Squared-slowness Gradient Profile from Surface-wave Inversion as a Starting Model for Full-waveform Inversion

Author(s):  
A.V. Ponomarenko ◽  
V.V. Kazei ◽  
B.M. Kashtan ◽  
V.N. Troyan ◽  
W.A. Mulder
Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. B95-B105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Wang ◽  
Richard D. Miller ◽  
Shelby L. Peterie ◽  
Steven D. Sloan ◽  
Mark L. Moran ◽  
...  

We have applied time domain 2D full-waveform inversion (FWI) to detect a known 10 m deep wood-framed tunnel at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. The acquired seismic data consist of a series of 2D survey lines that are perpendicular to the long axis of the tunnel. With the use of an initial model estimated from surface wave methods, a void-detection-oriented FWI workflow was applied. A straightforward [Formula: see text] quotient masking method was used to reduce the inversion artifacts and improve confidence in identifying anomalies that possess a high [Formula: see text] ratio. Using near-surface FWI, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] velocity profiles were obtained with void anomalies that are easily interpreted. The inverted velocity profiles depict the tunnel as a low-velocity anomaly at the correct location and depth. A comparison of the observed and simulated waveforms demonstrates the reliability of inverted models. Because the known tunnel has a uniform shape and for our purposes an infinite length, we apply 1D interpolation to the inverted [Formula: see text] profiles to generate a pseudo 3D (2.5D) volume. Based on this research, we conclude the following: (1) FWI is effective in near-surface tunnel detection when high resolution is necessary. (2) Surface-wave methods can provide accurate initial S-wave velocity [Formula: see text] models for near-surface 2D FWI.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. R1-R11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Borisov ◽  
Ryan Modrak ◽  
Fuchun Gao ◽  
Jeroen Tromp

Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is a powerful method for estimating the earth’s material properties. We demonstrate that surface-wave-driven FWI is well-suited to recovering near-surface structures and effective at providing S-wave speed starting models for use in conventional body-wave FWI. Using a synthetic example based on the SEG Advanced Modeling phase II foothills model, we started with an envelope-based objective function to invert for shallow large-scale heterogeneities. Then we used a waveform-difference objective function to obtain a higher-resolution model. To accurately model surface waves in the presence of complex tomography, we used a spectral-element wave-propagation solver. Envelope misfit functions are found to be effective at minimizing cycle-skipping issues in surface-wave inversions, and surface waves themselves are found to be useful for constraining complex near-surface features.


Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. R793-R804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Datta ◽  
Mrinal K. Sen ◽  
Faqi Liu ◽  
Scott Morton

A good starting model is imperative in full-waveform inversion (FWI) because it solves a least-squares inversion problem using a local gradient-based optimization method. A suboptimal starting model can result in cycle skipping leading to poor convergence and incorrect estimation of subsurface properties. This problem is especially crucial for salt models because the strong velocity contrasts create substantial time shifts in the modeled seismogram. Incorrect estimation of salt bodies leads to velocity inaccuracies in the sediments because the least-squares gradient aims to reduce traveltime differences without considering the sharp velocity jump between sediments and salt. We have developed a technique to estimate velocity models containing salt bodies using a combination of global and local optimization techniques. To stabilize the global optimization algorithm and keep it computationally tractable, we reduce the number of model parameters by using sparse parameterization formulations. The sparse formulation represents sediments using a set of interfaces and velocities across them, whereas a set of ellipses represents the salt body. We use very fast simulated annealing (VFSA) to minimize the misfit between the observed and synthetic data and estimate an optimal model in the sparsely parameterized space. The VFSA inverted model is then used as a starting model in FWI in which the sediments and salt body are updated in the least-squares sense. We partition model updates into sediment and salt updates in which the sediments are updated like conventional FWI, whereas the shape of the salt is updated by taking the zero crossing of an evolving level set surface. Our algorithm is tested on two 2D synthetic salt models, namely, the Sigsbee 2A model and a modified SEG Advanced Modeling Program (SEAM) Phase I model while fixing the top of the salt. We determine the efficiency of the VFSA inversion and imaging improvements from the level set FWI approach and evaluate a few sources of uncertainty in the estimation of salt shapes.


