PRE-STACK AND POST-STACK MIGRATION

When the subsurface structures are simple, post-stack migration works well. But post-stack migration is not faithful in areas with complex geology and complex variations in velocities. Pre-stack migration is a better imaging tool which works quite well in areas with complex structures and complex velocities. In post-stack migration, hyperbolic moveout is assumed. Amplitude distortions results when this assumption is not valid. Indeed, when ray paths from near and far offsets travel through different layer with different velocities, moveout is non-hyperbolic and stacking of the event after hyperbolic correction causes a lack of focusing. To overcome this difficulty, pre-stack migration is required. Post-stack migration algorithms deal mainly with rays traveling at moderate angles from vertical. Rays traveling at large angles are required only to image overturned reflectors. This is not the case with wide offset, pre-stack data. Even for moderately dipping events, a ray from either source or detector may turn. The intrinsic anisotropy in layered sedimentary sequences may result in horizontal velocities 2-15% higher than vertical velocities. To image reflections from dipping events recorded with today's wide offset acquisitions requires both faithful handling of vertical velocity gradients and attention of anisotropy. These are taken care of in pre-stack migration. However, post-stack migration is much faster than pre-stack migration, because stacking reduces the number of traces that must be processed. Post-stack migration is cheaper than pre-stack migration. Pre-stack migration gives a better imaging quality and hence is the most preferred migration. (UPPER) PRE-STACK DEPTH MIGRATION, (LOWER) POST-STACK DEPTH MIGRATION

Time migration versus depth migration

s Diffractions are hyperbolic only if there are no lateral heterogeneities because they can distort the shape of diffractions. Time migration assumes hyperbolic diffractions and collapses them to their apexes. Depth migration assumes a known velocity model and estimates the correct shape of diffractions by ray tracing or wavefront modeling. Time migration produces a migrated time section while depth migration produces a smigrated depth section. Evidently, using time migration followed by time-to-depth conversion does not produce a depth-migrated section. Time migration is valid only when lateral velocity variations are mild to moderate. When this assumption fails, we use depth migration. Migrated sections are commonly displayed in time rather than depth for the following reasons: To avoid errors introduced by inaccurate time-to-depth conversion. To facilitate the comparison of migrated sections with unmigrated sections,which are usually displayed in time.

2-D migration versus 3-D migration

In 2d we have few lines and in 3d we have hundreds of lines. In 2d we have may be 100 or 1000s of traces but in 3d we have millions of traces on which processing is done. Data acquision of 3d is the volume of the data but in 2d we have lines. In 2-D migration, we migrate the data once along the profile. This might generate misties on intersecting profiles. In addition, 2-D migration is prone to sideswipe effects. Sideswipes are reflections from out of the plane of the profile. In 3-D migration, we first migrate the data in the inline direction then take that migrated data and migrate it again in the crossline direction. This is the two-pass 3-D migration. One-pass 3-D migration can also be done using a downward continuation approach. Therefore, considering 2-D versus 3-D, prestack versus poststack, and time versus depth, we can have the following types of migrations (ordered from fastest but least accurate to slowest but best accurate)

1. 2-D poststack time migration. 2. 2-D poststack depth migration. 3. 2-D prestack time migration. 4. 2-D prestack depth migration. 5. 3-D poststack time migration. 6. 3-D poststack depth migration. 7. 3-D prestack time migration. 8. 3-D prestack depth migration

DMO AND FULL PRE-STACK MIGRATION

DMO
The DMO correction says that-post-stack migration is acceptable when the stacked data are zero-offset. If there are conflicting dips with varying velocities or a large lateral velocity gradient, a prestack partial migration is used to attenuate these conflicting dips. By applying this technique before stack, it will provide a better stack section that can be migrated after stack. Prestack partial migration only solves the problem of conflicting dips with different stacking velocities. Its applications are; I. Post-stack migration is acceptable when the stacked data is zero-offset. This is not the case for conflicting dips with varying velocity or large lateral velocity variations. II. Pre-stack partial migration or dip Move out provides a better stack, which can be migrated after stack. III. PSPM solves only conflicting dips with different stacking velocities.

PRE-STACK MIGRATION
When the subsurface structure is complex and velocity variation is also complex, reflection events are not hyperbolic and the stacking process does not work very well. So, post stack migration does not give clear results. Pre-stack migration, as the name suggests, is done on pre stack data i.e.on CMP gathers and can be done in time or depth domain. Pre-stack migration is applied only when the layers being observed have complicated velocity profiles, or when the structures are just too complex to see with post-stack migration. Layer velocity information is required by the user for running pre-stack Time or Depth migration. It is an important tool in modelling salt diapers because of their complexity and this has immediate benefits if the resolution can pick up any hydrocarbons trapped by diapers. Pre-stack migration is applied to avoid amplitude distortions due to CMP smearing and non-hyperbolic move out. Hence, Pre-stack Time or Depth migration is a valuable tool in imaging seismic data. In the past, the main constraints on prestack migration were the computation requirement the time and skill required to construct velocity model within a reasonable time. Advances in computing technology and formation of new migration algorithms have eased these constraints.