PRESTACK KIRCHHOFF DEPTH MIGRATION OF SHALLOW SEISMIC DATA

Prestack Kirchhoff depth migration is applied successfully to shallow seismic data from a waste disposal site near Arnstadt in Thuringia, Ge rmany. The motivation behind this study was to locate an underground b uilding buried in a waste disposal. The processing sequence of the pre stack migration is simplified significantly as compared to standard co mmon (CMP) data processing. It includes only two parts: (1) velocity-d epth-model estimation and (2) prestack depth migration. In contrast to conventional CMP stacking, prestack migration does not require a sepa ration of reflections and refractions in the shot data. It still provi des an appropriate image. Our data example shows that a superior image can be achieved that would contain not just subtle improvements but a qualitative step forward in resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.