvlty ot umco; to the modd Tlus can be av01dcd by usmg
IJ.irly smooth \docity modeh, d!though 11 may be dt the cost of the tmage qualJt}
Th~ muluple-aJrllal ;suc m nnnpl~x media severa! ra~paths ma} JOln an
unaged pomt m the subsw tace to a ~ourc~ or rccelv~r pomt dt th~ swface.
11ns 1> dluo;trated m F1gure !':i.IO S1mpl~ ray-tranng methorls gJVe thc ~hortest
p.tth, but 11 h.t~ b~en o;hown that tluo; path 1~ often not the on~ th.tl contnbute~
mu~t Lo the ~n~rgy oi the KJrchhoff ~umm.ttlon \Ve neerl mor~ wpht~ncated

llandlmg
amphtudco; reqmr~> dll accurate ~>nmate ol w~Jght> m the
KuThhotf swnmatwn Tluo; J> still a poorl} re>olver!Jssue dO 1\Clght> rl~penrl 011

336

travdpath~. <~cqut~JtJon geomell), JlummdtiOJI fold, ,mJ,otop)', et< Prope

wcrght1ng rs an rmpmtalll current lield of research

Principies of wave-equation-based recursive PreSDM methods

In thc ~ame 11ay as ior po>t--,tack
ex1st m prcstack mig1ation The
cquauon
wa~ fir~t
lCdfil/ll
Thc-.e methodo;, ongmally conLCI\'ed lor t1mc nugrauon, ere onl} de;dopcd
with the emergence ol 2-D PreSDM tcchmqucs, and pal'tJCulady thanks
analpr-. too! thdt anompawed them 1 e locu;mg andlprs Ueannot
1-'rcSDM and foli!Sillg analysrs fonn thc ba>rs of thc lollowmg

Principies of recursive PreSDM

The conccpt behmd recuntvc P1eSDM ; vcty srmrlar to that for post-stack
He re ,garn, we meet the notlon ol bm kpnmijJ{e, but now we are dcalnouc~ably comThe pnnnplc hehmd thc method 1~ shown for the 2-D case m Frgure 7 19. ,l,n
lllltlal n(oJding 1> made at the ~urtil.ce, lcadmg to data orgatll..:cd dnordmg to oH~
.,et, rmdpomt ,md rccordmg ume (as illu>tratcd m Frg :1,]~1) Fgure 7 !9-a sketchc~
thc rayo cor:re-.pondurg toa common-nudpmllllt'Conl ofrefkcuon~ over two rcflectmo anda diffractor potnt r\ hgurc 7 l!J-c rllmtrates the surfaces fo1 the currespondmg rdle<twns lll the data dornam
ofEet, tune) fhc unagc for pomt A
1' rll be a ddfractJOn ;urface -;mular to that 111
14, whlst the >tufatc for the

-\pplrLallun of tlu; prmctplc g1ves the J1rst ]me (or the lint plane 10 3-D) of the
dcpth-mrgrated Jmage in hgnre 7 1\J-e Recunwn fol!ow> on naturall} f:om thi~
J1-,t st,ge From thls milla) recorr:lmg, the presta< k data volume that 110Uld be
o!Jtamed tf the ;er>mll rccordmg l1ad !:leen made ata depth ll.z ; ralculated hr~ ;
atcomph>hcd through hark-propaganon In tlm case though, 1\e mu~t not b.ttkpmp.tgate onl} the zero-ofhet mformatron a; 1n Chapter 6, but tnstead the cnure
cuhe ol data, mdudmg source~ ami receJ;ers l'hc r:ldta cuhe resulttng frorn thr>
\mkmg expenment' JS ~1-rown Jn Flg-nre7 1\J-d It rs kno\\'ll as apresflrk rrsdud rloM
makmg the dnalog\ "'rth thc re~1dual >ecuons U>er:lm recur>i\c post->tack
mrgrauon Only mlnnauon al 7ero ofEct r; aduaily med to nedle the second hne
dt depth 11.7 on the nnage m }\g-ne i 19-e, but the fui! sct of r:lata rs Tequued f(r
back-propagatJng to the fullowmg o;t<~ge
1 he recurs10n contmuc~ in thls pattern, lrcaung the lme ,t ';! Az, then 3 11...:, etc,
unt] the maxtmum depth to be rm,ged 1S rcached
337

(c)lnltialdatavolume,

cd)Residualdata~ulumeafterback-propagation

3-lmagingatt~O,L=ll7andh~o :

(e)PreSllM

rc~ull

( ornplct]()n ofthe unage betwccn the !mes 1> perfonned m a .'>mula! fash10n to that
de~(ll\wd m Chaptcr 6 for po~t->tack nugrallon, and tllu>tTated lll ng-urc 6 02

Principies behind back-propagation of the prestack data volume

lhc
ts a '~1;. >lmplc phJ.sc m TC(111SI\e
tmolvc>
tOp)'mg thc
Bdlk-propdg-allon and cdkularwn
res1dual
are a
g-n:.lt deal mole laborious ro ldlrV out hey rdv on prmctpk; alwady cxten.,tvely
(o' e red m ( .hapKr'> l. 3 dlld G

338

A'?;""'~'

:~x,,

i~
(d)

lnitial bot aud

recei~er

situatioo

(b)lnotoaldatanlumc

On th1~ d1agraJT\
\llr[acc 1~ ~huwn m hgure 20-b he plane 111 whl< h the ~hot record 10 stmed {unnmon->hot) 1; h1ghhghtcd, ,; wdl as thc unwnon-reLt:l\er pLmc correopondlllg to R
rlw Km_hhofl' :.urnmallon b,tck-propag,ltwn pnnup]e<; dlu>trater:l 111 Figure fi 05,
-,hu\\ that m 01dcr to cumputc thc back-pwpagatcr:ltracc dt tune t,. 111 R, we nced to
'>lllll \ample<, almg a r:liffr,H tion (Lll\t' vd1ooc lra\eltJrne 1> contolled by the velocit}
\', 111 thc la)CI
Al]JU>l bel<m the oource S, but Jt doe; not r:lepcnr:l on thc time t,
to whJCh 1L i; apphed Huv..cver, the1c aH >everdl differcnce; v..Jth Fignrc 6 03
fht" LLileltuues are nov. vne-aay trmr \\C dedl \\11] the '>OUr<e only.
The ,mnalwn takn j1/aa lrl the mmmrm-rnnvn planP, ,mee the back-piOp,lg.J-

ro-

339

non of ~hot S' 1~ computed from thc l'ontnbut!Un of thc vanom o;hm~ at the
>Urface m the aperture (hg-nre 7 ~0-a)
The d1o;tn.nce bet'l\een t'IHJ consecutwe trate~ on th1s ommon-retTJver plane
'n\1 be t'l\llT a~ large .1> m the plane of the ~tacked ~cctwn lhe method will

t(x)

t~ + ( ~

J{$;-),

[7.8]

where t 10 the sumnldtwn

m the common-rtx_eJVer plane (Hg-nre 7 20-b),
117 1> the m1gratwn ~tep
x 1s the apetme, 'nll g1ve the \alue of the hackprop,gated >ample at re(eJver R dJJr:l al mue t"', -he >UHIInauon 1> repeated for all
time> t", to compute the hal'k-propag-ater:l tral'e S'R
Next, a ~eneo of >Unnnatwm 1> peTfOuned for all receJ~Trs R to complete the
b,<ei'-P"'P"'"'d ohot S' !'he Creen\ fnnctwn
V, unrlerl}mg-on
the trace takulated fOr soune S' anr:l all 1ece1ven (~ l'hs vclocltv 1> a~sumed
con~tant m the aperture 7one hut can r:ldkr betwccn ne1g-hhounng- shob, nnplymgthat the1e are no practJcallmuto; to the var!db!IH} of the back-propag-atlon'~ vdonty
fleld Once ohot S' ha~ been 1econstructer:l, the operatwn 1> 1epeated m order to
back-proiMgate all the -,hots ~ and >o fillthe ent1rc volume of d..Jta shown m Fig-nre
7 20-c
At tlm ~tage, the full back-propaganon proceo;, ha> only been half~l'O!npleted we
,JI ha;e to back-propag-ate the recciver~ l'h1s h perfOrmed m an enl!rely ~ymmet
ncal fa~hwn to bal'k-p!Opagal!on of the ~ounTs
the role~ of
o;ources and rece1ver,, the (,reen\ funttiun r1011
teloultel that lw thrl'll/;' l!elow
1he
m the common-MJurce
domam may ne,erthde;> pose certam under-o;amplmg and ahasmg- problem~ lmked
to the acqu1oltwn set-up that are more >erwm than fo- back-propag,ttwn of the
oourceo; Tluo llld} mean tertam
suth a> mter-

Extension to 3-D
Flgure 7 20 o;how~ wh!Lh trate~ are 1mohed 111 the computatJOJJ of the backpropagated trace w1th thc 'new' shot S' and receJ;cr R they are trace~ who~e shot
pOMtlon he, w1thm the hnear aperture around S and that ha;e the ~ame receJver R
1 he same 1dea apphes m ~l-D, but llOI\ trate> are ~ought fo- -,hoto; 111 a h\o-dnnen>wn.tl aperturc Tlu~ 1> 1llu~trated m
Flgure 7 21-a ~hm1' the
and F1gure 7 21-b ~ho'll>
th1s data ~uboet would look hkc, although Jt o; not
exphcitly created m pral'lJ<e Coordtnateo x_, }, of thi~ gather are the relative l'oordmate, of ~hob m the aperture w1th re-,pect to the hack-propag-ated >hot locat10n S
l'he Kirchhofl'summatwn "ould he perfonned liO\\' O\Tr the >lllfd<e S still driven by
the ia}er of tlu<kueo~ /17 hdm\ S
that one wetghted sunnnarwn (1\e do not dJ>CIIS~

340

.L~./
F
(a) loitial shot and rccdcr situatiun
~t~orzation_-

~1

--~>,~~F~
~T

(b) c:mmon-receiver gather R

.,..

(c)TraceS'R

;-;-cco----;-;-c

wc1ght> here) gwes one sample ofthc back-pwpagated trace of ~hot S' dnd reccwer
R l'hc summallon has to be performed lr all >ample~ of thc trace. When tlw, has
hccn done, the proce>S b repeater:l foral! rercJven R and o;hot S' At tlm >tdge we
ha,c back-propagated one shot ami simulatcd one 'buncd shot rec01d' TIIt: whole
pmce;'> mu>t then be rcpeatcd foral! >hots and when tlm has hcen done, we have
-,[] tompletcd only half of one back-propagatwn, smce the roles ofthe >hot and the
rt:'(CJver mmt be nov. cxchang:ed morder to hack-propagate all rece1ven 10 dcpth
117. There w!ll be as many back-propag:atwm a o; the tota!Jmagcd depth d!vlded by
the migratJon step Az, typKally severa] hundred~ n~ Js obviously quite a tedious,
t1rnc-consurnmg- and mcmory-consurnmg- p1oceS>
llowever, therc are >Olllt: ,holl cuto; For lll>fdll(C, \\'e note that thc proces-, of
back-propagatmg- S to S' usmg nmunon rece1ver R and back-prop.tg,mng R to R'
Ltsmg common-o;hot gather S can be combmed 111 one >mgl~ operator, dependuig
nevcrtbele;s on both velocine; V, ami V,
-\; 10 po-,t-;tack ami p1estaLk rmgJdtion, we can take ddvant<tge oftbe tact that
the summation ope1ator .,tune mvariant, but wbatever the tho;en method, MHne of
whu h are dJ~CU>Sed m the next >eCtlOll, th1s I> ~tiil a lug- computatwnal ellrt dt the
lumto; of pre-,ent-day computer (apabllllleo;

341

Phas~-shift

and

finit~-difference

methods

updater:lto ~pt:dfic p,\UC~ ~tt(h a~ ont:-VId} propag-a.tnd r~(eJ,~J locatmn\, '>peufJL :1-ll acqm>Jtlon
g-eomctJ'le\,elL
Chtr mam lllleJe-,t he, 1ll dlu~tratmg- the notwn o! back-prop.tganon uf preo;tack
data, and 1t 1',
the ~cope of th1s lexl to dJS(IJSS thcsc ;anum method~ and

!~'>lit'~

TI1e pmt-~tacl.. 2-D hack-propag,nwn pha.,e-'>hlft method 1'> .,]wvm m figure

6 11 the ~calar pha,e-~hih
gnen hv equaton [6 l!J o; dpplied toa twor:lunen~wnal data~et m thc
111 and k, Its cxtenswn to po~t-~t.tck 3-D ts
Stldlghtfon,arct although Jt reqtJlle'> a three-dm1cnsJonal liJll!lt'l u.m;fonn along

as we

~dll

Wc no\\ ha;c fiv~ (.tnd not tour} nd~peudent \anahlcs,

m Ch,tptcr 3 the tOur sourL~ and !T(CJ;t:J coordiJlates plus time, or

'>ampled lll!S IS obv1ou~l} ne1er thc ca~e In

Jrregularly 'dmpkd f(Jr nJ<Ill} Jeason., wult1~tr~amcr .tLqui>ltJOIJ. strcamer k.tthcrob,taLie,, auc~~ihilH} on !dJHL etL '1 he -,Jtu~\llon is e1en v.o,e f(r azimuth

342

Data regularh:ation and the azimuth issue

Frgll!e 7 21-b hrghhghr~ tl1e data
gatwn Kilhhofl ounuuarmn surf,(r h genrralh
lOillpen~ared f01
approp1 rate wrrghrs ru rhe
V> e LI'-e rn~trarl
pha~e-ohift aurl fimte-drfierenl r oeheme'
mmr rlelll,mrlmg and
mentmned for phrtse ~hJfr. 'rgulady ~..tmpled
d.i!rt<,eb, 11h1ch t> 1wvr1
There are f\IO -,olution'>
lO

tht> l'>SUe

would h.11r rrconkd un tlre sanw relet\Tr but 111th a '>hot po'>lllonrd OltT d
gnen node of a Jrgu/.r gnrl
rr\Idna!JUO\Tout correctrou ~mue r..tch ofhrt
for ,di norles of thr gnd
an extr<l cmu.mtng effOrt hr

pre~ent.

JlJS

~tanda1d

m most pro(erng

~et.uellle~

Azimuth moveout or AMO

d COJIIIIJOJJOff'>ct h,
now pcrform modclhng w1th nou-zno off.,et h, lrut \IIth d reilecllou cbp ;ud
,uimuth anglc such that the ra\''> hit thr '>urf~Ke a/ong rhe shot-renl,rl /me, we gct
Llw
ofthe extruded Di\10 that trdrrsfonu'> the off~et data h, mto
.\MO 1'> a fmther rxteuswu ofD:\fO. \1herr wc '>1ll1UI.ite uol ouh a cbl1rrrnt off'>f'L but .dso a Jfferent -,hot rrceiYer aznuuth \\e can now compute JlS uupube
b\
non-zew offset
w1th , nflectwu cbp aud .zunuth .1t all
that the rmcrgent ra~~ a/1 lr.r\'e the -,ame
a of enwrgcnce pomh Hm~eve1, the mrdpornt~
rlo not uece~~arilY le ou the mitra! ~hot-receivel
3-D ojN1al01, whu h r~ morr uJsth to apply tlun

343

AMO lau:s the .,,uue ssues as llMO m term~ ofve!ont1eS "1 he 'true' AMO op<:"rator
1s velouty-depeudent, but tlS lheory 1~ develop<:'d w1th a conSI.lnt-velonly .tssump-uon S111ularly lo DMO, ~~~ ptactk.dl .1pph(_atmn ts therefoie spht HilO three opera.
t1ons
.tn Jllrl!.il t\MOcmred1on,
AMO to move tht'> pmnt lUIIdnls all po'>stble nudponus wuh thc giveu uew
dZJinuth .md regulw olhct,
an mYene 1\i\IO correUtnlflequc'>lt'd
In tlns pragmauc but approxim<tte approach, the velonty dcpenden(.e ts handled by
the t\ i\10- tmTne :\! \10 sequence and tlw regulantal!on m ofhct ami az1muth 1s
tt~clt Tl11S approxunauon 1s jusnficd f rhe d/llllUth

Common-azimuth and V(z) PreSDM

The MIO teduuquc en<1bles 11~ not only to regulanze d..tta. bm al~o tu reduce
the dunenswn<thtv ofthe dat.tset, as F1gm<:' 121-d ~uggesto \Vh<:'n .\:\10 !S applwd
lo the 11holc dato~~ct, data can be H'organJzed .~~a '>Crl('s of 2-D hne'>, aligned along
the selected 'm'\' atmmth 11ml flW1;
no/ bark lo 11 mufh-2-!J .ll/11alwn. In a 2-D
ca~e we a~'>mnc that
t<lkes place lll a vcrltc.il plane onh In (Ommunaztmuth l':teSDI\1, 11e
only propagatwns t..rug place "Jthm the [O- Az]
laver and for the ~hot aud rece1ver pa1r 1ll anv pl.1ue runnmg thrnugh the shotreceJver scgmcnt Other
are dJscardcd he arlYantdgt' of th1s commou-annmth a~~umptou JS tu
us to ~pht rhc m-Ime .tml uoss-hne pwpagatious m an dficicnt \1ay (Biond1 and Palacharla, 1996), so that much k'>s computeimtenSlW b,~ek-propagatlon Iuethods, bascJ un thc phase-oluft teduuque, are uow
po\Stble
The method ha~ yet tu find W1de tndu'>trta! dppiKanons, p<trtwularly because of
Jt~ tntl'lmtc a~sumpuons Ir ls 11cvcrthele'>~ apphcd more and more tu real Jata~ets
2000) <liHI ha\ lwcomc a po~sJblc ;lternaUYe to 1\J.Ichho!T PreSDI\-1 In
1t has ~ome of the aJva11tagc'> uhvdvc-cquatwn-based methuds te~pec!ally the
,mtomatJC handhng uf uHiltipk-path anwdls for a still 'hnuted' computmg cost.
Hm1evcr, Simple plh!Se-~luft metho&, a;;ume 110 lat<:"ral velonty vanatJon' ReahstJl
apphclllons of lhc m<:'lhod 1ely th<:'n un v;nous nptions of 'phase-sh1ft plus correcrion' (PSPC methoJ; m 'PSl'I' approXlllldtons. mcludmg the ne>dy d<:"vdoped
'phase-scrccn' methods tLc Rousscau and de Hoop, !998, 200!)
1

lh\e assume that tlJ<:'fe ate 110 lateral veluntv Y<I!Jatlons, the algonthm can be Jevdn tlw f-k Jomam amlts t'V<:'ll more dfitwnt. Th1s tS the techmqne known as
PrcSDM' (Etgen, 1998). '!he as~mnpt10n of no ],\leral velocity vaiiation~ ts a
stro11g constr.tmt that
the method berng ctpphed as ..t final
It -, hm1ever qune
and t.:<lll be used d~ <1 data precondttlntng lll
mJtJal '>lep of the 'mage-gather mverswn' mute uf Pre~D:\f uugwt10n vclucm
anal~;Js that wc addrt'~~ ],ter m thJ~ chapk'I
Advantages and limitations of recursive methods
A~ m post-'>t<lck rmgranun, Tfr 111\IVe Pn:SD.\1
thr ad1<anh1;e
uonatwn
\anatwns are coYcred
J~mg
vaneS n la~er
81] Junng back-propag;tJon,

ro-

344

wh1ht vertwal vanations are addtessed by bemg ahk to va1y th1s lunctwn at every
n11gr.rt10n step
In thc CdSe when 1he aooumpuon uf no lateral vdoCit\' vanatwns 1'> .!cceptable,
phase-~h1ft methods are parttculdrly effiueut
Mor<:'over, there !S no sdcction ola given rdv-path Cuc,ecwncl> ull fm,ubic
lnmdltd
ami lh,, mulliple-path
1~
uwthods
Fmalh,

PreSDM, migration velocity analysis and velocity model building

Which model for which geological environment?
fhree mam d.i~SeS of modeb arr used 111 l'IeSDi\I pmJect'>
f..a~er-blzlrd model~. al~o known .1s '!ayer-cake' modeh, SUI has th<:' one tlluotrateJ m Jgure 2 23-b They are \1cll adaptrJ tu r\oJth S<:'a pmJeUS\diere ]a\rrs
WJlh Yrry dtfknnt vdouty regunes and thKklws~c., are ovcrlaid one un lop of
rhe other, for mstance chalk again~t ohale~ or salt.
Gruldnl mode/1 such a'> the one Illusrratrd m F1gurr 2 21--a llere the Yelool\ 1~
defincd ar each nodr of a regular grul ThcY arr wdl swtrd for recenl Jepos1t
deep manne cl.iSliC rnvuonments where a velooty grad1enl (often !mear) can
be dcfined whKh vanrs ~mooth!Y larer.ilh In th1s enYirmuuent, ISO-veloclf\
contours are often roughlY paralklto rhc mud hnr
Hybrui model1 .,hcre .1 lauly smooth velouty-gradH~nt modd of S<:'dlm<:'nts 1~
comphcdfed b~ lhe prr~cnce uf massJVe bothes of oalt or shal<:' of d cmuplex
.,hapc wnh raggeJ oud~Ke~ and hgbl~ contiastrd Yelocuy l he drt>Mtal e>..dlllple !S the deep ofTshore ol the Gulf of MexiCo, rts for molance m F1gure 7 18
1 he first ta'>k m a PteSDi\1 pr~Jt'ct IS lo dendr 11luch l~ pe of mode!Js besl ~uueJ tu
the unagmg probl<:'m 111 hand. Employmg PreSDM rtnJ searchmg for !he mosl >Uil.rbk assonatrd velocH~ modrl1s a l<lrgely tteratiYe pmce;s Afler cach Jleralwu, lhe
modcl 1., rrn'>ed e1tlwr \1lthlll d parlKular !aYer, 01 by
a la\'<:'1
lay<:'I

plexity of uuage"galher analysts, \\e mu>t th<:'refor<:' ddd the neC<:'Hy of findmg th<:'
lo h<1ndle the;r rrpieSentatne 3-D subsurface Yelooty models
\\'<:' hencc refer lo 'moddli'l\ ',Le software tooh .,hich neeJ lo satisfy a uumber of
d'""'roecnteiJa
ro allm~ the display of gcologiCalh complcx StrliLtures. mcludmg mulnvalurd
wdi.tcc~ (salt botheo, rr\riSe fi.tulrs) ami truucatrd ~urfacrs tpmrh-ouls, f<tnlr'>).
ro handle 'yohuuetnc' parametenLatJons of propagauou vdocuy and amsolrop\,
to po~~ess a propagallon velonty pMameter!lal!on cmupatibk \11th r<~pld
C..rren\ lunnion calculalion (ray-tracing calculations),
tu alluw eaw updatmg of thr mude! from onr JtrJatlou ro anothcr. whethct
manuall\ or automallc<!llY,
oca~w~t W<l\

345

(h,optcr7

Layer-cake, 'blocky', smooth or gridded models?

ln travdtunr lll\erson, l'lhu:h 11r (onsl(ler beiu>~, .J.' wrll .J.' m ..11n uther techtlw IY.i\ lhe 1elur} model i~ par.J.metrnzcd 1~ (fltiutl In lilVf'IOlun partJcuonh ever hope to 1m en .J. lnmled nnmber ofparamrtr-,
'1!/mk mode/1' lll th1o cunlexl, 111.1) br ddined wnh a
reaounablr number uf paramrten. .\3-D ex.J.ollple -, ~hu>Hl m Hgurr 2 23-b. lby
tloe.'>e bluck.y mudds m a;- hu11e1rr be uu,tablc, ,-, rematkrd m Chdplrr 5.
ofleu mvolve'> a ~muuthing uf the yeJuuq field
h.i~ the other

n,

addte;scd ncrntlY and rhe general

ClluSrnMIO 111 the mdustrv ~~ lhrtt ,
ol <>moothness !S <lrreptable
(M1spel and HaTHlL~ch, 1906) Ho11 smootl11~ a ~muoth TIJOdd Jrma1no debatable
yurslwu Too '>IUuoth a uwdel 111ll mevJt;b\Y mtrodu(e modd-related aHJsotropy
artd.J.rts that \~1\l bus
11lurh the hunzon JS un;gTd \\hether rh1~ 10 an
acceptable puce tu p.iY to
a better m,ge !S a m<lW'r ol dJscus~Jun lor each
mrhvldu.J.l case

Onr alternatJVe solutJOul'>

uoJe., of a Iegul;r grid
Ra\ tracmg ~~.J.' eas\ m thrse modd~ a~ m
une~ l hey can
be u~eJ to rmuputr L1ren\ fum.uom m Kln.hhoff migratwn \Vave-eyu.J.llon-based appro<~chcs,
ceg<,lm -gn<ld<'<i modeh The1r ouly

and to

m a transp.irrnt 111auner to the usr1

Various PreSDM velocity analysis and model-building techniques

.\o 11e '>lalerL .J. \"ast lll<ljurtty of ye]u(ll\ .J.n;[\ss mcthods are nerat!Ye. 11hether
JleralJuns trtke plale ]aler-by-]aYer 1n a dmlllii.J.rd dorrll!OU and/OI as updates of.J.n
lmllal model Severa] dffcreut mclhods .in' ;v;[able to dale, rwh \11lh Jt> ovll
alhanlages aud lirmtat1om
PreSDl\f >~olh <luJnn;l
- fout~mg aurtly>J~.

l'o< ""'- n11:r.HHH" ~nd

".,,,"'

fcus
1-D analyt1cal
Ra~-based mude! update\
- travellune lll\'erswn.
steJeotomot,'I.!phv,
- ptcktng amlmveromn of un;ogr g.1thr1~
Velouty scaunmg
~t.lllotual ,ranh
\k dit.cu'>5 these \'aJJo\1~ methods m the next ~rcl10m
~.:ommou

Methods based on an ntial model and update technques

Building the iuitial 3-D model with siacking velocities and well data
upd.1te Juethorls, tlw JDltJ.ilmorlel 1~

thr mtti<-~1 moJel may be ver~ smtphstu

= f(Z), representmg au ,ye a;e of al! vertical V.!Jlatwns m velootv OYe!
studY can b<:' definrd U th1s ho~.ckgruund
llllorrnatwn comes fmm \\elh. heterog-cnen~ ll!U'>t be Llken mlo comulcratwn. as
alreMly mentmned on ~evnal oCla>ou.,
Often, howr\Tr, tlll~ rlllt1almodd 1'> a great rleal mme
li~>t few la;-rn
or surmundmg an rsprn.ly

andlY'>IS usmg Pn:'<SDI\1 1s thll'> .m adrl1tion to the~e methods, refinmg thr moJel bY
concenrraung on 1mprovmg: thr lllMge, but onl~ \\lrluu .tnd bclm, the zonr uf
(omplexin
Input J.; to be collecred at th1., '>tage mdude
~ta( kug velonuo, hopefully afl<:'r l'1<:'S 1M <~mi pKked m .1. horllon-tom~tcnt
Jn.tnner,
mterpretillHm aud p!Ck., ol J..r, honwus,
\\el1Yelocit\ d.itn
B1uldmg the mta] mndel hum the,r datasets 1'> a l<l'>k \ er~ Slllllhtr tu , tuue-todepth conver~wn pwe~.:t Con;equently, man} of thr methods we describe 1n
Chapter 8, wluch JS dedU'dtt>d 1o tht.,
t;Jsk, (\Ul br userl here Thev uKlud<:'
the follo\\mg, although this list is not
Simple u,e of thr \)Jx tormu], t!H'>Js thr most bast<- lOol,
cohrrence anal)~!~ tF1gute R 28).
~t.rckmg \dont~ nnerswu (Flg\lre~ 8 :!0 aud R .10),
hybrid methods u;mg post-Std<-k d<:'plh llllgrauon (hgurr 8.31 ).
\n extensl\e analy~JS ofw(ll rl.1ta available in the suney area aud bc~ond, JS a pleJeqw~ll<:' tu .Kqumng the uecessan ba<-kgmund yrJont\ mfrmanon NrYerthele~o
"e should uot forget that thew .1re l\\O distmct t;t,k<; mohed in rlepth nugratwn
on 1he one han d. we need
ou the othe1 hand, wr
the nme-ro-rlepth conYerswu (ore
Flgme 8 01)

/--,~~

~~

1"",

~1

.-1

~1

/ z,..,~zoo!'.',tr...=O,Bs_J

,,t_
i':/ i,,..='L,,.,,""

Z=JIIIIm

,~,~:~:::io~:~;: ~. 'CY 1"'~:

focu~mgpanelotb45ll~~.:~----

'

~:

t,

_____

'

'

1.,.. ,.~450m
(d)Bnck-propagation
with\'m, 0=3000nrls

348

---~

Criterion for a model update

The moot dassu.:al crrtenon to aoses~ whether a model r~ the uptunal une for
PreSDM ts lhat mentrorwd m Pr-eSTM d nece~~ary ronditwn !S thr natness uf lffidge
gathers anJ au mterpret.!.tt\'e one 1~ rhe tudhlv uf lhe Hnage nself
\\'e shall 1eturn lo method~ based un this criteuon, bm fi1~t \'e meutwn rwo
other methods
o focusing anal~sro.
lOTIHnuu fucu~-pomt (CFP)
Focusing analysis
1 he loncept uf fucu~mg .!.tl<dys~ 11<1> first mtwdnced b~ 'lma..: auJ Chamben
although thcy apphed tt to Pn:~S l M. It ~as ;dopted on au mJustnal scalc
tl9R6) presented a \'eisJOn modified f()J 2-D l'teSDi\1
principlc behind 2-D tucuoing analysrs rs r!luotrateJ rn Frgure 7 22 for the
~rmple moJel ot .1 pomt drffractor buned wtthm a h.omogeneou~ medtunr
!he sl..etche~ m rhe left-hand culurnu repieoenl the Jata Yo]urne a drfTen:.'nt
st.rgt" iu the back-propagatron pro~.:es~ The fii~t cube rs the rmnal volurne corre~poudmg 10 Jdta recorded .1t thr Otlrface 'f he tm,ge uf the Jtffr.1.ctor pmnt A is the
( heop~ pHanud In thr ~ame column,
prupagariou~ u~tng the 'true' mrgratwu velout\
rn s, first a a deplh of 200
m, <lltd then al 300m, the J.l.!ual depth of rhe pomt drffr<tctor On lhl~ lasl reoidual
tu be, the Cheop~ p~I.lrnld 1~ perfectlv 'fucmeJ' m tu <l purut The rrnagmg pnnnple
at thrs depth gt\"eS thr pie~l.!.ck mrgrated llll.!.ge uf.\
1 he middlc culuum shows what happeus tu thr b.tck.-propagatmn >dwn ,loo lugh
Srme the pwp.1.gauon veloot}' >Hil be g1catn tlwn the true
thf focusmg ut/1 011111 \OO!Ifl m the back-prupagation th;n wuh the curren
1elonty. 1 e liW Cheop~ pyranud wrll be vtrtually lo<-l.lsed mlhe tero-offset plane ata
of 200 111, lmt .J.l <1 tune of O 1.10 s m rhe re;rdual volnme. he fu<-l.l>rd pornl
not therelorr be rm;ged; the depth at which tluo focmmg occurs 1s denoted Z,..
!"he ba1 k.-pwpagauun coutmues, .rnd as the ceulr<ll colunm m Ftg 7 22 mdit .Jtrs, the locuseJ point ~tart~ ro 'mrfocu~ mto a reverseJ Cheops pyramrd that wrll
<.oon mtroduce mtgratrun nm~e m the uu;gmg phd~r EYrnlnally, the ba~e of the
mveroe p}Tanud reache; the rn1<1gmg 1ero Irme ata depth of 450 m provtdmg rhe
pre~rwk nug1.1ted rmage of A lor tlm over-eSUill<lled 'elunry The wong choiCe of
nugr<ltwn velont~ ha~ t\'o eflects
o firstly, the image does not form at lhe nght depth, 1 e rhe rmagrng depth Z,,,,
~ too derp.
0 secondh, the Image dors not h<ll"e .tn optrmum ,unplrtude, srucr the cueq,ry
ha~ been 'unlocu~ed' over .t 'snule' Hbtead of havmg been conceutrated mto a
pomt
f he nghr-haud tolunmn F1gme 7 22 .,]wws the c;~e ul d uugratwn ycloot~ that rs
too lm~ To slmphfy the oketdr, \'e havr rn fact chosen ;n unrealrstrcalh lo,~ vrloclf\
of 1.130 m/ o \\'rth tlm velooty, we oee lhat after back-prupagation thr .rpex of the
{.heops pranud dl"riH'~ dt tuuc l =O uu rhe rrstdual (ube J.l a depth of 200m
Applyrng thr nuagmg pnnc1ple, thrs apc>. gtves, for the velocuy uf 1330 m/s, the
putnt driTractor'~ pre'lt.!ck 1mgr ,trd 1mage for thr~ dcpth Ao m rhe case of au ex~.:es
'>1\eh hrgh yeJoclf\. thc depth Ydlue rs lllloirect and the .rmphtude ro non-optunal.
'lllle the Cheop~ pYrdnnJ has \el lo be focu~ed

