Abstract
We extend time-domain velocity continuation to the zero-offset 3D azimuthally anisotropic case. Velocity continuation describes how a seismic image changes given a change in migration velocity. This description turns out to be of a wave propagation process, in which images change along a velocity axis. In the anisotropic case, the velocity model is multiparameter. Therefore, anisotropic image propagation is multidimensional. We use a three-parameter slowness model, which is related to azimuthal variations in velocity, as well as their principal directions. This information is useful for fracture and reservoir characterization from seismic data. We provide synthetic diffraction imaging examples to illustrate the concept and potential applications of azimuthal velocity continuation and to analyze the impulse response of the 3D velocity continuation operator.
Highlights
Velocity continuation [1, 2] provides a framework for describing how a seismic image changes given a change in the migration velocity model
Similar in concept to residual migration [3], and cascaded migrations [4], velocity continuation is a continuous formulation of the same process
The theory of velocity continuation formulates the connection between the seismic velocity model and the seismic image as a wavefield evolution process
Summary
Velocity continuation [1, 2] provides a framework for describing how a seismic image changes given a change in the migration velocity model. After the first pass of (isotropic) migration, azimuthal variations in velocity are detected from residual moveout, which provides the velocity model for anisotropic migration. Velocity continuation has the underlying strategy of performing velocity analysis and imaging simultaneously and International Journal of Geophysics can be used to directly find an optimal velocity model without iteration. Azimuthal velocity continuation can provide a theoretical framework for this approach. With these benefits as motivation, we extend time-domain velocity continuation to 3D, accounting for the case of azimuthally variable migration velocity
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