Absorbing boundary conditions for wave‐equation migration

Abstract

The standard boundary conditions used at the sides of a seismic section in wave‐equation migration generate artificial reflections. These reflections from the edges of the computational grid appear as artifacts in the final section. Padding the section with zero traces on either side adds to the cost of migration and simply delays the inevitable reflections. We develop stable absorbing boundary conditions that annihilate almost all of the artificial reflections. This is demonstrated analytically and with synthetic examples. The absorbing boundary conditions presented can be used with any of the different types of finite‐difference wave‐equation migration, at essentially no extra cost.