349

lf we n'"' t.rke the prelauton uf raltulatm; ami IOIIIPn'mg thf ne;atne llfnP\ m /he u:1id"
w;{ data cuhe, wr 'ee rh.n wlwn thr lhKk-propagatwn '' couumwd, for miug eventu.JIIy ocrurs atthe depth Z,, = 450 m, and ata lime uf -0 :1~!i s m thc re~Jdual data
e u be

great,
with lli.!X!IllUlll amphtude.
LunYenoch, d depth Z," ex1~b 11hrre foCIISillg doe~ IJ(nlr, but Jt JS not dett"Cterl by the
mJ.ging punnple apphed at 1 =O In f~ct. any focu~mg at dC'pth z,. w11l be tmperfen. although th1~ JS not uf l ruodllotllt'l n m thc Je~t of the Juethud
\\11at h.t; been ~t.ued )wJ(' lm a ponH rllffractur can br I'Aieltded lo u con/muou.1
A reflectm m thc lllltldl data cube <~ppe.rro a; a surfan l: a~ F1gure 3 19
\Hwn we dmlll\li!rd propagare the dat, cubc. the -,urfacc L
m the reoidual datd vol u me ,nd focuses ,tlong the offi..et du't'ctlou, Jnot as
md11Jdual Cheops pytamJd doc~ fur tllr lOrrea 1elonty the Jenenon WJII cross the hne
t = () .1t the corren depth amlwah petfect focusng along the oftset, smnlar toa corrcct ~\10-D:YIO--,t.rck.
For <lll mcolle(( veJocty, th1s uu;ge Vllll not be prr!rctly fonJ>ed dl tune t = O for
zero oll5et part olthe tefle trd ruergy 15 still sp1't'dJ ovcr the offset chmens10u. ~uch
nupetfect foumug re,ult> 111 a non-optunal ,unphtudr for the llll<lgerl rdlecuou
In .:_ontraM, a ba1 l..-prop<lgauon rkpth ex1~ts whcre fontsJng does tak place correctly at ..:ero offset, hut ~1m e tllh foubmg doeo nut occUJ at nme t = O ou the resdu.rl utbe, Slllh rdkctJon~ <lTC not nuaged
Focu~mg aualy.,is explu1h thi~ ob.,tIvauon
u~rd. there 1nll, none the less,
at wluch

[7 9]
l<.qu,twn [I9J makeo ~evcrrtl '>lmplfymg .i'>'>Lnnpuons
a restncterluug-ranou apcrt111e,
wrak local variatJous m velocitte>,
a lllllltocd rhp
l't'f!ector
f'hese
lllOt't' restJllll\T 11hen m1gr.Jllon \elonttes dJVcrge
lrom
Ydotitle~ Neve1 thck-,.,, 11 JS tluo
that ~ explollcd 111 fucmmg
<ll!.llV~I~. and that ha' reve,tlrd n;elf tu be
1mens1ll\r tu \'luchever nutwl
vclocity modd , cho~eu
The method JS a~ folluws
Tiwdepthatwluchrtnevent
the 1esult uf the nugratJoll

350

11r sunpl} need to ptck

 lf we Ldll tlwn mea~nw the depth ar whiLh 11 1; hcu,ed .mrl ;~ we know lh<:'
YcloCll} we have ugraterl WJth, we can use eyu<~lJOn [ 9] ro find ; n~d'>Olldble
,pproxtmatJOn to rhe r<:'al vdonty m the medmm
1 he depth of rlw rocmng 1S e<>tnnated by ~rurmg m rlw 1omputer .t umch larger
ume ~eniun 1-l!.t, +Atl uf the ?ew-ofl.,et plan<:' at e<tLh h,Jtk-prop;gauon ;lep, lfl~o thdt rllfh.clm focmmg produced ltn overly slm~ velo(]tJe'>
J he~e <!Te what woc cal\ Jocu;mg pancls' (l1gur<:'S 7 22-e <tnd
Foru~mg panels df<:' kept for .11/ b.Kk-pwp<lg"dtJon depth~ ,wd can be Jllterpreted by .,ea1duug for the fouJsmg m,LXIIll.i l'cking a ma>..tmum dJrectiY JndlCatc~ the
t'Jtor m th<:' depth or velouty hilue, cau~eJ b\
the IIllllal >elour} field. h1s,
\wweyer, corH''>pourls to a globdl e1ror
fiom rhe ;urlace
Con~<:'quenrlv Jt ne<:'ds w be bruken clown m ro the respeaJVe crrors for each laver, [
pwpcr focusing for ~ever,] rdkct1om an pckerl on the ~ame furu~lll);; panel
lu practKe, a fir<;t Yeiouty ticld 1'> eM<tbh;\wd, wh1ch can be rerhweJ 10 d funcrwn \.ilTmg on\y 11 1th depth, .md tlu~ IS appherl to the <:'nllre seown 1 he fouJsmg
afl,llysi; JS thentnt<:'rprl'ted for a se1ie' of pancls ,long rhis ;<:'ttlon <tnd for an mitial
H"tlector Anupdate on the "clont} lli tlus fintld~er rldiued bv the relleno! -, rheu
ohtain<:'d A new Pre~DM with foru;mg analpis 10 tlt<:'ll ;tdrted mmg: tlH~ upd;~ted
modcl \\e can lhuo venf) the vahrllt\' dmq ro the fir~t maker and the focusing
anal -,es can be nreqJrered for ; .;ecund reflectO!; allowmg veloCJtih 1n thc seconrl
\.\erro be uprlaterl, and ~o on, unul the ntdXHnurn nyuucd depth i~ aduenrl 1 ht"
fin,\ '>tep 1~ Lhe l'reSDM lhat gn,.e; thP final nnage usmg the l.o~st upddted pmpag:<~
llll vclocin modcl
Focusmg analvsr~ IS cunently perfornwd rn 2-D un\y A<> 1r JS ba,ed on a recurstve
proces~. 1ts cxtcmion to 3-D 1s theorettc.tlly poos1ble bur lughh cxpeu-,lve m tcrms
ol raku/.1r1oll rnne ,md memmy requJH'IIIents In .tddJtJOu. sperifit pKkmg requi1es
wl hot ~oftw.uc pack;ge~ FcKUSlug ..tnal~ol~ hao therefore \Tl ro finJ illl\ mduotn;\
apphc<~tiom m 3-D
\\'e now adrlres~ othc Itcr;JtlYe tecluuques adapred tu 3-D

The cornmon focus-point (CFP) method

fht> ronLept of doublc dynam!L locusmg and commor1 fo<m-powr Wd'> fi.rsr
mtroducnl by Berkhout {10!:l7a) 1he aim here -, not to bmld a moJel cxplicitly, at
least m rhe fir.~t otep, but IWf('(l(l/o jmd lhe Of!llmfll Grern\ fimr!wn In tht~ wspect, Jt
cau be clao~Jfi.cd as a 've\ocit~-mJepeudent' techlllyue, a conccpl mtrorhKed m
Chapter 1
To undci~tand rhe meanmg ot a Ulllllllou focuo-pomt, 11e nturn to ChapteJ 3,
and more spenfi(al/v to H,e;urc j 4 l"his figure sho~<; the first step 111 thc K1nhhofl
lm.gng proceo~ .; 11e mtroduced 11 lleie, ~e back-pmpagarc the mea~UlTntenr of ,
~hot rt>conl down to rhe tmaged dtlll-<t(tol" pornt D, u.~lllg .1 ont>-wav Green\ fimcuon
'\Jext, IH' prop;g,c the ooune fwm the ~urt,Ke do>HJ ro \) and con ciare the !\'o
W<tvefieJd., by appl~mg th<:' lllld);;lng pnnuple, to
cventu<tlly the IeliPc(lvltv m D
shot> and the contnlmrwn uf al!
(Frgure 3 5) lmally. thc procc,-, 1~ rcpeated
'lhors .1n- ~mmuerl (hgure .1\l) We abo ~howed thar the receJ~er b<t(k-prupagatton
anrlthe -,hot prop<~gauon c<~n be (Ombmed m, smgk n'o-\ld)' tuue (_,nen\ fuucnon
Prense doubk focmmg d"oKh tht'> (ombm,Jllon anrl urg.tm7e> the rhrec operdtton~ (hfterently

351

.,.

(l
-

.---~ -?~rrf
-;..~
l '"
'' .. ,-....... '--;

y~~

---1 D~finc{,recnsfunctiOnlnD

.-

'

(u)Shot-;ndr-;;vcrgcoml'tr)-

;;;e~ pr~~~slwt;:

S~ol~ordD
Greensfunttto
____

.. -

-=------

mO

(c)Back-propagationofrecewersfnrh~,
(M'<fJ~uceJ04)

-------- _

~ Rop":,''"H'b:S ~
-

'

~~

-~

''

,e-:,--+
'

fl - 't"~>,-1">,-lf"l"~t

(b) (,n..,n s function in U

'

(b) CFP Curnrnon focus po111t

~---=_updute~~en'sfun~~i~~t :"o ~ 4--=----~ompare Correla~ion=irnageofD":

V'

:.

(-ne:o.tpomtl>

-~=~-<i-invertGreen'sfunctions
,-bujl_d_)\:1_()-~-1.)

hrst the n'ceners ,re back-pwpag<Hrd tFJgure 23-() lO llusli!g <1 pr<:'deliued
(,een's functton (hgure 7 23-b) Reruember tlldt the Green\ funoion represen !S traye]tJmes (and we1ghts) liom a pomt dt the ~urface down to the unaged
pomt D.

lnstead of propagaong the shot clown to D, the bad..-pmp.1gated tra(C 1~ kept

illld placeJ m a gathei at the locatmn uf tht' shot
Tlm lS now repeatrd for all shob, crearmg in tlus wa~ l giltlwr that the illlthor
calls a 'common locus-pomt' (CFP) g.1the1 Kmematll'ally, tlu~ gatlwr correspond~ tu trilYdtuncs from illl ~hots \tu D d sJtuatwn geometnc,tlly lflentiG
7 2.1-a) \\'e cuncludc that l!me1 oj lhe ,reen's

352

 If both travdwnes agree, then the two other operanon~ of the classtc.!l
Km_hhoff surnmation can be perjj1nned
- Ftrstly the pmpag.ltton of the <,ource, whKh t<, a wetghted tune ~htft l1te
wetght-. and ttme ~htft~ ,re gtven exattlv by the corre-.ponJng trace ol the
Gteen'~ funcnon.
- Secondlv, thc summatmn of the cuntnbutmn of e.1ch -.hut
In the CFP rnethod, the two operatwm tan be carned out m a ~mgle correl.mon
.,tep to pmvtde the rellectJvlty m O Remember that eath shot (arrie~ mf(trmation
that ts .\VA dependent Cunvcnlton<~l &tack.mg ytddo; the average reflecttvtty and
\\"A anah~~~ rcqwrcs that the contnlmuon uf each IIJ<"hvJual shut 1~ kept (m fdtt, an

!ore a t1mc proce~~.

PrcS l'\f as opt'ratmns do not nced
to be symmetncal. Tu transform tn depth, the Green\ functmn\ travelmnes mmt
nov. be mvcrted nto an explicJt depth \e]ot} mudcl
CFP technology brmgs mtele,tmg ms1ght mto Kuchhoff sununatwn he
update of the Green'~ fun(_tJOD !S a -.unple pr{)(_ess that n>flverge~ m a tew JteratJOnS.
lt has yet lo find mdu&rrul apphcatmn Challenges for tht'i new approach mtlude
dfinenr exten,Jon tu 3-D, handlmg Irregular an]m&~tmn and Green'-. tunctwn mYet'Jon to huild the final depth modd
\\'e return now to Illore c]a.,~JCal approache-. Ielated to modcl-based tehmques,
startmg W1th the dassJCal 'Deregov.slr loop'
Deregowski loop
Oeregow&kl ( 1990) proposed an
ficld, whKh used an

!ter<~ Uve

method for the e~tlllldUon ola l'reSDM

1mage .;athcn to

terta111 mdusrnal -.uccess. adopung rhe name oftrs ongmator

Flgwe i :!4 outlmes the mcthod shemat!Callv In thts diagt arn, ,hown fot ,monce ag<~m m 2-D desp1te the fan the pmcedure !S essent1ally applted m 3-D,
wc once more .~-.sume a lavcr-ba~t'd rnodel and that \\'e are about tu eo;umate the
\ do1 1t1es for thc tlurd laver
Thi~ &tep begm~ br as.,.gmng an lll!Ual velouty \'. below the second mterfa(e
down toa depth heyond wlnd1 the thinl inte1fa(_e can be expected tu occur ('Ooodrng' techmquc) A PreSD\1 of the data ., then carned out usmg rh1s rnodel The
object.Jve ufth1' JrntJal operalJOn 1' to compute unagc gathets lll thuse postwns X,
\Jere velonty <~nahsc~ need tu be perfurmed, t\-p!Cally every 500 rn
~ote that at th1-. stage, nugrauon ma} be carnetl out umquel} fur a spenfic target 1one, ib allowed by KiichhotT method' In this case, rhe targt>t .mnes wll be the
trace St"ts where velonty anal}~e~ will be taking place and wtrhm the depth mtenal
.11ound the laver concerned lt abo advi~able to image a nurnber of"vdocuy line~.
the enttre data,et.
the model 1n DcJeguwskJ's mcthod lakes pltuf. 111 the lime dommn
,

phnt~

1'

353

PreSO M

---rl-

Updatrd'\-~,mX 1

Updot<'<l V~X 1 )

=\~~

rf . J
:::

--"--~

&_____

Depth to t1mc tonvei~on ~ n1ade \ertKali}, u~IJJg the loL.J vdootte' dledlVdy used
111 m1gration J he jmtification for rhi~ is that the depth nngralmn, e~t>n for an
appruxtmate wodcl, \Hll h<~vc cffecl!vck removed mo;tun~posJtwmn.; dkct'i <J.5SOuated w1th ovei]vmg laye., and bwught thc mgr ated data for ead1 oftset to a po<,ltmn close lO theu real 'crncallmation
lt !S <Jt tlu& 'tage that the tmJ.gc gatl1ers are .malped and lorrectmns apphcd

354

'\ re;Jdual vd{)(Jt} aJMiy>~~ tnuld be perlollned hetc, hur m t.Kt, we preler to apph
,mmvcnc 1\' ...,IO tOIJ"ectwn, t!Jell to perliHm thc ~tand.1rd \clouty .malp1~ Oh~crve
thc sum!aolv 1\!lh the P1eSl M "RMO ruurc' dc-,nbed ahU\e Tl1e 1\l<\jOI difli:-lellrc
1'> th<tt untllno\\ rhe tondmon111g ot d<tt.l plwr lO lclocJlv
ha., been {\\e
appm'<lmanom
lllJI kedlv bettcr J hi-, !S heC.!lhC PrcSDJ\.1 i1J~ fc\\Cr of
PrcS"lM
lhe <tl!ll ; to find a \eHJL<tl rrn-, 1elour lt ; tllerduic Jl,lfllral lo ,1pph .m
m 1 cr-,c 'J ...,IO unrcdwniHth <tll "\J\10 1clout cqu<tl to the loL,Jiltil'> 1clonr} lot rhe
\,,
nlrHid th<ttmusl therdorc he L<tkuldtcd at thi-, '>l<~gc

Jocanon (pro1 1dmg the \eloclt; h,; hcen

lt 1'-Jll thcrelore be
kl(!Umatc, using ttn~ 11\pothe>J'>, to
the llltCJial rnl'> vcloCJt} olthe th1rd
!J\Cl at tl11; !O<at1on b\ <~ppl~mg thc J)x formula l2 IH]
lo the pro<cdurc <an then he llld<le b\ m<otporating a lcrfollOI\'lHg the d!,lUSS\Oll

to theck that thc tdlenmn-. m the 1magc gatheJ& ale

mm llattened lf th1., JS uul the C<t>e,
;hould unside luc<tlh efining the anal},, \Ve -.hould hm1cvcr be <t\\ac of tl1e f,n th<tt the pucc;s ma not <omeJgc m
medt<t
rhe rnult lu., bccn

Analytical inversion of image gathers

The Je. ofJ11Vt'Itmg 1mage gather; wa; first puhhshed h} Al-Yatn.1 (l\:!8\:JJ, whu
IHthin the prestaLk
domam he pnn-

depth dom,nn

would
1cl0< ll} ;roo snMII nnage~ fmm l<trge olhet&

35B

a~ tmaged at -.hallowet depth; rhan those rrum shoner ollsets,

bend duwnwarcb when global \elocitie& \\'ere too large
L'lus ~ tn hne \\ith wh.1t we ;howed tn Ftgure 7 13 wtth PreSfM lhe shape ofthe
tmage garhe; 1s defined b\ a paramerer y esumated vta a semblance-basect 'y-analv"'s', m a -.imiar way to ;tandard residttal velontv analys1s
'
1he most c[flicult ta-,k n tlus method ;tu tran;form an e~nmate ofy, cone;pondmg to .1t1 e~t1mate ofthe global e1ror m vclocities, mto an mdcauon ot the error
wttlnn each llldlVJdualla\e Tlus can be achJeved Ha ,]ea-.r-rnean-;quare-. optlmtzatwn process, followed b\ .m update of the mude! Yet bemg ba-.ed on a "'mplistlc
wodel, aTI} analylKal formulatwn of y wlll need to be tterated until con\ergence !S
reached, wluch fur complcx 30 sJtuatum-. -, not necessaul} a;;uted
AJ-YiJ.hva'; unerston method has neverthelc.,., heen fiu ther de\cloped (Etgen,
1908, BJ!lelte f/ d 2000) Coupled w11h the V(/.) cummon aznnuth PrcSDM (see
.1bove) used a; the first tteratwn, 1t pruv1des an cffinenl \\ay ofbwldmg a modelin
hmtled complcxity envlnmment'> l'he wethod -, \\ell smted fo1 aJea& W1th smooth
lateral veloC!t} va.ltons, but vetttcal vdout} grachents. lts 1ntnnstc a;;umpuons
prevent 11 being applied "' complc>.. tecronic&.

Ray-tracing-based inversion methods

1he lktegO\\~ki loop and analvtKalnver~wn uf IInage gathets both a;sume a relat!Vely Simple earth model Other methodo; have iheefure been devsed to compensare for tlm dta,...back S01ne of them
on ra} u,JCng, freemg them ftom the
JestrKt\e h\potheses uf the original
\\'e will chscuss tlm~e rnethocb here.
tr,velrme nver;wn, r ay-ba~ed mge-gathei tnversln and stereotomugraphy
Traveltime inversion

cummun-ofhet ;ectwn; are created \.1-tth mumnum pruce~;mg (amphtude

tecuver;, tiltenng, deconvolutton, perh,p; a patt,tl -.tack after Je'ldu,] :\1~'10 correomn, et) tu prevent modtfrmg the kmernanc; of the honzun'i Thosc hor!7ons
conespondmg to mterfaces tu bt" m ve ted are then ptcked. The -.er uf ptcked tm.vf.!-

fmel T(X,,, h) {11r vano u\ oftlels wn1t1lule1 thf mJut &Ita ofthe method
In tlw invenwn pn>ce-.~, omwon-undpomr ray tr<lcmg pruv1de; the ;o]uuon to
namely Ldlculaung the mudelled travelt1me; T"'"' fur the pre-.ent
modcl
diffeJence bet,...een the real data, 1 e the tJavdurnes p!Cked un the
con;t.mt-offset -.ectwm, and thc S\ nthetK data .Jculated u-.mg rav ti.ICJng m the

356

currcnt model!S quannfied h} a 'cost fuJKI1011' h may he etheJ a JooT-mean-~quare

of the'e ddfererKes, 01 an aveage ufthen ab~olute value fhe ~olul!otl ru wver~ion
\\lll be the mudcl that mlnlm!Ze; th1s co~t lu11ctio11 rhrough
,\:, oflen happem w1th 111VeH10n, patnilady 111 thuse
l.uge nwnber of pararneten to be fuund, lile
en;ured b, 1mpo.,mg constamt; un the model
une 1; to as;ume a
,mooth model, wluch reduces the number of rnodcl paraweten to wveit A secund
opuon; to add .1 'regularuanon' lerm m thc co~t functmn !\general .md nuw cla;;Kal ;olunun to ttno; ptohlern \\<l" dlscu.,;cd b\ l;antola (1987) It Co11;1st' of addmg
, teim tu the cusl lunctmn, "'luch w1ll lun'ilr.!lll the 'iolutwn to be 'cloo;e loan mi tia!
g-ue.,' A 'modrl
ITUllnx', denuted
enable; u; to cunlo] how far the
oplimal solution , .]Jo,...ed tu dev1are hum
initialmodcl Another 'dala !OVanamr matnx', denoted C""" Slmllarly cuntmls the accUI<tl'} wnh wh1ch we lnow the
d,a rhe generallorm ofthe cost functwn Co;t(m), for a currenlmodcl m, uften
mt't m 111\t'I<,\UI1 probkm~ 1'

Co<t(m)o&\[r(m)- r ]' -c.:. [r(m)- r Hm-m,,,]' -c.~ [m-m,,,J),

[7 10]
11 hcre m 1; the \ectol of the CUit t'nt m o del pararnelet' In the ca;e of F1gure 7 25,
1t \\ould be the l\' +M pararnetei'i de11ning, re<,pecti\cl), the N nude; controlltng the
depth of the thud i11te1face .1nd thc M mtenal vclucitie; defined m the ttnrd laver

mo[[z,[, ,[v,,J.:.,j.

17111

\\here T, (m)<, the ;et of uavelume'> computed thruugh the rnodcl m and T 1" the
'ct of travdtune'> mc,;ured on the real data Fmalh, m,., Jepte;ent~ the yector of
depth; Z and vt'lucllico; V uf the mJtJal wodel
lf for m;ta11ce, the ;lgnal-l-110l;e ratio uf the se!SJiliC d<tta l'i poor and p!ckng
ofthe tra1cltillle'> T JS ddficult, 1t doe~ not makc ph}'lC.!l ~en;e to fi11d a rnodel that
perfecth cxplam" thesc U11Cert.1111 mput 1alues rhi& eiTect C<tn be quantified h, a
11.1de-off betwet'n
Cm,,1 In rln~ U;t' the mli.!l mude! pla" a
l.irge1 Ile, which me<111"
rnu;t be e;tntuted hom .mother ;uuHe uf mfonnallon. for m-,tance \\CJI d.!t<l, "'1th a suHinent degee of .!Cll.ll'<l(\ Cunve;dy, f the
d.dta aJe of 1eT)' good qu.]lt}, the mJtialrnodcl wll h.!\ e le.., we1ght .1nd the data WJII
drn e the model buJdmg
\:mom optml.r.atwn techmque~ can be U~t'd tu fi11d the modd m that lllltllnH7es
the cost functo11 Co;t(m) The wost commo11ly u~ed une opetate'
At
the denvaU\e& ofthe
e.1ch 1te1atwn the modcl ; updatcd h\

Other optiul!Latwn techmque<,. ;uch as 'genelu

have been pn>pmed m the hteratme A11

3.1l7

havc hecu deploycd !\ claS\Kal approad1 1' to pKk tt a\clttines lll

and to u~c time"deuHgrdtJOn (an exten;on to
11] and [!':i 12]1. tu c'ttnMtc the ta\\ trmeltune; T Yet
pnmattly bcutuse uf the atnount of work requuccl
thc lra\cltnnes Alrhuugh 1l wa;
at the end o[ the l\:180;. thts
thc uuttall'tcSJJM
develupcd un a largc tndusmtmduccd at the ~tan of the 1\:!90;

358

Stereowmography
Srereutomugtaphy ts an extensmn of bolh ttavdnmc mvenmn and IdY nugTanon m the sen;c thdt 1t e~ttmdte; velocines b\ using not onlv tro.neltimeo but aho
preslack tune-dtp& ptcked a-. ~lope; of evento 111 thc dara;et Atwthcr tmpoit.u\t dilfecnce frorn trayc\time tn\enum t> that now we do not mvert contmuou; 1e!lectun
(ln the lOlltl<lry, an\ ;egment uf thc lolaiJdieLtor R, that L<ln be tdcnttfled tn rl1e
pte~tack data;et \\ti\ be u~ed l'he l un-.equenle -, that reilntur depths <11e c~nm.ued
ptecewtse, Lhe mam objecnve bemg to e<,Lnnate ,e]onncs Lontmuuu-.1~ on a gnd
1 he techntque prov1dc' ns wtth a gndded velotit} modd, whid1 ,n sub;cquentlv be
thl' 1nput to rnap Illlgr<~tlon, 01 prcferahlv PeSDM Iu the lattcr ca;c, honzon-. aJe
chrecth on the P1cSDM
beluug' to the
ol 'slope romog:r<~phK ntethud;'
(R1alnnkm,
19HG) }oral! the;c rnethud,, thc ky po1nt 1; to recogm.r.e
rhat f'."o ;\ope' of an cvent p10v1de u; witl1 information about the ve\o<.:il} 10 the .. ub~urfate

he n1ethod ; oulhncd 111 Ftg:ure 7 :!6 ComHiei an event on <1 ;hot g<~ther, fui
''hit h "'e know the source cooJ<hnate " and the offset 2h, aml hcnLe the teceiyer
uonlmate x, 11 "'e nlt'd;urc not unlv il<, tune t, but also 1LS t1me-chp dt,,'dx (Ftgwe

dt/dx

Modei:[Y,.I:[(x.,z,.ljl.)\ 1

~"1

l'nSD~

---r--t
~~a>trac1ng 1\fodelledda;:- -lC~'
------...

(,radJents

-1

lim~st J,"

;lore,atrccenclp
slope>atsnurcer

-<>

lla~foreaehloxalntl~
w'""""'' """ "

rcceJ\ercoordmatcX-

NO
1

(c)ln>ersoonprocess

359

7 26-b), and tfwe know thevclonty fidd V(x,z) m the ;ub~utf.u_e, we lmow the emergence anglc .u the rcCe!Ver and can hack-propagate rhe ray 111to the ;uh;urface
(I<gure 7 2G-a) "1 h1; ; ;~m[;u to rhe normal-ra} mtgrariun tl~<tt ~<-e met m Chapter
5 (Fgure-. 5.06 and 5.07), rhe dtfference beng that we are now 111 the pte5tack
domatn rhetcfore, ~<-e need tu repeat the operatwn \Hth the rav that cmege; at tht>
sou1ce locanon, for whKh 1-1-e measurc the slope on rhe ummun-reCe!ver gather.
Th1s mvolve; sortlllg the data as common-reever gathers, ;eiectmg the trace wuh
the ~ame ;hot and rcce!Ver, pKkmg the event at the ;ame u me t,, and me.1sunng the
tune-clip dt_ldx of the e\ent \-\'e stop the back-pro>.~.garum when the t\.vo ra,-s cross
and sum the two travelttmes. lf tlus ;um 1; dffetent from the measured travehime
t,,, 11 means t<tt \'(x.y) 1; nut orred and needs tu he updated The d1stngushmg
characteristtc of stereotomogtaphv, compart"d ro other rnethod-., 1; rhat u cunsiden
rhe nusfit of .tll t}pes of data parameter. the slopt>~, the po;lton of tbe source and
rece!\ en and the total traveltnne; The joint mye;~on o! ,e[ocl\ and reflector segmt>nl.'> ensttns a greater robustnes-. of the method
Btlletre and L;unba.r
dlied the method ;tereotomograph~ by analogy
~<-llh opt!C'i whcre using n-vo
angles uf pt>rceptwn (m uur case the 'vision'
[wlll the ;oun-c and the recel\er) .!lio~<-S an estmate uf rclief and d1st;wce of ;m
ub1ect They posed tht" esumauon of velooUes a; an mverse pohlem as follows
(F1gu1e 7.26-c)
The data cue a ~et of p!Cked event; fo1 ,...hKh we knuw rhe ;ource and rece!Ver
oordinate; x, and x" the total tr.!velume t, and the tlme-thps p, = dt/dx and
p = dt/d>.. at rhe rece!Ver <tnd ;ource loutiuns re;pecnvei}
"1 he model -, mm not only rbe gndded \elocity ficld \' but ,lsu the set of
p;urs of r<l~s ddined b~ then '>tarnng pumt (x., 1,.), tht>ir tiaveltnnes t, and t,
and theu anglcs y, and y, m deplh (that 1n fact corre,pond tu as-.ummg local
reflt>Uols wuh d1p 9 and rellection angle 1p)
"1 he forward modcl ts the dasstcal ray traong from R. tluough the velocny
wodcl \',, for anglt'& y, and y, and dunng tlavclume t"
TI1e myeswn prohlem h t,l find pa1r5 of Jay& (.!lHl cono;equently the locatwn
and dtp of ;egments uf rdlecrors R,,) ,md the gndded velouty ficld Y,, that
after r<~v tracing, produce rnodcllcd dala equal to the mea~ured dau ;ource
and re(t'!Ver Imauons, total ttavdtnne t, and tune dtp'i dt,,(h <tnd dr /dx at the
surface. llllS wili be mathematically addte5sed, as in travdtime tnverswn, by
nlllllllllE.lng a cusr funcnon that mclude5 thc;e vanous terrns
!"he non-umquene"" pmblcm t<, al'>o addJeo;;ed by <tddng n pnon 1nformatwn
m tbe fom1 ol an Jlllt!al model and the mverswn IS st.1bilized bv data and IIDttal model covanance matnces Heme the co~t hmctwn !1.1& a 'tructurt' ;filiar
to equation [i IOJ, although there are n1on data lerm;
l11lletre and Lambar ( l \:!98) proposed ;ulvmg the mtnliTIILatmn pmhlem a; an
\\htch nece55Hate& cmnputtng gr<~dtenb, 1 e ho\\ mucb do
tl1e
data thange \\hen we change one of the p<~Iametes of the
rnodel (Figure 7.2-c) n.e cornputanon of gradJents 1s a b}-product uf ray
uacmg
nt' uf the mo<,t l,honous
uf the method 1; ro collect the data. !"he authun
prupot.ed .local
to mea..ure tmethps. Ths metbod, aho known as 'r-p
and','lll', con;st<, of omputmg the (po;o;thly weghted) sum uf ><tlilples .!long hneai
slopc; p wnh mtenect tnne T <~nd pKkmg the ;lope p th.ll g1ves the lnghCI ampli1,

360

tude The po;sJhdlty and rhe ad\anl.age; of pcrfurmmg the

PreSDM domam ha\ e also been demo11-.rrated

m the

Stecutomographv has }Ct to find mdustnal apphcatwn espccrally when extended to

)-D {Chalard el d 2002) However, it i~ a po~;rhlc appruach to 'fine tunmg' a wodd
,rlrcad} re,rsonabl} ,...el! .ppoxJmated lt abo gwcs an mterestmg pe;pecuve un
nncrsmn wethod; ,rpphed to -.et-.mic ,e]o( it\ c;tunatwn

Ray-based imabre-gather inversion

Tra\cltune mvct;Jon and &tercutowogaphy "'ork 011 aw data, but
method., (al1 a!..u be apphcd to procc;sed data such a., 1mage
ff
the analyticalunage-gather mvet;~on '" hmtted to fairly snnple modcb, ra}-ba;ed
rllVel&\011 oflcn an mterestmg and flcxThlc altcrnanve F1gme 7 27 ts a .'>lmphhcd
ur\cr~wn

lmogogthccotX 1 lmag<grtbootX, ln>agegathoratX,

(b)Cunentionageg"thers'panel

361

and conceptual dMgram ol une po;<,Ible appla;mon ol the method Here, we are
dealmg w1th a h}b11d modd rhe par.tmders to be mverted are tho;e o! tite nlocJty update fidd AV(x, y), l'.bich 1., to be apphed tu the initidl vcloLt} mudcl \','""m
order to 1mprove lhe ll.ttne;; ol evenrs on rhe 1mage g.tthen Th1; vdonty update \S
defint'd O\er <1 grid uf poinb, whKh ma\ (lr cxarnplc) be the nude point<. uf tv.rochmen<,Imwl sphne lunnmm, ll1e node-puml \.!lues alt' denoted 8V,, 111 Figlue
7 2:1, \\ht'reJ, Inlt'rf.tce; ,Jre defined as tuneo; (ot surface; m 3-D).
P1eSDI\f w1Lh the llllll.tl rnodd outpuls a p1clunmary sd of muge gathen The
modd 1., a;swned to be .,uflinently do;e to re.tlity tu gl\e <Ul mtcrplt>table Iffiag-e
th,lt ma} be p1cked Tlus pwv1de; us w1th Lhe uuent depth map Z, ot horizun 3.
l'he
gathcrs are thcn mterpreted <~nd pKkcd For e.J f>OSillon X, t"llcach olhet, the non-llattlt''s 8L (x, h associatcd with the IniLial model
1., me.t<,Uied fhe .unnol'\ ;tu upd,lte tht' modclw >uch a \.\'a~ that dunng- the nex.t
depth wigratwn Iter<~tum, the&e erron w11l be glohall} reduced ore\ en dumnated.
Onct' agam, th1s .n he pu.,ed m terms or .!lllll\er;e prohlem In tho; Ill\ersion,
the dirtct pwblem mvolves lindmg thoo;e thfterences ll,7 (x,,h) 1nduced m the 1mage
addlerente m vdoLit\' from rhe Initial rnudd The unknown; m rhe probaie
la\ ti The cust funltion 1; a llle.t;ure of rhe flatne.,., of nnage gathe1 s, poo;o;bl) mnplemented h~ a cunstr.int on the dep;u ture ftom
the Luuent rnodcl, ,s m cquatwn [7 IOJ
In orde1 ro reduLe rl1e ll,~\ 111 the ncxt teatJon, "'e tvaluate the 'grathems'
d~L,.iib\',,,, whuh define the rate of vanat1on ofthe error; ll,L. from the hunzontal at
postJOil x .tnd
lhe mude! at a node
puinl 'nth uurdmates (t,jl
thc currenr modcl
by'"} tracrng.
Suwc chalienges 111 tlu; pmce;; mclude the (amomatedl pKkmg of1mage gathen ,Jnd the cakulatwn olthe gr.tdJent;.
1f "e mtend to take account of
the lact that 7, change; .lt the same time
Anuther d.J..',~IC problem in Jnver;Jon 1; choo;tng thc number ofparametets tu In,ert .\~ al\\a\s, there ;
no unuue ~olutwn tu tlw problcm and comuamb un the
>muothmg m
the final modd ur the ~eparatwn thal Wlli he Loler<~ted m
mHMI mudd, mmt
theicfore be Inhuduced
Une of thc Interc&tmg fcaturts ; rhat the method ,n be ea>1h extt'nded to
aru~onop!C rnvt"I'>on "11m unphc~ addmg amsotrop!C parameter; to rhe modd,
rlm; tncre.l>mg the non-un1queneo;s prublem Mole data need tu he mtroduced,
t} f)!(<tlh the depth of rdlector., at the welh when the.,e ale .tV<ni<~hle, amsotropy
mfor matJOn fmm borl"hole '>tl>mK, ur even core lahor<Jtory mea'>urement;.
Sud1 >thcme~ h.!\ e heen
mdustnalh 10 3-D, etllt'r ISutwpKally or
,m;otrupiCalh (e g
19Y9)
lnveiMOn tuols ,re ne\N ~tf.!IghtforwaHl to use many people p1efer the more
<oll\Cntwnal '>Clnt\Hlg <~pproaches that we (On.,Ider In the IWAt <,t'ctwn.

