scholarly journals The Determination of P-wave Attenuation Values in the Earth's Mantle

1974 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. S. Berzon ◽  
I. P. Passechnik ◽  
A. M. Polikarpov
Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Akbar ◽  
Jack Dvorkin ◽  
Amos Nur

To relate P‐wave attenuation to permeability, we examine a three‐dimensional (3-D) theoretical model of a cylindrical pore filled with viscous fluid and embedded in an infinite isotropic elastic medium. We calculate both attenuation and permeability as functions of the direction of wave propagation. Attenuation estimates are based on the squirt flow mechanism; permeability is calculated using the Kozeny‐Carman relation. We find that in the case when a plane P‐wave propagates perpendicular to the pore orientation [Formula: see text], attenuation is always higher than when a wave propagates parallel to this orientation [Formula: see text]. The ratio of these two attenuation values [Formula: see text] increases with an increasing pore radius and decreasing frequency and saturation. By changing permeability, varying the radius of the pore, we find that the permeability‐attenuation relation is characterized by a peak that shifts toward lower permeabilities as frequency decreases. Therefore, the attenuation of a low‐frequency wave decreases with increasing permeability. We observe a similar trend on relations between attenuation and permeability experimentally obtained on sandstone samples.


Geophysics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 854-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Ming Tang

A new technique for measuring elastic wave attenuation in the frequency range of 10–150 kHz consists of measuring low‐frequency waveforms using two cylindrical bars of the same material but of different lengths. The attenuation is obtained through two steps. In the first, the waveform measured within the shorter bar is propagated to the length of the longer bar, and the distortion of the waveform due to the dispersion effect of the cylindrical waveguide is compensated. The second step is the inversion for the attenuation or Q of the bar material by minimizing the difference between the waveform propagated from the shorter bar and the waveform measured within the longer bar. The waveform inversion is performed in the time domain, and the waveforms can be appropriately truncated to avoid multiple reflections due to the finite size of the (shorter) sample, allowing attenuation to be measured at long wavelengths or low frequencies. The frequency range in which this technique operates fills the gap between the resonant bar measurement (∼10 kHz) and ultrasonic measurement (∼100–1000 kHz). By using the technique, attenuation values in a PVC (a highly attenuative) material and in Sierra White granite were measured in the frequency range of 40–140 kHz. The obtained attenuation values for the two materials are found to be reliable and consistent.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Sun ◽  
Xiaoming Tang ◽  
C. H. (Arthur) Cheng ◽  
L. Neil Frazer

In this paper, a modification of an existing method for estimating relative P-wave attenuation is proposed. By generating synthetic waveforms without attenuation, the variation of geometrical spreading related to changes in formation properties with depth can be accounted for. With the modified method, reliable P- and S-wave attenuation logs can be extracted from monopole array acoustic waveform log data. Synthetic tests show that the P- and S-wave attenuation values estimated from synthetic waveforms agree well with their respective model values. In‐situ P- and S-wave attenuation profiles provide valuable information about reservoir rock properties. Field data processing results show that this method gives robust estimates of intrinsic attenuation. The attenuation profiles calculated independently from each waveform of an eight‐receiver array are consistent with one another. In fast formations where S-wave velocity exceeds the borehole fluid velocity, both P-wave attenuation ([Formula: see text]) and S-wave attenuation ([Formula: see text]) profiles can be obtained. P- and S-wave attenuation profiles and their comparisons are presented for three reservoirs. Their correlations with formation lithology, permeability, and fractures are also presented.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. T155-T164
Author(s):  
Wanting Hou ◽  
Li-Yun Fu ◽  
José M. Carcione ◽  
Zhiwei Wang ◽  
Jia Wei

