Viscoelastic true-amplitude prestack reverse-time depth migration

A new true-amplitude prestack elastic depth-migration algorithm includes compensation for transmission and anelastic attenuation losses in an isotropic medium. Geometric spreading and its compensation are incorporated by extrapolating up- and downgoing waves using a full two-way wave equation. Intrinsic attenuation is simulated and compensated for using composite memory variables derived from standard linear solid relaxation mechanisms. Zoeppritz equations and their approximations are used to compute and analyze the angle-dependent reflection/transmission coefficients; converted energy is included at each interface. Transmission losses for compressional waves are compensated, based on estimation of angle-dependent elastic reflectivity using a two-pass recursive procedure. The image condition is the ratio of the compressional receiver/source wavefield amplitudes. Application to synthetic data from a dipping-layer model and a salt model accurately extracts P-velocity, S-velocity, density, and P-wave impedance beneath the target reflector, even under a salt overhang. Factors not explicitly considered include building of the smooth background velocity and attenuation models, estimates of the source time function, directivity and coupling, multipathing arrivals, and effects of attenuation and anisotropy on the reflection/transmission coefficients.