scholarly journals Rational approximation of P-wave kinematics — Part 2: Orhorhombic media

Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. C175-C186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mahdi Abedi

Orthorhombic anisotropy is a modern standard for 3D seismic studies in complex geologic settings. Several seismic data processing methods and wave propagation modeling algorithms in orthorhombic media rely on phase-velocity, group-velocity, and traveltime approximations. The algebraic simplicity of an approximate equation is an important factor in these media because the governing equations are more complicated than transversely isotropic media. To approximate the P-wave kinematics in acoustic orthorhombic media, we have developed a new 3D general functional equation that has a simple rational form. Using the general form, we adopt two versions of rational approximations for the phase velocity, group velocity, and traveltime. The first version uses a simpler functional form and parameter definition within the orthorhombic symmetry planes. The second version is more accurate, using one parameter that is defined out of the symmetry planes. For the phase velocity, we obtain another approximation that is no longer rational but is still algebraically simple, exact for 3D transversely isotropic media, and it is exact within the symmetry planes of orthorhombic media. We find superior accuracy in our approximations compared with previous ones, using numerical studies on multiple moderately anisotropic orthorhombic models. We investigate the effect of the negative anellipticity parameters on the accuracy and find that, in models in which the error of the existing most accurate approximations exceeds 2%, the error of the new approximations remains below 0.2%. The adopted approximations are algebraically simpler and stably more accurate than existing approximations; therefore, they may be considered as attractive alternatives for the existing approximations in many practical applications. We extend the applicability of our approximations by using them to obtain the equations of group direction as a function of phase direction and vice versa, which are useful in wave propagation modeling methods.

Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. C163-C173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mahdi Abedi

In seismic data processing and several wave propagation modeling algorithms, the phase velocity, group velocity, and traveltime equations are essential. To have these equations in explicit form, or to reduce algebraic complexity, approximation methods are used. For the approximation of P-wave kinematics in acoustic transversely isotropic media, we have developed a new flexible 2D functional equation in a continued fraction form. Using different orders of the continued fraction, we obtain different approximations for (1) phase velocity as a function of phase direction, (2) group velocity as a function of group direction, and (3) traveltime as a function of offset. Then, we use them in the approximation of the group direction as a function of phase direction, and phase direction as a function of group direction. The proposed approximations have a rational form, which is considered algebraically simple and computationally efficient. The used continued fraction form rapidly converges to exact kinematics. By introducing the optimal ray into our approximations and using it for parameter definition, the convergence becomes faster, so the accuracy of the existing most accurate approximations is available by the third order, and new most accurate approximations are obtained by the fourth order of the proposed general form. The error of the most accurate version of the proposed approximations is below 0.001% for moderate anisotropic models with an anellipticity parameter up to 0.3. This high accuracy is considered to be attractive in practical implementations that use the kinematic equations and their derivatives.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 919-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Schoenberg ◽  
Maarten V. de Hoop

To decouple qP and qSV sheets of the slowness surface of a transversely isotropic (TI) medium, a sequence of rational approximations to the solution of the dispersion relation of a TI medium is introduced. Originally conceived to allow isotropic P-wave processing schemes to be generalized to encompass the case of qP-waves in transverse isotropy, the sequence of approximations was found to be applicable to qSV-wave processing as well, although a higher order of approximation is necessary for qSV-waves than for qP-waves to yield the same accuracy. The zeroth‐order approximation, about which all other approximations are taken, is that of elliptical TI, which contains the correct values of slowness and its derivative along and perpendicular to the medium’s axis of symmetry. Successive orders of approximation yield the correct values of successive orders of derivatives in these directions, thereby forcing the approximation into increasingly better fit at the intervening oblique angles. Practically, the first‐order approximation for qP-wave propagation and the second‐order approximation for qSV-wave propagation yield sufficiently accurate results for the typical transverse isotropy found in geological settings. After only slight modification to existing programs, the rational approximation allows for ray tracing, (f-k) domain migration, and split‐step Fourier migration in TI media—with little more difficulty than that encountered presently with such algorithms in isotropic media.