Velocity scanning
Scannmg ,-duJttes and chetkmg ,...[11d1 one be&t Jlatten~ muge gather; and provde~ the 'be'>t' and 'mu~t geologiCa!h ~ound' unagt' uf the .. ub;uiface s a metho1t
thar Wl' h,we lllct alrt'ad\ for PJ<:STM and th.tt comes rnmt easil} to mmd \et tlus
l'i rnore ea;Ih ~aHi tiMn dont' 1he nmnber uf po.,sihlc 'cloclt\ fidds <; mfimte,

362

1-llil~t

eH"ll a >mglc tC>t {_Orrespnndmg ro, {_Omplete mtgr<liiOU met <1 J-D d<tt<J \niunte ts a!teady not lar lton the turrent lmllt> uf morlern tumputmg taMCH\ lt 1~
tlm~ c~seut1al to ICstrwt the fie!J ol 1elontv murlel~ to he te~tcd "lo thb cnd, \>e unte

ll'o<' uf mo1e con,euliott.JI

hglllc i 2K -,J...er{_he.'> lile prmr1pk bchmd the .!pjHtMch It l' Lwh >mnLH tu
ltgmc 712. 11htch dcpttl'> the '>tan <~ppto<~ch 111 1'1eE-,T:Vf llui\C\er, ,, \t.Jn m

Ne\tla~e.-s

-----------

---

~~4}inalizeV,andZ,~

363

l't('SDJ\1 ts rlflerent m the s<>use that 1t has tn be perfotmed layer-h,-layer down"ards we musr detetmme the vdocity all(\ the geontetry oroverlymg layen before
lnl'reS"l "1, the pllk ur,dnoty ,( .1 ttnle t can,
at any uthet lime, aud ~ume geulog1al the momeUT when "e aJe ddimng the thm:l
bycr that has heen
an nniial ,c]onty fuuLtwn V, f!1ts fumnou rnay be
cun~t.mt, but It ts reLomrnenrkd that dt least a \TrtKal
should be tn~erted
m tu 1he functwn for rhe redsons outlmed .Jbo\(',
latnal variations
detcrnuued by a standard prcl11ntnary >tudy lt ts tmportant to make thrs tnltla]
murlcl
to restrict the nunther of vdouties to he tested

too

the upumunt si<Kkmg \clunty

We tl1en need tu asse~., tn what extent the Illlltal vduottes llldY di\Trge fi-nnt the
adudl ,cJontw~. whwl1 means ddimng tl1e range of vanattous le>ted dbuut the tliitial functton Ha~ed un t]lb, a sene> uf PreSO M runs are performed, usmg velonhes
varymg wiih!ll a de.trly ddined range In practice, the u~e uf Knyhhuff nugration
nteans unly havmg tu c.tkulate tntage gathers al those precktermmed X, luLatwus
"e chuo>e, "hi<h
again rerl11<e~ tl1e ~-akubtlon tinte "lore cuntplete
qualtty ~-untrol dK'Lks,
a> fulll'reS 1M ovcr vdnuty hue~ or ~en~tlt\tty tests to
apertuie, el~-, >hould ahu be used m the rntcrpi'-'Iatiun uf the ga1hers
In hgure i 2R, we tmplterl that the scleLttun of the upltntulll percentage for tlattemng rdkcltous ou the
"as mad<
Nuthmg pre\('nts us though
from usmg anv ofthe
and tools for the mterpretalwn tl1at \\'e
n:Mdual sta< l..rng velocny
aualv>Is .tnd iu,erswn
The chotee or

to he ntore l.tUIIOU> \\'1th th1~ rev1~ed and

to Larry out a uew depth mtb'Tdtwu tu
f&tory
Smu' we are dealmg here wtth ,!ayer-cake \dooty modd, hefore passmg on to
the fourth
rhe depth ufhm1.r.on Z,(x, y) .ti the ba~e ofthe tlnrd !ayer has sttll
to be
ll1e quahty LOntrol PreSD\1
effectivclv MTomphsh this In ths
t~e. the lll.tp for the hase uf the laver can
piCkerl from the result of thts
nugiatwn 1 hi> represenls the hest methurl. .ts the mter1neter by tlus stage wdl posse<,> the bes! .~,,n]ahle sei~mtc Im.Jge tor thrs mterf~Ke N une the kss, other k labonous nKthod'>, Sulh a> pust-Sid< k deptl1 tmgt atHm, map mtgrattun, el< , are poSSIhle 1he anen,] of niethurls 1s extel\St\T, wuh expenence gutdmg the opwnum
LhotLe for a speciti< prubknt
Continuous velocity analysis
.\ >trat.tgem firsl unroduced bv Jeannot ,md Ber<~nger (19Y4) I> ,]so wurtl1 notmg .Jt tlus >t<~ge They stated that tf the whok vdouty modd I> mulriphed bv a scalar
u, the new (,reen's fimctwn~ are "('arlrlv rlnrved from the tlllt~<~l onc~ l'hts mvolve~

rapully calcuWtmg nnage gathen jor diffnent fJerufltage} of a lt(riiUilal }/!/ of vdonllt}.
Ths concept was put 111 practiu' in vduoty scannmg . .1~ pit:"sented by Au~eben_
d al (1996) and kd to rontmwms PreSDi'dve/(J(d'j"nnaly_m At prese11t, a hmitauon of
both l'reS1 M and l'reSDM I> the spatial samplmg of \"elocity
whether a
~can oran mvel-~IOII teLhmque 1s .1pphed hgun's 1 12, 1 27 and
all highlight
the necessary mterve11rton ol an mterpietcr In the migi<~Unn velooty analys1~
piU(S. Lemal&tre et al (20111) and Jones el al (2000b), on the other haud, have
prmed the value ul h1gh-densitv vclonty piCL.s
Sem1-autnnMted rechruqnes then need tn lx- devdoped and appled, both to
1-eduu' the spaual samphng of analpe> and, at the ~ame t1me, tu keep the manpm\'er tune (and cu~t) aiHi the pro1ect's turuanmnrl tune w1thm reasonable bounds Ar
pre~e 11 t, mdustry'~ prefere11ce I& ddin1tdy towards automated p1cl..~ g111ded by ~eed
value~ p~eked by the tmerpretec l'br a given ueratmn, the mterp1eter can piel.. the
11me or depth honr.on of ntere>t anrl the mage gathers on a 1egubr but coarse
gnd Amomated prm.esses (an then \martly' mtcrpolate these }JIC!...~ at much den~er
bm Jwatwns, he11ce producmg the h1gh-densJty or 'cnlltilmom' vdunty analys1~
In PreSDM aiHi PreSTM, tlu~ wdl be done 111 the domain uf mage gillhers as
hgure-. i 12 and 7 2t! suggest. In PreSTM, we have another optwn, whKh 1~ the
RMO mute, usmg mveislOn methods, such as those presented 1n Chapter 4 (Figure~
4 08 ,md 4 O!J)
De Ba.r.elauT el al (2001) d1scu~~ed the opt1mal dens1tv of velouty analysi~, shuwmg thilt the mtnnsJ< hmJts on resolut1un (infonnatmn nmtent) w1thm the data only
as small a~ A/ta11a, where A 1~ the venwal wa,elength uf the carner frequem:y
a 1s tl1e Ill!gratwn aperture In other wonls the lateral extent uf
the post-angrauon Joi"t~nel 7one litmh how much resolntwn we can obtam Conseque11tly, there 1s no pn1nt ll1 ~antplmg velunty mure findy to get the fullmtmmatwn
tOIIttnt. Howcve1~ 11 1~ prof1tably sampled mm"t findr fUr qualltv control purpo~e~
as l'igurc 7 29 (ta~n fi-om J.emal~tre el al 2001) llustrate~.

Statistical search
all poss1ble mudds to ti11d the une
optHll17es the flatne~s of event~ on the 1n1age gathen, >mne anthurs
suggested usmg st.ItlSIIcal 01
opmnv.aton rnethod~ Purely stat1St1cal
dpproache~ mvolvmg 'andorn
of paramctcr~ have been umsideied, e g
Monte Cario te~hniqnes, but
adapted lo lhe tlnle ,Jlld co~t
con~hamts of the tests
OptlmiZatiOII re~ean:hc1s h.1ve cumequentlv begun tu ~earch tor mme Pffinent
methods. There are tKo cnucal factun that mu~t be tal..en 1nto lOII>!{leratiOII"
the cuq ufthe CJ.kulatwll uf eath test-ru11,
the vcry larg<: number uf paramcten requn-ed to rldine the nwdel
The~e two tacton have the di~advantage that ~ume 'nptInllm' ~ulutiuns, 1 e thu~e
solutrons for whKh the f1amess of event~ on the unage garhers appears to be rcallled m fnll, do 11ot currespond tu d real mude!. Th1s ~~ the probkrn uf 'local mmlma' encountei"trl 1n 1nverswn proces~es .Jul and
publ1~hed .Jn
example of an optlniiZiltiOn tech111que, where
are apphed tu .1
panicular depth mig1atio11 pwbkm Cenetit
optnmzi\t1un effectivdy
prevenTS an mvenwn process bemg bim ked by a smgle so!Wioll lrnL.ed to a local

365

366

Anisotropic PreSDM
In the uext Lh,lpter "e <tddre>> tlnK-to-depth LUil\l'f'>IOH methnd> aud <Oll'>JdeJ
l'1eSDM as a toollm tln'>
We '>ho" th<tt
1~ ..t kcy clemeut uf Llw
mudd for en~unng d
data, cspeo<tlly
dtps
mtilf{Jng toob currcntlv u~ed m mrlmtu<tl <tpphc,llmus mduck
,Jllt>utropu Pn-S l \1, ami abo am~otrupK PreSD"l (e g lla'''hn-,

1 clonh

hrsth,
Sccundlv, (.reen~ timnwn cumput,llwu tuuh Inmt be extended tu handle the
anb<Jlmp} Th1s effe<ll'dy IIK.tm de,elopmg <1 dynamJL ray-tranng pad..1ge
111 an .JnJsotropl< model

.1\\nmedru thc\aStlnaJoritvofcascs,
romhtrKrUou uf these, tncludmg Y] and thc axe'> <hrectwn'>, ~ce definllou~ [2
l4
need to be esurnaled lor each bycr
the.'>e value~ 1~ uot an casy ta'>l.. ,\s mentwned prevtou'>lv, h C!ll he
e>lmt.J.tcd m
case~ dunng the tmte-pwre><,Jng pha>e S1hql
uJed d guod Je\le\\ ur .tlll'>O(roplL llllle pruH'>Slll!{ lloweH'f,
n .. tracuun of the two ncce~sary paramctcn req111res the u~e uf borehole d<tta a~ wcll
mne-to-ckpth nHnerswn 1'> ch~cu~sed m Lh<tptcr t! The<,e tC'churquc~
to exrend thc tntt1al modelm
l'reSD:V[
R.ty-tranng-b.J.,ed uwcrston o!
am-,utrup~ (Sextou and \\'illiam'>nn,
trop",

.~~

tKo more <hmcnsmn'>

Dip or strike shooting: sorne final comments on the interplay

between PreSDM-PreSTM, acquisition and velocities
fo cundude, 1\e rerurn tu an 1~sue that "as mtruduced m Chapte1 3 (Ftgt\IT 3 24)
ami "a~ dt'>Cll'>\ed lmdlv .J.t the begmnmg oftlus chaptcr (Jitg-ure 7 01) IC tlll' rcl.!tJOn>hip bct>~een a<quiSltmn ,md xuce'>Sing
A~ .tn illmtriltwn, wc take the schernati~- exampk uf the faulted mudd of JiJgurc
7 :lO A que'>tmu uften <tn~tng- when plannmg a :1-D sun-cy t<, whethcr tu shool 'dtp'
ur ,nkc" ()p shuutmg ts defiucd d'> pla< mg shut~ .J.JHl re< eiven alung the d1p dtrect]JC\' a1e plaLed pcrpcndwular to 1t l he il<h;:rnrage\ uf
hgm e 7 30 are hsted bduw

367

CIHipl~! 7

"'
a Stlot- receover..,.mtlth
8

n:lkctm'<hp

<p

rellector'.,.zomu!h

11'

noncru011.-n~h:

rdlecuon.vJmutb

lu stnM: shuutmg, all ~pen1lar raypaths are m the s.tmc cell uf the faulted
zoue. Hence the t1me-ofhet curve Wlil be regular PreS fM can be >uffinent to
resulve the magmg probkm and the velo< 1ty 1111he <di may be well e~tlmdt
ed
o Hu"c'cr, stnke velunTy hncs' are not adapterltu perfurnt quahty control on
the
and the vclunt} analyscs stnke line~ runnmg close to the
ofpuur quality and are very diffi{_ult to interpret
o D1p
veloe~ty hnes are theref(re recommended, but as III the ('a~e of
~tnkc shuutmg, thl\ ntean~ ('untphcated rc--,ortmg of data for the PrcSTM prondurc tu produce int.tgc gathen in the au1uisitiou cmss-lme drectwn. h1 fact,
thc naturdl sa1lline set-up 1~ wdl smted fnr eHiucnt handhng nf data 111 the
Kn-chhuff summatmn
A~ \\C are rle.tlmg wnh 3-D pnKc%mg. .thdsmg mnst thcn be avmded 1n all
du-cct1ons, mdndmg the d1p drectwn lt should be remembcred that in stnke
~hooting, aliasing m the dip direuion IS cuutrolled by the line tnten;al, whKh_
m nun, ha~ a <hrect 1mpa< t on the number of !mes tu ~aii or the number of
streamen to tow, and ulwnatcly ou tl1c co~t uf the SIH'\TV
Cumcrsdy. d1p shootmg 1mphes the applKatlun of l'reSDM to mmge the
rdkdun m the vJcuty of all(\ anu~s thc fauit the hypcrbol1c ume-ofhet
curve as&umpllon 1\ not !oat.Isfted

Aktsmg ~~ less uf a Luncern m d1p

streamerrlrrcurousalways '>illallvth
l'reSD\1 will w01k propeiiy uuly 1f thc software pad..age
rnorleb (l.mlts,
and 1~ based un
are.Js \Jov.
raysm
veiSu~ 'smooth' murleh
11 th1s ~~ t!JC Lase, the 1mage .ttHli<Katwn uf the f~tult wJll
rlefiucrl

used ldll deal w1th

a <,lahle ray-U.Jong
wc are baLk al the
be nture dlCuratdy

Theonlv>\'ayto
cn.,ure that v.c get the mu'>t
a ref1ellwn
he to de\Ign an
th.tt v.e reLord reflccuons ovei all the rcfle< uou <oue> defiued for a

ncatly Jlusuatcd the rlfferenLe'> m the 1tnagc

obt.uucrl frum <hfrerent acqul'>itHm rlirectiou~ ,md how the pnKes~mg
m11ucnLes thcse rhffercn~-c~

huu-ufl>dumu>m lhtlnngathen

IefleL!Jons, but PreSDM Lau, m pnnuple, h,mdle anv type of nm1plexrty.

thuugb at the cu~t ot exphotly lnulding a depth-vducity modd Cost and turnaruund tune s(lll remam the kcy n1tena
PrcS 1M is most effectiw tfthen 1'> a linuted .nnuunt oflater,] ,,natum m thc

"'"'"'""'~'""' \\'e ha,e ~hown the advantage~ ,md abo \orne of the
Owe agam, l'reSDl\lm principie g1Vl'~ the mo~t accuratc rcMJit'>- 1n rsotmpiL medta The e>..tra k, e] ur <omplexttv that am<,otropv
arlrls tn thc Imagmg-vdu~ity C'>tlnlatwn prubkm .,hould uut be uudere~tlln.Jt
ed
An1sutmpy has a lm11ted (but nut totally ucghg1bk) llllpact on the unagc qualIlV huta ~uuug unpan on the aLcuracy of the estunate uf \Tlooty aud depth
In th1~ respe~t, 1t ad<h tu aud mtcrfeR'~ w1th the mtrm<,K Iesulutluu hm1tatwn.,
ufthe .,eiSmic merhod

369

In sunnn.tr, PreS 1 \1 1s fa~t bccommg- the stanrlMd UnK-pn:J{_essmg too] wtth

PrcSD\1 .t'> .t \ICII-ck'\cloped compkmcntary ntcthod llndoubtedh, thc laucr ,...
furthcr evolvc d> a nnnpeuror to PreSTl\1m the uear fillurc
Jorlay, antsotropu l'rcSD\1 appear-, to be thc
11 .trldre<,~es thc ts~11e of thc tohcn'ntc bet\'>'een
d.tt<t>d'> As thc merhod
wl1ok ofthc ncxt chapKr to
mven.!Ou, .tlthough thcoretualh ver~ .Jttracti\'e, 1~ '>llll Jntpr.!Lttcaltn
dlieut ,.,y~ of 1educiug the '>pMe of pns~ible
~olutwn-, b" 'mtcrpreli\e gculogKal' (onstr,nnt>

l'r~"~' k nl)\l ''"'"" ,lnd ' ' 1<>< Ill<''

References and further reading

AI-Yahya K (191'lY) \'elouty ,m,dv,~ b) lterJ.trH' pwfile nHgi<ltiOII (.cojJhVS!n, 54
7IR-729
Audebert F and Diet JP (1996) ( Rl'-~cJ.n~ hom 31)
dcpth mgrJ.trun A
new too! for \eloutv mude! builchng .JK 1 L\LF
ConfeJcncc
Audebert F, Guillaume P, Jones 1 and Zhang X (\ 99i). CRl'-sc.tns :lO l'reSDJ\f
mig1at1un \elont1 analvsh 1 1<1 zno-off~et tunw~raphic 10\CJ sion l'mreeding~ uf
SE(, Spnng 'ivmposnnn
BancroftJC, Geiger HD and Margrave GF ( 1998) The C(llli\J.knt oll~et method uf
p1estatk (IIIIC nugrat1011 (.eopln.>l<>, 63 2042-20.)3
Barnes S, Hawkins K and Fooks G ( 1997) Bettei
(;rabcn d~<~per> 59' EAGE Annual Lonfcrencc, se~~mn
Berkhout A (1997.t) Pushmg thc hmtts u/ SCisJmc unaging. I>;u t 1 l're~t.Kl.. nngr.t62 937-9.)4
tmn 111 tcrm~ uf doubk dvnanuc focusmg
Berkhout A ( l997b) Sersuuc lnVcr<,mn 1n \teps
Berkhout A, Wapenaar C and Verschuur DJ
mean~ of
t11o '>Cparatc lotusmg ~leps, part IJ 39'
Se'>SIOll
.\002
Berryhill JR ( 1979) '\ave cquahon datnmmg Groj!hj'\111. 44 1329-1314
Billette F, EtgenJ and Rietveld W (2000) l'l:bt.JLk depth nugranon u-,mg fJ.q 3[)
tomography G2 ' F:\(,t A1111udl Lonleiem e, Ses'>!On. L003
Billette F and Lambar G (199H)
1

Biondi B, Fomel S and Chemingui N (2001) Anrnuth moveout for 3-D pre~tacl..
1magmg In JD Se:,m( Explmatwn, pp 439--448 SO<Jety of E>..plordtlon
Ceophys1n~ts

Biondi B and Palacharla G (1995) 30 ckptl! nugrdtron by rotated \kClellan frltcn Gn1J/tywal Pro,peclrng, 43 1005-1020
Biondi B and Palacharla G (1996) 3-D p1e~ta m1gr.ttmn of conunon-azmmth
d.1ta Grof!hl'\111, 61 1822-1832
Bloor R and Deregowski S (lq95) lkmrgraton to tero offSet ti..i" SH, Annnal
lntc'rnatwnal Meetmg, Fxpanrled Ab\tr.Jcts, 1433-l43ti
Canning A and Gardner GH ( 1996) A two-pass .tpproxunatwn to 3-D presta~-k
nngratum Gmph)'Sin, 61 409--421
Castle RJ (199/J) A thcory uf normalnwvcout CrofJh'JIICI, 59 983-999
Chalard E, Podvin P, Le Bgat S, Berthet P and David B (2002) 3D ~tl'T-eotomo
graph!t mver~IOn on re.1l dat.t '>d i2"' SF(, Annual lnternatronal _\lecnng,
Expanded .\hmMts, 9'16-918
Chauris H, Noble M, Lambar G and Podvin P (2002)
fmm loc.tlly oherent cvents 111 2-D bter<dly heterogencom, meda, l'.trl 1
retw.1l a~peLt'>) and P.tlt Il (apphcanon'> on ~ynthetK and 1-eal dat.J).
67 1202-1221

Cherningui N and Biondi 8 ( 1999) Data regulannuuu by mven.wu to lnlmou

uff~et (ICO) 69' 1' SEC Annu.ll Interuatioual "kctiug, E>..pauded .\b~tracts,
1398-1-!0
Claerbout 1F and Doherty SM (192) \)own,...,m] cuntumatwn of ~ei~lllogram~
GmphJ.IiCS, 37 41-T)3
De Bazelaire E, 1ulien P and Robein E
aualy~Js? EAGE

Desrousseaux G, Lemaistre L, Sexton P and Williamson P (2002) Prestad. depth

Ini!{Iiltion \Jetherlands, an 1ntegrated methodu1ogy pro{_e~s1ng, mterpretatlon,
a1gorithm de\elopntent EA.CE i\nnua1 (.onferen~-c. ExteuderlAb~tidd~, B021
Diet1P and Audebert F (1990) .\ form on fmu.'>mg E/I.V. "kenng,
Etgen 1 (1998) V(':) 1-K presta~k nugrauon of commun-ofhct {_UllllllOiht.r.unuth
data \o1ume~. Pan ! "ll1eory tiR > Sl.GAnnual Internatl<ma1 -"leetng, Expauded
:\bsh<Kt~, 1835-H\38
Fagin S
"ludd ba~ed depth nnagmg Cmtnf /1/otn
.\'o JU (Ed RA
Youug)
Fome! S and Biondi B (199.~) 1 he time and ~pa{_e fonnulauon of a.r.Inuth muveout.
G5'" S~.{; Annuallnternatwnal "ketng. Exp.mrled Ab'>tracts, 1449-14.!2
Forel D and Gardner G (198R) A three-d1menswna1 pCispet uve on tKu-dmJCnswna\ rhp moveuul GeoJh_1111.1, 53 601-fi10
Fowler P
\"dunty-mdepeudent
uf se1~llliC reflecton ~'i-l"' SE{;
!nten~<~twual \leeung, ~e~s1un
Gardner G, Wang SY, Pan ND and Zhang Z
moveout aJHi pre>tack
1magmg Off.lhlill' TechnolofO Conference, O 1(
Gray S, Etgen1, Dellinger 1 and Whitmore D (2001) ~eJ~mK m1gratwn pmbkm~
anrl su1utHJm Gfophyscs, 66 1622-1610
Grubb H, Tura A and Hanitzsch C (2001)
uncenamty mnugratcd
Guiziou 1L and Haas A
Thn'e-dunC'uswual travdtme mvenwn m
58" S~.G Annua1Jntenational Meet1ng, E>..panrled Abstra<t~,
Guiziou 1L, Mallet1L and Madariaga R ( 1996) 3-D sei~lllK tnmogr.tphy un top of
the {;()CAD depth muddki Gnif!h'JIIi,l, 61 1499-1510
Haas A, Dezard Y, Guiziou1L and Duval1 (1987) SnsllliC tomographv m hetemSEG
geneou~ llle<ha "!he stu<ha~tic m\eisiun by ray {_Untumauon method
i\nnual !nteruatwnal "leC'tmg-, E>..pauded A.bstr<Kts, 836-838
m3Hawkins K, Leggott R, Williams G and Kat H (200 J)
The
D pre~tad.. depth
.\ {_i\~e .,tudv frum the Suutheru Nunh
1 enrlm; f.dge, 20
Hodgkiss G, Morgan WG and Lane GE (J 991) Suh-~urfa{_e ~tmctura1 unages fiom
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data at an uptunum vduntv m1ug a {_ust-dkive
i\nnual IutcrnatHmal \leeting, Expanded :\bstracts,

l.nh,mlt'd Lompo~te 3D
Houllevigue H, Delesalle H and de Bazelaire E
61" }';\(,}' Annual
cubt' dt'IW<:'rl frmn multt-aLmuth ::ID mannc
Confercncc, Se~~ton lOOH
Jeannot JP and Beranger I (Jq94) Ra)-mappt'rliocu&Hlf\ ;\ rmgratton vclotll)'
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t.xtenrlcd AbstLl< t~, H02;'J
JeannotJP, Faye JP and Denelle E (1986) Prc-.tctck llltg-Jatton vt'l(JC\IJtS from dt'pi.h
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4:St\-440
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Bn'ak
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11 4:J;J--44~l
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bascrl presta k dt'pth nugraiJon 60th

373

(j,jl[(I7

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:-,.t,(.

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ni D:\10 111 tJ<llt'i-IJ!llc lYI\t'nmn 37' EAC,r Annu,J! ( onlercncc, Se;,wn E04~l
Robein E, Sexton P and Philandrianos F ( 1()97)
u u~ .1tler 3D prn1.uk tnnc mtg-1atron :':i91h F.\(,t
A0'!2

Schnltz PS and Sherwood JW ( lCJHO) !Jepth rmgrct!Jon bd01e

~tctck Gmjih)\11~,

45

;)/6-:19:1

Fom rcr trdn&foJ m Grojlh).IU 1, 43 2:1--48

1onwg1 <~rbv m the po,Hmgralcd dmn<tm Groph)'IIO, 57
Itcrcttlve tomogr,lplu< aml mtg,ratlml Jt'LonstrucSH_, .\nnu.1l hJtcl natonal
'i 19 :S
detC'lllJJTl.ltiOil of lJIICn.J]
irolll rJ<ked
'iE(, Annual lntcrnalrortal :\Icctmg-, Expandcrl
Ab&t~<!Ct.,,

637-660

Tarantola A (1984) lnverson ol &C't&nuc rcllectton data m thc ctcou&ttc approxrma19 l:l'iCJ-1'!66

Tarantola

InvnY !'roblem 1 heon

\JeihO<ll jm Dala Fitting rmd \Jod<>l

Parmue1r1 f.>tnua/wn t.]<;cvrcr. Amstcrdarn

Toldij, Alkhalifah T, Berthet P, Arnaudj, Williamson P and Conche B (1999)

Case &tudy of e'trmalrou or ;rn&otrory ., hr 1 Pll{lmg
18 588-.IJ9~l
Vaillant L, Sava P, Biondi B and Calandra H (2000)
prc&tack \Hwe-cguaiJon
mtg-r,llton ot a <mmnon-aznnuth "\Jmth 'ic,l dcttascl fi2'' t.AGE Annu<tl
(,onfcrcnce,

~c~swn

1.001J

Van Trier J (19~)0) li>mocwbhwdctnmm,;tw, oj1lmdural vr!IJidteo fmm dej!lh-ml!,]alrd

1

e111111 duta PhD lhe>l&,

(;nvcntt)

j'nlMk mg,[ .. !!O> d!Od \~I<<LlllL>

Verwest BJ {1989) ~ctsnu< mlb'T<liKm m c!hp1aall> am<;otroptl nl<:'du (,eof!llf';uul

Prrujmtmg. 37 l4Y-lfifi
Weigant j, Hoover G, Stein Jand Clark B (200 1) FlasiJ<
tion llmtc diffen:-n<.e ptT>t,Kk depth migratton tn
.,cltmg i 1 ' '!E(, Anntt.tl Intetnatiorul i\keung-, ~ x.undcd .\b.,tracts,
Williamson P, Berthet P, Mispelj and Sexton P (199<J)
\clo<.ll\ modd
<.on~tlliCtlo!l ctnd nllgr<ttWn An examplc flom \\'e.,t AfJJ<,t
SFb Annual
lntemattorl<ll 1\lcetmg. Fxpancled .\bstt act<;. 1'>92-l .)95
Yilmaz O and Chambers R (1981 !Vftgiatton ,c]o<tiY analy~ts hy \\,nc-ficlrlextl,tpoLttHm Geo-j>hUU.I, 45 175:1-1779
Yilmaz O and Claerbout JF (I!JSO) Presta< k parttal migr,ltton. Geoph)'-\1(,,, 45.
175:1-1779

Chapter 8: Frmn seisrnic tirne to true depth

Sorne final comments on time versus depth processing

Ir ,!wuld nm' bt ckm that toe reate a

seJ~lllK

JJnag-c. the tr<lvdtlmcs of thc

tla~IIL

mm<> &o, prtstack rlt'pth lllli:,'T<ttlon dcstnbcd

\~ht'rc thc propctgatJon vdonty
1<;
a vcloCJt) nwdt'l of thc &ub&ul facc
be
tra\dtJJnt'<;
l'rcstatk and rost-&ta<k lnnc Iillgrattons, cxlcnstvcly tovcrt'd 10
5,
anrl 7,
impli< t, ~1mplificd Illo<kls, defined for in~tancc,
"lhc-,c are c<llled, a&mcn-

l-focuing~umming/Aij

~~.. ~'''

Jllarkis that are

11h1ch often
make thcm obvHJU~ 10 thc Hltcrpici<>I
Fm lhco<> Jt>asom, wc ><~Y tha1 t1me 11111:,'Tatton ~~ 'e\atlV<>iy ~ensiti1e 10 the
1 hoiLe of nllgiaflon veloulles' Jlld d<>pth rrugralwn ,., ven1 ~cnsit1ve
A conect ,md .l<< ltrale esttmatc o! depth and d1ps s requtred 111 m.1n> mstances
o;trLlltnralmtclplt->l.ltiorr ol set,mi< Jmages. ~~dl platcment <tlld dcstg-n. rock vo!umc
a~se>~mcnt, el< Tlus mc.1ns 1hat ,fkr tune
an ,ddltl<mal, mterptdiVe
'KP !S llt'LCo;o;,ny lor lransl'ormmg
Jiu' o; k.no111l ,s a tnnr-to-rp!h
<tnd -, the ma1n suqct t ofthl> Lhapl<>r.

