Plane-wave migration in tilted coordinates

We have developed a plane-wave migration method that efficiently images steeply dipping reflectors using one-way wavefield extrapolation. The recorded surface data are converted to plane-wave source data by slant stacking. The data set corresponding to each plane-wave source is migrated independently in a tilted coordinate system, with the extrapolation direction determined by the initial propagation direction of the plane wave at the surface. Waves illuminating steeply dipping reflectors, such as overturned waves and waves traveling nearly horizontally, are extrapolated accurately in an appropriate tilted coordinate system because the extrapolation direction is close to the propagation directions for these waves. Two-dimensional impulse responses and synthetic data examples demonstrate that plane-wave migration in tilted coordinates generates high-quality images of steeply dipping reflectors, particularly rugose salt tops and steep salt flanks.