2006 ◽  
Vol 156 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Calvet ◽  
Sébastien Chevrot ◽  
Annie Souriau

2006 ◽  
Vol 156 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Calvet ◽  
Sébastien Chevrot ◽  
Annie Souriau

Geophysics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya Tsvankin

Progress in seismic inversion and processing in anisotropic media depends on our ability to relate different seismic signatures to the anisotropic parameters. While the conventional notation (stiffness coefficients) is suitable for forward modeling, it is inconvenient in developing analytic insight into the influence of anisotropy on wave propagation. Here, a consistent description of P‐wave signatures in transversely isotropic (TI) media with arbitrary strength of the anisotropy is given in terms of Thomsen notation. The influence of transverse isotropy on P‐wave propagation is shown to be practically independent of the vertical S‐wave velocity [Formula: see text], even in models with strong velocity variations. Therefore, the contribution of transverse isotropy to P‐wave kinematic and dynamic signatures is controlled by just two anisotropic parameters, ε and δ, with the vertical velocity [Formula: see text] being a scaling coefficient in homogeneous models. The distortions of reflection moveouts and amplitudes are not necessarily correlated with the magnitude of velocity anisotropy. The influence of transverse isotropy on P‐wave normal‐moveout (NMO) velocity in a horizontally layered medium, on small‐angle reflection coefficient, and on point‐force radiation in the symmetry direction is entirely determined by the parameter δ. Another group of signatures of interest in reflection seisimology—the dip‐dependence of NMO velocity, magnitude of nonhyperbolic moveout, time‐migration impulse response, and the radiation pattern near vertical—is dependent on both anisotropic parameters (ε and δ) and is primarily governed by the difference between ε and δ. Since P‐wave signatures are so sensitive to the value of ε − δ, application of the elliptical‐anisotropy approximation (ε = δ) in P‐wave processing may lead to significant errors. Many analytic expressions given in the paper remain valid in transversely isotropic media with a tilted symmetry axis. Moreover, the equation for NMO velocity from dipping reflectors, as well as the nonhyperbolic moveout equation, can be used in symmetry planes of any anisotropic media (e.g., orthorhombic).


Author(s):  
Yabing Zhang ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Shigang Xu

Abstract Under the conditions of acoustic approximation and isotropic attenuation, we derive the pseudo- and pure-viscoacoustic wave equations from the complex constitutive equation and the decoupled P-wave dispersion relation, respectively. Based on the equations, we investigate the viscoacoustic wave propagation in vertical transversely isotropic media. The favourable advantage of these formulas is that the phase dispersion and the amplitude dissipation terms are inherently separated. As a result, we can conveniently perform the decoupled viscoacoustic wavefield simulations by choosing different coefficients. In the computational process, a generalised pseudo-spectral method and a low-rank decomposition scheme are adopted to calculate the wavenumber-domain and mixed-domain propagators, respectively. Because low-rank decomposition plays an important role in the simulated procedure, we evaluate the approximation accuracy for different operators using a linear velocity model. To demonstrate the effectiveness and the accuracy of our method, several numerical examples are carried out based on the new pseudo- and pure-viscoacoustic wave equations. Both equations can effectively describe the viscoacoustic wave propagation characteristics in vertical transversely isotropic media. Unlike the pseudo-viscoacoustic wave equation, the pure-viscoacoustic wave equation can produce stable viscoacoustic wavefields without any SV-wave artefacts.


Geophysics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. T51-T62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Hao ◽  
Alexey Stovas ◽  
Tariq Alkhalifah

Analytic representation of the offset-midpoint traveltime equation for anisotropy is very important for prestack Kirchhoff migration and velocity inversion in anisotropic media. For transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis, the offset-midpoint traveltime resembles the shape of a Cheops’ pyramid. This is also valid for homogeneous 3D transversely isotropic media with a horizontal symmetry axis (HTI). We extended the offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid to the case of homogeneous 3D HTI. Under the assumption of weak anellipticity of HTI media, we derived an analytic representation of the P-wave traveltime equation and used Shanks transformation to improve the accuracy of horizontal and vertical slownesses. The traveltime pyramid was derived in the depth and time domains. Numerical examples confirmed the accuracy of the proposed approximation for the traveltime function in 3D HTI media.


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