Various mutes from the seismic image to depth

Our obc< tt\t' Hl th1s final cihlplcl 1s 10
The iina!

de~cnbc

mclh()(l:, J.tmcd at piovdtng thc be~t

Thc vanotJS ron tes are .,< hemat1t<tllv rcprc~<>lllt>d m Fgurc H 02 lune
ng, \1hethe1 usmg 0~10, \1m e''" PreSTJ\f or lu!l Ktnhholl Pre'!TM,
Jmage lll tune that l& mtcrpreted Thi& mterpretaiJon step re~ulto; m 1he draw1ng of
'tune nup.,', v.tnch <lte ouh~cquerrtly anslorm<>rl Jnto dep1h maps Thre<> techniqueo J.Jc ,nadablc fot pcdonning tlu~ la'>l <;~ep
vcTtJt,ll tlllJe-to-deplhum\t'l,ton,
llOI111<iJJal ICilllf\l.IIJOil

378

rnent thal rrcstack <kpth

<tnd mtcrprctahJllt) of
rhc se\SIIll< unag-c. cxpencm e sho\VS
m thl~ Wd) sllll do not
match well data perf<>< tl)
l'heu: ar<> Jll<lnv u:asom lor tlus, mdL1dmg- thc lunlted resolvmg power of the
o;et,lllll rnethod, <tnJsotropl(
t10n
t1cs ctnd an accur<ttc est1111alc of
addte,sed as a lotJCIII~IOU to 1he LhaptCI
'ieJSllllL-to-l,cll ti<:'S, a& \~ell ,., stackmg vt>lmltJC<;. ttlllC mtgJatwn ctnd the torremigr<tton \elocinc~. ctrc unport,ml 10ws tn tllllC-to-deptb tomcr&iou
wc begm tlus chapter wtth some 1emmders about the'c
(llllt> LOnH~rt.Hm mcthods, sccondrrcsrat k depth mg-ratwn as a 'rlepthtng'

379

The seismic-to-well tie

In <.cJsma rlcpih-con,cn,Jon pnJ)eCt.,, tv.o types or rL1u are, our rhsposal
f\ordJolc measurt'mcnl~

cune' dcnolcd r ==
- rlpmckJ dala Nole
be consJdcrcd ht'Jt'
'iCJsmll data

lunc-depth
IalhCJ than SlratJgraphJC d1p., must

ronJdor<;lark'

Synthetic seismograms and seismic-to-well tie

lr.ut'~, t'llhcr v-,u\ly m

<;oplll~la,Jit'd mcans, t'nables dcp1h
hom lht' "el! lo ht'
tcnt'd lo illt' llJne-b<tscd .,cJSlilll Jlll,lfC
.,hm,s th1s rmrclatmn 1s nt',t'r pCifcrl A Tli!Jnht'r ol rca<;ons havc bcen
dus shoulrl he 1hc rase
<;111\'t')'', g-1vmg cnms n lhe rlnfl <oJrcclon, and
m lhc vcrtJrailllilC-dt'plh rcLitJonslup
an approxmalt' cmulalion of pwpag-,uwn, <~nd JS ha.,ed
on a 1-D mcdmm
morlelhng- may g1vt' overly mnpliticrl rcsulls. t'Jther
~nnply hcc<tusc thc ~ubsurfire s nol 1-D or hecaust' llw ronvoluton model
<t'rtan pht'nmncna, ma!llly mul11plt' renecnon<; 1har have nol bcen

Jnl1:,'"1<1tlOilllOISe
'fhe Wlong lypt' of sg-nals uscd m the <onvo!JJtJoll 11 1th 1he rcflcr IIVIIY log-

380

fht> t)pl<al cnd prO<ilut<; or<;cJSIIIJ<--to-wcll tle are

An cstUlldl<> ofl11e '&e~<;Inl< ll<tvelct'
Optionall), a Lcm-plMscd <;CJMH< data.,t'l adut'vt>d hy 'stratJgiapluc de<onvolulon' u<;ng JhJ<;\IdVelct

Geometrical aspects of seismic-to-well tie

The case of 2-D surveys
\\'h1le uscrl pmgrc&s\Vcly less m modern &eJsnuc exploratJon, thcre art' a numher
of C<tSe& \1 hcre 2-D &CJSllliC lll<l) S!Jll he encounlered large-sc<lk rcg1onal ~lildJt>.,,
ctreds ~~here acreS& IS a probkm <1nd ?o-D lltlll!d he too cxpens1ve,
ctre<t' "Yttth only old data ctvctllctbk
as onl) 'app<iiTilt d1p.,' are unagcrl
slnl< nnc nol
to thc d1rectwn of the 'un'e) ltne 1 he <;cvent) of lilt' p10hlcm
Jntcrprct<ttmn 1~hcn ~~e
lillb'"lalt>d 2-D lmt'~,
of thc lll,lgmmdt' of
&ectmn, \IC

~nnply

cX,lJTIJilt' !hose l&&uc~ purcly rclatcrllo the acquthere art' no Llter<tl velocJt) vaiJatmns and !lt'mc tht'rc

381

at tht> ''lJTI<:' time, but llw arp,rcnl <hp

from one a< qm~1t1on
<hrt'CIon lo anotbcr <:on.,<>qn<>ntly, lh<> Jcllt><lm "JII mJgJ,llt> dJftt>J't>nlh a<<ordmg
lo thc ~hoot1ng anmu1h lhc llmllmg t.l~<>
n .,nkc ~ImoiJng, "hcrc th<>

<;<><llons
mo<;t
nnt
-,hould he rmrl) t>.l~) Ohs<>ne Jll FJg-urt' H O?o-h thal a<>l nugJatton
,llongrlrp T't'flt'<lwn tran&t'Ct~ lht' wdl
al the rerorrlt'd \t'IIua!IJmc 11ltS ts
onlv po~~ihlt' bctausc the <on't-><1
,el()(illt''> havt' ht't'Tl ltscrl and
tht'r<> <lrt> no later,d \ctnatmn&
In gcnt'raL dw cvt'nl obscn<>rl m the \\Cll di rlt'plll Z and \erlt<al
not he <1t 1lw; vt'JlJ<al lime on 1hc
2-D .,<>Ltwn In
di&ucpctm got'' !Jmn O ms tm

382

;ectwn to 80 m' fm the ~lnkc St'CIJOil

Figure H 04-b

~ho"~ tlu~

lhe

nu~fit <t> d funuwn uf the d/lllltHh of tht' .tU.JUItll(TC,I~t'~ r,tptdl} \\lth dtp <tnd
vt'lolit\ vanatum'> otiiiT l'he lit' cannut

Umt'

huudred metre., For cx,uuplt', on our rnodelm Ftgurc H 0~)-a, rhc point seen yerttL<tlly belov>' the well on dw a = 4.?' ~une) hue corrt'~pond~ to , rdlt'Ctlon dt Q un
on tht' .,tack ~<'Lllon Ho\\C\t'r,
blOOm

3-D surveys: why do seismic data still not match well data?
The dttlicultit'., m t)mg the ~tdlm rhe examplt' abovt' art' ,m~t'd by ~-D .tnwsitiun :l-D sun;eymg ,md nngratton ~hould theort'lc,tlly rt'~olvt' thc'>t' prublem~ <tnd
ver it ., .,Jl r,ue fm \\t'll nc' in thrtT dnnen.,wn; to be madc with case \\'here chfliculnt'' occur, the lir~t Lhmg to cht'< k 1., tht' r = f(L.} Clll\T wtlh It~ u.,ual pttLJlfs
Lhe <:'1<:'\dtJOn of the scJ~rnK ,lll\t'\' of the ~t'i'>tnJL d,tlum plant',
tht'

\ertic,d l!mt' pn>\ldt'd by the

~etomtc !htn' 11111ne5 of f/rl!l
thc tunoe-mg,utroo

and that

[~)m

the tnne-nHgratt'd

383

.;w
:-~~:--

(b)Timemtslilasafuncttonofa>.mutba;

~
.

(c)Map""""f"ellttell&afuoctiuoofu

"

(d)Appnentlatcn~lhiftnecessarylo'tie'tbe"ell

ntrtns!C limf-llligratton m:,po111wnmg canst>rl

geologcal <omplexlt) (Ltlea]
YelOCity \anatwm) <IS mentonerl preYIOn~ly
fr msrance F1gure 3 1.? fr
po~Htack nugrdtlon anrl F1gure i 16-c f:Jr PreST.\1),
the pre~ence of dll15otmpy
fhe next three .,ellJOn~ tacklt' each of the~e three pomt~ ndiYKinally, but 1t mn~t bt>
emembererl thal
l'he pnnnpal aim here ., to r\t'monstrdte tht>
ul\'olverl 111
and
tht> mgr<~tH)n
ne~ lb krt>p the d<~g-ram~ rt'bllvely ~irnple,
Llus puqJO~t' are m
2-D, yt't 1t .,hould be nott'd that they \'>'111 be t'qnally Vdhrl m :l-D As a first f_.,'llt'.,S, we
Cdll ~d\' Lhat any positiomng t>Iror m :l-D \'>'111 ht' m the vertical pLmt pa~~ing thwugh
the lmt'
of Lht' rt'flectoJ, pnw1rkd there are no
thu~ rdf-r toa ~ecllon chmt'n

lmpact of migrarion velocity

\fe descnbt'flm C:lldpter G how pml-Stdck nugranon Yelonues art> t'.,lnrt<ltNl m
384

Lht'

ht're wc ,tddre>s tht' rrnpact ofthro rmportant

p<~r.rme-

Lhe nonn<~l ray-nwddled >la< k rmagt' a\ \\t'll a~ thret' llrnt'-nngr<~ted un,tgt''> of Lht'
rnade wnh a \t'rllt<ll rm> Yt'loutv
Tht' nugr,lflon formnla\
prorluct' the\t' nn,tgc~ ait' tho\t' m hgurt' J
>dm h ,lJo" u> to >~mubtc a 1\..rrchhoH
Lrrnc llllf_.,'T..ttion For t'ath moddkd rdlector, Wt' keep
II.Kk ofthe
P 111 tllt' "di (tht' dot cm Lhc Tt'Oector>)
\Vhen tht' LOJI"t'Ct m~ Yt'louty -, nscd. nol
(no bft'rd! ye]onty
ch.rnge') tht' mugt' of l' vnll lrt' Yerlrc,tlly hdow
of the wdl and 1t
<~ppear> at , tnnt' t'qu,d ro dw \t'rlic.Jltlmt' Howt'Yt'l.
tht' \t'locuv JS altt'red,
the hori.t.on appedi ~ on tht' St'Isrnic 1.? m> too ~h..tllow when " """'""'"' '''"""''
by JO% 1s sdt'ctt'd_ and

~low

F1g111"t' H 05-rl grveo an

magmtude of thl', hor JlOutal rm~-trt' 111
Lht' modt'l ,~ , tnuctron ot dip ,md error rn tht' vt'lm ttre., 1L ~how'>, not snrpn.,rngly,
Lhat the latt'ral llll'>-llt' mn't'aSt'~ markedly w1Lh d1p, .r5 \vell as "rth tht' t'rror rn
rmgratron yf'ioutlt'S
Xolt' thar tlu~ rnoddhng t'Aeru~t' wa> performt'd b) s1mple apphcauon of .V,,+ k Z
.,y]t' modd (frorn Chaplt'r 2) and llw llmt' nugr<~tum-demrg-ration formulas ~een m
Cluptt'I 5 (Fig 5 1) Tht' expenrnt'nl un t'<I.,Ily be rt'pt'alt'd \vhene\er 1t IS rmporf<iul lo detennrne thc magmtude of po~~Iblt' m~>-tre., wrlhm a gryen prohlt'rn

385

<01000

(b) Hurlzun mudelled aud miguted \\ith 'ariou

(c)Timems-heasafundion
ofmigratoo,eJocltyerwr

velodtie~

(d)Lateralm.positioniogaHfuncuon
nfmigrationHlocityerror

lmpact of lateral velocity variations

l'ht' eflcll ol ldteral vdm 1ty vanJ.tlOn~ on tnne nngr,non hds alreddy ht't'n
cxlt'mnely di'>Cussed m Chaptt'To ~. {i dJHi 7 It d!~o llds ,m lllt'\ir;,bk
t) ing of welh l he exatnple m Fp;ure 5 15 show~ th,Jt whJ.t b '>t'en
tlw Wt'lllocatmn on" tlmC-mJgtJ.Led ~ecnon ~ nol JLt'teS~dllh Lht' pont thal tht' wt'll
,H luJ.llv enumnten

386

by the Lht'(l.,hot '>!HYt'\ ,md thc unag-e o! tht' tdlt'd block

approxun,Lel) 200 m dowwhp
Thc r\1agram >ho"~ that a lar bt'ttcr llt' may bt' ohtamcd by
\duntv thal 1'> mor<:' than 10'/

IS dl~

tit'
o F1rstly ht'cau'>e tht' lmgr,tnon veloclt) obL,unt'd Lh1~ 1\:Jy "11l only gudrdntct' a
!le fcJJ Lt'rtam r\1p~ of thc reOt'ctor lt "11l thus not tocus dlfhaLtiOns "ell
o Second]y anrl mor<:'
ilw rmh OTII' pm,dl{e al/he

u'el!,

ncg<~tYt'

uf rhe

~tdck

1mag<:' oftht' re!lectcJr

rMI dtp "'vf1grat1on

antl

\alue~

dppro<~che'>

111 .Flg 8 Ob-c),

lt'IO <>re\ en nwe1fl
thc po~t-rmgratiou tnne

\\111 be thooe ot the

Flgurc H.Ofi-d qu<~ntlfic~ Lht' Huhrdl approx.un,ton f(>r Lh1, modd L';mg 1t.,
n11g,-rdted po;Ition 111 the Llmc domain, thc
for
P ., 'depth-Img-ratt'd'
as 1lln;t1atedm

387

(b) Modelled tick ~nd limc-miJ;traled horizon fnr various

(c)t:rruninlimeiJeandlaleralposilioning
inducedb}timemigratiuo

~.

ofV ..,,

(d)Residualerrorafter'imageray'
depthmigration

Figure 8.06 lmpac\ ort1me nugra!IUn m a mcd1UID w11h la! eral velt>ell} varat10n'
!he lateral nr~atinn ~ nduced h}
Vdlh ddl~rc-nl migrat1"n veloc!lic>
Jocatwn(c)
theelkctorcYeno>cr-correctsll

"""'' "'"" "''"'"'

rt"matnmg aftt"r the COIIectwn fo1 a nugratton at l()(J'r~ oftht" vertiCal rrn'i vdouty,
am! as a funllton of Lhe .,Jope a of the nlocuy tnterface Fr lO\'>' \alut"~ of u, the
unagc-ray cont"ctH)n show~ lhelf tu be enttrely <ICCCplable, w1th
po~itmnmg error of less than 50 m

cnbtt"d ~ynthetJL ~t"I~mogram bt" loc<ttcrl wttlun Lht" mtgratcd dala cube, <tnd at what
ttmt"? Or, alternaliYt"ly, where should the JlfOjt"{ Ion of the well lrat"ctOJ~ he WlthiH
thc nugraled d<tl..t~t"l;> \\'e return lo tht~ dspect uf Lht" problem btt"r

388

Impact of anisotropy
The prest>nce of anr~otropy m the ~ub~urldLe, Tdr-ely takt>n rnto 1on~1rkratwn m
tune nugr.nion, at kd.,t on ,m mdu~rrial SI ale, "ill abo havt' a non-neghg-iblt' ell'ect
on well tit>., To rJlu.,trdte tlus, we um~rrkr once ..tgam tht' model ~hown m Frguw
,r.,.,urnrng rlus trrrrt' that tht> ~ub~urfdce ahO\'t' tht> blod, 1~ homogeneom but

H 07-h ~how~ Lht> ~tdck rmage of tht' rdlt>Llor .,egrnt'nt that ~~ cakulatt>d

rnodel, along wrth a LHHt'

Cdrnerl oul over the block \\Jth d
velonty LOnespondrng to tht'
post-DMO normal moveout
for 7ero drp. r\t'fint'd u~rng forrnul.r [4 181

l'ht> rc.,ult rn thl~ L<tSe \\111 bt' gneu b) tht' 'lOO',{' urnt> m Figure 8 0/-h The llll.,\'>'lth Lht> t>Xpe!Lt'd
trc t'rror r~ a.,~t>~.,t'd by Lompdimg dw It'Sult of the
rt'.,ult, re thc nnag-e for \'t'rtiLdl Lomersron of dw
modd In rlw
ht'rc. the tit> i~ dt>t'mer\ acLcptablt'
rm), \'>'lth a ~rnallldteral rh~placcrnt>nl
rn Notefir.,d)

~~abo .,ho\,n,
companson
In thi~ t'x,unpk, the dll150tmpy r~
tht> .,tacklng yf'loutK'S <tnr\ tht' Limt>-nugr.rtlon
rt>~ult1ug from tht>m r tus
wJ] be tnic f(>r small d1p.,, \'>'hiht tire purt>l) kmt'manL efl(>ct ,~~ouawd with
nol ht>mg t,d<en mto ..tLLount beunnt>., ~rgmfiL,mt fot d1p~ 111 t>Alt>~~ ol
by Frgme., 8 07-c ami H 07-r\
Lht>rt> rn,y be d LhoH t> of llmt>-mrgtalwn Yt>loollt'~ that
opurnze., tht> wt>ll ne
rnrgrat1on tt>~t., could ht> carr1t'd out \\Jth (hfl(>rent \eloott'~ ro t'Stabh~h Llu~ oprnnum \eloul) In rlw t>Xamplt> ahovt', for 20' of
d1p. a tlllg-ralwn velooty of 2160 n prov1dt'~ an appart>ntlv
fiL, dt''prte a
rn/s gn't'' an t'Aalt
latci.Jl pmlliOnmg euor of 2.? rn Lon\er~t>ly,
late;rl
but Wllh a \ertKaltempordl llll.,-tlt' amountmg to St>\eral nulthaLJt vnll nol bt' po,.,Ible to find a Yt>lont~ that opLHmze~
~mrultant>ouslv .\lore
i~ Lht' bct rhal rlw

389

(b) Modelled stack and time-mgrated horilon ror ,uioU>% uf Y ...,

(c)runeaodlatenlmJSpoSitloning
intlmemgratHJnduetoanisotrupy

(d).\ligr~tedprnmionsaafunction

ofellectordlpundanisotrop~panmetc.-s

j01 al/

dtjl\ In pi.ltWt', wh1l~t a \erttcal m,ttl h 1., rel,lttvely t'a~y. ldlnal postt!Omng
JE'llldillS a great dt'al more problerndi!C
11 ~hould bt' rt'mernbeted tluL , nugr.ttcrl .,CJSillJL
whtch by definmon Lorrc.,pond lo all
A Lomll.n~ o! tlu~ 1~ that whtlf an:,ofmj!Y , j!inenl,
( on.,t'quently. the J~otioncally mg-ratt'd
f,uh will alw,y~ appear slightly 'blurrerl'

Where should well trajectories be projected on time-migrated sections?

In Lht' p1ncdmg- ~t'ILJOm \\T Lon.,trlered the enm llllUITt'd by cornpatutg the
.,ct.,rrnl lytng-Yt'rtKalh lx-\m, thc loLatton of a well W1th ddl<l fium the wellJt.,t'lt \\'e

390

ITII.\\IriRIIn

1mgrat<:'d ~t>1~1111l and

depth rnodt'l, ,tnrl then
'>10il'> "rlhrn Lht> st>isnm bloLk u~ing trme-rnigr.nion modelling
LnfoLmuwly, ~uch a proLt'dru't' 1'> rardy ll't'd m
1nto a ~t'J'>Ill1l t1me-cube Instcarl
rlepth tran~fornaoon
.\ crurle '>hon-cut regularly Laken rn the lll1lral

Flgmt' 8 08 taken frorn Sexlon anrl Robe1n (1996)

~IH)\'>''>

the resnh

ur dltern.Jt1\'t'

O\'t'T .1 cornpklt' well tr..tt>Llory 1he lmagt>-Id)

as.,urnc~ that tht' tmt>
1mgr.~non 1s rndt'pcnrlent of (hp, that tht'Ie 1., no ,mi'>otropY- ,md thal tht' timt'tn1gr.Jt1cm \t>loul) fielrl 1s 'pt>rft>Lt' h1~ pmHdt';, dt''>p1tc 1Ls
1rnpn)\f'lllt'lll Lmnpared to ..t ~1rnplt' Yt>rl1Lal projection l 'ht> method
ly only fdrely apphcd p!actlCe, ~mlt' equrre> an mJUal rntelprt>talwn to havc
bct>n L,Irnerl out piT\IOu5ly, 1rnplymg pKkrng as "eH d., d (rough) lllllidi \\t'll tie

391

.Jn)Ulld tht> \\el]

CaltuldtC tlw theorcncal posrtlon rn dw tcro-off~et (Stdck) domam of tht' hoti/.011 marker 10 be ptoected
.\torlt>l thc gt'orneUic,tl effect., oft1ille m1grdt10n by u.,ng thc aclual migralion
velonty field u~t>d 111 the proce5.,111g.
Two different re5ult> are ~ho" n m fg-ute H OH on Llw one ha11d. I(Jn hhoff tnne
tmgr,\tlon 1s moddled, and on the otht>r hanrl, fimtt'-d!lTt'nnce nngratwn The (ht~
fereJRCS between tht> two methods refit>Cl the rhfft>ft'lltt>., alreadv lllt>lltlO!Ied m the
'plume' Impulse lt'~pon~e~ .,ee11 m Figurt>s {i 10-d aml6 lO-e
Tius rktad ~hould not doud tlw bct that the mam c[fficultv 111 th1~ method 1~
onte rnort' the ton~tl uctwn of the (potent1all) amsolropic) Yelonty model. !11 the
ca~e of hgurt' S OH. the model IS the rcsult of <1n dlliSOtropiC mvt'n.wn of ~tackmg
veloCltiCS \\t' exctnunc tht' pri11ople of thb bt>IO\\.
hgurt> H OS dt>molbtrdte~ thc .,trong COI1Vt'l'gence thdt <lfl.,t'S betwt>t'Il the well
uat>Ctory <.tkulatcd us1ng 1mage rdy'> aH(] that t<iku!dted hy prt>LISe modclhng of
tht> tune-nugrdllon lmellldl!L., \,hen the rnodt>l remaius s1mple (a., confilmt>d m
figure 8 06-d) Yt>t deepcr down, tht> tr~ectone., bt'gln to dl\crge rnarkedl): tht> \vell

392

tr;e<-tory c;\cul;red by tune-nilgrdUOn .,nnu],[lou appean h1g-hly ,nomalou~ a~ the

model hecome~ more cornphcated Hov.eve1~ IT I> the nnag-e-rdy method tlMt bre;ks
rlown here hecau~e of 11s j;1lure ro ;k_e d1p-dependence properl> m ro dccounr Due
to the ~rrong v;nat!ons m thp ob~(T\'ed m the v.ell, parucularly "'heu um>lllg d
tdult, nnag-e r;ys cross a suh~urface zone
Uif!erent frorn tiMl auualh
crossnl by the propdgdted rdys, d., ~~
tJacerl nonn;] rdys The
~rnouth vclonry mudd u~ed m nrrw migr<ttlun negkch this complcxit> A> ~tared
pre\ 10usly, the tnne tr,\]eCTOI \ for rbe wdl m..t. rherefOre he rcpre~enred hv a brokeu
hne when cw>~111g d rn<tJOI ;nguldr unroulornul> lln~ effecr m<Jy he only vag-udy
d!,CCJuibk on the ~e1~m1c
paiT1nilarly ", se1smiC proces,on tend ro modif)
nugranou ,eJonue~ 111 on:lo
tbe unronlOrmitj

Testing where a point may be in the time-migrated image

--\.nutlwr, qu1cker mctbod 1s to perfmrn ~en~itivtty te'>t~ ro d>tertam the rdauve
of each of rlw ds~urnpt10n~ rnade For lll>t;nce, m Jigtne> tl.OG-b and
tlw three pomr., m;rked <t~ 'image~ of P' oiTer a lT<l~onabk mdiwtion of the
of the ];ter di d1splacement 11' a
v{ 11!111'1/amty
the nugratwn
Anorher example t> provtdfor ; ,'lven ~et of am~onopy pa1amerer~.
v.bere
pomt P ''ould be m;ged lf rhe rhp dr P were not p1evwu~ly kiiowrl aud
mig-rar ion were tooccurwith a ,d<llity equal ro tlw NMO vdoci9 Iu rlu~ figure, rhe
U1p vane> he11\een -1-3" and +4.-) A.n> p11or d1p mtOrm;tiOn, m pattiCu]; rhe
rn1grated 'ume-d1p' of se15m1c event> ;rnvmg at rhe corre~poudmg tmw, wdl obviousl> reduce uncert;mt\ reg-ardmg the <hp and heute postwu of P
lhe ..tmsot1opy pa1amcten <lH' e\en mote unteJtai!l l'lw three cunes plottmg
UIITcrenl f and 6 JMlr~ de;rly mUICale tll<' 1rnpmtance oftlw~e \di<lhks Two variable, are ufpdilltUI<tr note the dfecuve v;]ue olE and tlw rhtference (E- b) hlr thts
rea>on, tlw ly par,m('(er m the nme domam 1~ ofteu cons1rkred ro he rhe pardmelei r (ddlrwd by e];rwnslup [4 1 iJ) Where strong antsotwpy Js
the
elTectl\e posmun of" well on the
hundred metrc> flom
of<.t<ep d1p,
0

393

m the modd bemg a funcnon

Once rhe ~el'>miC-tu-v.clltw ha~ been s,msf'<lcron\y petforrned, tlw next step ~~ the
llllle-lu-depth converswn 1l~df :\1usl teclmtque~ mak.e u~e uf ~l;~ckmg \ducme~.
which we return ro in the nexl >tction

Advantages and pitfalls of stacking velocities

dTecls rhat rna\ dfkct the ~lackmg

lif:,'7iifiwn!ly jwm prvpap,atum elvatv va/tu';

,\1-Chalabt (1994) h,ted eleven
surfan' 5tdtic anurnahe>,
geologtc<~l ~lructure, 1 e b;et geurnetry,
;nn~otropv,

demulttplexing errms 1n vmtage datd,

,!pproxtmal!un> m ca\culanon oJ dllucal!un of offSet value~,
Doppkr dfectlmked tu the movement uf the bo<~t formal me 'e1sma
Abo posstbk are;~ nmnlwr ol other more dt!Crdot;/ efkcrs, smb d'> '>lretchmg ofthe
'>tiT<l!ll<'l
ur rnon ~tgnificant f;rtoD, ~uch ,~ !lrP Pffett,
\lfp;
expenenced
the d<ltd pnm to vdont\ .malysts St,uk.mg
'>ame for vdooty anal~~<', pnfmmed aftet D110, 1\loves" PteST\1, or 'full' Knchhotl Pre:-. :\1
\\'e now det,ul and qudnnfy ~ome of rlw~e dfecr.,

Surface anomalies
mmld riMt ,JOW'> ro what e;..tent 5tackmg vdoo-

m.~

394

\<lrtable vdont\ <~nd a 5bort-penod low-vduoty anomah :!00 m at iOO

m a background of 1200 .1nd 1500 m.,
lmdtmn, >ome of tlw ta\~ cru% the dllOTJlaly wlwn othen
thdt, loc;l\y, tldvdnme~ depart from tlw ~muolh
l'he>e
anomahe~ h.1ve a drdm<ll!C llllpdct on the
the u;~vdtirne-ofhct curve and mduce ~nong !.ItrTal v;~nanon of
;~s ,huwn m
wluch ~hghl-

Cump"'"""vdtlmt>t
t'-off""'' t"<~<Oss.ioo __,. ,,.nd v ... "

v,.,,=J800+o.&J7~Z.,)

(a)l)eJ>Ihmodel

(b)v,, .. am\V""'-""horit.uns(ml>)

The unpOit;Jnte of the mute<; d.ho exemplified 111 lht>

cd.te whd.t the >l;~ckmg ve!()( me, would be al deptb, ut
were tixed al 1200 m tm
\Ve cuntlude frurn rhe>e curve, th,Jt
lhe mute ,., reduced th1, 1> bec;u~e mure
the anurnaly ~~ ,nnplttied
dlJumaluu<; tJd((', enler m lhe velonty <tnaly>l,,
;mj(JaiJ!IOHta1tes

Fm;lh. figure 8 09 recd.lh a phenurrwuun mennoned 111 Chapter 1 Ou e:>..arntnutg

rhe 5l.t( kmg \elunt~ honzun al 4000 rn depth out<;Jde lhe anunldluu5 zune, tl c;~n be
the <;latkmg vd()( JI\ depends un 1he mute,
gre;~tcr thau thc vettJ(alrm<; \dmJty,
thc maxmn1m ulhet U'>ed m lhc \donty ..lJldl\51'>
>Ummarved <t<; a generalittk,

V,,,,,

th1~

Vd.lue when
lht> c.au he

395

Geological structure and reflector dips and curvature

The e;r]y work ]1\ Levm (1971) w.1<; .1 flrst obvwu<; prooftbat stackmg- \eluc1t1es
rkv1;te lrorn prop,gatmn \doCil\ <;IIHT they ,re rl1p-depeudenl (see Cbapter 1) \\'e
<;ee m the next <;ect1on that Dl\10, although 1t wa~ rk'>lgnn:l fur th!<; pwvu~e, rloe<;
uut totall) cum)('U<;;tc lm rhp dfecl> m most pracl!cal nrcumstances
~ub<;urtace geomctry,
aurl d1p> ut \ elont) cuntrasts, ha~ an
nnpalt on
Jlu~ttate ami quannl)
dfecl Wlth tlw >lmple mude! m Jiigure tl!O-a
f-kre we <lurne a suh5ea clldnnel 2000 m w1de ;hove a med1um uf con>lant \doCJof 2000 m/<; nw ch.1nnd ha~ appruxm;eJy the rl1men>~ou uf the maxnnurn
chosen 111 tlus c;se ;t 2000 m "\Jole ag.1m tlw '\\'->h<lped' <lllmn;]y 111 the
st;cking vdouty hor/ons mduced by the channd ;nrl ~hown m Figure 8 10-b for
horvon rlepth<; ol 2000 ;nrl 3000 m "1 he anumah nnT.l<;CS w1th deplh (con~tant
offSet) ]t<;

396

Influence of the processing sequence on stacking velocities

We ment1oned the proces~mg flow ~equence~ ;nd the1r respett1ve proce>,mg paldmeter~ a~ one ofrhe phenumeua lhdt mlluence stackmg velocllJe~ In rhc next ~ectluns
we addre~s >J>enfically thc mfluence uf
V~"" m 0110,
V'"" aud \"""' 1n :\1oves'" P1eSTM,
V,,, m full Kircbhoff PreSTM
\ol/e wdl return to pe~tad<. depth 1nlgJal10n at the end uf th, ch;pter
The meaning of stacking velocities after DMO
DMO theory wa~ developed to compen,ale for d1p dTects on ,t;ckmg '"elonlle>
m a homogeneuu~ rnediun1 (Chaptcr ~1). E\ en 111 a ruugh approxnu<1t1on to geologca!Jeahty, the velonr: wdl he al Jc;st \enically heterugeneou,, a~ m the "D1x1an
model of Figure~ 07 We saw m F1gurt:' 4.~6 that ~tacklng veloCJUe~ are .1heady wlluenced b\ thc 'prc-D110' llmm;l rnoveout \eluclly chusen m prucemg In tlm sectJon, v.e go ;
.1s~urrnng tb;t a currect value for th15 p<lrameler (i e the
vertJcal rm~ velontv} has
;nd we cuncenlrate on mtnn,JC hrnitaton of
po,t-D:\10 stacking- veloCJtics mduced hy verlJlal \eluoty heleJUgenelly
\\'e use once ag-<llll ;V, + k Z medmm !01 du~ analyst>; Po~t-DI\10 >tad,mgvelocJtw, are computed as a fundion of d1p and deplh usmg a method ment1oned m
Chapter 4, wll!cb ;ccuratel> emul;te> the DMO prucess, >vlthuut makmg the clas5!c;[ Uut <1pproxun;e cmmnon-rdlecuun-pumt a"umptwn. The velocllJe~ ohtamed
( ;n he comparcd lo; serw~ of othcr \alues, cumputed m vanou~ v.ays
nw averag-e aud nn., vdontle'> along a vertical, denoted
and V,.,
n1e,e ;re the t;rget v;luc'> the ave1age value 1S uecded JO tune-lo-deplh convenion, and tlw nm \eloCity JS obtained 111 a Dixi;u model for shmt olf5et and
zeru d1p
The average l<lken
formu];,aregven
The
uaong
c;kuLiled U>mg rhc formuld lm a verncall> hetemgencous medn1m
1973)

I
' ctv") 14
Vruno (l",p 1=~
.\r""''' J-(p"

,Wtthp(e :=2 SUJ81V

[8.3]

In th1, formula, t,(.t.J IS he tmw ;lung the rw1rnalray enutted fwm the reflectmu
pmnt <1t depth z, t,.,. 1> thc vertcal tune frum the ~;me
pa.-ametcr alung the nurm;l r;y lu the reflector
of the med1um ca11 be explT'>~erl a> a funcuun
llw

Hgtrre 8 11-a show~ the model U>ed and Figure 8 !l-b 11lustrate~ the mflueuce uf rhp
un these d!lTereut vdoC!Ue> In lht>; d1agram. thc deprb Z JS fi;..ed ;t 3000 m a11d thc

397

"

"

<

'

(a)Mudel

(c)\docitic<asafuncttonoldq>th
mod<l()wtth\.,~1500m'.:IF1s 1

ndeO"

= l9~191n 1 ~,wlwrekJ5chosento
C\ulve \\lth depth In thi~ latter
figure. the pardmeter5 arel hmen a~\ = 1500 m,5 dnd k = 1 ~'
~urne cuudustons can lw drawn frum tll!~ moddlmg exero5e reg-<~rdmg the mennWiontwlnftrr DAfO
mg
~tackmg vdooty ~~
ne1thcr to the H'rtlcal rm~ ,dontv.
Ir 5 ne,rel torlwlatter \clunly, hut

'he
lil>un tll-L It become>
O b ~' (hf.,'Ule t!IO-b) fhe
and \tit!c,l rm~ \eloCille> 1> ~nll
,md 15 ~).7'1 ;nd !O',f rc-;pecUH'h for the
tlw small dtfl~renre bet>,een the 'crtc,[

\\e

398

rn<1ke ftuther rumnwnt, un the'>e ttJJ\e,

!'he
,hott-oO,et sta<kmg \t>loclt~ Y,
equal to
b\ rlw ~hah lunnub

C<lll

aftn 1\110 1s

 ,\lso ob,erved 1' tlw pleVIOU>i} lited plwnomcnon (Dietrlch ,md (,ohen,
1~19:!), v.here
me<t~ured wnh l,rge ofbet> mav beco me 'llghrly kss thrtn
\',,, .. fur d1ps g1t>aler rh,m 'lOo llw,
moreme1, by the fact th,t m
this Gl>e the >me,nng uf the rdknor pumt
tlw
homogeneuu, modd 1 he plwnomcuun rcm,IIll'> true !01
me,~ured rtfter D\110
Thc d1ITeience ben.>cen the avcr<Ig-e <tnd nn~ vdont1e' c;~\cul,ted \erliC<tlly or
m !or d rca~unabh ~rccp gr,dent o!

