3D plane-wave migration in tilted coordinates: A field data example

We have extended isotropic plane-wave migration in tilted coordinates to 3D anisotropic media and applied it on a Gulf of Mexico data set. Recorded surface data are transformed to plane-wave data by slant-stack processing in inline and crossline directions. The source plane wave and its corresponding slant-stacked data are extrapolated into the subsurface within a tilted coordinate system whose direction depends on the propagation direction of the plane wave. Images are generated by crosscorrelating these two wavefields. The shot sampling is sparse in the crossline direction, and the source generated by slant stacking is not really a plane-wave source but a phase-encoded source. We have discovered that phase-encoded source migration in tilted coordinates can image steep reflectors, using 2D synthetic data set examples. The field data example shows that 3D plane-wave migration in tilted coordinates can image steeply dipping salt flanks and faults, even though the one-way wave-equation operator is used for wavefield extrapolation.