An improved reverse time migration for subsurface imaging over complex geological structures:A numerical study

In seismic exploration,it is a critical task to image and interpret different seismic signatures over complex geology due to strong lateral velocity contrast,steep reflectors,overburden strata and dipping flanks.To understand the behavior of these seismic signatures,nowadays Reverse Time Migration(RTM)technique is used extensively by the oil&gas industries.During the extrapolation phase of RTM,the source wavefield needs to be saved,which needs high storage memory and large computing time.These two are the main obstacles of RTM for production use.In order to overcome these disadvantages,in this study,a second-generation improved RTM technique is proposed.In this improved form,a shift operator is introduced at the time of imaging condition of RTM algorithm which is performed automatically both in space and time domain.This effort is made to produce a better-quality image by minimizing the computational time as well as numerical artefacts.The proposed method is applied over various benchmark models and validated by implementing over one field data set from the Jaisalmer Basin,India.From the analysis,it is observed that the method consumes a minimum of 45%less storage space and reduce the execution time by 20%,as compared to conventional RTM.The proposed RTM is found to work efficiently in comparison to the conventional RTM both in terms of imaging quality and minimization of numerical artefacts for all the benchmark models as well as field data.

Stable attenuation-compensated reverse time migration and its application to land seismic data

Intrinsic attenuation of the earth causes energy loss and phase distortion in seismic wave propagation.To obtain high-resolution imaging results,these negative effects must be considered during reverse time migration(RTM).We can easily implement attenuation-compensated RTM using the constant Q viscoacoustic wave equation with decoupled amplitude attenuation and phase dispersion terms.However,the nonphysical amplitude-compensation process will inevitably amplify the high-frequency noise in the wavefield in an exponential form,causing the numerical simulation to become unstable.This is due to the fact that the amplitude of the compensation grows exponentially with frequency.In order to achieve stable attenuation-compensated RTM,we modify the analytic expression of the attenuation compensation extrapolation operator and make it only compensate for amplitude loss within the effective frequency band.Based on this modified analytic formula,we then derive an explicit time-space domain attenuation compensation extrapolation operator.Finally,the implementation procedure of stable attenuation-compensated RTM is presented.In addition to being simple to implement,the newly proposed attenuation-compensated extrapolation operator is superior to the conventional low-pass filter in suppressing random noise,which will further improve the imaging resolution.We use two synthetic and one land seismic datasets to verify the stability and effectiveness of the proposed attenuationcompensated RTM in improving imaging resolution in viscous media.

Proper orthogonal decomposition based seismic source wavefield reconstruction for finite element reverse time migration

The large storage requirement is a critical issue in cross-correlation imaging-condition based reverse time migration(RTM),because it requires the operation of the source and receiver wavefields at the same time.The boundary value method(BVM),based on the finite difference method(FDM),can be used to reconstruct the source wavefield in the reverse time propagation in the same way as the receiver wavefield,which can reduce the storage burden of the RTM data.Considering that the FDM cannot well handle models with discontinuous material properties and rough interfaces,we develop a source wavefield reconstruction strategy based on the finite element method(FEM),using proper orthogonal decomposition(POD)to enhance computational efficiency.In this method,we divide the whole time period into several segments,and construct the POD basis functions to get a reduced order model(ROM)for the source wavefield reconstruction in each segment.We show the corresponding quantitative analysis of the storage requirement of the POD-FEM.Numerical tests on the homogeneous model show the effectiveness of the proposed method,while the layered model and part of the Marmousi model tests indicate that the POD-FEM can keep an excellent balance between computational efficiency and memory usage compared with the full-stored method(FSM)and the BVM,and can be effectively applied in imaging.

Least-squares reverse time migration in visco-acoustic media based on symplectic stereo-modeling method

The authors proposed a symplectic stereo-modeling method(SSM)in the Birkhoffian dynam-ics and apply it to the visco-acoustic least-squares reverse time migration(LSRTM).The SSM adopts ste-reo-modeling operator in space and symplectic Runge-Kutta scheme in time,resulting in great ability in suppressing numerical dispersion and long-time computing.These advantages are further confirmed by numerical dispersion analysis,long-time computation test and computational efficiency comparison.After these theoretical analyses and experiments,acoustic and visco-acoustic LSRTM are tested and compared between SSM method and the conventional symplectic method(CSM)using the fault and marmousi models.Meanwhile,dynamic source encoding and exponential decay moving average gradients method are adopted to reduce the computation cost and improve the convergence rate.The imaging results show that LSRTM based on visco-acoustic wave equations effectively takes into account the influence of viscosity can therefore compensate for the amplitude attenuation.Besides,SSM method not only has high numerical accuracy and computational efficiency,but also performs effectively in LSRTM.

