Kinematics of crossline prestack migration

Abstract

Among the reasons for considering optional seismic processes such as dip moveout (DMO) or prestack migration is the fact that two reflections with the same arrival time may require different stacking velocities in order to produce an acceptable image. For example, inline dip tends to increase the required stacking velocity, and DMO can be applied to correct this effect. Crossline dip has no direct effect on stacking velocity, but, because average velocity tends to increase with depth, a dipping reflection broadside to a seismic line will tend to require a lower stacking velocity than an in‐plane reflection with the same time of arrival. This problem is not addressed by DMO, but it can be handled by what I call “crossline prestack migration.”