Wave-equation extended images: computation and velocity continuation

An extended image is a multi-dimensional correlation of source and receiver wavefields. For a kinematically correct velocity, most of the energy will be concentrated at zero offset. Because of the computational cost involved in correlating the wavefields for all offsets, such exteded images are computed for a subsurface offset that is aligned with the local dip. In this paper, we present an efficient way to compute extended images for all subsurface offsets without explicitly calculating the receiver wavefields, thus making it computationally feasible to compute such extended images. We show how more conventional image gathers, where the offset is aligned with the dip, can be extracted from this extended image. We also present a velocity continuation procedure that allows us to compute the extended image for a given velocity without recomputing all the source wavefields.

https://slim.gatech.edu/Publications/Public/Conferences/EAGE/2012/vanlee...