Elevation statics, wave equation datuming, and EOM

John C. Bancroft

Most migration algorithms assume that zero time on a recorded seismic trace corresponds to the onset of energy that is applied at the surface. Large elevation differences across a seismic line may violate this assumption and require wave equation datuming to move the input time traces to a satisfactory datum. For similar reasons, seismic acquisitions that use large elevation changes with vertical receiver arrays may also require wave equation datumming.

Equivalent offset migration (EOM) is a prestack migration that has been applied to data with rugged surface elevations and to data recorded with vertical receiver arrays. Data that are correctly processed with EOM do not require wave equation datumming.