Migrating around in circles

Downloaded 09/11/14 to 201.102.102.23. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/

F. LIPTOW and P. HUBRAL

Karlsruhe University
Karlsruhe, Germany
iven the identified and picked primary reflection arrivals
on a CMP stack section (or a zero-offset section), it is well
known (assuming a constant macro-velocity model) that the
depth-migrated subsurface image of each point on the picked
reflection time curve is a half circle in the depth domain. As
a consequence, the poststack (or zero-offset) depth-migrated

The normal rays (dotted lines in Figure 2) are shown for point
B. It is evident that the reflection point R on each reflector
image (pertaining to the zero-offset reflection event P
recorded at the coincident shot-receiver location B on the
seismic line) moves on the Thales circle passing through A
and B when the migration velocity is continuously changing.

Figure 1. Poststack depth migration with isochrons.

Figure 2. Reflector point R migrating around in a Thales

circle.

subsurface image of the reflection-time curve (upper half of

Figure 1) is the envelope of all half circles (lower half of Figure 1). These half circles, also known as isochrons or
aplanats, are explained in all texts about seismic migration
and are quite familiar to geophysicists.
However, another and far less known half circle exists for
each point and it is the half circle that comes into play when
performing the time-to-depth migration of a point on the
reflection-time curve for a continuous set of constant migration velocities. This half circle will be referred to as the
Thales circle.

This has been known since the time of the Greek philosopher
Thales (born about 624 BC) who was the first to recognize
that any two straight perpendicular lines passing through two
distinct points (like A and B) have to intersect in a circle
through both points and whose diameter is the straight line
connecting them.
The location of point R in Figure 2 on the Thales circle for
point P corresponding to a particular migration velocity is
determined as follows:
Construct the isochron of the type used in Figure 1 around
point B with the radius vtJ2, where tp is the two-way
zero-offset reflection time of point P. Point R will be found
where this isochron cuts the Thales circle (passing through A
and B) for P.
Observe that all depth-migrated planar dipping reflector
images for different migration velocities v not only pass
through the same point A but that reflection points R move
downwards (when velocity increases) for reflector dips less
than 45. They move upwards (when velocity increases!) for
reflector dips above 45. A reflector with a dip near 45
essentially moves horizontally.
If a more complicated poststack depth-migrated reflector
image is involved, the situation does not change in principle
because any zero offset reflection-time curve (upper half of

hange of migration velocity. The Thales circle is easily

found in connection with depth-migrating a straight-line
zero-offset reflection arrival time curve (the line passing
through points A and P in the upper half of Figure 2). This
reflection-time curve (resulting from a planar dipping reflector below a medium of velocity v,) provides for each constant
migration velocity v a planar subsurface reflector image
(lower half of Figure 2) with a dip that increases with the
migration velocity.
All reflector images pass through point A and they must be
perpendicular to the so-called normal(-incidence) rays that
denote the two-way raypaths of the zero-offset reflections.

NOVEMBER 1995

THE LEADING EDGE 1125

Downloaded 09/11/14 to 201.102.102.23. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/

Figure 3. Thales circle through point R on the reflector.

Figure 3) and the related depth-migrated reflector image
(lower half of Figure 3) can be looked upon as an envelope of
straight lines (i.e., of the tangents of both curves).
Each pair of straight lines (one in the time domain and the
other in depth) with comrnon intersection point A on the seismic line can then be looked upon in the same way as the corresponding pair of straight lines passing through A in Figure
2. This implies that reflection points R on arbitrary (i.e., not
only planar) reflector images have to move on the respective
Thales circle for point P when the migration velocity is
changed. The Thales circle for point P is easily found: it is
(given point B) obtained with the intersection A of the tangent
at point P with the seismic line.
The Thales circle for point P, shown in the lower half of
Figure 3, denotes the spatial trajectory of the reflection points
R on the depth-migrated reflector images of the anticline
which results for different velocity values. The depthmigrated image of the anticline shown in Figure 3 is in its
correct form (i.e., for a velocity of v = 2500 m/s).
Figure 4a concerns the box in the lower half of Figure 3.
It shows numerous arc segments of Thales circles which
describe reflection points R on a continuous set of depthmigrated reflector images in the range v1 c v c v2. However,
images are constructed for only three migration velocities:
2300, 2500, and 2600 m/s. Note that the size of the anticline
decreases and that reflection points R move updip when the
migration velocity increases for reflector images with dips
above 45.
Above we have shown how to construct a Thales circle for
point P. A Thales circle can however also be constructed for
each reflector point R on a (wrong) depth-migrated reflector
image to obtain the image for an arbitrary (e.g., better)
migration velocity. The procedure is as follows:
Construct the tangent to the (wrong) depth-migrated
reflector image at point R as well as its perpendicular (i.e.,
the normal-incidence ray). The Thales circle is defined by the
two points on the surface at which these straight lines cut the
seismic line. The new reflection point R on this circle is then
found by constructing the lower-half isochron around point B
with radius equal to (v/v)d where v' is the (wrong) migration
velocity, v is the arbitrary migration velocity and d is the dis-