Pre-stack elastic reverse time migration in tunnels based on cylindrical coordinates

Seismic forward-prospecting in tunnels is an important step to ensure excavation safety. Nowadays, most advanced imaging techniques in seismic exploration involve calculating the solution of elastic wave equation in a certain coordinate system. However, considering the cylindrical geometry of common tunnel body, Cartesian coordinate system seemingly has limited applicability in tunnel seismic forwardprospecting. To accurately simulate the seismic signal received in tunnels, previous imaging method using decoupled non-conversion elastic wave equation is extended from Cartesian coordinates to cylindrical coordinates. The proposed method preserves the general finite-difference time-domain(FDTD)scheme in Cartesian coordinates, except for a novel wavefield calculation strategy addressing the singularity issue inherited at the cylindrical axis. Moreover, the procedure of cylindrical elastic reverse time migration(CERTM) in tunnels is introduced based on the decoupled non-conversion elastic wavefield. Its imaging effect is further validated via numerical experiments on typical tunnel models. As indicated in the synthetic examples, both the PP-and SS-images could clearly show the geological structure in front of the tunnel face without obvious crosstalk artifacts. Migration imaging using PP-waves can present satisfactory results with higher resolution information supplemented by the SS-images. The potential of applying the proposed method in real-world cases is demonstrated in a water diversion tunnel. In the end, we share our insights regarding the singularity treatment and further improvement of the proposed method.

Viscoacoustic prestack reverse time migration based onthe optimal time-space domain high-order finite-difference method

Prestack reverse time migration （RTM） is an accurate imaging method ofsubsurface media. The viscoacoustic prestack RTM is of practical significance because itconsiders the viscosity of the subsurface media. One of the steps of RTM is solving thewave equation and extrapolating the wave field forward and backward; therefore, solvingaccurately and efficiently the wave equation affects the imaging results and the efficiencyof RTM. In this study, we use the optimal time-space domain dispersion high-order finite-difference （FD） method to solve the viscoacoustic wave equation. Dispersion analysis andnumerical simulations show that the optimal time-space domain FD method is more accurateand suppresses the numerical dispersion. We use hybrid absorbing boundary conditions tohandle the boundary reflection. We also use source-normalized cross-correlation imagingconditions for migration and apply Laplace filtering to remove the low-frequency noise.Numerical modeling suggests that the viscoacoustic wave equation RTM has higher imagingresolution than the acoustic wave equation RTM when the viscosity of the subsurface isconsidered. In addition, for the wave field extrapolation, we use the adaptive variable-lengthFD operator to calculate the spatial derivatives and improve the computational efficiencywithout compromising the accuracy of the numerical solution.

Amplitude preserved VSP reverse time migration for angle-domain CIGs extraction

An improved method of generating angle-domain common-image gathers（ADCIGs） by VSP reverse time migration（RTM） is introduced in this paper.The formula which is used to compute the receiver wavefield for VSP RTM is modified by adding an amplitude correction term in order to conveniently output amplitude-preserved ADCIGs.Compared with the surface seismic data,VSP data contains much richer wavefields.However,the direct and downgoing waves can bring about serious imaging artifacts in ADCIGs,especially the direct wave.The feasibility and validity of this method is demonstrated by both numerical and real VSP data from western China.Thus,the ADCIGs from this method can provide reliable basic data for VSP migration velocity analysis,VSP AVO/AVA analysis,and inversion.