Geophysics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. H79-H91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Busch ◽  
Jan van der Kruk ◽  
Jutta Bikowski ◽  
Harry Vereecken

Conventional ray-based techniques for analyzing common-midpoint (CMP) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data use part of the measured data and simplified approximations of the reality to return qualitative results with limited spatial resolution. Whereas these methods can give reliable values for the permittivity of the subsurface by employing only the phase information, the far-field approximations used to estimate the conductivity of the ground are not valid for near-surface on-ground GPR, such that the estimated conductivity values are not representative for the area of investigation. Full-waveform inversion overcomes these limitations by using an accurate forward modeling and inverts significant parts of the measured data to return reliable quantitative estimates of permittivity and conductivity. Here, we developed a full-waveform inversion scheme that uses a 3D frequency-domain solution of Maxwell’s equations for a horizontally layered subsurface. Although a straightforward full-waveform inversion is relatively independent of the permittivity starting model, inaccuracies in the conductivity starting model result in erroneous effective wavelet amplitudes and therefore in erroneous inversion results, because the conductivity and wavelet amplitudes are coupled. Therefore, the permittivity and conductivity are updated together with the phase and the amplitude of the source wavelet with a gradient-free optimization approach. This novel full-waveform inversion is applied to synthetic and measured CMP data. In the case of synthetic single layered and waveguide data, where the starting model differs significantly from the true model parameter, we were able to reconstruct the obtained model properties and the effective source wavelet. For measured waveguide data, different starting values returned the same wavelet and quantitative permittivities and conductivities. This novel approach enables the quantitative estimation of permittivity and conductivity for the same sensing volume and enables an improved characterization for a wide range of applications.


Author(s):  
Peng Zuo ◽  
Peter Huthwaite

Quantitative guided wave thickness mapping in plate-like structures and pipelines is of significant importance for the petrochemical industry to accurately estimate the minimum remaining wall thickness in the presence of corrosion, as guided waves can inspect a large area without needing direct access. Although a number of inverse algorithms have been studied and implemented in guided wave reconstruction, a primary assumption is widely used: the three-dimensional guided wave inversion of thickness is simplified as a two-dimensional acoustic wave inversion of velocity, with the dispersive nature of the waves linking thickness to velocity. This assumption considerably simplifies the inversion procedure; however, it makes it impossible to account for mode conversion. In reality, mode conversion is quite common in guided wave scattering with asymmetric wall loss, and compared with non-converted guided wave modes, converted modes may provide greater access to valuable information about the thickness variation, which, if exploited, could lead to improved performance. Geometrical full waveform inversion (GFWI) is an ideal tool for this, since it can account for mode conversion. In this paper, quantitative thickness reconstruction based on GFWI is developed in a plate cross-section and applied to study the performance of thickness reconstruction using mode conversion.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-300
Author(s):  
Sagar Singh ◽  
Ali Ismet Kanli ◽  
Sagarika Mukhopadhyay

This paper investigates the capability of acoustic Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) in building Marmousi velocity model, in time and frequency domain. FWI is an iterative minimization of misfit between observed and calculated data which is generally solved in three segments: forward modeling, which numerically solves the wave equation with an initial model, gradient computation of the objective function, and updating the model parameters, with a valid optimization method. FWI codes developed in MATLAB herein FWISIMAT (Full Waveform Inversion in Seismic Imaging using MATLAB) are successfully implemented using the Marmousi velocity model as the true model. An initial model is obtained by smoothing the true model to initiate FWI procedure. Smoothing ensures an adequate starting model for FWI, as the FWI procedure is known to be sensitive on the starting model. The final model is compared with the true model to review the number of recovered velocities. FWI codes developed in MATLAB herein FWISIMAT (Full Waveform Inversion in Seismic Imaging using MATLAB) are successfully implemented usingMarmousi velocity model astrue model. An initial model is derived from smoothing the true model to initiate FWI procedure. Smoothing ensures an adequate starting model for FWI, as the FWI procedure is known to be sensitive onstarting model. The final model is compared with the true model to review theamount of recovered velocities. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. SO21-SO30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shihang Feng ◽  
Gerard T. Schuster

We have developed a tutorial for skeletonized inversion of pseudo-acoustic anisotropic vertical symmetry axis (VTI) data. We first invert for the anisotropic models using wave-equation traveltime inversion. Here, the skeletonized data are the traveltimes of transmitted and/or reflected arrivals that lead to simpler misfit functions and more robust convergence compared with full-waveform inversion. This provides a good starting model for waveform inversion. The effectiveness of this procedure is illustrated with synthetic data examples and a marine data set recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.


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