Estimation of shear-wave interval attenuation from mode-converted data

Geophysics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. D11-D19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharath Shekar ◽  
Ilya Tsvankin

Interval attenuation measurements provide valuable information for reservoir characterization and lithology discrimination. We extend the attenuation layer-stripping method of Behura and Tsvankin to mode-converted (PS) waves with the goal of estimating the S-wave interval attenuation coefficient. By identifying PP and PS events with shared ray segments and applying the [Formula: see text] method, we first perform kinematic construction of pure shear (SS) events in the target layer and overburden. Then, the modified spectral-ratio method is used to compute the effective shear-wave attenuation coefficient for the target reflection. Finally, application of the dynamic version of velocity-independent layer stripping to the constructed SS reflections yields the interval S-wave attenuation coefficient in the target layer. The attenuation coefficient estimated for a range of source-receiver offsets can be inverted for the interval attenuation parameters. The method is tested on multicomponent synthetic data generated with the anisotropic reflectivity method for layered VTI (transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis) and orthorhombic media.

Geophysics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. A69-A74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Behura ◽  
Ilya Tsvankin

Knowledge of interval attenuation can be highly beneficial in reservoir characterization and lithology discrimination. We combine the spectral-ratio method with velocity-independent layer stripping to develop a technique for the estimation of the interval attenuation coefficient from reflection seismic data. The layer-stripping procedure is based on identifying the reflections from the top and bottom of the target layer that share the same ray segments in the overburden. The algorithm is designed for heterogeneous, arbitrarily anisotropic target layers, but the overburden is assumed to be laterally homogeneous with a horizontal symmetry plane. Although no velocity information about the overburden is needed, interpretation of the computed anisotropic attenuation coefficient involves the phase angle in the target layer. Tests on synthetic P-wave data from layered transversely isotropic and orthorhombic media confirm the high accuracy of 2D and 3D versions of the algorithm. We also demonstrate that the interval attenuation estimates are independent of the inhomogeneity angle of the incident and reflected waves.


Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. D73-D79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaomu Qi ◽  
Arthur C. H. Cheng ◽  
Yunyue Elita Li

ABSTRACT Formation S-wave attenuation, when combined with compressional attenuation, serves as a potential hydrocarbon indicator for seismic reservoir characterization. Sonic flexural wave measurements provide a direct means for obtaining the in situ S-wave attenuation at log scale. The key characteristic of the flexural wave is that it propagates at the formation shear slowness and experiences shear attenuation at low frequency. However, in a fast formation, the dipole log consists of refracted P- and S-waves in addition to the flexural wave. The refracted P-wave arrives early and can be removed from the dipole waveforms through time windowing. However, the refracted S-wave, which is often embedded in the flexural wave packet, is difficult to separate from the dipole waveforms. The additional energy loss associated with the refracted S-wave results in the estimated dipole attenuation being higher than the shear attenuation at low frequency. To address this issue, we have developed a new method for accurately determining the formation shear attenuation from the dipole sonic log data. The method uses a multifrequency inversion of the frequency-dependent flexural wave attenuation based on energy partitioning. We first developed our method using synthetic data. Application to field data results in a shear attenuation log that is consistent with lithologic interpretation of other available logs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 115601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangdong Zhang ◽  
Xiling Liu ◽  
Xiongbing Li ◽  
Yongfeng Song ◽  
Shuzeng Zhang

2022 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Zhiwen Deng ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Liang Gou ◽  
Shaohua Zhang ◽  
Yuanyuan Yue ◽  
...  

