2001 RESEARCH UTAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND 2002 GOALS

  1. Generalized Diffraction Stack Migration
    • IMPLICATION: Full wave-equation migration of COG; DSM filtering, efficient RTM, focusing operators from field data.
    • PROBLEMS: Need tests with field examples.
    • 2002 GOALS: Test with field examples. Develop IO efficiency tricks.

  2. Focusing Operators from VSP Data
    • IMPLICATION: Full wave-equation migration operators from VSP data!
      • Primary reflection Kirchhoff operators.
      • Multiple reflection Kirchhoff operators.
    • PROBLEMS: No extensive tests on data.
    • 2002 GOALS: Robust tests on synthetic and field data sets. Test possibility of separating primaries from multiples.

  3. 3-D Wave Equation Migration with Sparse Frequencies
    • IMPLICATIONS: 2-3 times CPU savings in 3D migration efficiency.
    • PROBLEMS: Clumsy ray tracing needed.
    • 2002 GOALS: Full volume 3-D wave equation migration of more data sets.

  4. Joint Crosscorrelation Imaging
    • IMPLICATIONS: Alternative imaging Method
      • Practical IVSPWD imaging with horizontal drilling.
      • Possible means for migrating multiples in CDP data.
    • PROBLEMS: Need to reduce virtual multiple artifacts.
    • 2002 GOALS: More field data (earthquake records?) tests.

  5. MD AVO and DMO Deconvolution
    • IMPLICATION: Improved resolution and artifact reduction in AVO and DMO images.
    • PROBLEMS: None.
    • 2002 GOALS: More AVO tests with field data.

  6. Least Squares Wavepath Migration and POIC
    • IMPLICATIONS: Improved image quality from wavepath migration. Ability to reduce multiples.
    • PROBLEMS: Sensitivity to incidence angle estimation.
    • 2002 GOALS: 3-D LSWM? More field data tests? await.

  7. Crosswell First Arrival Waveform Imaging
    • IMPLICATION: More robust waveform imaging method.
    • PROBLEMS: Elastic modeling needed? Need field data test.
    • 2002 GOALS: Robust series of tests on INCO field data. Develop tricks to overcome unaccountable noise in data.

  8. Refraction Waveform Imaging
    • IMPLICATION: High resolution and more robust waveform imaging method.
    • PROBLEMS: Viscoelastic modeling needed? Need field data test.
    • 2002 GOALS: Robust series of tests on field refraction data. Develop tricks to overcome unaccountable noise in data.

  9. Dinosaur Fossil Imaging
    • IMPLICATION: High resolution 3-D refraction tomography?
    • PROBLEMS: Data still being analyzed.
    • 2002 GOALS: Present 3-D radar and refraction tomography images of dinosaur fossils.