Including converted waves in full wavefield migration

Abstract

Full Wavefield Migration (FWM) is a full-wavefield inversion method based on the so-called WRW model in the context of seismic imaging. This WRW model describes seismic data in terms of convolutional propagation and reflection operators in the space-frequency domain. By recursively applying these operators, multi-scattering data can be described and the FWM algorithm can find the underlying reflection properties (i.e. the ‘image’). However, the current FWM algorithm only allows for acoustic imaging. This approach disregards elastic phenomena such as wave conversions. In this report, an extension to the FWM method is given to incorporate these effects. The resulting algorithm is then applied to a simple 1.5D model, to allow for proof-of-concept numerical simulations. The results of these simulations are given and show that the proposed model can model wave conversions and other elastic effects, yielding a good proof-of-concept for further research into this extended algorithm.