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REVIEW ARTICLE

Wave-equation migration: Advances, artificial intelligence enhancement, comparisons, and outlook

Yanlong Zhu1,2,3,4 ,  Anyu Li5*
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1 Key Laboratory of Mineral Exploration (Gansu province), Lanzhou, Gansu, China
2 Gold Mine Resource Exploration and Utilization Technology Innovation Center of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
3 The Third Institute of Geology and Minerals Exploration, Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geology and Minerals Exploration and Development, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
4 Department of Geophysics, School of Geophysics and Information Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, China
5 Department of Geophysics, School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing, China
JSE, 025010137 https://doi.org/10.36922/JSE025010137
Received: 29 December 2025 | Revised: 11 March 2026 | Accepted: 12 March 2026 | Published online: 8 May 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Wave-equation–based seismic migration is a core technology for high-resolution subsurface imaging in applications such as hydrocarbon exploration and geothermal resource assessment. It provides a more complete physical description of seismic wave propagation than ray-based migration methods, and is therefore essential for imaging complex geological structures characterized by strong velocity contrasts and steeply dipping reflectors. This paper presents a systematic review and comparative analysis of wave-equation prestack depth-migration methods, including reference-velocity–based one-way wave-equation depth migration (OWDM), accurate-velocity–based OWDM, reverse-time migration, and full-wave-equation depth migration. The theoretical foundations, wavefield extrapolation characteristics, imaging mechanisms, and numerical implementations of these methods are examined within a unified framework. Particular emphasis is placed on clarifying the intrinsic limitations of one-way wave-equation migration in handling turning waves and large propagation angles, and on contrasting the strengths and weaknesses of time-domain versus depth-domain full-wave-equation migration. Based on representative numerical experiments and field data examples, the imaging performance, computational efficiency, and practical applicability of the four migration schemes are comprehensively compared. In addition, recent advances in artificial intelligence-assisted seismic imaging are reviewed, focusing on wavefield propagator design and migration artifact suppression. This review provides practical guidance for selecting appropriate migration strategies in complex geological settings and offers insights into future developments of wave-equation–based seismic imaging.

Keywords
Wave-equation migration
Seismic imaging
Research progress
Imaging comparison
Funding
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (Grant No. CSTB2025NSCQ-GPX0927), the National Major Science and Technology Project for Deep Earth Exploration and Mineral Resources Exploration (Grant No. 2025ZD1009600), the Open Research Fund of Gansu Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Exploration (Grant No. 202505), the Science and Technology Support Project for the New Round of Strategic Action for Prospecting Breakthrough (Grant No. ZKKJ202410), and the Research Foundation of Chongqing University of Science and Technology (Grant No. ckrc20241203).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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