f Generating functions in seismic reflection imaging - Duality and kinematic aspects

As we want to demonstrate a fundamental duality is very strongly revealed in seismic reflection imaging. It is our aim to expose this to the reader in a very simple way. He should then gain a deep understanding of certain fundamental features that are inherent in se ismic reflection imaging, and that are most helpful in understanding the processes. Since the classical work of Hagedoorn (1954), a substantial amount of literature has been devoted to a variety of seismic reflection imaging problems. Though the principal task as exposed by Hagedoorn remains the task of constructing depth-migrated images from primary time domain reflections (as found e.g. in common-shot (CS), common-mid-point (CMP)-stack or common-offset (CO) records) we have seen in recent years the emergence of a variety of many other seismic imaging problems. To these belong, for instance, the dip-moveout correction (DMO), the migration to zero offset (MZO), the shot-continuation operation (SCO), the re(sidual)-migration (REM) or the transformation from a CS or CO to a vertical seismic profile (VSP) record, or vice versa. Hagedoorn introduced the concept of the isochron and of the curve of maximum convexity.