Decoupling approximation of P- and S-wave phase velocities in orthorhombic media

Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-74
Author(s):  
Bowen Li ◽  
Alexey Stovas

Characterizing the kinematics of seismic waves in elastic orthorhombic media involves nine independent parameters. All wave modes, P-, S1-, and S2-waves, are intrinsically coupled. Since the P-wave propagation in orthorhombic media is weakly dependent on the three S-wave velocity parameters, they are set to zero under the acoustic assumption. The number of parameters required for the corresponding acoustic wave equation is thus reduced from nine to six, which is very practical for the inversion algorithm. However, the acoustic wavefields generated by the finite-difference scheme suffer from two types of S-wave artifacts, which may result in noticeable numerical dispersion and even instability issues. Avoiding such artifacts requires a class of spectral methods based on the low-rank decomposition. To implement a six-parameter pure P-wave approximation in orthorhombic media, we develop a novel phase velocity approximation approach from the perspective of decoupling P- and S-waves. In the exact P-wave phase velocity expression, we find that the two algebraic expressions related to the S1- and S2-wave phase velocities play a negligible role. After replacing these two algebraic expressions with the designed constant and variable respectively, the exact P-wave phase velocity expression is greatly simplified and naturally decoupled from the characteristic equation. Similarly, the number of required parameters is reduced from nine to six. We also derive an approximate S-wave phase velocity equation, which supports the coupled S1- and S2-waves and involves nine independent parameters. Error analyses based on several orthorhombic models confirm the reasonable and stable accuracy performance of the proposed phase velocity approximation. We further derive the approximate dispersion relations for the P-wave and the S-wave system in orthorhombic media. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the corresponding P- and S-wavefields are free of artifacts and exhibit good accuracy and stability.

Geophysics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. WA99-WA109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Mordret ◽  
Nikolaï M. Shapiro ◽  
Satish S. Singh ◽  
Philippe Roux ◽  
Olav I. Barkved

We applied the Helmholtz tomography technique to 6.5 hours of continuous seismic noise record data set of the Valhall Life of Field network. This network, that has 2320 receivers, allows us to perform a multifrequency, high-resolution, ambient-noise Scholte wave phase velocity tomography at Valhall. First, we computed crosscorrelations between all possible pairs of receivers to convert every station into a virtual source recorded by all other receivers. Our next step was to measure phase traveltimes and spectral amplitudes at different periods from crosscorrelations between stations separated by distances between two and six wavelengths. This is done in a straightforward fashion in the Fourier domain. Then, we interpolated these measurements onto a regular grid and computed local gradients of traveltimes and local Laplacians of the amplitude to infer local phase velocities using a frequency dependent Eikonal equation. This procedure was repeated for all 2320 virtual sources and final phase velocities were estimated as statistical average from all these measurements at each grid points. The resulting phase velocities for periods between 0.65 and 1.6 s demonstrate a significant dispersion with an increase of the phase velocities at longer periods. Their lateral distribution is found in very good agreement with previous ambient noise tomography done at Valhall as well as with a full waveform inversion P-wave model computed from an active seismic data set. We put effort into assessing the spatial resolution of our tomography with checkerboard tests, and we discuss the influence of the interpolation methods on the quality of our final models.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-57
Author(s):  
Bowen Li ◽  
Alexey Stovas