1126 THE LEADING EDGE

NOVEMBER 1995

Figure 4. (a) Three reflector images connected by Thales

circles. (b) Three time-migrated images connected by
parabolas.
tance from R' to B. Point R is found where the isochron
(which depends on v) cuts the Thales circle (which does not
depend on any migration velocity).

D iscussion. One interesting aspect concerns the relationship of these results to poststack time migration. As each
point (x,t) in the time migrated section is obtained from a
point (x,z) in the poststack depth migrated section by the familiar stretch relationship (x,22/v) -+ 1 (x, t), one can easily
observe that the isochrone for point P turns into an ellipse and
the Thales circle into a parabola through points A and P in the
time domain that is perpendicular to the x-axis at A. Such
parabolas are mentioned in Fundamentals of frequency-domain migration by Chun and Jacewitz (GEOPHYSICS 1981).
Both the ellipses and the parabolas can be employed in connection with time-migrated reflector images in the same manner that isochrons and Thales circles are used in connection
with depth-migrated reflector images.
The migration velocity assigned to a reflection point R on
either the Thales circle or parabola is identical for the same
value of X. Figure 4b shows arcs of the parabolas and timemigrated reflectors now for the three indicated velocities in a
space-time domain window with the same spatial extension
as Figure 4a. Observe that reflection points of dipping
reflectors now always move updip when the migration velocity is increased. If the range of the parabolas were extended to v = 0, they would end in the zero-offset
reflection-time curve (seen in the upper half of Figure 3).
Thus, the upper half of Figure 3 corresponds to the time-migrated reflector image for v = 0.
Another interesting aspect concerns application of these

Downloaded 09/11/14 to 201.102.102.23. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/

ideas to lateral inhomogeneous macrovelocity models. Here we observe that

the normal incidence point R on a zerooffset depth-migrated reflector image
(R, in this case, is no longer connected
to point B by a straight line normal ray)
continues to migrate around in a circle provided it falls into a constant velocity medium in which the migration
velocity is continuously changed but is
kept unchanged in the overburden outside the constant-velocity medium.
Many other interesting aspects could
be discussed in this paper. For instance,
we could look at the Thales circles and
the depth-migrated reflector images
(Figure 4a) as denoting rays and
wavefronts that propagate as a
function of the migration velocity. The
wave equation related to both concepts can be formulated. It can be used
to derive - from the complete poststack depth-migrated image (constructed for the arbitrary migration
velocity) - any other (better) image
without having to go back to the original CMP-stack data. The respective
wave equation for the time-migration
case, closely relating to that of depth
migration, was thoroughly investigated
by Sergey Fomel (Method of continuation in the problem of seismic time
migration in Russian Geology and
Geophysics 1994). In that work, the
parabolas in Figure 4b are referred to as
velocity rays.
However, we will avoid these further
details and stop our exposition on this
fascinating topic at this point in the
hope that we do not have to migrate
around in circles from one professional journal to another to get this little piece of research published. IE
Acknowledgements: We are grateful for
the discussions we have had with Sergey
Goldin, Jorg Schleicher, and Martin Tygel.
Frank Liptow is a MSC student in geophysics, hopeful that his first ever publication will be a help for him not to have to
migrate around in circles too much in order
to find an attractive job.
Peter Hubral is a professor in applied
geophysics who likes to migrate around in
circles on this beautiful globe.

NOVEMBER 1995

THE LEADING EDGE 1127