High-performance 3D migration of seismic data

During the past 25 years, the seismic exploration industry has placed ever-increasing demands on the capacities of computers to process data. One reason for this growth has been the need to improve the resolution and accuracy of the seismic section. This involves a combination of improved field techniques, increased data coverage and sophisticated data processing. In order to achieve the resolution and accuracy demanded by today's explorer, multidimensional operations are required. Migration is a good example of a multidimensional process used on seismic data. Basically the algorithm is an attempt to generate an accurate cross section of the earth based on a velocity model. The process and the equipment involved are discussed in detail in this article.