Characterizing the kinematics of seismic waves in elastic vertical transversely isotropic (VTI) media involves four independent parameters. To reduce the complexity, the acoustic approximation for P-waves reduces the number of required parameters to three by setting the vertical S-wave velocity to zero. However, since only the SV-wave phase velocities parallel or perpendicular to the symmetry axis are indirectly set to zero, the acoustic approximation leads to coupled P-wave components and SV-wave artifacts. The new acoustic approximation suggests setting the vertical S-wave velocity as a phase angle-dependent variable so that the SV-wave phase velocity is zero at all phase angles. We find that manipulating this parameter is a valid way for P-wave approximation, but doing so inevitably leads to zero- or non-zero-valued spurious SV-wave components. Thus, we have developed a novel approach to efficiently approximate and thoroughly separate the two wave modes in VTI media. First, the exact P- and SV-wave phase velocity expressions are rewritten by introducing an auxiliary function. After confirming the insensitivity of this function, we construct a new expression for it and obtain simplified P- and SV-wave phase velocity expressions, which are three- and four-parameter, respectively. This approximation process leads to the same reasonable error for both wave modes. Accuracy analysis indicates that for the P-wave, the overall accuracy performance of our approach is comparable to that of some existing three-parameter approximations. We then derive the corresponding P- and SV-wave equations in tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media and provide two available solutions, the hybrid finite-difference/pseudo-spectral scheme and the low-rank approach. Numerical examples illustrate the separability and high accuracy of the proposed P- and SV-wave simulation methods in TTI media.


Geophysics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ningya Cheng ◽  
Chuen Hon Cheng

Field data sets collected by an array monopole acoustic logging tool and a shear wave logging tool are processed and interpreted. The P‐ and S‐wave velocities of the formation are determined by threshold detection with cross‐correlation correction from the full waveform and the shear‐wave log, respectively. The array monopole acoustic logging data are also processed using the extended Prony’s method to estimate the borehole Stoneley wave phase velocity and attenuation as a function of frequency. The well formation between depths of 2950 and 3150 ft (899 and 960 m) can be described as an isotropic elastic medium. The inverted [Formula: see text] from the Stoneley wave phase velocity is in excellent agreement with the shear‐wave log results in this section. The well formation between the depths of 3715 and 3780 ft (1132 and 1152 m) can be described as a porous medium with shear‐wave velocity anisotropy about 10% to 20% and with the symmetry axis perpendicular to the borehole axis. The disagreement between the shear‐wave velocity from the Stoneley wave inversion and the direct shear‐wave log velocity in this section is beyond the errors in the measurements. Estimated permeabilities from low‐frequency Stoneley wave velocity and attenuation data are in good agreement with the core measurements. Also it is proven that the formation permeability is not the cause of the discrepancy. From the estimated “shear/pseudo‐Rayleigh” phase velocities in the array monopole log and the 3-D finite‐difference synthetics in the anisotropic formation, the discrepancy can best be explained as shear‐wave anisotropy.


Author(s):  
Kunikazu Yoshida ◽  
Hirotoshi Uebayashi

ABSTRACT The most popular array-based microtremor survey methods estimate velocity structures from the phase velocities of Rayleigh waves. Using the phase velocity of Love waves improves the resolution of inverted velocity models. In this study, we present a method to estimate the phase velocity of Love waves using rotational array data derived from the horizontal component of microtremors observed using an ordinal nested triangular array. We obtained discretized spatial derivatives from a first-order Taylor series expansion to calculate rotational motions from observed array seismograms. Rotational motions were obtained from a triangular subarray consisting of three receivers using discretized spatial derivatives. Four rotational-motion time histories were calculated from different triangular subarrays in the nested triangular arrays. Phase velocities were estimated from the array of the four rotational motions. We applied the proposed Love-wave phase-velocity estimation technique to observed array microtremor data obtained using a nested triangular array with radii of 25 and 50 m located at the Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. The phase velocities of rotational and vertical motions were estimated from the observed data, and results showed that the former were smaller than those of the latter. The observed phase velocities obtained from vertical and rotational components agreed well with the theoretical Rayleigh- and Love-wave phase velocities calculated from the velocity structure model derived from nearby PS logs. To show the ability of the rotation to obtain Love wave, we estimated apparent phase velocities from north–south or east–west components. The apparent velocities resulted in between the theoretical velocities of Rayleigh and Love waves. This result indicates that the calculated rotation effectively derived the Love waves from a combination of Love and Rayleigh waves.


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