To lunclude thl'> >CLllon,

~tackmg

'doutws ,dtcr Dl\10 ,re more sunable fur t1me-

theu be curnxted fu1 111 ,ny ume-tu-depth

'Jun uf the D1x furmu\<t

tun\ersiuu~

e/ymg >oldy un the Imer-

The meaning of stacking velocities after MovesT" PreSTM

In Ch<tpter 7. \\e mentluned the ;~dvant,ge~ u/ pe1funnmg , vduoty ;:malp1' m
the 'rrngi<Ited positJou' It 1' hence highl~ advisable tu U';e th1<; type uf vdott\ m
tmie-to-depth tunvei~Iun ta>ks llnfonunateh. tlu' doe~ not mean rhar 'tatking
'donne> afte1 P1eSTM have no hrniratmu~
Fot m<;lauce, m rhe simple surface-auumaly mude! of H,uJe 8 O!J-rt, DMO,
nuganou aud hence PieSlM v.ould ha\e a \er. hrrmed etfect un tmw hm1zun'
>nne theyarealmo<;rtlar
Thc pnuuple~ and
Ch.1pter 7 aud the hmitaliUlH
rrwrhud, which J> ~lill , time-pmce's .!ppwxillldllon ro coJJect Imrtgmg, ha\ e ;~\<;o bcenmenlwned E1cnm very <;nnpk gt>ologItd! ~enmgs,
metbud> and rhen re~pect1ve ptuct>'>lllg p;~;~mcter~ have
value~. aud heuce un rhe ,ccuracy ul dt>pth e~u
IIJ.ttcs
lt 'hmtld be Iemembned 111 paintulaJ that tbe 'trttl.mg ,e\onty alter 1Iove&'"
dept>ud' un twu plotes~mg p<~r<ImeteJs

399

come from a Jdlecnun 1one, v.hirh bccomes >le<lthl> rleeper ;s the rn1g-1al!un veloclt}' mcre;,e~. a~ 1llustrated wtth 1rnage-g-ather r.ays m
!\, we stalerl, thrn p, a ,el of pan~ of pa1 arneten
\CrtiC<Il rms vduuty bdow the \dunt\

The meaning of stacking velodties after full Kirchhoff PreSTM

In Chapter 7 we thscusserl thc difference bcll'.een 1he 1\10\es"' .anrl the full
P1eSTM techntque> \\{- dlso rncnttonerl that the1c are vanou> KnLhholT PreS'l11
vdonty an;Jy,is methods, n:me1nbering that fUI full l'reSTM v.e refer now ro 'mlgJanon vdoc1ty' r.1ther than 'st;ckmg \elooty' the RMO route, the Rl\10 plu~ JleJ;lmn~ 1oUle and the ~camung- route
The Rl\10 ruUle Held~ ~lig-htly dtfferenl vdontJe> Lildn tlw Her<IliUn anrl
~(alllllllg une>
In d vertical gJ;dwnr ~ttU<lttun (nu l<Jleral
~houlrlledd toa m1gJaUon velont> tildt 1, equ;] to
Jms velootv Sorne
curr-ent fui! K1rrhhofT PreSTM fll'OJeCb ,1] m; k u~e of the 'DSR' e.-uat10n, whose
, lunitcd fm
apcnures FtgUie 7 ].~ shuv., tildt m such a case, the
I> ,hghtly large1 (.ahom l ':1 m tlw spenllc example
th.1n the rm, \elucity, dueto negkctmg the f(JUrth-order term m
tlw 'C:heops py1amtrl' opewtor
l'he efft'cts of l.Iter<Jl hetemgenett> aJe mm e nnponanl
Influence of anisotropy on DMO and Kirchhoff PreSTM velocities
he pre~cnce of ;np,otropy make, thc propag-allun of ddsl!c wave> mure dfficult
to cumprehenrl l.;rncr and Cuhen (l!J93) ;naly~ed thc o,hmt-ofhel beha\IOUf uf
\duCit; afte1 D:\10
+ kZ modd of thc ,ubsudace and m the presence
of \' ['] am~otwpy.
(EJ95) u~ed the collcepl of miage-gather ray~ met
e;rl1e1; whKh h;s no lmnt on the type of rnodel used. or on offset, m contrast to
purd> analymal ;ppru;ches The appw;ch , easily extended tu KircbhulT PreSTM
a, v.e >dW m Chapler 7
In Figwe R 12. we use agam lhe ~nnple morlcl uf a
3000 m m X = O m a V, + kZ rrl('rlla of Figures 1
nov. mclude
fauonzed \'TI <lJIISOtrupy Thomsen parameten are cho~en a, e = 0.15 and b =
O 05 The dtp fl uf the rd1et tor 1~ v;ned bell'.een O" ami 40 ~ute that the ~tmulat
cd expenment 1'> dtfTerent from the one tn Jilf.,'Ure tl 11 dS v.e kee1
thr Delouty
a LelO rhp. lhe ,tackmg vdonty (reo,pectl\ely, m1gratiun \eluclty) observed
Wlth D:\10 ur Pl('~-11\1 are the ~ame, w1th orw1thom ant~otropy l'hey >lill d1fTer from
the expected veltJCal V,,,. {t~otroptr rase) n1 V,.,.,(Oa)=V,,., V1+2 6 (<lrnsotropK ca>e).
lluo, 15 due tu thc t;clthat v.e neglect tlw f(mrth-order term tn the Dl\10 ur PreSTM

clu~e

400

the t,ulrupK C<l5f', P1e'i'l :\1 velunly (V'""'" (1~0) ) 1emams .1lmoo,t cun,lant and
to V,, ;s expccterl The dt5crepancy tS agam duc tu the 'st1a1ght ray' oper;tor

.,.

v~ ...... vn~

,,.'""~ :::L/:1:~;;:;,
: :::-rc~ ::~~b::"
.

~~--

' , _ _.=:NH.lM

----

(a)2-D~erllcal ~radien!

rnodcl

v,, -20001ll< k=06' 1

F-U 15,

~-

40dipll0

005

used m tl11s sunulatton Conversely, DMO ,elouty decr<C<tses v.Jth dtp he<.Iuse the
teflectmg aJea m depth becorne> increa>mgl~ ,hallow ,s the dtp mcre.1,c,
In the am,otropiC case, a1motmpy pldys an mcteaMngly tmpurt,mt role a> tlw
d1p mcrease, Il part1ally cornpen,ate, fur the elltcb uf a po~utve velonty g-radwnt
un DMO veluCity (\'n"" (amso)), a, aheady noted by ,\Jkhahfah (19!JG) On rhe cuntJar), PreSTM largely ovete~umate velocmes These conclusmn~ should not he tilkell
a~ a general rule a~ rhe resuhs'in Fgure 8 12 are very dependent on the mteratliOtl
betweetl the chosen parametel, (\' 0 k. t, b, fl, Z) The le~~on ro learn from }u,
morldling exetnse 15, <mee again, amsutropy ha> a le~<; than mnutive 1mpact un
sophisticaterl algouthms such a, 0110 and P1eSTM Ir 1s tlwn advt>abk to run a
~emlttvtty test ~mular tu tlldt 111 Hgute 8 12, tf the pte,ence of antsutwp> l> suspected mlhe -;ubsurfa<:e.
Influence of lateral velocity variations on DMO and Kirchhoff PreSTM
velocities
Figure 7 IG has ahcady tllu~liated the d!5appomrmg fact that de,pttc tt, sopht>ttcatton. Pre~T11 ~rill proHrlc~ m wtth a velocity that can <hlftt by a large amuum
from rm~ veloclltes
Figure 8 13 furrhc1 endmses thts poml Ftgure 8 13-a IS a model of a flat honton below a dtpp111g 111terface, and Ftgure 8 13-b >how> the mtgiatwn vdocll> honton after Pie~T11 fm vanom V,,,_,"" m the RMO ruute The DMO result> are alsu
rll'>pi.I)ed 111 the flgute
In tbt~ exarnple, PreSTM lead, tu velonttes that are clu-.er tu rm, \dontte~ than
tlm~c ohtained by Lhe DMO process They are however ~till slightly rlfltJent (greiltei
b> .1hout 1%) Note rhe added po~stble error mtroduced by the choi<e ofV""'-'"".
Hgure 8.13-c reproduces the modd uf Ftgure 7 1G-a, hut now we compare the veluClhunzon~ m Ftgure tU 3-rl B\ chang-mg thc dtp of the reflector cumpared to
13-a, we come toa r:ltfferent conclu~mu the Pre~ TM velontte& now dnTige

401

1000

lmage

1000

2000

3000

(a)2Dtv.o-la)ermodel:oodp
U)< lor PreST!\1 l'ith V,.,.= 2450

~ath~r

(b)Vclocityborizonsaf'terDMOand
PreSII\lcomparedtoV,..,(nodlJI)

more ilom the rm> velootle~ th;n the DMO velontJes' Thc efiect ofthe eallh compkxil} on PieS 1'1\1 \elont\, bec;u~c lll~ ;~
\d.n;twus poorh, 1~ han! to predJCt Note;:-;
by the RMO mute, j no neratmn IS peifurmt>d

Impact ofthe acquisition direction on velocity estimates

n1e results presentcd so tar were computerlm a 2-D model Th1s L~ eqUJvalent
lo as~urrnng thd.t tbey would haH' been ubtaJnerl m d 3-D 'c;hndnca\'
.,tnJCtuie W1th the '><'l~IIll( ddt<l bcmg acquiled 111 a dp duectwn Tu Figure R
now me a sJmilai 'cylmduLal' morlel (no laterdl d~:mgc~ m the Y-drectmn), but we
a'sumc a >trike aLqui~llmn
l'iguJc tl 14-a 15 a 3-D vtew and Hgure tl 14-b ~ _,_ m;p ''""'"' uftbe mude\ Although
the
,, shot m a <;tnke dnecllon, wc sn\1
,dooue-; med<;Ured
13-d f\J1S1S~m
fut qn,dJty control

402

purposes 111 ~tnke shootmg (a retommendcd .tpp!Oach, as st<1Kd pn:'vloul})

Once ag:nn we use tbe mctborh of un.Jgc-g.tthei J<~r to deu,c \tnke' 'dout1e~
Tbc- rays <He shown m 3-D \ICW for three vdodty an.tly~IS locations
V,) anJ
lora nt~ar-off~n ol 100m and ollo;ct~ of lOOU and .'JOOO m !m !Olatn>n
rcpmduced 1n rnap view fo1 vdo(JI} !OlatJOn \', and offset~ IOU, 1UOO
re-,pectJvd}
Figure H 14-r ~hm\~ the m-Ime vdouty hoii/on' for DMO and Pw~Jl ;H
optlnn), for dtp arqlll'llum (-,,uue result ,Js m Figure il
Eventu.t!ly, we lind .t nTigTation vclm1tv thatl~ dose to the \ertical m-, one 1 h1s
~~ bc<aU.,e the r,J~S prop.igatc m
nfthe rnodcl much le~., mtlut:'n<t'd b" thcLueral vanalmn~ hgure 8 14-d.
~hol'.> thc- uoss-~ectmnal \iC'W of the DI\IU
<md PreS'l VI rmgra1ed llll.Jge~, lJustr<ltc> neYerthelcss tha1 thl~ 1~ not pc-rkctly C\.act
betause tht' mam :1-D rmg1atmn J.,pl.ttemf'nl "111 thc rhp dJrt>ltJon
1 h1s la'>l fig-uTC' -, <tho intcre~ting a~ Jt show-, both thc- \ertical and the honlontal
nw,-tleS at , hypothetK<tl well placed fo1 lll>tante m X"''= O Wt:' find .t SJtlldtJOn SJm-

403

as

<o~lready

slal-

datn lo ll'ells

Sorne conclusions on the impact of acquisition and processing on stacking

velocities
Fmm the~e la~t tour sc-cuons, \\e can dJ,m lhe followmg- concluslons
\ 1smg- 01\10 only paruall~ currect<; d1e mfluerKe of d1p on the stackmg docllles
In the presente uf d1p, 0\10 doe~ nol g-tve stacktng vdocmes equal to the veruca!Jm<; dooty lying- dnettly bdow the analysts pmnt, but mste.-~d tt gtves
tnloJmauon on thedoclt} l}mg along the norm<o~l ra} ermtled from the pomt
'seen' by the analyst<;
l're.'l TM darifie~ "dooty <lnalyst~ dt~play<; and dr<o~sltca\1~ reduce-s ptckmg- umfhu.~ m thoc- analy~es. thus allowmg .m lillpiOH'lllC'nl n the magmg- and a
greater atcuraq lll the vdocity picks
St.tckmg- vdoclttC'~ after Move,"' .1re sc-nMtlVe to the two proceo;smg parametns (nolrnal-rnoveoul vdocrly conTltJOn and yc\uclly migratwn) when dtp
ping relkctors are p1esent
There aJe no good entena fm chuosng V~., 0 and \'""' such thal V""' ts .ts close
a~ possihlc tu the 'de.,ed' \"'""(m t:act the deMrc-d vdouty !S t.hc- average une)
~Iovc-sT" stackmg-vdocrLJes are st\1 preferahk to OMO une~
Full Km_hhofl' P1eSTM JS a further slep fonvard tU approachmg- \","' Stackmg
Ydoutic-~ are- ~nll sen~1tive lo the rmgratmn \douty Y,,, used m an RMO type
uf vdooly analysts.
0 .'lcanmng and ttc-rattons techmques are thc-n prefetable tu RMO rechmques,
alrhuugh they <o~re more- expensJVe and more dJtlicult tu ptck
0 Oesptte the suph1stJCatwn of ami the tmagmg trnpruvernent due lo the processing sequence, ~ome baML mfluencc-s reman pre~ent n stackmg vduuty
aftc-r PreSJ'"M
- the tmportancc- of surbte anomahe~,
thc- 1mportance of late! al donty yananons and reflector geumetr;. (these
are trme-dornam proce<;se~).
thc- rmportancc- of the a1 quJsttton drrc-ctmn Mnke acqutsinon (when such a
d1recnon can be ddined m the subsurfacc-') rs }e~<, mfluenced by the eaJ th

Can we remove stacking velocity artefacts?

In geolog-tcal ~eltmg; oflnnrted comp\e).lt}. '\\'-shapc-d' anum.tlres can somettmes be
delected, e<;peC!ally tf ~tacking velm rty honzons .11 various dc-plhs, or bener, 3-D
rontmuou<; veloulv maps, are d1spla~ed he~e are u~dul QC too!~ lo 1denufy nong-eologKal elucrt~ change> .tnd drag-Bose whelher aJiefarh come frurn

404

 surfacevelontyanomaliCs,
buned velouty anomahes,
the C'nects ofthC' geurnetrv ofrdlellOJS
Dependmg- un the ungin of thC' anom<o~ly, \anrmo; remedies can bC' C'm-tsaged Fm
smface anomaltes, thC' ulltque solutmn Js tu n:prnceo;s the dat~'l u~mg surfaLe-cuU~IS
tent M.JtJC cuneltlon module~ Th1s can be dunC', nut onlv fur land dat~'l, hut .thn for
o;hallow mauue ~urvevs In rkeper nMnnC' data, the ~~nface coiJSI~teucy a<;sumptlou
breaks clown <o~ml we .tre cunfronted w1th <1 'buned anomaly prublem'. Tht~ problem
~~('Ven b.trder to solve Sulutmn~ such a> data re-d<Jtummg clown to the anomal~, followcd by surbce-ronslstent sl.ttlc cort('Ctton C').bt, but .tre seldom apphed m pr.tcll{e. Prest.tck rkpth mtgratmn 1~ .t poss1ble <dtern.ttl\e for Ydoclty anomal1es nf .1
fairly large wa\ekng-th l'reSIJ"M, tor lll'>taULe, neatlv solved the problern of the
channelm Ftgure 8 !O
l'he most fi-equently u~ed remedte> rem.tm edtng arul smoothmf!: Altlwugh popular, the)' a 11' neverlhele>~ 1'1'1} n~k)
Ed1hn; ~tmplv cons1sts of rho;uJ.n:hngvalueo; m the auomalou~ ar('a 'll11s I> .t dd-

ficult exeJLSC' Even f(JT a surfdct" velodtv anumalv oflrrnitC'd extent, the starkmg vdout~ anoma\y IS spread over a length equal to thC' ma>..nnum offset
FurthC'Irnore, 11 ts \Try rare to ha\'e a un1que, \el} localll-ed o;ud'aLt" <o~nomaly
amlthe lombm.ttlon of many anomalres often rn.tkes JI nnpossJbk to know
whetT ~WLkmg vdocii!C'S are anumalou~ and where they are represent<1t1\C' uf
thC' \TTIILal nns velocity of thC' subsurbLe
Smoothw; SC'emmgly reduces an anornal~, but unfi:Jrtunatdv ofkn by
sprC'arhng JI over a wder atTa Figure 8 E:i uses the mudd m
1l111~trate the prob\cm HC're we take a JetleLtor al a depth
rns <o~nd
assume a mute (m.nnnum offset) of 3000 m 'llte correspondmg st<o~Lklllg
wloci~ horizun JS shuwn m ligure 8.09-h ln Figure 8 D-h, \eJSillK depth' JS
estunated a'> the prudurt uf unC'-w.ty tune p1ck~ and starkmg ycJoCIUe<;. Note
dK dramatJC Jmpact un the C'Stlmated dC'plh of the surLKC' anumal} which has
length of onl~ 200 m and .t one-wav ttmC' amphtude of ahout E:i lll'>
Smoothmg, here m F1gure 8 1:'1-b mthC' fo1m ofa polynuma] fitt1ng, does not
ami cannot solve the problem

How can we get the most out of stacking velocities?

Iflugh aLunac~ 1~ tTqlllred, ther(' are no! mau} suluuon~
RepJoce~Mng usmg surfa{e-consJ~teut ~tatiC CUrTC'l tmn, a~ alre<o~dv mentwnC'd
The pKking of the stackmg- vdocitie~ IS crunal In a diHicult zoue, two mterpreters are ljlllle lrklv to produLe twu markedl} dlffelellt results Jt JS thnefole essC'ntialto con date the pKL.s <o~nd stntT them m surh \\av a~ to nulica/e !he
quaht1 of the p1d Tlm mformat10n IS often rhstTgarded, but 1t ma~ be recuy-

405

Weother<d

"'~o.1>;~~om

""mal~: v~,~

70U nLio:

1~200

:~;:,~~::-~:~ ~

deplh

-Cnmpule""~ltm
(t 1 -offoot 1 )regn"ion=:.t,ndV

-Compnle7H,-t,v,,"',l2

v,.,,~tsoo+e~I7~Z..,I

2800

1000<111500

2000

2500

3000

~<>< mHuenoedhy:rnomal~

(b)StacJ..timehorizonandestirnateddepth

406

ered smrc- the quahty of the ~taLkmg \elonLJes w1ll often UlHe5pund to the
;../uJS\' ~e1smK, \\lth honono; lad.Jng- ronlmtllly orw1th pooJsuppressed mulnpks wtll autumdtlcallr ~ug-g-c-~t that the rc-5ultmg st<Jckmgvelocitic-~ WJII al~o be nmsy and uf poor l"t'hability
Incrc-astng the den~H\' nfthc- >tarkmgydm 11\ pKls t]u<, dues nut thrertly sohe
the Js,ue of 1he ,utdact" nuted above. It allows moJe poss1hilitic-s fur perforrnmg quahty coniJol on
Surtace anurnal} artef,H h,
eJrors m pKL.mg. enors m pruces~mg
n.l'>l) die mnJT e.Jsll} detc-ctc-d
C leanmg data u~ing gc-o~tatlstiral filtenng, such d~ f;u ton,] ro~kriging, m.ty he
more dlinent (Coluu, 200~)
Rernernber th,Jt
.JstJStnJCtrate ,\1
wlul~t at long 11mes, nm5e,
lmuted m.rxn11al nlhct and the strungly nonlmear rdatiorl',hljJ ben.veen the :'\!MO COJITCIon ami ~tarkmg ,eJocities .111
play .tn Jdt>lliK.tl role In the rnappmg phasc-s, qualay f.tcturs mav be mtrodll{ed by gJVmg gre.tteJ st.ttistlcdl we1ght to more rehablc value~
.\11 a\,Ul.tble tools should be u-,ed to 1mprove thc- yc-JoCJry 'pect1 a and lauhtate
p!Cklng (>ee
4 !ur deidd~} <;embl.mre
Jmenwn, hornoutonst<;~c-nt
pKkmg, the o;hfted
leLhnnue. hJg-b-den~1tv
JesJdual
.tnal}SJ<;, optm1al
and zc-rn-ph.tsmg desgnature,
Once .tgam, carc- mu~l he takenth,n lhe>e proce~<;es do
not tna~ the re~uh, a typ!Cal example bemg- thr rderence wne lor velot tly
an.th~ts m l.md proce>:.mg (f]oatmg d.tlum plane)
Once p1chng h completed, a correctton 1<; rc-quned to ehmmate the ~ke"
between lhe ~t.tckmg \'donllt><; .tnd the rm> Yt"lonues fhl'-. 1'> done b} seekmg-

the NMO vcloot~- m pnnuplc, equaltu

lor the Otx rnudel
Al-Chalab1 (1994) suggestc-d an Iterattve merhud,
.mmher approach
tmolvc-s c-stm~<~ttng rhe ~t~Kking wlncity lur ~evcral dtfltrent u!JSer r.Ingc-s .md
deduung thc- hrrutmg Y .. '". \alue by
llm lattcr methud ha~ ~TI
tu be de,doped tndu>triallv, ~ince
1~ c1heady dtffirult to estimare
stackmg ,doutle> wtth thc- Ul.t\.tmurn oilsc-t, lct alone for a reducc-d offsc-tl
Ray-based ~tad,mg vdocit} tmeniun ht> terhmque 1~ pn:.,ented m <1 lnllowmg ~et twn It .tddres~es 1ssue~ rdared tu refkuur geumetty ,md pmcessmg
efterts. but not -,urbce anornaly ;u1efatt>
does not
Pre.,tad, depth rrugratwn rlus '' the 'ulttrnaK tour,
>uhe for >hutt W.tyelength \anattuns m
mrludmg mHe agam surface .tllU/lt.tlte>
Stacking velocities versus time-migration velocities
lhe derl\.iiJUn of tune-nugratwn velocltle<, was prc-sentc-d .md d1~cussed m
( haptc-r 7 \\'t" tecalllrorn tht<, ptesent<ttlon that ~ume o! the nc-cess.ti)' c-dJtmg\\url-..
on stackmg \doutieo; 1'> performed at thi, stage Ttme-nugratton \docittes are then
gnod candtdate~ fui ltme-lo-depth comersmn project~ UnfortUndtd~, thq are nut
alw.Ivs either kept when the p10ce~sing 1~ tornplete or <;ulficiently douunenteJ tu be
u~ed m a tehable W<t\'
Itts ctuC!al ro kwm lum they have bren obtamed, what type ofsmuuthmglc-dttmgwas applted, whether th~ \\ere lo1ced lo rndtch well vclocitio (wlurh should nut
be the ca~e) and under wlw h furrnat they h.i\e been ~lorc-d
.\fter th1~ long prearnhle. \\e now mvestigate how these dJtfen:'nl yeJuutle> can
he used lo ltanslorm from ~el~mlc lime to depth \fe- dtsniss Yt"TIJL,tl CUIIYei~JUil
tc-duuques, rr~<~p IIilf.,'l atmn appnMchrs anrJ fin.Illy, post-;tark ami prestack depth
rrug~.Itmn

The vertical conversion of time-migrated maps

Here, the ami 1~ lo \Trlltally Lr<~mform ttmc-s
mio dc-pths Z In diese rnethmh,
we neglect .111 tmtc--rmgralmn .ntcfads,
that se1srntc lmws are vertical
tune-~ The trnpart of~uch an assumptmn should he 1 ardi!\1~ .t55essed and tested (see
bdow) <~gamo;tthe acrur<~CV n:-qutrc-d m any given projetl
Various strategies
In thc- same wa~ as whc-n II)'Illg to de-fine the rrugratmn vdoutv fidd, the selert[(m ofthe mcthod resc-mbk~ more an an' than .1 ~ystrmatK thonght pwces~ Beluw,
wc- dtscu.,s a nurnber
whtCh should hclp wtth chnosmg the mmt -,mtablc techmque m a g1ven ra~e.
thc- chotee- will depend oftc-n 011
data a\dtldbtht,.,
the de.;rer of accurac~ requned,
the geolugKal kitO\\ledge of rlw .nea,
the turnamumltnne and budget,
tnfh\Jdual prdnc-nces.
the ~uftware tnuls ayailabk .tt the tune thc- prujed ts run
Stall'>tJCal tools (,neragmg,
e-tc) pl<ty a muur role m the~cmethods, whC'lher or not

407

l he qual1tv and rehab1htv ol dal~'l JS .tnother key [;u tor m tHne-to-depth conelSJun
~1gnal-to-nmse r.tUo <o~nJ the
pn:sence uf multiples m the scismlC data, the prucessing sKps that data ha e undergone hdore veloclt} analvsl'>, thesc- <ne al! p.1rarnc-ten whtch affed thc- tlme-to-depth
conversion and should be consirle1ed durmg 1he \\holc pwress
"Methods can he- ci<Jsslfied as follows. glob.Jl ersus b~t"r-cakt" appn:Mches, method~ th<o~t u~c- horehok vduty mfoJrnalion onl}, methods tlldt use- hoth se1srnJC and
borehulc rneasuremenl<;
l'he matn prohlem whrn usmg well d<Jta only 1~ the1r sca!Clty Imelpolanun
between wdls and, e\ en mure- ~o. e;>ctrapolatton away from wells IS dlfficuh \\'ells are
tlw tup of struttuJe~, pro\ldmg no m!tnm<o~tlUn un thc- fl<o~nks of
StJUCtures ur on '>edunent \Tlucilie~ lrl ha~ms llus m;ty be \C'l'Y jllc:JudJCia\ for
an accur<lte estunate of depth and gro~~ rot k volurne (C;R\')
Twn str<ltegle'> can nnprue the mterpol.ttion/extrapulauon '>tep.
Ftrstly, stackmg docltles .tnd <;elsnuc umes can be u~ed as gutdes m the mterpolatwn process In part!CubJ, ~c-tsmK stackmg velocme~ have \\!de <11ea coverage, wh1ch hdps m 1he mterpolation pmcc-ss Hlmevel, thc-y haye then hmllatmns, a<; dtscussed m anous sc-ctmns abo, e- In the methmh desu!bed lll
this ~eLUon, when ustng ~tad,mg docities, tbc- Yen t!Ude .~~~unptwn s m.tde
th<o~L \',"''" \'~ where \'""'' 1~ the statkmg-vclouty lield esumated dunng the
o;e<;mJC 1maging step, and \'""' 1s assmned lo be- the root-mean-squ<ne aveage
velocit,. measured
This crude approxlrn<o~tlon ts also di.,cus~ed at
kngth m man} '>C'cltons
A correct rel.tllon~lup betwc-en vertiCal
tune and dc-pth
"" whKh Lan

1 he- ;ucuracy and Uensny of ~tadang veluutv p1rks, the

the two paramnc-rs IS dueto the pre,ence o[ heterogeneJty an(i!or amsotropy,

as dtscus~ed m Lhaptr1 2 Tfns effect, and .tU other artefads. can be tentatively cmreLlt"d, usmg <;taLkmg clont10 and bureholc
Tlus IS Junctm;so
l'he <;econd st1a1egy 1~ tu take gc-ulogKallateJal Lhange~ uno aLcount murcrorrectly us1ng rnulllbyer tnhmquc-s l11ese are talled 'laycr-cake' rnethods.
Clobal.md l.ryer-cake rnethods wdl be addressed m two separatc ~ectwns
Me1hods usmg hurehole onlv are ti:Jund m examples 1 tn 3 and 9 lo 1 l [)..impks
ofJolllt usage ofburehole and ~etMmr d<tta are tllustJatc-d m exarnplcs 4 to H Global
rnethods ale descnbed in ex<~mplco; l tu 6, wlule 'laver-cak' rnethods are presentc-d
111 examplc~ 7 to ll
Fmallv, both app!OaLhes can he- fu ther nnpruved b~ mtroducmg heterogene1ty,
m etther the g\oh.tl or the laver-c.1k mudels, through paran1e1nc \clont~ functwn~
1 he1r usage IS tllusllated in exarnpks 6 and 9 tu JI for global and la}eT-t.Jk methods, rrspecl1\el~
Intc-rpolatlon hnween <;caree data, ahu known he1e a~ rnapplllg ur gnddmg, ts
oftc-n a crucial demc-nt of <1 tirne-lo-depth cunversion pmect It w11l be seen that
kngmg <; the p1dCrrc-d methud olm1erpolanon
Effective-medium and velocity models used in time-todepth conversion
\'auuus 'tfjt11!e' mode/1 that are used m tune-to-dc-pth umvc-nwn were pre;ent-

408

c-d m Chapter 2 'lhev aJe ddined e1ther dnectl~ .ts donty functton~. or sunply ,..,
analyucal tnne-dcpth nolattonshtps. Titese equaltollS .trc m turn expressc-d etthci m
the depth ur the wne donum
lhesc- dlcctl'e modds .tn >UJHmart!ed by equatmns [2 30lto 12 491
.\ cla~~IL.tl e\.ample,
encomle!ed a nmber uf ltme 111
gr.1ph;, 1s thc- cumpactwn
a ltnem
of
J his modd was dJo;cmsed at length lll Chaptcr 2
2 12 a11d 2
The iStlnctwn between comparlton and
,., >hown 111
We u~e must ufthesc- modeh oJ coJuept> m followtng 'ecrions

Mapping and kriging

rvfappmg of ~el<.mH fe.ttUle'> >Uch a-, pKked tunes, depths, vdoLitle~, .tmphtude> 01
an\ nther attrihutc-, I'> <1 lM'L exerrise lor the geuphy.,n'>t 1 he oi!JeLtivc- is tu dra;,
a IqHesent.Jllon of rhe >ub<.urface, whu h honou1~ all 'hard' data, but aho any 'luay'
of mform.il!Uil .Jvailable. essc-nt~<~llv
baLkground knuwledge
mappmg !S a cmnputerued IJ<;l..,
~ome manu.ll mteracton IS >Lill
11eLe<.san hom tune tu Ume
TI1e most LLI>MLal compu1er \er<;ton ol a
mapped parameter estlm<~ted at the node<; of .1
gene1ally wJth ~quarc
or rellanguhu ce lis or 'bms' l}pK.il bm Sl!-t'S m a seJsmlL proJe< 1 m<~y vary from (j 2!'
tu 2::i m .\ map 1~ di<.plavc-d on ~Lrec-n or p.1pc-r, C'Jlhc-r as .1 ~enes nf tso-valuccuntour<>, oite11 1olom coded, or .1s a 3-ll pc-rspeLIJ\C' Ylew (se-e- fo1 m~t..'lnce F1gurc-~
5 08,8.02 a11d
"Mappmg rr1.1v
lo~t mudt of p, unportanLe nu;,adavs, ''1th 3-ll d<tta that
pruv1de the mterprc-tel w1th p.ir.unetns (time, amplnudc-, etc) dtrc-ctly at c-ach gnd
node Nevertheless, 1t remams <t d1flitult ssue when deahng wth 2-ll d<tta, ~carcc
boJeho\e dat.t or stackmg vdouttc-s, as well as m non-, e-ruca! map tmgr.tllon, all
p10blem<; fi-cquentlj encountered m nme-to-depth comc-r~ion
In thc-se ta~eo;, mappmg"' b.J~Kall} an mtc-rpo!atHm prohkrn ){lC'n p.u-ametc-r
y.Jues at stallered loLallon'>, lum 1an thcse value<. be ntc-rpolatc-d;extrapol<JteJ al al!
Jegular gnd nodes, t.akmg the nc-tghbourmg values m tu diCOunt, wlulc pieser\'ing a
'geologttal' umMstc-ncv
Se\ eral tedmique<; ex1sl for tlus he snnpk'>t JS dJ>tame we1ghtmg It cons1sts
u!< omputmg thc- alue at a gnd node (x,, y,) as a "nghtc-d average of the value<; of
the poml m a g-J\en ne1ghbourhood around it \\'e1g-hr5 ale' tYptLall~ proport1o11al to
thc lll\Trsc- dl~L.mLe of the poml~ frorn the gnd nodcAnother d.t~s1ral method IS polynum1al tittmg 1 h1~ conMsl~ of tindmg thcparamett"rs of a polynomial of .1 preddlned degrec- m x .J.nd v, whKh 'be~t fit', for
lll<,lantc- na ront-mea11-square '>ense, the ;alues <~l tlw C'Al5t!llg polnl'> he v.Jue at
a gud node
s then L.tkulated a~ the \\llue of thc- polynonu.] at tht:'>e courdl11ale~ Tlm
1~ 1efened to .~~'global', a~ the parameters of the polynonual
depe11d 011 all <;< attered values
More local pol)llOrrual litting C.ill be perfurmed w1th 'splme fu11ct1011~ fhescfunttlon'> expres~ a lutalmaxmmm ~rnoothness uf thc- map .llld are thosen so th.ll
en~ure contmuity m thc- rnap and tts denY.ttl\b m mdo;"J tu aYmd 'sharp' unrech<~nge>