Thermoelasticity is important in seismic propagation due to the effects related to wave attenuation and velocity dispersion. We have applied a novel finite-difference (FD) solver of the Lord-Shulman thermoelasticity equations to compute synthetic seismograms that include the effects of the thermal properties (expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, and specific heat) compared with the classic forward-modeling codes. We use a time splitting method because the presence of a slow quasistatic mode (the thermal mode) makes the differential equations stiff and unstable for explicit time-stepping methods. The spatial derivatives are computed with a rotated staggered-grid FD method, and an unsplit convolutional perfectly matched layer is used to absorb the waves at the boundaries, with an optimal performance at the grazing incidence. The stability condition of the modeling algorithm is examined. The numerical experiments illustrate the effects of the thermoelasticity properties on the attenuation of the fast P-wave (or E-wave) and the slow thermal P-wave (or T-wave). These propagation modes have characteristics similar to the fast and slow P-waves of poroelasticity, respectively. The thermal expansion coefficient has a significant effect on the velocity dispersion and attenuation of the elastic waves, and the thermal conductivity affects the relaxation time of the thermal diffusion process, with the T mode becoming wave-like at high thermal conductivities and high frequencies.


1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 470-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Horng Lin ◽  
S. W. Roecker

Abstract Seismograms of earthquakes and explosions recorded at local, regional, and teleseismic distances by a small-aperture, dense seismic array located on Pinyon Flat, in southern California, reveal large (±15°) backazimuth anomalies. We investigate the causes and implications of these anomalies by first comparing the effectiveness of estimating backazimuth with an array using three different techniques: the broadband frequency-wavenumber (BBFK) technique, the polarization technique, and the beamforming technique. While each technique provided nearly the same direction as a most likely estimate, the beamforming estimate was associated with the smallest uncertainties. Backazimuth anomalies were then calculated for the entire data set by comparing the results from beamforming with backazimuths derived from earthquake locations reported by the Anza and Caltech seismic networks and the Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE) Bulletin. These backazimuth anomalies have a simple sinelike dependence on azimuth, with the largest anomalies observed from the southeast and northwest directions. Such a trend may be explained as the effect of one or more interfaces dipping to the northeast beneath the array. A best-fit model of a single interface has a dip and strike of 20° and 315°, respectively, and a velocity contrast of 0.82 km/sec. Application of corrections computed from this simple model to ray directions significantly improves locations at all distances and directions, suggesting that this is an upper crustal feature. We confirm that knowledge of local structure can be very important for earthquake location by an array but also show that corrections computed from simple models may not only be adequate but superior to those determined by raytracing through smoothed laterally varying models.


1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1205-1231
Author(s):  
Jiajun Zhang ◽  
Thorne Lay

Abstract Determination of shallow earthquake source mechanisms by inversion of long-period (150 to 300 sec) Rayleigh waves requires epicentral locations with greater accuracy than that provided by routine source locations of the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) and International Seismological Centre (ISC). The effects of epicentral mislocation on such inversions are examined using synthetic calculations as well as actual data for three large Mexican earthquakes. For Rayleigh waves of 150-sec period, an epicentral mislocation of 30 km introduces observed source spectra phase errors of 0.6 radian for stations at opposing azimuths along the source mislocation vector. This is larger than the 0.5-radian azimuthal variation of the phase spectra at the same period for a thrust fault with 15° dip and 24-km depth. The typical landward mislocation of routinely determined epicenters of shallow subduction zone earthquakes causes source moment tensor inversions of long-period Rayleigh waves to predict larger fault dip than indicated by teleseismic P-wave first-motion data. For dip-slip earthquakes, inversions of long-period Rayleigh waves that use an erroneous source location in the down-dip or along-strike directions of a nodal plane, overestimate the strike, dip, and slip of that nodal plane. Inversions of strike-slip earthquakes that utilize an erroneous location along the strike of a nodal plane overestimate the slip of that nodal plane, causing the second nodal plane to dip incorrectly in the direction opposite to the mislocation vector. The effects of epicentral mislocation for earthquakes with 45° dip-slip fault mechanisms are more severe than for events with other fault mechanisms. Existing earth model propagation corrections do not appear to be sufficiently accurate to routinely determine the optimal surface-wave source location without constraints from body-wave information, unless extensive direct path (R1) data are available or empirical path calibrations are performed. However, independent surface-wave and body-wave solutions can be remarkably consistent when the effects of epicentral mislocation are accounted for. This will allow simultaneous unconstrained body-wave and surface-wave inversions to be performed despite the well known difficulties of extracting the complete moment tensor of shallow sources from fundamental modes.


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