Pulse distortion in depth migration

When migrating seismic primary reflections obtained from arbitrary source-receiver configurations (e.g., common shot or constant offset) into depth, a pulse distortion occurs along the reflector. This distortion exists even if the migration was performed using the correct velocity model. Regardless of the migration algorithm, this distortion is a consequence of varying reflection angle, reflector dip, and/or velocity variation. The relationship between the original time pulse and the depth pulse after migration can be explained and quantified in terms of a prestack, Kirchhoff-type, diffraction-stack migration theory.