409

Kriging
J he rnm.t tornrnonh ll';ed rnelhod, ho"eve1~ '' kngmg Kngmg a~ a mappmg
tonl wa<, 1ntroduu:d b~ (_, MatheJoll m lhe J960s .tltcT precursor} worl h~ O(_,
!1 1., bevond the ~copt" of1h1s book lo pre~ent
C:lulc~ dllli
presC'nt.tiJon oftllC'Irm mappmg .-~nd othn .tppliLalions
the~e aulhon, \\e w1ll ~1mply noentwu here lhal tliC' 'l....tigC'd' value at
gud nodC'~ C'>Imaterl from lilC' >Caller of mpul v.tlue~ wlll t.tke aLtount of
0 thC' geomeii} of lhe mC'<ISllled \dlues (wcll locanous, Ydoutv analv~1s loLatmns,etc),
0 the d1stanuo., bdi'.Ten diC' f,'Tlrl poml whe1e lhC' C'SIIUlatwn JS l<t!TIC'd oul and
<Ill the dal.t d\aJlabk (global .tppwalh)
0 a deLompo~!Ion oflht> map mto lwo mam compnnC'nl<; a 'dnfl' modcl oll thC'
oue hand .md tltC' flucluat1ons arounrl tlus dnft modcl 011 thC' other hand

ly an.-~lv~e lht~ eolul!on .~~ .t funLtmn of d1~tancC' '1 hts \tmiiUNII anal)w , repealC'd for
calkd

m!luenLC' the \alue of the mapped paramdeJ .ti a ne1ghbounng gnd node
lht> o;tructlll.tl aualv~,., mav bC' global (al! mput dal<i)\nlh onC' 1a11og-r.Jm lor lhe
whole map, or local (pe1formed on regwnal subseh o! d.tt.t) \\'!lh a spaualh yanahle
1he stntLtuJal aual~'>I'> L.tll be hu ther refined by >C'ardung the evolutmn
ol dueclwu as wcll as dJ>tauce, le.tdmg
Aru~olropiC <Ind loLal
help lo lak belter account
tu res n the mappmg p1otess
the use of an amsotroptc \ a1mgr .tm w1ll
make 11 pms1bk to mlerpolale 'clontles along a gJ\en strullur.tl .tXtS, 01 .1 dommant
chaundling dtreltJoll, dlfferent local 1a11ogram~ may be used o\er faulled blocks
:'\lote that faull~ Lhem~ehe~ need spen.tl treatrnenl lhey are
thrmtg;h whith 1he iuterpolaliou does uot lake pl.tLe
\\'e \\'tll >C'e 111 lhe t"Xdrnple> bellm Lhal >ometnnes we want to map 1110 par.tmeteJs JOmll~ (for m.,l,nHe 11ell ckpth<. aud seJSlllK Lime>) Tlus C.tll be dnliC' e1thC'r
through .1 multiYall,Jle exleuston
called
'thC'almg' lhe
Thb method b rekrred In as 'k11gmg wth exlern,l drift'
"\\'e see nexl how these lll.-111\' rnodeb aud \'.-l!'louo; lool~ and
\t>ltlcal lllne-lo-depth tomerolon >tUd1es
pk~

410

Global conversion metbods

Example l: using a single well and an analytical Z = f(T) function

lh1s !S rhc mmt ~tr<-ughtlon.'<lld ta~f' F~dy, <11 a g1vcn .... d!IOlarlml thc funcnon
(Z) ts e~tabho;hed us1ng YSP cbta, r hc-Lkohol
et\
ao expl<ttnC'd l1l e haptc-r 2 llus (1!1'\'e 1>
pmnt ol dK tme nMp, th1o lunctiOll 1'> mt:'d lo
to thc- one-\\<1~ \ertical lnne rt:'<ld al thc gud poml
are\\tdd} uo;ed
l)gltlle thc- 1 = f (Z) cune and me 1t as a look-up tahle It reqmres a <;~m pie
\eTlK.illmcat mterpolatwn ~lep, d> 1JmC'5 Jllaj not be mteger mulllple> ofthe
s<.~mplmg- rate ,,r the digitiled <uT>e
Uo;e a Jt:'grcsswntethmque lo approxnnate thc T =
bv an analvtit<tl funtlioll .\ polnonu.tl. such a., cquatton [2 :15].
to the scrond
poeT of Z, 1'> the mn>l popular nne ~.quation [2 ~)7] should thcn he uscd tn
transfi1nn umemlodcpltJ
o Duecll; 1c-gre>S Z a<. ,1 funLtton of tune, agam u<.mg a pol~nolll!al, surh ao;
model [2 3!-J], oran c-xponenta] funrtoll, >urh ,1~ [2 471, thdt corrco;pond~ to
thc- dassJCal V, + k Z model

= J

/!~ mlul )in

The quahty oflit m thc- rcgreS>ton mu<;t be <i.ecked lo <t>Sess the actur<~ty ofthc
ttmc-to-deptlt tran~fol m, and lo an>wer the followmg qucstwno;
o ls a pnlvnonna] ,m <~ppropriatc- funnwn, oJ should anothc-r one he- u>ed'
What rkg-~et:' ofpol}nomJalts be~t
o ha unique hmtt1on

to

welh~

F1gure'> 8 16 and 8 I7 Jiustratc thcse pomts s< l.emancal\} Figure 8 1(j d!>pi.tys <1
<,lnlple modcl wlteTc- a ycrtlc<tl ,e\ocit;
but no lateJalLhangc, 1> assumc-d
tn e&h lavn. Hm,ncr, the gcomctry
two d1ppmg layers mtrodtKCS !.ttc-r,tl
velociry yariatHm> lu Figure- t\ 17-a, the actual ume-to-depth curve- .tt well A ts
~hm\11 logethc-J w1th a Tegrc->Stoll of a be>t-fit ~etnnd-dcgree polvnonual of lhc form
Z =\',,T +a P
'1 he lit loo k., good, actonlmg- to \I'>Ual as wdl.is mathcmancal t>XaltlJU.'ltlou (rms
error R' = 0.9997) Nc-\erthc-kss. the regre.,>~on lead5 to
o A..tt e>tnldle of thc m.,tantanc-ou'i vdoul,. at tlw ourlaLC \'" of 1433 j
rns,
m<,tead ol the c:>.act 1600 m/5
A dl'>rnpanLv al thc wdl locatton of ahout 1O m for layer Z., C\Jil'>tderc-d au
un.tLLt>ptable rt>sult m sorne- l'C'>C'nmr deYelopmcnt contexl<, (<tlthough m thts
coutext ,_.e would gc-nnally use- more than onc- wdl)
Thc- depth of la}f:'T Z," thc-n L.ilCUlalcd u~n1g thc- llurd mc-thod above aiJ(I the rc-sult
~ shown m Fl!,'llle H 17-b AV>ay f1om thc wcll, thc dtouc-pancy ma~ lllLTease, 01
dt>trt:'asc, as ou thc left ol the well 1he lattel J<; pmch .t fortundte Lon.,cquenre o!
the regrc-><;wn, whtch m thl'> spct tfic <,1~e ,., bctter .tt dc-pth a dt:'pth prognosis would

411

(a)l)eJ>Ihrnodol

(b) V,.,.

~telllocations

be ronfirrnrd by <1 ~ub~equent wdl, dnlled downrltp to the lcft of wt"l\ A. Nrvrrthekss. th1~ rloes not JU~try thr present tune-to-rlrpth rnethodology as Lhr tnrrt>asmgthe 11ght or "el! A shows
thr d!~llepancy may aho (and nften wtllm real ltk) mcre;br drasttt.ilh when the g-eomell\ of the reflector .-~nd the \clonttes
~lg-mfic.-~ntl} aw.t~
!rorn the tt>fctrnce well 1 hen .-1 smg-lc = f(/.) flmctloll
o;utlinrnl

Example 2: using several wells and a single polynomial Z - Z,, = f (T - T,,)

function
1he JegJe<;<;mn tedunqw ts, neyerthc\r<;<;, \ti)' usrful. esprnall} when data !10m
~nrr.-~1 "ells aJe aya\ablt> Ftgurr il 18 tllustrates an tmportant rxampk of a multlwrll regtt'>'>lll wtth 1an.lhle depth refert>nce~, \\el\ sunrd to m.tn~ rlet>p ofhhote
(.tse<.
\\e .l'>'>urne th.1t wtthm the area of >tud}, thrre aJe '\J \\t"!k earh \\llh a Jektbk

412

o...., ..,,,u;~,' A"'""'';;'""""~f\\'o,,

..,,,,,.,,.,,_,_,,

1
,~

m"'''"'"'"'"' m"m

\'

EstJmat~a and bthrough

poiHomoaiiegressJoO
(ZZ,,)=z a~l

pclds the d\eJagt' palJ.mctcrs \,anda. wh1<h ddlnc an approxnnanon to the

413

'"'''""''"""'"P"""" tht' map'> <.in

he produced nnrncdJcttelv he nmc-nugrated gnd , convcnc!l to dq>lh wllh

of thc ~ed loor, u~mg the rq{IOnal fu11< lJOn (and

Z(x,y)==Z,,(x.y)+ V,1 (T,Jx,y)/2- T,,(x,y))+a (T",(x.y)/2-T,1 (x,y))" [8 6]

companed lct)Cn

V,,.,(L-Z,1 )=V,,+k (Z-Zsf)

[87]

lhe w.c of th1~ ca1lie1 modcl1s Jetmnmended as 11 has a gcologxal biKkground

lt lea<.h to d depth \ei~LI~ nmc rege,swn of thc formol equat10n [25U] J \ffit'-lodeplh ronw~rs1on metho(b of V,, + k Z modd~ are add1e,,ed more gcncially m a
lalt'I pa1agraph

b, 111 rnall)

<lllom, have lwo llldln ,uses

lateral \auauom, of lithology m a gnen laycJ,

do
]a)er gcomen1 for mstance, homogencou~ but \'dnabk tlllcknc''
prodU<c lateidl \anarwns of thc ume-ckpth cunt'' or, eqlll\dlently,
\'tlO<llY funrtwn~
Inteipolanor beLI'.cen and t'xtrapolauon beyor1d welb 1' rhcn the most narmal way
ro addre'i~ lateral< hange' Ideal!), rhi~ pioLes~ should take the cause ollateJd! \cloc!ly \dnanon~ 1nto a<<otml as mu<h as pos>ibk fme-lo-rlef!!h row~ei\IOri , nn mtnp1e-

tel. reqlllrt'~
J.
f01 .111 wdl~ lr dfect, 11 r~ d good QC !01 thc rimc-depth funrtion More
num1dcs the one-\'iiY\Cltwal setsmu
houton of mtc1est at the well locatton !'he lfi>IIW rr~ernp,P
hon7on <tt tht~ ]o(atJon ts dernt' ~rmpl; il~ tht' Idtlo ofthc t"ovalue~ (F1h'lire 2

414

()~)

V
= Marker's depth at borehole
" "" One-way seism1c time p1ck

[8 81

~hould he notcd that the sC!S1lll< a\e!age <1nd ],meholc-cknv<>d avt->1age vel()( !lle~
~hould be equal aftcr a pcrfect .,ei.,mJC-t0-1\dl t1e J\eyerthdc~~- m p1 a< llce the ~t'I~
HllC average Ydoot 15 u~cd 111~1ead of the borchole-denvcd avc1.1ge vt->]()(1(), d' 11
<ompcnsatc~ lor any po;,Jblc mi.,tl<> thdl mctv
1111SpOSitlOillllg, non-7CH)pha~c ;c1;rnu dat.t, enon m

It

From thl' ~<.J.tlcJgram of 1.ducs, u~e g-uddmg tooh lo map

<wer the
"ho]e .J.Ied ot intere.,t h1; y1dds dtt e'limale of the .,eNmc me1.J.g-t' 1elocity
thc honzon of rnleresl.

'lru<lure, etc;
A tlldtll!al ednmg of the map can bt> perfmmed ar thb ,t,Jge, f m~orprobkrns
are nolJCed. (Note that this mteq>relJVe 'lep 1' not ea'y and alteinatlvcs do
rxt'l They dlt' prc,cnted 111 the ex.irnples below)
Fmdlly, <ompnte thc map of tht' depth of lhe hoJJLOn ll'lllg the str;ughtfor1\ard reldtJomhip dwl as,wne~ lildt 'ci.,rmc tnne' are expressed n tw0-1\ay
travell!Tlle'

'e< ond Slep Kngmg-,

thl' mapping- 'kp.
The rnodd m F!gure R
1'
.J.gctln to llustrate
rnethod on a s1mpk
'YlllhetJC ca'e Tiw 1c~ulrs when u'mg 'mgk wdh A and B mdependenTly and both
l~t'lb together .J.re sho"n m F1gwe R 19 C;mg a 'mgk well 1., equJValent to applylng the method de,cnbed m e;..ample
l = f(z) (UH'C
(no
l<>>re,enlalJVe,
\\'hcn !he lv.o \\cll dat.J. 'ets .\ dnd B ctrc used, thc mtcrpolanon (hcre linear)
Ja'tKdlh nnpn>vc~ the dqnh c'tnnalc bclween thc welb, ahhough ;1gnificctnt
errm' rcma1n They <1TC often ove1looked 1~hen the Two l~t'lls are dos<> lo cach othcr

tJonc<i that kngmg , one 1\.1)'

tctk1ng mto annunt data-con.,!Sient latcJal \<1!1dtlon~ throug-h 1.J.nog1ams Hm\n,'er, m la~e~ f<~irly unnplex ]ayer g-eornetry andm

415

Example 4: using wells and seismic times as a guide to interpolation

fhe lunuatwns o[ the method apphed m exdmpk 3 he m the mlelpolatron
kature bet\\een dnd
rause the
mfall
!mear 11He1polatwn
\~elh 01 the u~e of guddmg pa<kages that
aJe too rudnnent<liT must be a\OJded :\Iappmg packages rhat tale f.mlts mto
ae<ounl are nece~~a~, but may rwt be sufficiem, as they do nol take thc gcologJ<al
~llurtuJe, dnd e;penally the huna! dkct, mlo <on~Kkratwn
Tlus chftJuJty ran be a\O!ded by rakmg Sel,rm< tune, (hrertly m lo arrount lll the
comerswn pro( eS' a' dJscus,ed f01 mstdntc h)
ctnd M< Corkmdale
Theu
(01 tlme '>nre ckpths dn: still w.nm\n dt the 'lart of the stud)) indured b) JOIIlt
compactron and buual.
Frnther adapted mappmg and geostdll'll< di too]s .u-e used lo sohe the Js,ue lhe
authon suggested the most popul;:u ones: kiJgmg wrth e;..ternal dnft a1rd <ondJt!Onal.,lnmla.non In tlus specific (d,e, the; propmed u~mg 'ersmw tune~ a' the exteJnal
dnll allmng d bettel-ron,trained rnappmg of
velo<ities lndeed, ~ei,mJC
nmes do <arry the mformctnon on ~11 uctnral fedturcs, and thl' da!U-IOT!\1\/fn/ mtnr' now geologl<dily sounder Pdrticuldr altention ~hould be p,Hd, however, to
m the
each faulted block
bemg p1oressed mde11/htrlej!{h

rhe Jrmtauon~ of the wethod he m JLs a~;umptwn~

lb.e seJ,lllJ<-tO-\\ell ue JS cn\Cral Any erroD are
Tlu' problem , not speotic to tlu' techmque
comers1on mcthod~

416

from the
dl!wdl-

 J he method a~surnes a sLmple and umque rdatwn.,Iup betKeen tnne and seJs\clocltlc~ Note that th!s dpplOdth unph<Lrly maJ..es use ofa conJ= V, + a l (eqnation [2121)
tKo parametcr~
~~ reconnnended to a~se,., the \ahdny
assumpuon Onthen 'hould he detected .md the cause~ of the mJsfil anctlysed
e g pool ~eL~mi< -ro-wdl t1e. cornpleA 01erbun:len. lilteral hthologL<a] rhanges,
JffeJelll geologl< al ~ettlflg~. etc

HLJC ave1age

Example 5: using severa! wells and stacking velocities as a guide to

interpolation
1 he method, de~rubed m examples .'\ dnd 4 a1e dl'erlne \~hen many \~elh that
properl) <me! <111d sampk the study area are .naJlabic
re hable measlllemenls, wdh ale 'Jldr~e and are poorly

ed for theu use 1n depth conver~1on studJes The d1a1\back,

1~
mfoJllldl!On on how the'e steps h;ne been pe1f01med , sometimes lost Con~equently, \~e
d1sru~s belm\ the preferred (a~e, \~he1e 1aw stackmg 1dootK'S are n~ed
In '1anda1d pi driL< e, stct(kmg 1donty maps are extracted from the
1dorll) fidd based on rhe \anou~
v) to be
<OllVt'lled The
the 'hou.-:on 1ms
mtroduction It ~

417

lully obtammg <l corrcopondmg reil~onahle' tm~-vclont) map V,,(x,y) dOI\n

ro thc horr;on T,.,(A, y)
)..1ultrply thc rwo map~ to obtam .tlirst dcpth map
the depths deu\Td hom thJo Tllclhod bcmg called \n.111111
\\'e ha ve mennont'd a numbcr ol1ea~om 1\h) depths obtained m
thc true depths mea~ured m welh At tht~ otage.
to the Tllapo, 1; thu> essential. 1dHch lead.s to thc nt'Xt step
A, B, C, the
between the 'tnlt'' "di
l'hs pdd~ lo( al
, so that

ZA = Z,.,_,. x ),A; ZFI- Z,.,._H x A.H; etc (note that general! y A.<-!),
o! alternatJvel) and

les~

oftcn m.ed, addltl\T A" A,.,

ZA = Z'"" , -r A,., etc. (note Umt generally A <-0)

rnap

""'"''Gdly-,Jcm

JS

[8.10]

, ~o that

[8 11 \

then the producl ol the three maps oncway seJS!lliC ume.

pseudo nns ,douty \',n, ami ronettmg factoJ A map,, 'o

thar

Z(x,y)=T",(x,y) Vrm.(;.,_,y) A.(x.y)/2

[8.12]

An cqun alelll mcthod JS to cahbratt' chrcdly the ed!lcd vdocJlY Jnap \'
the averdge \dounc; at thc welllocallo!H: thc choice depcnch on whcthel
prcter plt'fet~ ro pclfoun quality control on the 1e~ult m the dcpth domam
IC[O(l\y dollldln

polatwn
dS reasonable .ipproxunatwns to

rm~

1\Jt}
01

m the

vdocllK'' The lnnltanon, may hm\e1er he

~e1ere

F1r~tly,

thete o, the problern of havmg to mtet}olate thc correcuon adm }.

betwet'n wdlo,
SC'Condly. Jt
stagc has se11ous opelalwnal and finam !di ron~equence~ lm ple-(h!lllng rargct-

418

depth csumales, reserve \Oiume pn:chctJom, Ct( 1 he task lht'Ieiore requne'> dll
analy~1s ol the reason~ Udund thc ;kew ohserved lor each wdL
Thmlly, 11 does not expiren\) anounl f{r natural (ompdctlo!l and buual
effecl~, phenomena thdt wen: dJSLUs,ed n ( haptci 2
Finally, Jt !S a global method. "hich accounts poorly fo1 anu,d lateaJ thang-e'
m the O\crhUJden
1 he next method addres.,e; ~ome o! the'e \umtalmn'>
Example 6: using several wells and residual (de-trended) seismic stacking
velocities

fm the ld)erbemgdndly,cd

419

 In thc

ond step <~ ~nnpk rdatJOnslup lxlwcen vdonty and time, for
hnca1 funUtorl {~uch as the modd ddined hy equatlon [~ 43]), IS
'llte rwo parametcrs o! the trend, \',,_~,ami k, are oUtaincd b; linear

'>e<

m~tance <~

~ought

regTC~SIOll

V,.,,_'"""(T)=V~

,,,+k T

[Rl3]

Th1s bu11al trend l'> rcmo\ed from th<> '>tackmg-\docuy map, producmg a
Ie~idual ~tacking-velocily llldp 1he process 1~ rdf-rred to as 'de-trendmg'
velocltle~ lf l {x, y) 1~ the lllne map ami\'" (X,)) 1~ thc resJdL!dl rnap, we <an

V,(x,y)=V..,,,(x,y)-(V_,.,,+k T(x,y)}.

[814]

suipe~) dnd
are rdated to
\\'e saw pre\JoUsly that ~nrbce anornalie~ 01 renr< toJ
penod effects, bemg a potent1al pltfall
lhe result Js (1) <~ 'smooth' rc51duo~l veloCJly map and (2) , 'cleau' stackmg
\eloClt) rnap. a comb!Tlalwn of the trend and the '>lllOOth rtsKlnals, gJ\en by

l he followmg ~tep corNSb of calibratmg thcse sta< kmg velocltles \Hth well

data, a){am takmg account ofthe burial efl"ect Fm this pu1p0se, value~ ,re m
turn <IO~s-ploued .tgamst ume Smularly, seJ'>Hll< d\Tiage YclocJtJes <1re e~ll
mated at al! \~elllocation~ alte1 ,1 carelul seisrnl(-IO-\\ell ne 1he \alues die

Now, dll Jllltld] depth map can be computed

Depths may ~t11l not IK' at well~, wluch w11l nece'>'>Jiate d last line-tunmg <ahbr<ttlon
Jt ~~ ~Jm1lar to the one de'>< nbed 1n exampk j resJ(lual con e<are compmed at each \\ell. rndpped and lmall) apphed
map to pwduce the final ckpth nldp that ne~ at all welb

ditl"erent stmtq,~- bnt

1\dl dnft n the method of exarnplc
The choice betKeen the two app1ache~
should be gt~~ded by an a~~essmenl of the rclatl\e ments of seJ~llll< tunes ver~n~

420

~t.J.d..mg \dO< liJe~ The vaiJO\lS CJO~~-plob (V.,., and \'"' vc1~u~ umc) ntu~t be used
a., chagnmtJCs fm th1~ purpme
lt JS .t~sumed tlwr Jes!dual \dOC!tH'~ aJe snld!l, w!Hch rcduu:s thc nsk of error~

Layer-cake conversion methods

geneJty,

se\er<tl
gncs us more tlexJbilny to mtloduce m thc modd moJe
and Intcprcrne intoJmatwn and both horuomal and \ertJ<al heteJothe JCasonable hope lhdl the 1fack ofla)'Cn ll'llf lit a more auuwtt

\~llh

vntatwnof!ht,lllbjurfare

each ld)el

Lhe~c

pomh aJe addressed m ne;..t scctwm,

Example 7: using only wells and interval velocities

J h1~ method 1~ sunpl) an extem.mn of examplc 3, \~here edch laye !S now trealed separ.J.tely Thc
thickne~~ !S ~nnple

- Al each wdl .\, B, C, etc pwk rhe depth of thc top ami ba,e of thc la) el ol
mteJc't ctml the <olfe~pondmg one-way \Crticctl mne~.
[ = I(Z) functwns Thcn eslunale rhe mtenal \dontle' \,,"
d~ thc rat10 of the ]ayer tlllckne" to the la)er 'tune thKknes~
- C,ud (mHccpobte,exH<>pol'o<ej

421

- :Mul11ply the nnw thtLkncss map ol tlw

ohtam the l.!; e thwkncos

l<~Yei

by the

mtcn.~J

'clout; map to

alllaets
lillcknc.,.,e~

or all mcrl;mg layen to get the depth map ol the tar-

get horuon

Example 8: using stacking velocities as a guide to interpolation

lht~ ~~
a nmllila;er c;..tensJon to thc ~ingle- !ayer case or example 4 The
m IJgtue tl 21, although m p1ac11ce 11 1\lll be

method
apphcd
lhc
l

{x,

1clouty V'"-"" \Ve repeat ll here

[8.191

JS dfl nns, dmlnot dll a1crdg-e, llllendl vclocHy, a"cll

out m a 'mular

~~ay

to that de.,<lllwd m the global

1\llh the wcli-denved

dlel<~ge tnterval 1el()( 1t1e~ and make d <Illt< al anal)'l~ ollhe dJfkien(e~.
compute the COI1Cctlon <ocffinent A at l~t>lllocatton., an!l llldJ> thcm 1f neccs-

1 he ,),.]] 1n these

422

metho!l~

he., m

423

Analysis of the sen11itivity of the inverse Dix formula to input parameters

hg-ures 8 22-.t and f\.22-b pl<>~ent a ~1mpl<> Lhr<>c-layer <.aSt> lor thc sake of Lht>
Lhe dt>pth of Llw last honwn Z, IS e~nrn.Jtcrl a" a ~eJSnllc dcpth', 1 <>
as the produCL of stackmg vdoCJty and one-wav vertical tJrne, no correction fact01 le
apphed
.,,un<> n<:crosc JS rewarcd 111 , la)er-e<J.kc manner,
the methorl
dt><;cnbed 1ll t>x.tmplc H ead1 laycr'5 \c1snnc' tlnckncss
multipl)lllgLiw yertKalmt<>n;li tra\eltmlt> b; thc lllterval rrns \clooty obtamcd
Lhe Ul\'('1~<>
dt>rnon~Lratwn,

(;~ propo~nl

IWxt k>t>l of hetcrog-ciWIL)' h~ ntroducmg, fo1 m;tanc<>, a \'efLJ,] g-adwmm t>ah

l.t; <>r Th1s 1~ .t more g-cologqJ ;pproach.
l he senS111Y11V of depLh <>stnn.Jtcs to errors 111 tht> '>tacklllg vclooLv and rmw
p1ck~ 1~ ;]so ,mah~erlm fgnrt> R 22-c 1:1kmg tlw dcnvauves ollhc D1x founula w1Lh
respect of the mpul p.tram<>tt>TS and \'"~' allow~ us to run th1~ analysis Tlus karls
to Lhe set of formula~ below

424

From&Z, ""V......... (T, -T, ,) and v,. .. ,,.,

1\&2,

-=A~~~.':

T,_, ,,tcomt's.

a 1\V, +b 1\V,, +e liT, +d 1\T '

67:,

\\llh

a=V, T, (T, -T, ,)

b=-V

T,

[8.20]

(T,-T ,)

e= V,' T, -0 5 (V,' +V,',) T,

d=V,', T,,-05(V,'+V:'

)T,

11hcre V,, T, V. <1nd 1, ,.ue thc rnc;J5ured sLackmg YclootJes ;md Limes dt the bollom
and the Lop, IOJlCIIlvel}, of thc !ayer, !J.Z 1~ b cstim<~Led St'J~mtc thitkness, b!J.Z,
bemg tht' enor 111 Llus e~tunate for a >et of eiTOlS &v., &V," bf, .md bT,, rn;dt> on
sta1 kmg lt>loCJttes .md tune pKks
Th1, fonnul<1 cm bt> appltcd to smg-le la\t'l~ 10 c~tunatt' e1tlwr t'lron m; gwcn
Il c;m ;]~o ht>
ht)-t'l thn kness. or t'llon m Lhc dcpth e,tlm;llt' m a
u~t'd in d 1 umulatlyt> way
\\'t> slJml the rc~uiL of ~uh a
puLwon~ of the vahw~ of d, b,
8 22-a, we cornpult> ;md d1spla) Lht' um.t'rto.illlLV m thc deplh t>St1mate~ as 'probabilny dt>n~llv fumnon~ 111 dw ~mglt> and rnulula\el ca~t'~ >1ht>n t'ITOIS m Lhe mpuL paranwLers art'
a~~urnerl Lo be ranrlotn WJLIJ a <;~andan! deyJ;JLwn of o,= lO rn~ lm thc ptckt>rl Llrnt''
.mrl/or n, = 10 mis fm tht> lllt'a<;ured Sl.i<.kmgY<>ioCJLIC~
In th1~ ~pcnfic 1a~e. a~ m man; llhtdlllt'~, thP depili f~trmate ~~ mwli more >emttnw
to vdouf)' errors !han
For m~wnce, an error of JO rn/s m the <;laiking velonLy, wluch would
bt> an acumltt> lt>loc!Ly ])](k, wll h;vt> ;m t>fft'lt on
rlq>th
10 ,m ernn of 20m~ m tht> lltllt' picks \Ve cl1t'Ck ,]~o !ho.t mndom
,/rrndmd rle~r
Kot<>lww
rlt'vtauon, ;ccurnulaL<> 1dwn botl1 vdolllt'~ and tnn<>~ ;rt' a~~unwd Lo bt>
ma1 1urat<> (Flgurt> H 22-<. nghL)
lt IS u~ual to ~tate th;Jt tht> JVt'l~t' Dtx formula [H 19] bt>corn<>~ tillSLablt'Wht>n th<>
!ayer thckiW<;<; lall!she, ln [;el, a~ 11e luYeJml ~t't'll, liw (1b1ofute umerlmnf) m tht'
du1kne,, t'~llmaLt' lS ;J!rno~L mdt>pt'ndent oftht' layt'l thKknc~~ .\.~ an t>x;rnplc, n
= !Omlsontht'

u5lmut.tLJon, multdtJW'r [or '[a,er-I.;Jkt'') mdltod1 are mommmded whenevera

romplex lt11n geomPtry 1..1 jm''fnt ln,sonw mclho(h, as m cxampl<> 7 abol'e, 1t JS

425

LC
LoLtom clcpth

~~ t'~timawrl

Example 9: using wells only and interpolation via a V,., == f(Z.,,u) function
Buual t>tft>tl~ 1.-<lll bt> t>xphuLly mtwduct'd usmg the modc\ of cqu<llton [2 :11]
fJlt',Cntcd in Hgult' ~ lO, 1dW!t"rl} inlt'nal 1elm 1t1e5 f.<lll bt> c<lkulaLt>d a.~ .t funcllon ol rhe dt>pth oftht> l.tvcr's nud-dcprh llw metl1od 15 rlemon,rrated m Figure
8 2:1 anrl JS c,Ullt'd out.~~ follow~ for an mfhv1dualla;t>r
Avetagt' llltt>rval vdoctlv .tmll.tye mtd-depth aJe emmatt>d aL t'ar.h \ldlloratwn mtht> .trca undt>r <;111fh, mtng liw dlatl.Jblt> 1 = f(Z) functtons
Tht>~t' valut'~ art' di~playt>rl on .t 10~~-plot
10-b) ;md ; luwa1
rt'gtt'~~!Oil 15 pt>rtiJrnwd to t>xtrau tl1t> btnt.tl
Mramt'Lcn V, " .md k,,.
Tht:5t' p;n.tnJCtt'rs dt>fint> tlw rt>gJon.tlluwai law 11ill( h bcst dcsCltbt>~ Lhe Yari,ttmn lll tlw h1Vt'r'5 mlt'rval Yt'ioCI} "1\lth mtd-dt>plh
dt>IIOtc Llw depth' aml Ytrtlt.il one-w,y umc~ for the
1 + 1 ts calutlatcd
thPRilue
ln~t

l -Establi>hwell-seismictJesand
pickT",1,andT..,,. .,aodZ,.1,andZ
forcachla}crandaiHiil>ells

426

SumiL~rly,

tbe

time~

1,. ..1nd ,,.,.,,., mu~t be know11,

By dt>fimtion, the followmg
,
1

rs 211
From lhe-,<> lCLitlon-,hlps, lht> 1<>qu1rt>cl Z, '""' Y.tlue JS dcduccd hom thc pat.Jmct<>I'
alnMiv <>~l.tbli\ht>d

[8.22]

1> convenJcnt and suuple to put mto opt>I..tiJOil, yt>~ 11' underl;mgtheorv reheo on c<>rtam assumpt1on~, 1 e
that thc lmea1 r<>gn.s,Jon of thc mlcrval Vt>loctty ,gamst tlw l.t\<>r dt>pth ,
>Uffi(tCnllv accur..ttc.
thaL tt can bt> apphed only 1ftlw lawr cover<, a -;ullicwnLiy wtdt> rangt> ofd<>pLhs
f011!p11CIWII O(C/lrl

Tius ts a qtwsuonable
compacuon of bed~ occun

tl11' nwlhod aulom..tlt(:\h 'olvt>~ lit<> problt>m of mt<>rpolaung~ITuttur<~l geomdry 'ITlt<> mletpolatJmJ 1' 'g111dt>d' by lhe vt>llcaltnw<>ltmle map
ami herll<> by dt>pllt~. m .t mannt>r ~um\,r 10 the mdlmd ot t>x.unpk 4
Example 10: 'layer-cake' with linear vertical gradient (V0 + kZ)
In tlw modt>l oJllrol\t>d b~ t>qu.mon l2 ~Hlu,t>d m the pt<>VIOUS cx.nnpk, thc
.l55Hillplton of: ><>rlical g-la(hent in,trl<> th<> lavcr 1,, tn pnmtpl<>, not rcquin.d IL1s
po"-1blt> Lo tefint> tht> tHn<>-tO-dt>pth onv<>rsmn bv not f..On"dt>tmg- the \:y<>r as:
'1\lm\e, mmg- H~
hut lllStt'.trl by t>'ltm.mng m~lanLan<>ou' veloctie'
lll t':Jl h JavC\; and ('Yt>Tl a huuaJ t>fft>t t kh'""' TI11~
Lhat ti we :tct'pt tht> compattlon-.tnd-buttal mod<>l dellnt'd m Ftgnrc 2 08, Lht' r<>grcs,cd V_,., .md k, valut>' al<> a cornhmatJon ofthc \',
TheV., +

