Low-frequency layer-induced kinematic parameters in transversely isotropic media and orthorhombic media

2019 ◽  
Vol 220 (2) ◽  
pp. 839-855
Author(s):  
Da Shuai ◽  
Alexey Stovas

SUMMARY We develop a method to compute frequency-dependent kinematic parameters for an effective orthorhombic (ORT) medium. In order to investigate the influence of fracture weaknesses on the kinematic parameters, the effective ORT medium is composed based on the linear slip theory and derived by applying the limited Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff series. The frequency-dependent kinematic parameters including vertical velocity, two normal moveout velocities defined in vertical symmetry planes, and three anelliptic parameters (two of them are defined in vertical symmetry plane and one parameter is the cross-term one). We also investigate the influence of volume fraction, frequency, velocity ratio and fracture weaknesses on the effective kinematic parameters.

Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. N27-N39
Author(s):  
Nicolás D. Barbosa ◽  
Corinna Köpke ◽  
Eva Caspari ◽  
J. Germán Rubino ◽  
James Irving ◽  
...  

The identification and characterization of fractures is an important objective in many areas of earth and environmental sciences. Amplitude variation with offset and azimuth (AVOAz) analysis of seismic reflection data is a key method for achieving these tasks. Theoretical and experimental studies have shown that the presence of pore fluids together with the strong mechanical contrast between the fractures and their embedding background give rise to wave-induced fluid flow (WIFF) effects. This implies that the effective stiffness tensor of a fluid-saturated fractured rock defining its seismic response becomes viscoelastic and frequency-dependent. In spite of this, AVOAz analysis typically relies on end-member-type elastic stiffness models that either assume a relaxed (i.e., equilibrated) or unrelaxed (i.e., unequilibrated) state of the wave-induced fluid pressure in the rock. In general, however, neither the appropriateness of the chosen model nor the associated errors in the inversion process are known. To investigate this topic, we have considered a poroelastic medium containing parallel vertical fractures and generate synthetic seismic AVOAz data using the classic Rüger approximations for PP-wave reflection coefficients in horizontally transversely isotropic media. A Markov chain Monte Carlo method is used to perform a Bayesian inversion of the synthetic seismic AVOAz data. We quantify the influence of WIFF effects on the AVOAz inversion results when elastic relaxed and unrelaxed models are used as forward solvers of inversion schemes to estimate the fracture volume fraction, the elastic moduli, and the porosity of the background rock, as well as the overall weakness of the medium due to the presence of fractures. Our results indicate that, when dealing with single-frequency data, relaxed elastic models provide biased but overall better inversion results than unrelaxed ones, for which some fracture parameters cannot be resolved. Improved inversion performance is achieved when using frequency-dependent data, which illustrates the importance of accounting for poroelastic effects.


Geophysics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 1079-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Grechka ◽  
Ilya Tsvankin

We present a new equation for normal‐moveout (NMO) velocity that describes azimuthally dependent reflection traveltimes of pure modes from both horizontal and dipping reflectors in arbitrary anisotropic inhomogeneous media. With the exception of anomalous areas such as those where common‐midpoint (CMP) reflection time decreases with offset, the azimuthal variation of NMO velocity represents an ellipse in the horizontal plane, with the orientation of the axes determined by the properties of the medium and the direction of the reflector normal. In general, a minimum of three azimuthal measurements is necessary to reconstruct the best‐fit ellipse and obtain NMO velocity in all azimuthal directions. This result provides a simple way to correct for the azimuthal variation in stacking velocity often observed in 3-D surveys. Even more importantly, analytic expressions for the parameters of the NMO ellipse can be used in the inversion of moveout data for the anisotropic coefficients of the medium. For homogeneous transversely isotropic media with a vertical axis of symmetry (VTI media), our equation for azimuthally dependent NMO velocity from dipping reflectors becomes a relatively simple function of phase velocity and its derivatives. We show that the zero‐dip NMO velocity Vnmo(0) and the anisotropic coefficient η are sufficient to describe the P-wave NMO velocity for any orientation of the CMP line with respect to the dip plane of the reflector. Using our formalism, Vnmo(0) and η (the only parameters needed for time processing) can be found from the dip‐dependent NMO velocity at any azimuth or, alternatively, from the azimuthally dependent NMO for a single dipping reflector. We also apply this theory to more complicated azimuthally anisotropic models with the orthorhombic symmetry used to describe fractured reservoirs. For reflections from horizontal interfaces in orthorhombic media, the axes of the normal moveout ellipse are aligned with the vertical symmetry planes. Therefore, azimuthal P-wave moveout measurements can be inverted for the orientation of the symmetry planes (typically determined by the fracture direction) and the NMO velocities within them. If the vertical velocity is known, symmetry‐plane NMO velocities make it possible to estimate two anisotropic parameters equivalent to Thomsen’s coefficient δ for transversely isotropic media.


