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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.
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
NOVEMBER 1995
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NOVEMBER 1995
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
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NOVEMBER 1995