Mapping of moveout attributes using local slopes

Abstract

Decomposing seismic data in local slopes is the basic idea behind velocity-independent imaging. Using accurate moveout approximations enables computing moveout attributes such as normal moveout velocity and nonhyperbolic parameters as functions of zero-offset travel time. Mapping of moveout attributes is performed from the pre-stack seismic data domain into the time-migrated image domain. The different moveout attributes have different accuracy for a given moveout approximation that depends on the corresponding order of travel-time derivative. The most accurate attribute is the zero-offset travel time, and the nonhyperbolic parameter has the worst accuracy, regardless of the moveout approximation. Typically, the mapping of moveout attributes is performed using a point-to-point procedure, whereas the generalized moveout approximation requires two point-to-point mappings. Testing the attribute mapping on the different models shows that the accuracy of mapped attributes is model dependent, whereas the generalized moveout approximation gives practically exact results.