Determination of Fresnel zones from traveltime measurements
For a horizontally stratified (isotropic) earth, the rms‐velocity of a primary reflection is a key parameter for common‐midpoint (CMP) stacking, interval‐velocity computation (by the Dix formula) and true‐amplitude processing (geometrical‐spreading compensation). As shown here, it is also a very desirable parameter to determine the Fresnel zone on the reflector from which the primary zero‐offset reflection results. Hence, the rms‐velocity can contribute to evaluating the resolution of the primary reflection. The situation that applies to a horizontally stratified earth model can be generalized to three‐dimensional (3-D) layered laterally inhomogeneous media. The theory by which Fresnel zones for zero‐offset primary reflections can then be determined purely from a traveltime analysis—without knowing the overburden above the considered reflector—is presented. The concept of a projected Fresnel zone is introduced and a simple method of its construction for zero‐offset primary reflections is described. The projected Fresnel zone provides the image on the earth’s surface (or on the traveltime surface of primary zero‐offset reflections) of that part of the subsurface reflector (i.e., the actual Fresnel zone) that influences the considered reflection. This image is often required for a seismic stratigraphic analysis. Our main aim is therefore to show the seismic interpreter how easy it is to find the projected Fresnel zone of a zero‐offset reflection using nothing more than a standard 3-D CMP traveltime analysis.