Anisotropic converted wave amplitude-preserving prestack time migration by the pseudo-offset method

In this paper, we use the method of pseudo-offset migration （POM） to complete converted wave pre-stack time migration with amplitude-preservation in an anisotropic medium. The method maps the original traces into common conversion scatter point （CCSP） gathers directly by POM, which simplifies the conventional processing procedure for converted waves. The POM gather fold and SNR are high, which is favorable for velocity analysis and especially suitable for seismic data with low SNR. We used equivalent anisotropic theory to compute anisotropic parameters. Based on the scattering wave traveltime equation in a VTI medium, the POM pseudo-offset migration in anisotropic media was deduced. By amplitude-preserving POM gather mapping, velocity analysis, stack processing, and so on, the anisotropic migration results were acquired. The forward modeling computation and actual data processing demonstrate the validity of converted wave pre-stack time migration with amplitude-preservation using the anisotropic POM method.

Conjugate gradient and cross-correlation based least-square reverse time migration and its application

Although conventional reverse time migration can be perfectly applied to structural imaging it lacks the capability of enabling detailed delineation of a lithological reservoir due to irregular illumination. To obtain reliable reflectivity of the subsurface it is necessary to solve the imaging problem using inversion. The least-square reverse time migration （LSRTM） （also known as linearized refleetivity inversion） aims to obtain relatively high-resolution amplitude preserving imaging by including the inverse of the Hessian matrix. In practice, the conjugate gradient algorithm is proven to be an efficient iterative method for enabling use of LSRTM. The velocity gradient can be derived from a cross-correlation between observed data and simulated data, making LSRTM independent of wavelet signature and thus more robust in practice. Tests on synthetic and marine data show that LSRTM has good potential for use in reservoir description and four-dimensional （4D） seismic images compared to traditional RTM and Fourier finite difference （FFD） migration. This paper investigates the first order approximation of LSRTM, which is also known as the linear Born approximation. However, for more complex geological structures a higher order approximation should be considered to improve imaging quality.

Study and application of PS-wave pre-stack migration in HTI media and an anisotropic correction method

Anisotropy correction is necessary during the processing of converted PS- wave seismic data to achieve accurate structural imaging, reservoir prediction, and fracture detection. To effectively eliminate the adverse effects of S-wave splitting and to improve PS- wave imaging quality, we tested methods for pre-stack migration imaging and anisotropic correction of PS-wave data. We based this on the propagation rules of seismic waves in a horizontal transverse isotropy medium, which is a fractured medium model that reflects likely subsurface conditions in the field. We used the radial （R） and transverse （T） components of PS-wave data to separate the fast and slow S-wave components, after which their propagation moveout was effectively extracted. Meanwhile, corrections for the energies and propagation moveouts of the R and T components were implemented using mathematical rotation. The PS-wave imaging quality was distinctly improved, and we demonstrated the reliability of our methods through numerical simulations. Applying our methods to three-dimensional and three-component seismic field data from the Xinchang-Hexingchang region of the Western Sichuan Depression in China, we obtained high-quality seismic imaging with continuous reflection wave groups, distinct structural features, and specific stratigraphic contact relationships. This study provides an effective and reliable approach for data processing that will improve the exploration of complex, hidden lithologic gas reservoirs.

Direct pre-stack depth migration on rugged topography

Engineering seismic exploration aims at shallow imaging which is confused by statics if the surface is uneven. Direct pre-stack depth migration （DPDM） is based on accurate elevations of sources and receivers, by which static correction is completely abandoned before migration and surely the imaging quality is remarkably improved. To obtain some artificial shot gathers, high-order staggered-grid finite-difference （FD） method is adapted to model acoustic wave propagation. Since the shot gathers are always disturbed by regular interferences, the statics still must be applied to supporting the interference elimination by apparent velocity filtering method. Then all the shot gathers should be removed back to their original positions by reverse statics. Finally, they are migrated by pre-stack reverse-time depth migration and imaged. The numerical experiments show that the DPDM can ideally avoid the mistakes caused by statics and increase imaging precision.

Amplitude.preserving plane-wave prestack time migration for AVO analysis

To support amplitude variation with offset （AVO） analysis in complex structure areas, we introduce an amplitude-preserving plane-wave prestack time migration approach based on the double-square-root wave equation in media with little lateral velocity variation. In its implementation, a data mapping algorithm is used to obtain offset-plane-wave data sets from the common-midpoint gathers followed by a non-recursive phase-shift solution with amplitude correction to generate common-image gathers in offset-ray-parameter domain and a structural image. Theoretical model tests and a real data example show that our prestack time migration approach is helpful for AVO analysis in complex geological environments.

