We analyze the kinematic properties of offset-domain Common Image Gathers (CIGs) and Angle-Domain CIGs (ADCIGs) computed by wavefield-continuation migration. Our results are valid regardless of whether the CIGs were obtained by using the correct migration velocity. They thus can be used as a theoretical basis for developing Migration Velocity Analysis (MVA) methods that exploit the velocity information contained in ADCIGs.We demonstrate that in an ADCIG cube the image point lies on the normal to the apparent reflector dip, passing through the point where the source ray intersects the receiver ray. Starting from this geometric result, we derive an analytical expression for the expected movements of the image points in ADCIGs as functions of the traveltime perturbation caused by velocity errors. By applying this analytical result and assuming stationary raypaths, we then derive two expressions for the Residual Moveout (RMO) function in ADCIGs. We verify our theoretical results and test the accuracy of the proposed RMO functions by analyzing the migration results of a synthetic data set with a wide range of reflector dips.Our kinematic analysis leads also to the development of a new method for computing ADCIGs when significant geological dips cause strong artifacts in the ADCIGs computed by conventional methods. The proposed method is based on the computation of offsetdomain CIGs along the vertical-offset axis (VOCIGs) and on the "optimal" combination of these new CIGs with conventional CIGs. We demonstrate the need for and the advantages of the proposed method on a real data set acquired in the North Sea.

We analyze the kinematic properties of offset-domain Common Image Gathers (CIGs) and Angle-Domain CIGs (ADCIGs) computed by wavefield-continuation migration. Our results are valid regardless of whether the CIGs were obtained by using the correct migration velocity. They thus can be used as a theoretical basis for developing Migration Velocity Analysis (MVA) methods that exploit the velocity information contained in ADCIGs. We demonstrate that in an ADCIG cube the image point lies on the normal to the apparent reflector dip, passing through the point where the source ray intersects the receiver ray. Starting from this geometric result, we derive an analytical expression for the expected movements of the image points in ADCIGs as functions of the traveltime perturbation caused by velocity errors. By applying this analytical result and assuming stationary raypaths, we then derive two expressions for the Residual Moveout (RMO) function in ADCIGs. We verify our theoretical results and test the accuracy of the proposed RMO functions by analyzing the migration results of a synthetic data set with a wide range of reflector dips. We propose a 3-D extension of our kinematic analysis to the restricted, but in practice useful, case when the source ray and the receiver ray are coplanar. This leads to a 3-D generalization of the relationships used to compute ADCIGs from migrated images. We demonstrate the application of the 3-D transformation to angle domain on the image cube obtained from common-azimuth migration of the SEG-EAGE salt data set.

SUMMARYWe describe a method to update the velocity model from the residual move-out information contained in 3-D angle-domain common-image gathers. The 3-D angle-domain common-image gathers computed after wave-equation migration are functions of the aperture angle and the reflection azimuth angle. We perform a velocity error analysis by semblance using a 2-D and a 3-D residual move-out function on the angle-domain common-image gathers. Both functions enable us to update the velocity model. The 3-D function leads to a better estimation of the velocity error in the case of 3-D events.