Patent ID: 7406383

Claim:
Method for estimating the seismic illumination fold |( x , p ) in the migrated 3D domain at least one image point x , for at least one dip of vector p , wherein the illumination fold I( x , p ; s , r ) for each (source s , receiver r ) pair in the seismic survey is estimated, by applying the following steps: determination of the reflection travel time t r ( x r ( p ); s , r ) from the source s to the specular reflection point x r on the plane reflector passing through the image point x and perpendicular to the dip vector p and then returning to the reflector r ; starting from the diffraction travel time t d ( x ; s , r ) from the source s to the said image point x and then returning to the reflector r ; incrementing the said illumination fold I( x , p ; s , r ) related to the said (source s , receiver r ) pair as a function of the difference between the diffraction travel time t d ( x ; s , r ) and the reflection travel time t r ( x r ( p ); s , r ).