Variable-grid reverse-time migration of different seismic survey data

With an increasing demand for high-resolution imaging of complex subsurface structures, thin layers and hidden reservoirs, borehole and cross-well seismic migration methods have become important. However, large differences are observed in the frequency bandwidth between the surface, borehole, and cross-well surveys. Thus, variable-grid- based algorithms have been adapted to reverse-time migration. Further, we introduce Lanczos filtering to ensure the stability of wavefield calculations as well as to decrease the artificial reflections that are caused due to the variable grid size. Finally, we observe that the application of this method to surface survey, borehole, and cross-well seismic data suggests improvements in the delineation of minor fractures and steeply dipping faults.

Analysis and application of pseudo-offset method in the converted-wave prestack time migration

Pseudo-offset migration （POM） is a new method for prestack time migration of converted waves that improves on equivalent-offset migration （EOM）. The mapping of POM is different than EOM but the purpose of the two methods is to map the input samples to the common conversion scatter point （CCSP） gathers. This paper introduces the principles of the two migration methods and model parameter sensitivity tests for both POM and EOM. At large offset-to-depth ratios the hyperbolic approximation, the three-term approximation and the double square root （DSR） equation are used to NMO-correct the mapped POM gathers to obtain more accurate migration velocities. These equations were derived and calculated by small pseudo offset. POM is then used to image complex structure and prestack time migration.

Passive multiple reverse time migration imaging based on wave decomposition and normalized imaging conditions

With the development of seismic exploration,passive-source seismic data has attracted increasing attention.Ambient noise passive seismic sources exists widely in nature and industrial production.Passive seismic data is important in logging while drilling(LWD),large-scale structural exploration,etc.In this paper,we proposed a passive multiple reverse time migration imaging(PMRTMI)method based on wavefield decomposition and normalized imaging conditions method.This method differs from seismic interferometry in that it can use raw passive seismic data directly in RTM imaging without reconstruction of virtual active gather,and we use the wavefield decomposition method to eliminate the low frequency noise in RTM.Further,the energy normalized imaging condition is used in full wavefield decomposition,which can not only enhance the image quality of both edge and deep information but also overcome the wrong energy problem caused by uneven distribution of passive sources;furthermore,this method exhibits high efficiency.Finally,numerical examples with the Marmousi model show the effectiveness of the method.

Multiparameter least-squares reverse time migration for acoustic–elastic coupling media based on ocean bottom cable data

In marine seismic exploration,ocean bottom cable technology can record multicomponent seismic data for multiparameter inversion and imaging.This study proposes an elastic multiparameter lease-squares reverse time migration based on the ocean bottom cable technology.Herein,the wavefield continuation operators are mixed equations:the acoustic wave equations are used to calculate seismic wave propagation in the seawater medium,whereas in the solid media below the seabed,the wavefields are obtained by P-and S-wave separated vector elastic wave equations.At the seabed interface,acoustic–elastic coupling control equations are used to combine the two types of equations.P-and S-wave separated elastic migration operators,demigration operators,and gradient equations are derived to realize the elastic least-squares reverse time migration based on the P-and S-wave mode separation.The model tests verify that the proposed method can obtain high-quality images in both the P-and S-velocity components.In comparison with the traditional elastic least-squares reverse time migration method,the proposed method can readily suppress imaging crosstalk noise from multiparameter coupling.

Reverse time migration based on normalized wavefield decomposition imaging condition

With the increasing complexity of prospecting objectives,reverse time migration( RTM) has attracted more and more attention due to its outstanding imaging quality. RTM is based on two-way wave equation,so it can avoid the limits of angle in traditional one-way wave equation migration,image reverse branch,prism waves and multi-reflected wave precisely and obtain accurate dynamic information. However,the huge demands for storage and computation as well as low frequency noises restrict its wide application. The normalized cross-correlation imaging conditions based on wave field decomposition are derived from traditional cross-correlation imaging condition,and it can eliminate the low-frequency noises effectively and improve the imaging resolution. The practical procedure includes separating source and receiver wave field into one-way components respectively,and conducting cross-correlation imaging condition to the post-separated wave field. In this way,the resolution and precision of the imaging result will be promoted greatly.