The formation containing shallow gas clouds poses a major challenge for conventional P-wave seismic surveys in the Sanhu area, Qaidam Basin, west China, as it dramatically attenuates seismic P-waves, resulting in high uncertainty in the subsurface structure and complexity in reservoir characterization. To address this issue, we proposed a workflow of direct shear-wave seismic (S-S) surveys. This is because the shear wave is not significantly affected by the pore fluid. Our workflow includes acquisition, processing, and interpretation in calibration with conventional P-wave seismic data to obtain improved subsurface structure images and reservoir characterization. To procure a good S-wave seismic image, several key techniques were applied: (1) a newly developed S-wave vibrator, one of the most powerful such vibrators in the world, was used to send a strong S-wave into the subsurface; (2) the acquired 9C S-S data sets initially were rotated into SH-SH and SV-SV components and subsequently were rotated into fast and slow S-wave components; and (3) a surface-wave inversion technique was applied to obtain the near-surface shear-wave velocity, used for static correction. As expected, the S-wave data were not affected by the gas clouds. This allowed us to map the subsurface structures with stronger confidence than with the P-wave data. Such S-wave data materialize into similar frequency spectra as P-wave data with a better signal-to-noise ratio. Seismic attributes were also applied to the S-wave data sets. This resulted in clearly visible geologic features that were invisible in the P-wave data.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Kriegerowski ◽  
Simone Cesca ◽  
Matthias Ohrnberger ◽  
Torsten Dahm ◽  
Frank Krüger

Abstract. We develop an amplitude spectral ratio method for event couples from clustered earthquakes to estimate seismic wave attenuation (Q−1) in the source volume. The method allows to study attenuation within the source region of earthquake swarms or aftershocks at depth, independent of wave path and attenuation between source region and surface station. We exploit the high frequency slope of phase spectra using multitaper spectral estimates. The method is tested using simulated full wavefield seismograms affected by recorded noise and finite source rupture. The synthetic tests verify the approach and show that solutions are independent of focal mechanisms, but also show that seismic noise may broaden the scatter of results. We apply the event couple spectral ratio method to North-West Bohemia, Czech Republic, a region characterized by the persistent occurrence of earthquake swarms in a confined source region at mid-crustal depth. Our method indicates a strong anomaly of high attenuation in the source region of the swarm with an averaged attenuation factor of Qp 


Geophysics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 931-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Dietrich ◽  
Michel Bouchon

We present a numerical simulation of vertical seismic profiles (VSP) using the discrete horizontal wavenumber representation of seismic wave fields. The theoretical seismograms are computed in the acoustic case for flat layered media, and they include the effects of absorption and velocity dispersion. A study using the synthetic seismograms was conducted to investigate the accuracy and resolution of attenuation measurements from VSP data. It is shown that in finely layered media estimates of the anelastic attenuation obtained by use of the reduced spectral ratio method are usually inaccurate when the attenuation is measured over a small vertical extent. An iterative method is presented which improves the resolution of the measurements of intrinsic dissipation. This method allows determination for synthetic data of the quality factor over depth intervals of about one wavelength of the dominant seismic frequency.


Geophysics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azra N. Tutuncu ◽  
Augusto L. Podio ◽  
Mukul M. Sharma

Results are presented for compressional and shear velocities and attenuations in fully brine‐saturated tight gas cores with porosities from 3 to 11.9 percent and clay contents from 1 to 38 percent. The influence of porosity, clay content, frequency, and stress on velocities and attenuations were examined using the amplitude spectra of P‐ and S‐waves in the frequency domain. Attenuations of samples were obtained using the spectral ratio method. For a few selected samples the attenuations were also measured using the length correlation method and these results were compared with the spectral ratio results. In tight gas sandstones, the attenuations obtained were 2 to 5 times greater than the attenuation obtained for Berea sandstone. In general, the presence of clay softens the rock grain contacts causing smaller values of compressional ([Formula: see text] and shear ([Formula: see text]) velocities as the clay content increases. However, the [Formula: see text] ratio was found to increase with clay content. Compressional‐and shear‐wave amplitude spectra exhibited a shift in peak frequency toward lower frequencies for samples with higher clay content when compared to clean samples. Velocities and attenuations were found to be frequency dependent, but the positive slope of both compressional and shear attenuations indicate that scattering starts to dominate at the lower frequency end of the ultrasonic measurements. Both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] increased while both compressional and shear attenuations decreased when stress was increased.


