Diffraction imaging by prestack reverse-time migration in the dip-angle domain

Prestack image volumes may be decomposed into specular and non-specular parts by filters defined in the dip-angle domain. For space-shift extended image volumes, the dip-angle decomposition is derived via local Radon transform in depth and midpoint coordinates, followed by an averaging over space-shifts. We propose to employ prestack space-shift extended reverse-time migration and dip-angle decomposition for imaging small-scale structural elements, considered as seismic diffractors, in models with arbitrary complexity. A suitable design of a specularity filter in the dip-angle domain rejects the dominant reflectors and enhances diffractors and other non-specular image content. The filter exploits a clear discrimination in dip between specular reflections and diffractions. The former are stationary at the specular dip, whereas the latter are non-stationary without a preferred dip direction. While the filtered image volume features other than the diffractor images (for example, noise and truncation artefacts are also present), synthetic and field data examples suggest that diffractors tend to dominate and are readily recognisable. Averaging over space-shifts in the filter construction makes the reflectors? rejection robust against migration velocity errors. Another consequence of the space-shift extension and its angle-domain transforms is the possibility of exploring the image in a multiple set of common-image gathers. The filtered diffractions may be analysed simultaneously in space-shift, scattering-angle, and dip-angle image gathers by means of a single migration job. The deliverables of our method obviously enrich the processed material on the interpreter's desk. We expect them to further supplement our understanding of the Earth's interior.