Numerical modeling of wave propagation in an inhomogeneous medium

1980 ◽  
Vol 67 (S1) ◽  
pp. S44-S44
Author(s):  
C. H. Lewis ◽  
W. M. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Inhomogeneous Medium

Numerical simulation of seismic wave propagation in viscoelastic-anisotropic media using frequency-independent Q wave equation

Geophysics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. WA1-WA10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tieyuan Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Wave Equation ◽  
Inhomogeneous Medium ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Elastic Anisotropy ◽  
Transversely Isotropic ◽  
Theoretical Formula ◽  
Frequency Independent

Seismic anisotropy is the fundamental phenomenon of wave propagation in the earth’s interior. Numerical modeling of wave behavior is critical for exploration and global seismology studies. The full elastic (anisotropy) wave equation is often used to model the complexity of velocity anisotropy, but it ignores attenuation anisotropy. I have presented a time-domain displacement-stress formulation of the anisotropic-viscoelastic wave equation, which holds for arbitrarily anisotropic velocity and attenuation [Formula: see text]. The frequency-independent [Formula: see text] model is considered in the seismic frequency band; thus, anisotropic attenuation is mathematically expressed by way of fractional time derivatives, which are solved using the truncated Grünwald-Letnikov approximation. I evaluate the accuracy of numerical solutions in a homogeneous transversely isotropic (TI) medium by comparing with theoretical [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values calculated from the Christoffel equation. Numerical modeling results show that the anisotropic attenuation is angle dependent and significantly different from the isotropic attenuation. In synthetic examples, I have proved its generality and feasibility by modeling wave propagation in a 2D TI inhomogeneous medium and a 3D orthorhombic inhomogeneous medium.

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