Geophysics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. D1-D7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Zhu ◽  
Ilya Tsvankin ◽  
Pawan Dewangan ◽  
Kasper van Wijk

Anisotropic attenuation can provide sensitive attributes for fracture detection and lithology discrimination. This paper analyzes measurements of the P-wave attenuation coefficient in a transversely isotropic sample made of phenolic material. Using the spectral-ratio method, we estimate the group (effective) attenuation coefficient of P-waves transmitted through the sample for a wide range of propagation angles (from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]) with the symmetry axis. Correction for the difference between the group and phase angles and for the angular velocity variation help us to obtain the normalized phase attenuation coefficient [Formula: see text] governed by the Thomsen-style attenuation-anisotropy parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Whereas the symmetry axis of the angle-dependent coefficient [Formula: see text] practically coincides with that of the velocity function, the magnitude of the attenuation anisotropy far exceeds that of the velocity anisotropy. The quality factor [Formula: see text] increases more than tenfold from the symmetry axis (slow direction) to the isotropy plane (fast direction). Inversion of the coefficient [Formula: see text] using the Christoffel equation yields large negative values of the parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The robustness of our results critically depends on several factors, such as the availability of an accurate anisotropic velocity model and adequacy of the homogeneous concept of wave propagation, as well as the choice of the frequency band. The methodology discussed here can be extended to field measurements of anisotropic attenuation needed for AVO (amplitude-variation-with-offset) analysis, amplitude-preserving migration, and seismic fracture detection.


Author(s):  
Rong Xu ◽  
Lanmin Wang

AbstractThe horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) has been extensively used in site characterization utilizing recordings from microtremor and earthquake in recent years. This method is proposed based on ground pulsation, and then it has been applied to both S-wave and ambient noise, accordingly, in practical application also different. The main applications of HVSR are site classification, site effect study, mineral exploration, and acquisition of underground average shear-wave velocity structure. In site response estimates, the use of microtremors has been introduced long ago in Japan, while it has long been very controversial in this research area, as there are several studies reporting difficulties in recognizing the source effects from the pure site effects in noise recordings, as well as discrepancies between noise and earthquake recordings. In practice, the most reliable way is the borehole data, and the theoretical site response results were compared with the HVSR using shear wave to describe site response. This paper summarizes the applications of the HVSR method and draws conclusions that HVSR has been well applied in many fields at present, and it is expected to have a wider application in more fields according to its advantages.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farid

<p>It has been detected that the condition of landslides that occurred in Bengkulu Shore can change the position of the shoreline. This research aimed to: (1) calculate of shear strain (γ) and attenuation coefficient (ά) value  based on microseismic data in coastal areas that experienced landslides; (2) determine the correlation between levels of landslides with  shear strain  and attenuation coefficient value (3) determine the correlation between the shear strain and attenuation coefficient value. Microseismic data were processed and analyzed quantitatively using the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio method (HVSR) to obtain the ground vibrations resonance frequency (<em>f<sub>o</sub></em>) and amplification factor (<em>A</em>). Shear strain value was calculated from the of <em>f<sub>o</sub></em>, <em>A</em> and Peak Ground Acceleration (<em>α<sub>max</sub></em>) value. Peak Ground Acceleration value was calculated based on 100-year period of recorded earthquake data.  Attenuation coefficient was calculated based on the equation (2). The results of study showed that the value of shear strain in the coastal areas varied from 1.0 × 10<sup>-4</sup> to 3.6 × 10<sup>-3</sup>,  in accordance with the conditions of landslides. The attenuation coefficient value varied from 0.005 to 0.020.  Level of landslides that occurred varied from moderate, to very severe. There was a tendency that the more severe the landslide level,  the greater the shear strain and attenuation coefficient value were.</p>


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