Individual consistency in spatiotemporal characteristics of migratory Whimbrels in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Many migratory birds exhibit interannual consistency in migration schedules,routes and stopover sites.Detecting the interannual consistency in spatiotemporal characteristics helps understand the maintenance of migration and enables the implementation of targeted conservation measures.We tracked the migration of Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus)in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and collected spatiotemporal data from individuals that were tracked for at least two years.Wilcoxon non-parametric tests were used to compare the interannual variations in the dates of departure from and arrival at breeding/nonbreeding sites,and the inter-annual variation in the longitudes when the same individual across the same latitudes.Whimbrels exhibited a high degree of consistency in the use of breeding,nonbreeding,and stopover sites between years.The variation of arrival dates at nonbreeding sites was significantly larger than that of the departure dates from nonbreeding and breeding sites.Repeatedly used stopover sites by the same individuals in multiple years were concentrated in the Yellow Sea coast during northward migration,but were more widespread during southward migration.The stopover duration at repeatedly used sites was significantly longer than that at sites used only once.When flying across the Yellow Sea,Whimbrels breeding in Sakha(Yakutia)exhibited the highest consistency in migration routes in both autumn and spring.Moreover,the consistency in migration routes of Yakutia breeding birds was generally higher than that of birds breeding in Chukotka.Our results suggest that the northward migration schedule of the Whimbrels is mainly controlled by endogenous factors,while the southward migration schedule is less affected by endogenous factors.The repeated use of stopover sites in the Yellow Sea coast suggests this region is important for the migration of Whimbrel,and thus has high conservation value.

Fast least-squares prestack time migration via accelerating the explicit calculation of Hessian matrix with dip-angle Fresnel zone

Amplitude versus offset analysis is a fundamental tool for determining the physical properties of reservoirs but generally hampered by the blurred common image gathers(CIGs).The blurring can be optimally corrected using the blockwise least-squares prestack time migration(BLS-PSTM),where common-offset migrated sections are divided into a series of blocks related to the explicit offsetdependent Hessian matrix and the following inverse filtering is iteratively applied to invert the corresponding reflectivity.However,calculating the Hessian matrix is slow.We present a fast BLS-PSTM via accelerating Hessian calculation with dip-angle Fresnel zone(DFZ).DFZ is closely related to optimal migration aperture,which significantly attenuates migration swings and reduces the computational cost of PSTM.Specifically,our fast BLS-PSTM is implemented as a two-stage process.First,we limit the aperture for any imaging point with an approximated the projected Fresnel zone before calculating the Hessian matrix.Then,we determine whether a seismic trace contributes to the imaging point via DFZ during calculating the Hessian matrix.Numerical tests on synthetic and field data validate the distinct speedup with higher-quality CIGs compared to BLS-PSTM.

Least-squares reverse time migration method using the factorization of the Hessian matrix

Least-squares reverse time migration(LSRTM)can eliminate imaging artifacts in an iterative way based on the concept of inversion,and it can restore imaging amplitude step by step.LSRTM can provide a high-resolution migration section and can be applied to irregular and poor-quality seismic data and achieve good results.Steeply dipping refl ectors and complex faults are imaged by using wavefi eld extrapolation based on a two-way wave equation.However,the high computational cost limits the method’s application in practice.A fast approach to realize LSRTM in the imaging domain is provided in this paper to reduce the computational cost signifi cantly and enhance its computational effi ciency.The method uses the Kronecker decomposition algorithm to estimate the Hessian matrix.A low-rank matrix can be used to calculate the Kronecker factor,which involves the calculation of Green’s function at the source and receiver point.The approach also avoids the direct construction of the whole Hessian matrix.Factorization-based LSRTM calculates the production of low-rank matrices instead of repeatedly calculating migration and demigration.Unlike traditional LSRTM,factorization-based LSRTM can reduce calculation costs considerably while maintaining comparable imaging quality.While having the same imaging eff ect,factorization-based LSRTM consumes half the running time of conventional LSRTM.In this regard,the application of factorization-based LSRTM has a promising advantage in reducing the computational cost.Ambient noise caused by this method can be removed by applying a commonly used fi ltering method without signifi cantly degrading the imaging quality.