427

428

Oncr V,. <tnd k yalurs bavt' het'n obtamed, the ckprh convero,101l procrss heglll~ hom
thr laye
Relationsh 1p [2 50] expre>se~ the ventea! tr..tvrlttme t..T=l,"'""-1,"
tnl;ye
Werrwnteit.Jslolhmo,

il1e Z,.,,,,,,(x, yl m..tp lor tl1e ha~e of thr l<tye1 !<; eastly derl\ed, usl!lg the deptl1 m<tp
for thr l,yet top Z ,[x, \) and thr T, ,(x, yl and T"'""'(x, yl tune-mt;,.-rated map> fo1
thr top ami basr

zbot<om

"''t-V[1ll+-y:-k

zro>

[8.241

Qf COU!Sr, thr c\I,prrston of the ~OmC iog-~ ;long Lhr n~ge~wm'S trcnd-!Jne UklV be
the drpth r;mge m;~ be too sm;Jl!, for <i rehabk rrg-trss1on In tln~ Ca>e,
,hould be brokrn rlo'l\ll m1o sr\rl.tl Mlh-group~, or altern;1Yrly, Jt
may br better 1f srver<tl c\fkient formatJOn~ arr g-rouprd LOgethri In thr worsL
1 ;ses, Lhr meLhod ma' h;ye 10 be abandoned
In
evmt, thr 1trmrimd
devwtum o( tite \OrtU toi aboul tite
rdwb111f)1andauural)l
;\ qur~LHlll ohen po-;ed JS ~hould tl1e tn1erval
'\',, = V,
app10ach or the lllSLantaneou~ velonty
= V, +
approach br
Lwo mt'1ho(h ate tlworetJcallv dtffeent,
m pr.tCL't' yiclrl Vt')\1 ~mul.u l"t'~Uits,
pmv1drd the ng-h1 formula 1~ appited Lo Lhe ng]Jt modcl, rqu;Jtmn r8 24] beuig
~omrtime~ apphed Lo the V, = f(Z,,,,) modrll
1'111> rlt~t usswn lc..td~ to tlw frt'quent mo(!Jf<.dtHm5 rnadr to thr rnethod m pr<i<.tlle
Tlw mo~L wJ(Irl~ uo,rd oftlw~r 15 Lo condu1 t a glob;l analvs1s mri thr welis to r~;b
hsh a common comp;JCLJon codftCJent k tora g-JVen fornldtton; follc:r,_ng- thl~, \',,value> aJ"t' tndiHrlu<tlly r>rmaLrd fot each wdl [or lor .t group o! ;t\pcrnt we\ls, wlwrr
thr trg-resswn requtrrs ~tabth11ng) PosLed V, v;dur~ ;re obtamrrl whll h <.an thrn be
mappt'd over Lhe arra bv kngmg Lo neale ; VJx, yl m.tp 1 ;eh pmnl on the m;p JS
fed m Lo tl!e rrl,nwn~lup .Ibovt'.
Con~LrtlCLton ot a V,(x, y) map usmg wrll rnr;~urrrnents 1~ .t h1ghly mrrrprdaand <iUtoma1ic m.tppmg i~ partJCularly haz,nrlous V,, va/11n
,md thell ya]ur n1a; 1n f,t t ht' negatl\'e for la)er~
eJJtOrnpassmg a stlong comp;KtJon trcnd ..tml ~ufli11entl) bunwd (r g ;s Jll chalk)
<\ nun1ber of ..tppro,uheo .tre ton,equellll} usrrl ro rase thJ> t.tsk anrl makr !La mote
can be wferemed to tbe drpth z,, of Lhe Lop of the laver, drployt!Je '\'.,.,,+k('/.- Z, ,(x, })l' modrl ahradv rlt~cm~ed [equatwns [2 50]1o
1

morld can br turthrr Jdint'rl usmg the compact1on-bun.tl conccpt pre>enrrclm Chaptrr::! J'lns !> sthrmancallv exrmphfied m Scen;uio 2m figure

429

8:24 lt Js .t w.ty ol
Llw tluce par.unctrro,
lt 1~ olten a<,.,urned rh,t

-~k [(l+_k_
Yo z

lx.,kom-

"oop

[8 24]

z"""""'
[8261
rea~oning,

r-.
m..tp ,\r1 t'X,tmplt'
lrthology O(Clll in rhc fonnauon :Vl.tp~ ;rt' >ougln fo1 V,(x,
wllll h wlulc
tl1c '1\ell ;onrt log~. ,tJ~o rt'l,un ,
th<>rn
tht' lcchmque

19$)6

k 11\WK tite >imlunR vflouf11'\ (Arnaucl fl

c],,;cal 11\ porlw>JS rh.tt .,lackmg- \'t']mJt'' oug-ht
lf 11e
tl1at a hlVt't has a(\", + k z)-forrn lll5t<lntaneou~ vt>loutv
the
h

to tTprt';cnt a Tt'..t~onablc approxnnat1011 to \t'TtJGJI rm' vt>lmlllt'~

"'~ume

Example 11: Conversion by 'layer-cake' model and nonnalized velocities

In exarnplt' H abo\ e, a ]mear modcl "a5 u>cd for tire van.tllonm rnlt'rv;J! Yciocd<>pth of tlw ld\Tr In ( hapt<>r::! lrowt'\Cl, 11C ,]so 'aw tlur ; mrrnbcr of
rnorl<>h t'XI>ted, one m particular be!Tlg l;urst\ la\\ (relarwn~lup [2 2.?1)

430

lfthe modelt5 COIICU ancl bIS <JCcur<Hd} r<;tunated, the nounalued \clout;
longet depenh explJC!tly on tite re;J[ rkpth llm 'depth de-trcnchng' dlrt JS ve1~
~uml.u m Jts objeCl1vrs to the rnethorls of examples 6, 9 .tnd lO
manon on othC! f<ILLO!S ,Jfcctmg- thr yelm1ties, m p.trl!culat
msL;me, Jt llld)' pro\'lde dll mdtcatton of thr >halme~s of a clastl( senes, as 11ell <IS
continmg- and pore pirssmTs (see Lhaptri 2)
At
later;] \.tl'!.ltJOih m the normaliled velouly f01 <1

velo me'
depth, 1L 1~
ro do MJ
u~mg nmmalurd vcloclt!es, S!llCe tlwy prm1clr an lllr:halJon
\..tnatwn~
with hthologv. hopefull} closer to \me;nity fiHs 1~ ;m .t~pect rrmforced b} tlw exprltmrntallmear Han and Cast.Jgn<~ law~ (wl.tlJon~lup~ [2 f\$)] ,md
llw lJme-depLh omersion IS carnerl out layCl-'m-layri, throug-h
for
t'.t(h la\t'l under ~tud) and hrlo thc b~t LJ\el proce~~rrl
.\nalyst~ of the wrlls ,nd rletermmauon of the pai.tmeter5 n and b (tltr mwrusmg line<II' reg-rcs~wn 111 the bt-log;uthnuc
dom;m. Pal.tmeter b w11l be Y.tlul for the fmmatmn

431

of Z"'""' IS not cnu<.al), wlth ;n opllollal 1ontrol provJ(Ied by correlauon~

ht>twcen rbe 1101 mal ved vclonues and clay contt>nt ustng- wt>lllogs and other
o,upplement.try dala
Mappmg (u~mg kngmg nt any otht>r mt>thods) ol norm;:hzt>d velocitJes. As a
QC oran J.ddiuonal p1ece of uofmmauon, thi~ V,""",(x, yl map may be Lransformcd mto 'dav conknr' 01 'pre~~urt>' map~. usmg tl1c llell-cahhr;ltJon
fm Liw b.J.St> of the ]ayer 15
.\ pomt-by-point 1al1 ulanon of thc
dcn1ed, usmg tht> dt'plil map
l'.,'l'(x, yl ;md
1
tmt>-llllgiated map~ f01
Tlns neces~Hak~ ~ohmg
<lll Iterative sthenw, the tmpl111t equauon
dcnYes rhn_ tl) lrom rhe dt'liTl!t!Ons ol Y,,,

zlx"'""' - z"'P

[8 28]

T"'""''" -T,,P

Conclusions on vertical time-to-depth conversion methods

T.thlt> 8 1 below rt><.aplluialt>~ sonw of Lht> malll teaLures of tlw vanous methods
prt'~t>lllt'd m tlu~ ~cctton Tlus h~L 1~ not t>xhaustJvc Othel nwLhods 1an be used,
howe1t>r tlwy gt>nt>rallv rt>laLt> filrt>ctlv to ont> or souw combmauon of Uwse melhods.
Bt>yond rhe mdnulual prefelt'lliCS ot tht> use!, ohcn mllut>nced nwstly by the
toob ,v,u],IJJt>, 1onnnon ~t>n~e dut.tlt>~ Lh.tl tht> meLhorl involving assumplions that
mo~t dost>ly <.onforrn to Llw ~tuauon conct>!llt'd shoulrl bt> tlw one ust>d
\\llatt>Yt>f tlw rnethorl ~t>lt>ctt'rl, ti e lumL;Hwlh m vt>Illl al 1OllYt>fSJOil ~hould
.tlw;y~ lw hornt> m mmd \i:'rl!cal 1onyer~wn rd1es on tmw nug-rauon, wlnch lll!L~elf
IS <1 rough approxmatmn and, on a pt>rlt>ll ~t>ISmK-to-well tlt>, rait>ly a1llln.ed.
l'ositonmg m ~pace ofan t>Yenr lhrough IJmt> rnigr.ttion ~ not only fLtwt>d b; mLrin~~~ nwthod hnlll.t(lOil~, rnanl) duc to earth latt>r.tl v.ma'mhty .md tlw prt>~t'lllt> of
am~mropy, but It ~ ofkn forgottt>n rh;lt tht> po~JtJOnmg enor~ <1ft> ~nong-ly dept>ndt'll( on tht' nug-ranon ~do1 llv fit>lrl cho~t>n rlunng- rlata
ami art> Jpdt'pendt>nt Th1~ ;g-,un lnmt~ d1t' ;cur,q of the pragrnatll \\t>ll
t>n\'l~<lgt>d m tlus ~ection
Table 8.1

~:le1t>n method~

of Vt'llJ1;] tunt>-to-deptll

Methad
1-Smglewclland
analyticaiV=f(T)

.':omplcg<nlo!\)1 l'ewwt'Jl,avdllable
/.(T) = \'

L +a 1

funetwn
2 -S.,cralwellsand
singleZ-Z,,:f(T-T~)

polynomial

No.1((UJ.1<YTt'<jlilt'nl Toh('U,t'cllo
lmges(al<'h.l.<mo;todJt'>

2ld\er.< w,tttr+ glohal '>lmplcdet'pothhorl'(llnounder

no l.tteral (hJng<''
~ompactum) S1mplc geoloey lmpo1
>(I)=V, l+a (' nr
!d.JKt' ol (_)(.tu ~he mudel ,,,hd1t~
\',,(7)=\',+ kl

432

IOilVt>r~mn

Appluatans

3-Wellsand-

l.nruted<omplcxrry,lllli<iendy~m

averagevelocity
maps

4-Wellsaod
interpolatioo w1th

Map\' .,(xv,r... )

pledby,.etls lrnponan<eofwetl
tu'Pu'"hle<xtrdpolanonproblem'
away lrtomwelb

(,loba!
p!ck>

Y. <orrebted to oct\miC

Lmute<lwmplexuy M~y '""'rk "rth

a fcw ,.,e]], Importancc of <lwcl<ng
tuneN ...

~""'

plot Che<kkngmg

!""~mete>

lnnrttd<ompk>aty>uffidemh.
interpolationnsing

's~mpled' b~

calibratedstacking

w<ll"" h"P"""'"''

velocities.

w.ckl"g

welb lmponancc o!

"'"";:~ Check :~;mg

param<>tns
6-Wellsand

V,~,

Gl"h~J

ilnutc<lwmpl=uy

M~y

work wuh

de-trendedstacking

CorrelclttOU V., ,md lllll<"

,, le" wclis lmpm tan ce of che< kmg

velodties

Z(x,~)

tune/Y... cms-plot ( h<><k k11gmg

{V .... m+v_._.,(>..,\)}

paranwt..rs

7-Wellsonlyand

L~ver-c,rk

Laterally \ai]tng lav<r >\<"Omeny

interval\elodties

=O 5T,., lc(x,y)

/'J.Z=O 5

(T,~ ..... -

l"')V, (x,)

Mau~

w<>lls Tmp{Jrtanc< nfwell ues

Em!S~gccombm,mon"uhmethods

5aud6
8-Wellsaod

1 \',,_

Lt~er-cake
(T,~,

interpolatioo nsing

/'J.Z=05

calibratedioterval

T ,)V"'"-""(>...\)Ic(>..,y)

seismcvelodties

'!>Ce<,

lmpm

1 ""'

t~nceofr<hahihty/ed!!mgl""ooth

tngofsracbngvelo<ne>cllldQCof
lnt<n,,J rm>

9-Wellsand

L!yer-cak
V,= l(Z."""')

velocn~

N" thm Jayers

1-otu~llvvarymglayer

g<omury,

hlltfarlvstahlelaverthr<kue\>
Se,er,dw<>lls Che<kvahdtt ofV
=f(l,"")rdanomlup

10-Wellsand

Sumlarw<"<ample9,h"t"'Jth

V,+kZ

,,,nablehye. thJCkne\'
ex~mple JI)

11-Wellsand

1 a~<"r-<,tke

Stm!lar to

oonnalizedvelocities

\'"=O. Zm}

modelhetterfirothedata

C!J<ck whKh

433

Vertical conversion or map migration?

ln , nt1111ber uf rhe dtllercnt \Crtlldl tJrne-to-depth nmve1>1on method~ df'-.rnhed
above, <J grear effort 1s made to df'line the opttmum ptopagatJOn \f'lorty for the
ronver<.mn, hur thf' wedk lrnk h llu Yelttldltran<.lorm tlldt he; m tiH' llllttalllme
rmg-ratwn m,e!J Recall th<tt rhe btedl posrtwn ol <JIJ eH~nt aftf'r nme mtgr<Jtmn ~
deMly >en;Jtve to
Lnerdl \dJl<ltmn~ tn the (utuul rurth ,'l'fouty jtr!tl d> df'monstrated for m~t<JtKe
b~ thc modf'l m Flg-tuc 8 Ob fhree pdldllletf'L'> need to be ron;dered 11hen
evah1<1llng tlw eiTert ol ~tH h lateral vandttun.,

It ,., 11orth nuttng that tfw;f' ligure~ wf're df';tgned ro Jl!U'>trare the well-to SCJ'illltc tte
m the lllllf'-mlg-t<Jtlon dom<Jtn Whf'rf' the prohlf'm WJ.'> tu find 11here a Wf'll trdjf'rtOIT
, ptujf'<tf'd 1n th1s JonLam The same mformatiun tan obv10usly be u~ed fur the connow. wlwh Ll

ronvf'rston" ronsulf'red to bf' m;uffiuf'ntly atturate,

Pwvwusly, three lll<lp mgr<Jnon 11wthorb Wf'rf' tltf'nthe tl11rd une was illt!Str,lted in Flgltrf' 8 02 t.<Jch method
h<Js rt'> own mento dnd hrwwuom f he nwthods dff'

5.08),

They

m followtng seltton,, hut now thdl nunu<Jl-r<Jy lll<JP

whJc h wJ!lm fl< 1 he prf'sented as ]ldrt of thf' O\dt kmg velont~ lll\'Pr'>mn,
<l t\\O-St<Jge pffileSS.
a kmemat1c df'nHgratJOn (Pquatwns l5 11 J and [5 12] .uul hgmf' 5 17 th<Jl
elinunate-> <JrlPI<Kt; raused hy the lttltf'
<Jtll! t<Jk; account of the
mtg-rauon 1elouty
thf'n 11ansformed h<Jck to
the /f'Jo-otfset whcre nurnldl r<Jy theory <lpphe,,
a SelomJ ->tage ol nldp nugrdtlon u-.mg- normal r<Jy'>

mlg-J.o~.twn,
l~

434

The du11Ce hctween the thle<' methods 1s gmded mamly by tlw neerllu mmntam the

Image-ray versus normal-ray map migration

l1nage-ra}
currectmn to llmc-mgr<~twn artcfact',
m F1gures 1::\ 06-d and 1::\ OGd It l.'> approx1llldtC bt'C.IllM'
h ,\'>Stlmeo a 'perlen nmc nugratwn 111th tlw nghl' m1gratton \clornv field
'llH_h an Ide<ll rcsult smplv dot'S not t'xist'
It doe<. not J.ltount for thc d!p-ckpendence of tJIIJP-nllgrauun d1~pbument

tune map to he
and tlus computatwn mar bt'comc maLcurate dlld
even 1ery uustdble for rugged surfa(t'<. HuKPier for dlllmdg<' rap, thc r,ry parameterbSimplyLPro
A sccond ft'dson lor the unagP-ray lPchntqut' to rcrnam so pomlar JS that the
tlnJC demip;r<tlion equatwns that are tlP(C'i~aJv for
ttw nonrldl-IJ.}' tcchmque Kcre publJshed eJatJvelv rPcPntly
and hdve not bcen
1mplemcntedm
looked by llldllr mer~

Map migration, but with which velocities?

A Iayer-cake method

435

ls bt'tween three and ten l.;:tyer l (the shallowcst) 1s depth-m1grared first Then layer
2 1<. dcpth-nugrated thror1gh la}er 1, and tlus ts LontmuNI downwdrri~. untli the
deepest tJ.rget hmi7onL'> processt'd "lhe proccss is shown l(_n nornldl-ray JlllgratJon
m Figure r, O Th1s tmphes that laye N must bt> defined ovcr the whole area of
ln\f'rcst m ordf'r lo he able to mtgrate horl7on N+ 1 thmugh Jt Tlw; JS asevere pracIf there are dllV 'holc-;' or shadow are<ts m the n~<tp N,
tllf'map:;..+[
'lhad011 dl'CdS llldr rome
stef'ph d1ppmg fJ.u\t-; or too rugged honzons, wlnch
lllake 'd}' trdcing tm.'>labk So lile poss1ble rcllledies tu d\ o](\ tt'achmg the t<trgct hoitzon wJth no mformJ.tJull at .l dre
omoothmg thf' mtermedtate maps (rf'tommended),
lllanual ed1t1ng of 'boles' dmi ~hadm1 ttmf' (requmos sume Jntcrventwn of
mterpretcn),
using more ..,tahlc ray-tlacmg tools, ..,urh as wa1c-fronr-based une-; (gener<tlly
not availablf' m mo->t mterprett'rs' w01kstattom),
replaong ray tracmg by at tudlly pmt-stack dcpth-nl16JTatmg the ->eJSmlc
ddtaset Tlus IS a recolllmemlf'd approach to which Wf' w11l rcturn
Estimating layer velocity
In pnnnple, thc mt'thods de->tnhed ahme to f'~tlmatf' the la~wr vclonty for
iart'r-cakf' vertJCJ.ltune-to-dt'pth comcnlon ..,huuld a !so he apphwhlf' m th1s case.
Tht'rc are, hov.ever, sume maor dttfen:nces, e'i'ienually due to the fact that
normal-rav ll!ap mtgratlOn takcs benf'r account of refkcrur dtps hr1t 1'> St'llSItJVf' to them,
mtgratJoll JS .li!HSitll!e /11 vert1ml arrd latemlvelor!iy varwtwn1 an.d to thf pult'nt:e of
am~vtmpv,

corrcctton.
[( ;Jrhlt'\C th1s
the velm ny modcl
methods.

hctcrogf'nt'Jt}' ami amsotmpy nced to he mtroduced lllto

lirstLonsJdt'r thesc pomts hefure d1scussmg VdrlUtiS po'>'>lhle

Advantages of a vertically heterogeneous model

fhe carth 1'> alw,ws hort7ontally and vcrmally ht'teroge11eous In hgurc 8 22, we
h<11e dltPadv sct'n the advdntagc of unrodtKmg hetNogcnelty m the form of <1 rnulttlarcr modt'l for vertical depth ro11vcnnm Herf', we considt'r thP <JdvdntagP uf
mtroducmg vertu al hetcrogCneity m map fnigratton a~ well
In Ch<Jpter 2, wc mcnnoned d scIes o[\t'l'ttca[ hctcrogPrwJty elk(\IVC lllf'dtd,
thP mmt dasstcd! ones for \t'l'ttcal tlmc-to-dt'pth convets1un ta-;b bemg polynonnals m depth, wtth the s1mplest case-; bctng the \mear grad1ent V0 + k Z mudel (exampk !O above) anJ thc F;mst law V,"=a z:,,'"'"'" model (cxample 1l) :;..otc that thc
lllodel mu'it be n011 dcfinPd m thc dt'pth domam, 11hJCh means that polynonuals n
trme (cxamples 1,2, etc) -;hould be transformcd 111l<J tht'lr depth eqmvalent (equa\lons n Chdpter 2), hefore bemg used fur depth nngratum Thls lS 110\ done 111 practJce, and so we roncf'ntrate on thP hnear gra(hcnt nwdel Y,+k (Z-Z,,)', Jelincd hr

436

1 .

l
k~O

.o

~~

0.3

Tn~e
--~~

:::..

k~O

omequentlv, un errvneom
~tage, nnfe~s

dipmder

ff11C now mtroduce a Jnedr grad1ent in the larer whlic choosmg \'., such that the
,vcage vclocar\.,, L'> mamtamed, the tC'>ult 1s mort> corrcct (k= O 3, V.,=2170m/s)
,md even perfect fo1 the true grad1ent (k= O 6) and wluctty V0

Effe<:tive gradient models

l he chmcc ofa Yo+ k Z instantaneous 1elontr to be tntrodt!Ced m a
be d1ctated hv the shape of the somc log unve, a-; mggested m Ftg11re
but 1t
can aho be J. way of addrcssmg thc vcrncal heterogcnelty problcm m dJti:erent types
uf hctcrogf'neity. Asan cxamplc, m F1gurc 8 2fi wc takc a hctcrogeneous model to
be a stack of layers exhilntmg very d1ffercnt \elocltles and we as->umc that v.e h;JVe
pKked stackmg ~cloCJliCS .tl the tup ami tht> hottom ofth1s cnsemLk Cia~'ilCaliy, thc
mvf'lSe D1x formula [8.19] ; used to estt1natf' the nns mtcnal \clOCJty T!ns ledds tu
dn overcstunate of the ldyer t!ncknf''i'i a-; the nns vf'lourr h larger than the avf'rag-e

437

(e' 1'-l):::::o!J.Z=V,"_mt ..T [829]

(u)

Het~r01:enoous

(b)f.stimatmgfhicknessfromstacking~elocities

layered earth

'
'
7:,.,,

(c)F,JTec1iHmodelwithagradientk

(d)

Eflect~

V, and

as a

438

e~flmated

run~tion

ofk

depth

 Sccondl}, 11

:,

a\so reco!Hmf'nded w!th rdert>rwe to F1g-urf' 8 2J abme, 11he1e

Advantages and necessity of introducing anisotropy

J he presence ol anJ\olropy 1s e\f'll more df'Cept1ve Thh 1'> lilu;tJatf'd 111 Ft.,cue
H ';!i, wl1crf' Wf' ron~JdeJ again tht'
lmt am;otmplC mude! uf F1gurt>
m1gratmn Thc results of tlw, excJCI<,C
hgurt' 1::\ 2i-b The vclocitie; te:,tcJ arf'
The \'ert1cal vf'lorttv V", the rt'.'>tdt ts m~SpoSlllonf'd both ~crt1cally and hon-

the fact rhat tht> lareral ->htfr L'> f,r lrom nq;-l1gtble (200 rn 1ll thL'> examplc)
rnessage 1'> clear do no\ ft'jotrc tuo qmckly tf yor11 d1pnng ma1 ker ttes tlte well
J h1s 111<1}' wcll ht' \het>r chanre, and as, rc<,ult ol am->otlop\, the tltdl'kei rnar
not he wht'rc }Oll thmk Jt 1->!
l he nonnal-mOVC'oUt
\\'(' WO]d ohtalll hum
orvl Agam wc ale
no more succf''i:,iul m gettmg thc nght answcr (tuu dcep and latcrally dL'>-

\iotf' that tlw abo1f' tommf'nt> arf' not relev,mt m tht' rast' of
(~f'f' Chapwr 2 fr df'mtmn <1nd dtscu;:,Jn) In
11111 df'pth-; 1an he corrf'ctly t1cd to wcll df'pth~ by a vertical :.trf'tch
lt IMs been ~hown thdt m many r trcumstan<.e:. tht<, 1'> nota tt'pl'f''ientatlve mude!
rml eat th anl'iotrop}
hgurf'; R 2.1 to H 2i ,w prf'SPntNl ro lfmtrate ->omc of thf' dtllicufnes m tmw-totkpth piO]f'l t:., hut <1bo to emphaS17t' llw simplf' mcs ..,agt' that tht> more we mtrodt!Ct' tf'lcvant miunuatwn (mamly heterogenf'lt)' and amsotljl)') nno thf' mJg1at1on
Vf'loutv fif'ld, tlw do ..,cr the result t'i to the true dC'pth rlu; 'rule' kads to thf' Jcvf'lopment of mOI'f' :.oph!stlcated approaches. whJCh 11e d~;r U'>S now wtth rcference to
furthcr example-; uf dcpth com'eiSton method~

439

(a)AnOOtropicmodel
2000,-

Iwtropicrtormal-~aymigratWn
wilhVm,.

'""1
1
0000'

.,

(c)Verttcalandhorizontalerronlnduce~

h}isntropicmlgratiouasafnnctionofVq

(h)Rosnltofnormal-rxymigrationwith
variooswlocitiesv ....

Various map migration approaches

Example 12: using welis only and interval veiocities
rh1s 1s the ntust 'natural' method, espeetallr whPn many wclh are <JVallahle The
mcthod fur the n'" laver
that the cunent mudPl has alreJ.Jv bePn est<Jhhsht>J fot thc n-1
ricld) can~ he dP~cnbed
<.chemancally a-;
Measure thc mtctval veloetty uf thc layt'r at CdCh well, tlsmg CJ.hbra1Pd somc
logs or checkshut .'>urvcys from thc propcrlv docurnented Vlt'!h
Interpulate/cxtr<JpolatP the well-dcnvcd interYal \clocttie.., 0\cr thc wholc <Jrea
uf mtere-;t Kngmg IS once agam tht> most
tool for thts The rcsult JS
thc est1matPd mterval vcloctty map of thP

440

 Depth-mgratc the n'' hon.wn throug-h tlw ( urrent n-1 layf'rs ;:md thc ( omputcd mtcrval ma.p of 1he n"' !ayer usmg one of the two te( hmque~, nnage-ray or
followed by nonnal-ray nugration
at the wclllo(atwns
[f we a.re
the map-1n1grateJ dcpths and Jp; 1\lll mdt(h 1hc well
and
J1ps di all wf'll lordtlons wnhm tlw u'qucstf'd dCCUidl)' and Wf' can
to tlw
Once ag-ain,
-,hows that this l.'>, unfortun<ltf'ly, nor always the
c<~<.e.
reason; can
to explam the dJscrcpancv
F1 rors <tnd 1naccurancs accumulate from laytT to !ayer Rccall thar map mrb'lauon oftf'n 1mphes manual map editmg (Hgtue 5 07)
l< 1ror<. m tht" p1ckcd honLoll A short( ut m the ~el'imw-to-well tiC perfonned
depth Remembf'J the numerous pafalls
Denugr.ltlon,
1ty field

or normal rap do not 'bend', thm

~pace (F1gure 8 26)
The presente of amsotropy As we
(Figure 8 27), anlsotropy cannot
he detelled hy m->pectlon of thc borcho!P-dt"tlVcd dverage vclocll d!unf'
Other rnea~urf'ment.'> or consJdf'ratJons (oflSf't-\'SPs, cumpan<,on between llf'li
Vt"iocity and ~tackmg velority, rore mea<.urf'mf'nt<., prest"nce of sh<1ly layt"n) aJf'
necc:.sary to detect Jt
The interval-vf'luuty map J'> not correct m tht" VJCllllt} of thc wclls at the currcnt !ayer or even dbu~e
Thc last four pomts are thf' mo->t 1111portant whf'n stt'ep rhps are
In tlw
mude!, whether 111 thc cuirf'nt !d\'Pr ol m shdllov.Pr layt'rs ut the
Remf'mhf'r
th,n normal rdys ran trmf'l a long way from thf' rt'flt"ct1on locdtlon. espeually fo1
~leep Jps at large df'pth
An approach oltf'n ll'if'd to 'fine tune' tht" map nugratHJil JS to force the tlldp to
nc wells through tlw prdgmanc mulliphc.JtlVt' 'currt"c uun factor A' dcnved al each
well, d
already encountered n cxamplf's 6 and 8. btil now applied to
l hf' cump!Ple
of [O!Tcctwn fa( tor
!S talculated by 'kngFinalfy,
map !S apphed to thc
nn rent depth map
rh1'l last stcp IS acceptablc lllllldll} ca.se'>, but may betomc nsky m the prcsencc
ol h1gh d1p, high
and
a-; r1lu~t1ated m the previous scc\lons IfthJ<. 1'> tlw case,
hstcd ahme mtJst be con..,idered ancl po->~1bly remcJted
Example 13: using a vertical gradient in the layer
lis hm been 1/af,ed, 1t 1s almays udv~ablf to m.Jert a vnllcalveloclfy wadunt mio ear.h
!ayer Th1s en<tbles u; to .u:cuunt hette1 fur thc natural processe-; of compacnun and
huri.tl
y)+
y)l veloci1y modcf, suth a-; that pre~~ wt'fl-~UJted to thl~

441

the lfliHpJ.uwn LoPffkwnt k, uhen (hut not neLP;sanlr) <1<. J. ton,t,mt lor tlw whule
<Jred uf mtpre;t
Thc
d omt nspectKm uf ;on!C ruiTP<.
plutted
1s then esunuteJ ;m h that tire
i'fliua{rr.)e/fl{!,evpfoolyl\

uefoo/,all'achr''Pl/luta/wn,as

h.1ppened m tlw
, , l' e\elltuallr obt<JtneJ by kt~gmg
theSCI'<tlue<.
If tt d]l]l<'dn rh!liuJltto <l~stgn <1 umqtle k v<1h1e tor tlw 11 hole b~er, tt l<lll he brokt'n Jmn mto '>t'ler<Jl ~ub-l<J)'PrS (with or w1thout mdl\ulual vPrtJr<Jl
enstll'P th,11 l'd\ wfr,lrUon LOI l'Prtly po'>lltons d1ppmg reflecrors, whtl;
d\Pl'tH<ll

t\1otcchnu..ucs th<Jt WP cun'otder m the next oectwns

442

x,
1--- Ti 1~~;

Pkked-on stak dat;:

',

( _~~~.~~;=~~~;r;;_:_;~d __ ,1

--------~~----
x,

2-Normal-ra.depthmigration
with\',. 1 ,\'u,elr.