Geophysics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 1605-1612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn E. Rommel

Many real rocks and sediments relevant to seismic exploration can be described by elastic, transversely isotropic media. The properties of plane waves propagating in a transversely isotropic medium can be given in an analytically exact form. Here the polarization is recast into a comprehensive form that includes Daley and Hron’s normalization and Helbig’s full range of elastic constants. But these formulas are rather lengthy and do not easily reveal the features caused by anisotropy. Hence Thomsen suggested an approximation scheme for weak transverse isotropy. His derivation of the approximate polarization, however, is based on a property that is not suitable to measure small differences between an isotropic and a weakly transversely isotropic medium. Therefore the approximation of the polarization is recast. The corrected approximation does show a dependence on weak transverse isotropy. This feature can be viewed as an additional rotation of the polarization with respect to the wavenormal. It depends on the anisotropy as well as the inverse velocity ratio. An approximate condition of pure polarization, which occurs in certain directions, is also obtained. The corrected approximation results in a better match of the approximate polarization with the exact one, providing the assumption of weak transverse isotropy is met. When comparing the additional rotation with the deviation of the (observable) ray direction from the wavenormal, the qSV‐wave indicates transverse isotropy most clearly.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Razec Cezar Sampaio Pinto da Silva Torres ◽  
Leandro Di Bartolo

ABSTRACT. Reverse time migration (RTM) is one of the most powerful methods used to generate images of the subsurface. The RTM was proposed in the early 1980s, but only recently it has been routinely used in exploratory projects involving complex geology – Brazilian pre-salt, for example. Because the method uses the two-way wave equation, RTM is able to correctly image any kind of geological environment (simple or complex), including those with anisotropy. On the other hand, RTM is computationally expensive and requires the use of computer clusters. This paper proposes to investigate the influence of anisotropy on seismic imaging through the application of RTM for tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media in pre-stack synthetic data. This work presents in detail how to implement RTM for TTI media, addressing the main issues and specific details, e.g., the computational resources required. A couple of simple models results are presented, including the application to a BP TTI 2007 benchmark model.Keywords: finite differences, wave numerical modeling, seismic anisotropy. Migração reversa no tempo em meios transversalmente isotrópicos inclinadosRESUMO. A migração reversa no tempo (RTM) é um dos mais poderosos métodos utilizados para gerar imagens da subsuperfície. A RTM foi proposta no início da década de 80, mas apenas recentemente tem sido rotineiramente utilizada em projetos exploratórios envolvendo geologia complexa, em especial no pré-sal brasileiro. Por ser um método que utiliza a equação completa da onda, qualquer configuração do meio geológico pode ser corretamente tratada, em especial na presença de anisotropia. Por outro lado, a RTM é dispendiosa computacionalmente e requer o uso de clusters de computadores por parte da indústria. Este artigo apresenta em detalhes uma implementação da RTM para meios transversalmente isotrópicos inclinados (TTI), abordando as principais dificuldades na sua implementação, além dos recursos computacionais exigidos. O algoritmo desenvolvido é aplicado a casos simples e a um benchmark padrão, conhecido como BP TTI 2007.Palavras-chave: diferenças finitas, modelagem numérica de ondas, anisotropia sísmica.


1995 ◽  
Vol 26 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 431-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick N.(Jr). Okoye ◽  
N. F. Uren ◽  
W. Waluyo

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jidong Yang ◽  
Biaolong Hua ◽  
Paul Williamson ◽  
Hejun Zhu ◽  
George McMechan ◽  
...  

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