4-Mod~ltnvelttmes

as n function of oii~et t,(h)

6-RepeutforallV,at"'

~- ~~ Re~<.'lll for ~~~ocations ~

:\

-----~-

-.1 ? Fma-;-\,(x) 1

hnally, tht> prmt"ss 1~ tler.tted lor ,ll comrnon-nudponu posltlon~ X slttMled

m lht> zont> of mtert'~t. g1\ mg ,m t>~tlllldtt' of the p~tp.tg,ltwn \t>louty funcuon
\' atlOS~ the \\holt' \ayer ~Omt' manu.tl or curnputt'I-aHled t'rhtmg ma} he
rt'qut'Skd hew,
final mtt'rval velot ttv function
nw horuon ~~
tJOll,

443

Nunercm~ 'dndtlOns ;uf' posMbif' Sf'mhlancc (f'quatton [1 4]), or 't ohctemc' cdn 11f'
cakuldted ~lt V\ a<; tht~, 111 fact, whtch g-rves Lhe methorl1ts n,!lnt>) 1ather t!Mn 1hc ~um
matton a< !U% the tht>orf'tKal times A
r.~ther t!Jdn ]oca!' invt>r\IOll can be
pe,formed hv looktng- fm
entin lavcr m evcn ove
expcncm e ,J t"-pertl~t'
Tln-. mcrhorl d<Lu,tllv Ieprc.'<cnb an exlen>!Oll of (011Vt'llliOnal ,,Kkmg-,dx"''
dtJ,tlnc~, vt'l 1!
rcpLtce thcm bccduse, d~ nuy llave been
llal
t!Jatlhe

'fno-uflmlt;'

lt !S worlh nonng that thc honzon m.ip nugt,tllon

v'1th thc

1~

(d!Tlt'd out

~lmullaneou~lv

1""1'''"""""'-wlxt>

v,tluc Th1~ approach

actuallv unptovt' thc lm.J.ge
concetned
JntcrpoLttmg or <.alculatmg t!Jc lUlYe-. lor ,Jl thc otht>r mlen:Hedt,tlt' hon7ons, howevcr, pre~ento a numbt>t of pracuc.d prohlemo .1\Ioreovt>t, Lht<; ~umm,tnon occun dt
Lhc (ommon nudpomt .il!d not , Lht> Lommon-refkct!on pomt T!H~ 7Cto-ofEet
ror lht' COll~lfUCl1011
ofa vcloutv modcl 1ulh , \lC\1 lo po>t~t.!Ck dcpth nugr,ttwn or dO an mitidl modd
for t!Jc e~lnnatwn o! PteSDl\1 Yclonllc~

Example 15: anisotropic stacking-velocity inversion

llcre we prc~ent a method for Lramlormwg otackmg velotiL!CS mto pwp.tgdtHm
vclonttcs 1t concct~ the numerou-. artd,l< h mvolved m the measurement~ dlreddy
11\Cll[IO!lCd Oll ~t'ITraJ OC! dSIOllS
~llllllar to <.ohcrelllt' ,malysi~, lf 1111 modd-lm1td method t!wt 11//ow1 mrm{falii'OII'J 10m-

,~~OCl.ltt'd

lth sta<.king \eloC!Ilt'~ dnd thc l)x lormu!d, m p.irticul.ir, thosc reLiling Lo bcd
geomcny,
dlll>otropv and prot csomg- ~equem e
lt io ;m
Chapter 7) 111 11hu h 11e ~edn.h ror the sub~udace
ckpth velocnv model, or macrommlel, Lh.il best expl.im'< Lhe d~d!lable d,tt.t ,md the
way thq havc bt>en obt.J.mcd The~e d,tt.t ,tre

444

445

 The depth ol the nllrenl hou?on, rt~dl ether parameteuzerl or repre~cmcd

.t~ a regular gnrl NolC thar the~c two seto ol unkmmns are not mdepcndent
a oel of vdodty and ,IIJisolwpy pararneter\ y1ekh d unrque depth horiton
lhrough thc mvandnt-. of the melhorl "1 he~c are the dcrmgr,Herl zeroollsct
tra\dt1mcs

The dnul pwhlem nm~r~ts of Laknldtrng ~ynthcnc stad,mg velontre~ for a grven .10
~ub~urface morle\ Thr., rs solved by calculanng tr,nelnnre~ m the model by r.1y tracmg For the rna1 romodd, only mtcrbce~ will comututc cflectors ami conscquently
be unplre<tled rn the <,tdd.. mg-velmlty 1alculauon
,\lthough app;uenlly ,nuple, \tKh a pro1edure w!ll be romplrc,tted by luvmg to
t,tl..e mto dttotmt the krnenldtiCs
umkrg-onc by the datase!
Dl\10,
it i~ e~scntia! to t,tke account of proce:s.,mg canied out
lo vdoCJty
\\'e do thrs by lindrng the ray ~ct a;~ml,tted v,nh tlw~e rdlectrom th,tt, ,fter
the proceo~1ng, teatnre m the velo< rty dndl}'\1., rln-. IS the conl"ept of'irn.Jge-gatheJ
ray~ mtroduced 111 Clupter i (F1gun:~ 7 06 lo 7.0R) '1 he nMge-gather rayp.nh and
1ts a'~oCI,tterl pd.l'amt'ters \\1\! rlepcnd \Ok!y on the ~ubourface morlel, and are determmed by rhe 1m tia! tr.tvelrinu: and tmrcdlp, ,.., well ao tire
(NMO correctloll veloCJty, I'Te~T\1nugranon velonty and mvcne
correctron
veloC!t\) 1 he equdllon~ govermrrg the kmenutrc' of lhc "J\10, D!\JO and po~t-~Lick
,md pr-e-sL!ck migr<~lmns ,-e wdl understood Mmt of thern h.1\e been g1Yen m the
precedrng- rhaplcrs .\ {orre~p01rd1ng ndVellune-oH-.et {urYe ~~ 1akuLtted, ,md then
'l<l rcgres~on, the modclkrl ~l.u klng vdocity" obtamed It !S thr-. techmque, 1\h!Ch
rs employed 111 Chaplero 4, 7 ,IJld R to model, m .my mcdrum, the dl'ect ofproce~s
on sla1l..mg vclwrtu:-. whcn llMO m 1ariou~ PreSTM methods are
,maly~rs

The problem tu solvc "th,tl ol

horuon depth, layer ,eJonly ,md ,tm;otropy, lhat mmnnzc., the LOO! funrtwn ,\s !S
ollen the rase with nversion, the uniquene~~ of dw ~oluuon unnot be 6'Ll<lr,mtced
,md con~lraml-. mu~l be mtrodmcd, such ,~ \nmled dcparluw from ,m a
mode\ (kadmg toa cost filllction oimiLtr to eqtMllon [i 1O]) .1nd d smoolh
field ddined by a lnmlcd numbe1 of p.iramt'ler~ Thr~ mcans tlut etkcuvely 11e occk
only the long v,,,vdength varut1om m lhe pwp.tg.ttron vdocrtie~ \lany olher 'rcgul.Jrll:atlOn'
pos~1ble
"'here each ldycr r' lllvf'rtcd mdependcntly 1~ ~h01111
ha., bcen drawn m 2-D, althongh the
1:\.30 -.hoi\S, m
acqnL\thon >jJTead

446

447

T1u~

lughly ~unpltfit>d dt>scnptwn obvmu~ly md~ks a number of dillirultws assocMIcd W1th tht> mver~mn, t> g the \t>lonty-fun<-twn p;uanwtenz,tJon, the ddinwon of
the constramt~. ao we\1 a~ the ~tr,tegy (global vt>nus la~wr-by-l.wt>r ll!version) nvolved Rav tr.1cmg (UilStable anda poor rt>pwsentatlon ot wavt> propagatlon when
medi,1 ,ut> E'XLt>~slvely tomplt>x), the pre~t>mc ofsh,tdow .wnes under f,nJlts on the
m1gr<ltt>d maps and the h,mdling of mu]Lvalued tr,tvdtllllt'., are among otht>r diiTieulties lo bt> takn mto cons1deraton
The v'etght betv.een bort>hole d,1t.1 and otackmg velocJtwo, t' <~nother mtt>JT>tmg
fealUre of the method. Idt>ally, a tero we1ght on stackmg \t>loCJty VJeld~ a modd that
fits all well depths {<~utomauon of examplt> 12's rnethod), lrrespeCL!Ve of stacking
vclont1e~ Convcncly, d tero we1ghl on v.elto doeo, not t>Usure a gofKiseJ'!lllc-to-wt>ll

F1gure
shows an example 11here stackmg-\elooty mverswn softw,ue !S
apphed to a zone of lughly complex tectomcs, v. ht>re a Ox fn1mula approach 1s not
valid.
The lllVt>fSio\l tcchwque outlmcd ,tbovc allow~ , numbt>r ofproblcms a-.~oCJated
wtth the use ol stackmg Vt>IOt 1ties to be resolved
It perfonns an estmunon of propagatwn l't>lot 10cs aml depth map mgranon
;unultancously Th~ dt>pth nugrauon JS mdepcndt>nl of the lllltl<li tnnenngrauon vdocies chosen (at lt>a~l 'kmemaLK<~lly')
lL aLcount~ fm proLe~smg already applwd lo the ~t'IMTIIC datawt and Lhe
asooCJated p.1ramcter~ (time-migratwn velouty lield, NMO vt>loetty, l'r.;J \1
mlgranon velonty, t>\C) In particular, u takts accounl of the fKt thal the
vclocHJe~ are esumated as a lu!H uon of tero-offset tmws (po~t-DMO) 01 .tre
partlly nugrated afle1 l'reSTM, and hence w11l not bt> coherent 111th hontons
p!Ckd on Umt>-rrngralt>d cubes.
It handle~ 3-D -.ub~ul[,tce gconwtry, 1 e the o,hape of mterf,Kcs and veloCJtv
vanatmno, 11tHch can~e tht> non-lmea1 (h~torl1ono bel\\t't'll stachng and propdgauon veloutlt>S. lt allows llllerpolanon ofpropaganon velont1e~ by mean~ of
thc choJLe of p.tramelt'nzanon u sed m the modcl
It 1~ mdependent of <Kqm~H!On geomdJ)' SL!Ckmg velounes, whcther rccorded 'along-d1p', 'along-~trike' or at anv other onentalion, should theoretic<~llv
,]\be equally t>dSY to mvert, smce tht> ~ource-rece!\"t>r ~pread coordmatc~ can
be mcorporated mto the modelhng ol Lhc ~uck \eloc!ly ITown.ct~ we ohould
not rorget that only vt>locny mfomtatlon properly samplt>d bv" glVt>ll aequlS!nwthod
h
mcoipor.ltlllg heleloget!COU<; or amsolmp!c
parameter~ nto the model
These nuny <~dvanlages \\onld appear lo make 1l , reeommended method 1(ol'>t'Vt>T,
fin ti y not rnany emnmt>J"C!al package~ ex1~t 10 carry t out, wcondly the accw d{"Y of
!he result 10 \t'l)' dt>pendent on thc quality of mpul ~tacking- >elotllJes (thio 1~ not
opcnfie to thts Lt'ehn1que), and fin,tlly ray-t1Mmg m~tab1IUy renMm' the ~'>eak lmk of
the method fhs i<~tter i~sue C<lll bt> remcfherl by using poot-stark depth m1gratwn,
oiS W(' dt>~{ nbe !l !ll the llt'Xl t>xampJe

448

Example 16: combined use of stacking-velocity inversion and post-stack

depth migration
llus 1' dll allern<~nvc wute tlut wa~ ~ugge~tcd m Fl6'Ult' 8 02 and fmtht>r
fkt;ult>d m Ftgun 8 31 llt're, we sttll nse ~tackmgvelonty toaS~t'SS thevclooty lield
bul fo rhe lin.1l
of t',tCh Jlcration. the somclimt's unstable ummllfojlhf u'hole semmc data tllbl',
d te-mtt'rpretauon of the
mort' computer- ami ust>r-tnne
mtt'nsJvc ptoce~s cmnot bt' mtroduct'd mto lht' mnermoslioop of IU\CTswn wht>n
tht' optnnuatton proce's lakcs place and 11hcrc nMny r.1v m1gratwns ,tre nect->~~.1ry.
It IS, howevet; very useful for cont ludmg tlw conventon to depth pi"IK.t''~ of a !ayer
bdort' m O\ mg to tht' ne"-.t ollt'
Tht> scquenet' lm " grl't'll la;wt 1~ then -.u!111ar to that m Figure 1:\ :!0, up to and
mdudmg stt>p '::) (the optnnuallon proces') Tht next steps ,u-e shown m figure 8.31
fhc currt'nt modt>!Js 'flooded' 11th the vclocity lunction \", ht>low honlon:! Thi'
{]ooded modt>IJs used m conuncnon \IIth thc -.rack datast't
dt'pth m1gratwn. "] h" post-stack d.epth mzgratwn mu,.<,t be
1onlirms thc need to mcludt' dlll~olropy m tlw modt'] 1 ht' llt'\1 .,elSIIIIC cube m
depth JS Jlltt'rpntt'd dnd p1ckt>d on lht' intt'rprctatwn worbtauon. "]he tesull15 the
depth m<~p of horizo11 3
If th1s 1~ not lht' l.1st horuon to bt' ptCt'~sed, l m turn 1~ mtroduccd nto the
model to ttt'dtC tht' min,tl model to ~ldl"l tht' Jllvt'r~Jon ofld]t'r 4
Prt>rt't]ll!Site~ fm .tpplymg tlus mtthod are
A ~\,tck. Zt'ro-olfsel cubt' mmt bt> av,uL1blt> , tht> time ol the nme-to-depth
ptojt'Ct <~nd lhs i~ 110 longt'r dlv.<~ys lhe C<l5t' Rt>membt'r that m a PreST\1
't'qut>Oet', 'ueh a Zt'ro-oJhet Stdd. cube IS not nece.,<;anly compmed Dat,t demgt,tton may tlm~ bt' llt'tt'~~'ll)
Mort' tllllt' and resomLt'~ art' llt't'ded to cany out .,uch a pwen An am~otrop-

449

u pO\t-~Lu k rmgratton pat k<~ge .mi tht> computer powt>r nect>ssdry lo run !1
att' notan rntetprcter\ basK looh
A mudern ~-D 'morldler' palk,,ge 1~ noeful for h.mdlmg velouty modcls ,md
lll<~P' m a ~eamk~; fa~hmtt
Hm1t>\ef, the ,Jv.ntag-t>-. ofthe mcthod are rmportdnt
ln\tabrlie\ u ray ongtatwn are avo!dt>d, at lt><~.,t m the final mapprng- ,t.age

al! nelt>~-.ar1 hullJan InterYcnuon~ ncu:''~tty to crht hrutt> m.tp

are rt>placed by tliC ducll mtcrprctatJolt of ~t>l~rnll d.!la, wltKh 1s
more odt"idctot'} and less nsky
In paHJCU]dr, the CICt that the mterprctcr 1, 1molved 1!1 the proJCU opem Lhe
po'>>lbtht\ of
dtt lllk"f!HT!dl!on ti tl <~ppears nete,sary Thh 1s
ddimtely d g-t>nt>ral
m tlw mdustt')', .1~ wa~ nwnt1oned prevwusly lor
J)J't>Stack depth migration
Tht> cnd produl'h of the proet t ,re tite amsotmpK \t>lm 1tv lit>ld. depth mdps
rmd wmrm rklta pmperly
Dut> tu thc prerequmte'>
are (unfortnnately) r<Itt>ly
C<il!lt>d out
.\~,ti! MI

tummcnt m th1~ ~t>( non,

nugt ,tlwlt wnh tht> 'tloudmg' ~trat.1gt>m 10 by no medn~ reotudcd
1tv tmer~wn The Lechnuut> h ofkn med m other methods, t>Spcctally
lJtuldwg- dn nnllalmodt>lm mam Ptt>SDM proJeCb

<1,

a medns of

Controlling the final result o[ a time-to-depth project with post-stack depth

migration
If post-statk depth mtg-ratron w,15 not paTt of the map-nugratron process. a~
t>xpl.tmt>d abovt>, 11 1> I'.TSt> to ust> lt for d final check ol tlw coherence beti'.Ten the
model ,md the >t>J-.mit data Ihi~ un be adue,ed by ,J]nal po-.t->tdlk dcpth mlgralwn of Lhe 'tack d.tt,t 111th the filM] depth model If \\t> are dealing wnh <1 maoomodt>l tkfined by layen, tht>n ttw model mterfacc, can be loaded mto ,m mterpn:t<~tmn \lotk-.tatJOn ~nnullaneously IIHh the
~t>l>m!C datd ,1n
ft>tt>nce wtU ~ugg-t>sL tt1at
lore ueeds redcs1gnmg ffwe
that the problem he~ m thc \ductty ,a]ues
pmted \\Illtm each ],net, Lht> entitt> mude! ohuukl be reGJicuLttt>d, using onc ufthe
rnt>thod~ already outl;nt>rl lf 1t ts tht> <;ha peor depth of tht> mrerfacc~ that Js at fault,
or detall~
cannot pto\'lde, one stmpk \()futron l\ /()
puk
honzom
thr
antl depth-m115mlf ngrun In thts Cd>e, convcrtht> firsl Jtt>fdtlon onwdnb JS general!> 6'1lardnteed
llm condudt>' thc pw~t>nlat!On ol '1"-leClt tJine-to-dcplh mcthorh based e1tht>r on
\t>rtrcal tr<~n,formatwn or on nldp mJgr.tton As extenstvt>ly d1scusscd n Ch,!plt'r 7,
pre~tack depth
(PteSD\1) -, anothcr too!
from -.eJ'mKdata

450

Is PreSDM the ultimate tool for estimating true depth?

T!w .,e,tr!"h for the beH pos~Jblt> vt'louty flt>ld ,md ,ppl1cauon of PwSDM lO se1~mu
dat<c~ u~mg th1s \elontvlit>ld ft>lll.illlS today a cumbt'roome and tmtly opt>r.Juon.
hao tlus e"-.cepuonal eHon bt't"ll comprnsatcd by , 1\cllue bcttn llun Lhat
lrom pmt-~La<.k nugr<c~twne 1ht> ,m>wrr ma\ v,d] hr no, but
Fnstly, whatevt>r the con(]uoiono reachcd on thc 'lnw dt>pth csumalt>' ~~~ur, "e
must bear m mmd the twmendom ddvantage o! PrcSDM m hcmg able to
the ,ubourlacc below complrx gt>ologh di srttmg'
\lt'ft' un.blr lo do Llus Flgure 7 11:\ 1> one of nuny
bm1" d<Pih~,~mwnlM, !Pfleclms mn1t finl he v.:,}fp'

uficnoblt'msoftJme
and illmtrated througlwut
do not exist
Although av01dmg dus hurrlle, the laLC"ral po~monmg wdl only be corn-ct 1f tlw
vrlocHlt"S, .J.nd r~pt>Clally tht"lf latcul \arMtwm m thc vJCmHy of
.J.CI ountrd fm \11g1 ,ttng m drplh wJth a vrlouty
dJ!krcnt l1om dw nuc
mt"VJL!bly mr,ms mtwdu1mg posJtJonmg
eaors 1nto both latr,J pmn.onmg ,md dt'pth, 11hethrr nugi.tlJon JS carricd
out pw- or poot-stack
1ht' next qur.,LJon 1~ how can wr t>'tlmate tht' vt'loclly modd morr ,J( 1urately thdn
\IIth otht'I lllt'Lhod~ The tlJcory rhct,tles h,u vrlo1 Jtlt"., rstun,ttrd .-mg Lh~ mcthod
..,hould mrvlt.Jbly bt' mow cxad lhan those drdw rd fwm mort' t1 .J.dition,tl melhod;
PirSLack nllgi.J.lloJJ mrlerd cflectlvt'lv <c~vOid~ Lht> m,t]Onty o[ probkm., hnk.cd to
nw,tsurmg s1and.J.nl ,ld<.lmg \doutJt>~ dw an,tlysl, !S dont> m L!w 'nngrated positwn' a' m PrrST\.-1. but thrrt> 10 no wfk(tlon-pomt d1~peromn, ami the geometry of
flt>ld ,md thr undt'rlymg u:flector~ 1~ Jlldt't>d t<c~ken mto ,Jccount
.J.rgut' th.J.L Llus LHtt>I Lon;Kkr.JLJon 1~ Co\eit>d by ~t.JCkmg-vdouty
1mcrs1on, f tlll., lllt'Lhod llt'!"C not lnnHed by Lht> (hfficulty ofm kili)\" ~L.Kkmg vclocJtiO 1!1 tht' fint pl.iCt>, or rvC"Jl tht> lllt>Ie exl~lt>ntt> of .,L,td..Jng \t>lontit>., lll compkx
70llt"'
Howt'~t'I, tht> p1t>ci~ion WJth whJLh pwp,Jg.J.twn vdoCitlt"~ mdv bt' rsumatcd wnh
l'rcSD!\-1 ,,[,o h.i~ 1l~ linm' duc tu lht> muin~ic lim1kd l"t'~ol\Jng pov,t'I ofthe scJsmK
mcthod. mcnllolJt'd m Chaptcr :'o F1ntly, ~t'Vt'r.J.I modt>lS can fulflllht' mam entena
.U our d!~po,,tllor .J.~~essmg a vcloclt\ modt'l I!.J.tnt>~S ol inugt' gatht'n and wcll tic'
(lllclwlmg dcpth\ .J.lld d1ps) Tlus 1~ It>krrt'd
Seumdlv, van.J.t1om around a gHn modt'l .J.rt> ,]so <1t 1t>pt<~blt>

Nonuniqueness and accuracy of the seismic method

Thr non-umqut'nrss and anuracv problemo art' Jllustrdted m Flgmt>s 8 .1:! and

s:.:.
F1gure 8 32 prov1des .1n J]u~tranon of !he p1ecision we may rcasonably expt>U m
thc 'patldl poslt!Onmg hom .J.n event m PrcSD\4", evcn f tn th1s t.1oe t!w vt>lootv
model io
"mu!LJ-IIJ" techmqnt' ratl1n than tnw .1-D modcl buJidIS t>qlll-piObabk ollCOI"dmg lO JU
,md yt>t thc dt>ptli tt'~tordtwn 1~

451

pk V\CTC C"-dnlUWd by
J h1~ non-uniqut>nt>~~ s, nt't>dlt'~~ to
cncountcred vd1t'n ,tttt>mpnng to
wt>lllo ~Cl~llllC Jm,lgt>~ rt>~ultmg hmn
1L JS unportd!H to notJ(C tlut IOIW' ofthe rem/11
ni m 'uou-cml'o"'"'/'h;

IW ,

or ~L.mdaHl dt'\Jdtlon about tht> pmltlon Returmng

modt->1
th,tl uscd m Flgtll"t> R 2G, f non pwn< vt>rllC.il gtadient 1~
mto Lhe mor!t'L thc
t>Sllllldlt'd usmg Prt>SDI\1, w!ll
be t>Xdt tly tlit' ~.1me as rhat provKlcd
d D1x
Hl\CP,lon of D:\10
l'rc~D!\J );pvc~ ,m tntCival-vclouty v,t]uc cqtldl to thc nm vt>IOCJdcpth w1ll tht>rclorc bt' oveTTalucd

452

453

depth~

beond the '\ell~. eopee~,llly fm dtppmg- event~, d~ t!lu~trated m hg-ure 8 27

Wc should nore ncverthekss rhat there coulrl be more iavourdhle urcunlstan(eS

lwtween

,m~otropy parameter~ f

andO

Prerequisites to get the best estimate of depth from PreSDM

The lesoon~ v,e h,nT learnt m duo (hapter bao1cally .tpply lo l'reSDM ..t~ rnuth ,to
loan orher method \'lie hst
L.tleral Ye\ocn YanatlOn~ will be
,tessed 1f deme ,m,ll~es are perf(rmed l11c current tendencv of continuous ana\y>JS w11! no doubt deYelop m
the futulc (lonc~ el al 2000a);
11 s ,thVdJ~ ad\antageous to HlseTt oonw
model, tlw snnpkst lwmg the
+ k (Z-Z,0 )

from I!HJH'
lithologwal content .nd eopeCJally shalines~ log;, petm-ela>tiC l<ibOiatory
measurcment> hum core~, etc
Long ofheh help 111 nnpro\tng \'elocny me<l'mrement~ <111d .so;e<;Sng

ty modeh ttcd dl v,e\h

454

~~,m

Jnterprctl\e proccoo

le<t>l a

~nMII

numher ofrmgr.Hron

rteraton~.

.!pproatheo,
mmg dol'.tl

wrlhout mentmnmg 1he rrtrmjmwm ro~{\

All thc ~hort t uts mennoncd
to thc rno~t >ophistioucd ~wtistw<tl
.1.re exuTmelv usclulm '>hm-

PreSD~1 ha> Jt> !JmJt.itJOn> m th..tl n Lannot ,dlnw <1 model I(J tlw wloolw~ or
<III!Solrop to be con~lrulled WJth tlw preCJ~ion ,Uld rcoolulJOtli'.C Jlllght like Despne
tlm, we w11l no doubt -,ee .n~otiOJIIC Pre~llM gradtul!y repl..ttng more um\elllH!tl<11 plo<e~smg tovb, d~ we nm1 sec tu\1 Knd1hotll're~TM 1epldcmg ]'rc:i I"M. whid1
m turn had repldced the uoe ni DMO Lone< uon-, dlnnc
PrcSDM ~oft11are and lhe

we llldY ronfidenllv ..t~sunw

dpproach of ,m amwtmp!C depth nugrat1on wth a (re(t wdlu'e Wlll, l1l rhe
term, g1adu..tll rcpi.Ke the pr<tgmdtH. \Tt appmxtlllale, rnelhodology \vluch ~~
pre~enr <turenl p!.tetlce Hm,nTr, 1here ~~ ~onw 11ay lo
lo nnpro\e Ottr m eral\
underst..tndmg ami <ommand of alli>Oimpy. ..tnd the
of 1he toob ,md
experti~e rcqmrcd to d(hJe\t> lln~ aun
A ~ound under~t..tndmg of PreSD_\1 al~o repre~enls tlw he~t mean~ of under>t<tndmg the do'" lmk1 that

efll\ftrref/e/nnlrofthr 1Ub111r{me

Error bars and uncertainty analysis

sv~rematK methodologJC.tl b1as,

,tecur.uv 111 p1< \..ng r.tw d.tt.t (mamly ~ldckmg or mtgl alioli teloCJtJe'1 and tmws
ofhorons),
~hal!l'.e )](k dus evenl m lhat one 40 IW he!ol'. a> the 'lop
Terti..trr~
\Ve )](l..liu~ e1e111 or lhdl one, 100m/~ -,!ol'.er on lhe srackmg
\dmly ~emhlance panel;),
the pmpag.ttmn of uncer ldlnlles 1hrmtgh lhe nnagmg and tune-to-depth <ha m,
wlut .tn' the unurt..tmtw' that mml alkllunporlanl deu~ion makmg'
'>>1fnnatu mrtlwdologua/l!la\FI are what nmch of th" book " .tbollt \Ve can hst lhe
llldm one'>ag.un
l!lllC-lllld!;lllg m~lead o! depth-11nagmg ~~ . ~ystemat1c mcthodology lua> m
tbe posJtmn1ng of a rdleclJon m rhe sub-,urhlU' In parlJCUIM, we ~hould never
mcrlook Ltteral
.tre olteiJ rnuch rnon diHicuh to detect

elonlles, o! wor'>e, as a\er.tge1elon-

455

dnd we ~,tw hmv th~ c,m bt> bld~ed by ~urra<e ,momoverlymg l<~yc-rs or Sllnply by the pnxco~mg dpplwd to
da u
lo n<>gkr t ,uusotropy altogt>tht>r
In Jll!llrple.

the~<> b1..t~e~ ~hould

not enter mto the lm<ert,lJnty

anal~~,

bul rather

conver~1on t;Jsk~

The next unportdnl qucstwn 15 lum to 11\\FI\ the aa:wan wllh

flJf puked :\_ cla~~J<,tl meaourement 1~ lhe \VJdth oftl1e sernblance '< loud' in
mg \eloCJlY paneL For IIIStance, on the sembLmce panel m Flgure 4 01-a, the aC< utlun 20 m/s ,tt 1
than lOO m,, al 5

k~~ than a two

but on
t he re 1~ doubt
part or the Jllterpreter 111 the ptckmg of a l..ey event, \ve Jo not ha\'e nuny
ch01ce~ olher than to comKler edch
It 15 lhe mterpreler\ JOb lo

on

Ome lhe .tLruracv of tlw

,

Id~'> ddt,tlu~

lwen

.t~~<..,~ed,

for

m~tance

m the form ofa

1toelf

dJTectHm Th15 1~
" "'"""''' ,,.,,,, "' An exampk of tlw

456

nugratwn d!oplacemetll vector~~ shuwn m Figure 8 27-b, a, the \'eclor thar JOm~ the
various '1mages of P' when the Illlgratmn velocJty changes
Stackmg-ve!oCity 1merswn as desc11bed abun (~ee
adapted tu unccrtamtv analy-,~ Once an 'optnmnn' set
ohtained, the method can e.t~1ly be extended to
2000) Formotance,
model can
run by randornly v,uymg thc mp111 ~tackmg \elmltJ p1ck~
ous realzatJons of the honzon~ thus obtamed can subsequenlly be analysed to estJmale the 'mmt prob.tble' result and 'error bars' ,nnmd 1t
Uncertamr analysi~ hecorne~ .m
ot tune-lo-deplh convers1on
'>lud1es Undouhtedly, ~tudw~ hke the one
(2002) W11l be
aliCally perfonned Tlw apply hol'.eVel to traditional PreSTM nnaging.
fin;:] lornment, \Ve pred1< l lhal Figure ~ 32 IS a precursory exampk of what 111 the
tiJture nuglu be .t statist1cal approach to aosessmg the uncertamty m both the qualITV of lhe unage and the estnnated riepth, when l'wSDI\1 w11l have hccome the 'ulti11, and tlwre are still rnany oppor-

457

References and further reading

Acheson C
(,pojiliJ\ICl,

!'une depth and \elonry depth

rel<ltwn~

1n

'\e~tcrn

C,mada

28

AlChalabi. M (1901) ~el'.mu elncltle>- A enoque fi111 Bmd1, 12 J80-."l96

Al-Chalabi M ( 14!.l) In-,t,mtdneou-, ~low11e~<, 1er~u~ deprl1 htncl\011~ Gro{Jh)'\IC\, 62
20-23
AI-Chalahi M (1\:!!.li) Par,mwter 11011-11111quene~~ 111 1doCJly 1<:rsm depth hm<tJon~
(,pojllr\1\lrs, 62 !.l70-!.li9
Alkalifah T (1996) lr,m<;fotllldtlon lo tero offset m tJ..tm\enely J>otropw rned1a
r;eofili\'11<\, 61 01-06~)
Alkhalifah T and Lamer K ( 1~)91) 1\[lgrdiJ<m error tn transver~dy JSOt!OptC nwd1,t
(;eop!rwt\ 1103-1418
Arnaud] and Kaculini S (199!-i) An
tJ<m 6b'" :il<.C Annu,[ 111terndttonall\1eetmg, t.xp,uHkd .\bslracl~.
Arnaud], Kacnlini S and Thore P ( 1!)96) k-<odti<tent detemunatwn of ,mmter,,tl Ydonty hmction \', + kt fmrn stdLlmg velmity and!J~l~ \\'orbhop o11 ~ei~
nnc to 1vell tw- L\(,F ~ketmg
BaH G (1995)
3-D ne~ta< k m1gratton. ollshore Za1re r;eoph',JIO, 60
Blackj and Brzostowski M (1991) :iptem..tlll~ ortnne mJgr..ttmn error~ (;rojili)'.ID,
59 HJ9-J1::H
Demtgr.ttJon to 1em olhel 6~'i SE(, .\nmul
Ah~trdlb. 113:1-113!-i
1

A-H\
Desrousseanx G, Lemaistre L, Sexton P and Williamson P (2002) Pre-;Lu k depth
nngr,Jiwn \letherla11d~. an
()1'

Dietrich M and CohenJK (!992)

rhent rm lmfdJdualjormu{atim
Fowler P (1981) VeloC!tJ mdependc11t
Annu,tllntenMttonal Meetmg, ~C<;<;ton
Gancarski S and Kaculini S ( 1998) 'v\1wre
6H S~:(_, Annu,tl lnwrnatwJul
Gruhh H, Tura A and Hanitzsch e,

1~

the 'AeiF

1'

then li!IJMCl 011 a Gulf ol (,umea lidd

preso)

458

~atelhte

prmpe< t~ hnl Hu'(lk (lll

Hanitzsch e, Robein E and Sexton P (2001) 1-'rc..t<lt.k dcpth nngrdtmn for lllll<>-lodeplh <<m1er>1011- thc ulnmatc LOoP 62"' F.AC.F .\nnual Lonferetl<T, Se~~~on I\'1

Hodgkiss G, Morgan W and Lane G

Snh-ourf..ue ~lructnr<ll un<lgcs !rorn
prestad, tune-nugrated dala at dO
velonr p,mg <-t cmt-etlcctJ\e
()\ SFJ, .\nnu..tl lnlernatlonal 1\1eetJng, t.xlendcd Ab~tLtcl~,
Hwang L-F and Mceorkindale D (l!.l!.l1} "\mil F.wld deplh <OilYer~IOn mmg geo~Lt
tl~lJCally deJ11ed ..t\er<-tge Ydm Jtw~ "lhr admg f.rl[!r, 13 262-269
lsaaks EH and Srivastava R (19H9) An ln/lodrutwn lo App!trd (,eo;talt>liC\ Oxlord
Lm\er'>Jl\ Pre-,~
Contmuom ;)D PreSDl\[
Jones 1, Ba~d H, lbbotson K and Audebert F

19
61' SEG
Annu,d lntenldtJOnal Meel1ng, ~:xpdnded Ah~lrd< t~,
Landa E, Beydoun W and Tarantola A ( 19H9) ReferenLe Yelo< llJ model estnnatwn
frmn pre~laLk '>'>avefonns cohercncy optuniLallotl by sunuLtied annealing
r;eoj!hpll, 54 981-900
landa E, Koslofi"D, Keydar S, Koren Z and ResbefM (19HH) A nwlhod f(r deiermmatJOtl of
,md dcp1h from setSillll reflect1on d,tla r;eojJh)'llltd
P1mpntmg, 36
Landa E, Tbore P and Reshef M (\993) ~1odel-ha~ed sla<k A melhod fm <otlotructmg .n accurale ?ero-offset occtwn for compkx ll\erbmden~ r;rojJhy1ua!
Plo>peclmg. 41 ()6]-GO
Landa E, Thore P, Sorin V and Koren Z
frorn Lohercncy JmcrsJon
56
Lamer J and eohen J (l!.l'd3)
error 111 t;lllon-,ed
med1a WJth !mear \clocny 1ana1wn \Vllh depth
Levin FK (l'dll Apparent 1eloci1y from d1ppmg
36 510-516
Maeland E (l!.l'd7) SeJ<;llll( wgratJOtl and veloCil\ ,m.tlsJ~ Droph)'lllll/l"r()jjJnlmg.
45 611-631
Marcoux M, G<ldfrey R and Notfors e (19H) Mtgralmn !or opltmum \donly eYalUdlJOn ,md stackmg (MOY~:s ~19'" E.\EG Annual
Marsden D (l!.JH'd) Ltye cake depth conYerslOil
Marsden D (l!.l'd2) \',-k rnerhod ordepth con1cr>ion
Milis
Brzostowski MA. Ridgway S and Barton e
model

Robein E, Sexton P andjackson G (l'd'dJ) \\lwre

seJSIIH<: :i~:(, Sumnwr R<>~ean h \\'ork~hop
Robein E and Hanitzsch e (200 1) lkndils

1~

the well m ;)-D IJm<>-llllgr.tled

ll'l'lf

dnla

459

Sexton P and Robein E ( l !.l!.JG) Dlfferenr ~nnulauon~ of the kmemauco o! rnne

rmgrat1on A rev1ew 58''' i!.AGF Annual Conferewc, F.xrended Abstrans, X18
Sexton P et al. (2000) Velonty .ttll~orropy kev ro tedunng resen.-es uncert;Jinty m
l<Jg111-FLmkhn dcep h1gh-preSMIIT /lngh-tnnper<ILIIIT fields OTC 12121
Shah P (1~7."1) l_lsc of wavdront cunature lo relate ~ei~TIIK (Lita 1nth subsurfMe
p<~rameters

Shultz P (Hl!.l9)

38 812-H25

Model

11.\

mr JntC!prdafwn A11ef [)ollngmshed

ShurtleffR (1984)
veluot dtlalysro.
Smallwood JR (2002)
comenHm from shelf to deep-\v,l(er. how
deep 1~ th..tt brighL spot;;. Fn,\1
20: 0!.l-107
Thore P and Haas A (1006). A prd((Hal funnuLttHm of nugraLJOtl errors dueto
\docity uncefldltllres. 58'" }_A(, E Aunual Conlence, ~:xrended Ahstr;:cts, X016.
Thore P. Shukta A, Lecour M, Ait Ettajer T and Cognot R (2002) Stmctural u m eJ!dltltJe~ lktermmatrun, nunagement ;:nd apph(..t\ron~. GMjJh)'-'11\, 67
Whitcombe D (l !.l!.l4) fast rnodd buildtng usmg denugratwn and omgk-step ra
JIHgratlOil (;eoph)'IICS, 59 130-140
Yilmaz O and Claerbout JF (1080) l'restack p.utaJ rnrgraLIOil GeojJhJSu\, 45
1753-1779

460

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