Spatial dispersion of surface waves at the free surface of a general anisotropic elastic medium

A new technique relates the wave velocity of the surface waves in anisotropic elastic medium to its elastic constants. Anisotropic propagation of surface waves is studied in a half-space occupied by a general anisotropic elastic solid. The phase velocity expressions of quasi-waves, in three-dimensional space, are used to derive the secular equation of surface waves. The complex secular equation is resolved, analytically, into real and imaginary parts and is then solved, numerically, for phase velocity along a given phase direction on the surface. The complete procedure is thus analogous to the one used for conventional Rayleigh waves in isotropic medium. A non-linear equation relates the ray direction of the surface waves to its phase direction on the (plane) surface of the medium. The analytical differentiation of secular equation yields the directional derivative of phase velocity. This derivative is used to calculate the wave velocity of surface waves. Spatial variations of phase velocity, wave velocity and ray direction over the free plane surface are plotted for the numerical models of crustal rocks with orthorhombic, monoclinic and triclinic anisotropies.     

基于多射线联合反演的速度无关叠前地震数据Q值估计

描述地震波衰减特征的品质因子Q对地震数据处理和油藏描述非常重要,在地震勘探领域,Q值一般通过垂直地震剖面(VSP)数据或地面地震数据得到.由于叠前地面地震数据具有复杂的射线路径且存在噪声、调谐干涉效应等影响,从叠前地震数据中准确估计Q值相对困难.本文以地震波射线传播为基础,根据同相轴局部斜率和射线参数的映射关系,将多射线波形频谱同时带入谱比法联合反演估计Q值,提出了基于多射线联合反演的速度无关叠前Q值估计方法.该方法通过局部斜率属性避开了速度对Q值估计的影响,局部斜率携带地震波传播的速度信息,具有相同局部斜率的地震反射波具有相同的传播射线参数.同相轴局部斜率是地震数据域的属性,而速度是模型域的参数,在估计Q值中采用数据域的属性参数可以直接应用于数据的联合反演,而不需要通过速度对其做进一步的转化,从而提高了Q值估计的精度.同时,本方法采用预测映射(predictive mapping)技术将非零炮检距反射信息映射到零炮检距处,从而获得零偏移距走时对应的Q值.模拟和实际算例验证了本文方法的有效性.     

PARAXIAL RAY TRACING IN 3D INHOMOGENEOUS,ANISOTROPIC MEDIA1

Many investigations of the propagation elastic waves within the earth require a technique for producing synthetic seismograms which is capable of modelling 3D propagation effects. Ray methods are an excellent option for these problems, because they can be made fully 3D and allow a relatively quick and flexible computation of synthetic seismograms. However, the two point problem of finding the ray which connects exactly a specific source and receiver, may still be difficult and time consuming. Therefore, application of the paraxial method, which allows extrapolation of the information on a given ray to nearby receiver locations, is very valuable. With this approach, great savings in computation time and significant simplification of computer codes are possible. We investigate the application of the paraxial ray method to two problems in which the effects of 3D seismic wave propagation are important. The first is a model of a reef structure. In this case, we consider synthetic seismograms for a VSP experimental configuration. When the SV source and well are located along the axis of the reef, only 2D propagation effects are observed. If the source-receiver plane is located to the side of the reef, however, the 3D shape of the reef causes significant amplitudes to be predicted for shear-wave arrivals on the transverse component of the synthetic seismograms. The second example is a ID, layered earth model, but it includes two layers which are azimuthally anisotropic due to the presence of aligned, vertical fractures. This anisotropy leads to 3D raypaths. Synthetic seismographs are presented for a cross-hole geometry both for an equivalent isotropic model and for the direction parallel to the fractures and at an angle of 45° to the fractures in the anisotropic case. These synthetics show that the differences between the isotropic case and the case for source and receivers aligned with the plane of the fractures are small and subtle. On the other hand, the predictions for the direction at 45° to the cracks show shear-wave splitting and significant transverse component signal. These results have important implications for both modelling and for applications such as tomography. It is clear that for some of the cases considered, a 2D algorithm will lead to errors in interpretation of data. In addition, ray-based tomographic techniques will have great difficulty in obtaining a well-defined 2D planar image when the signals are propagating in regions outside the image plane.     

SYNTHETIC SEISMOGRAMS AT NON-VERTICAL INCIDENCE*

Synthetic seismograms are usually computed for reflections from vertical incidence of P waves for a horizontally layered medium. In actual practice the angle of incidence departs from the vertical, as receivers are usually located at some distance from the source. At angles other than the vertical, the conversion of P- to S-wave energy and changes in the reflection coefficient affect the shape of the synthetic seismograms. The effect of non-vertical incidence on synthetic seismograms is examined in this paper. Seismograms at non-vertical incidence have been computed using the plane-wave approach of Haskell (1953) for a layered medium. The use of plane waves is an approximation to the actual case of spherical wavefronts from a surface source. Using plane-wave theory, the expected wave forms as a function of angle of incidence were computed numerically for several simple models. The results indicate that the synthetic seismograms do not change significantly for angles of incidence between o and 25 degrees. For larger angles the changes in the wave forms may be severe. The effect is more pronounced for high-velocity layers than for low-velocity layers.     

黏弹介质中勒夫波频散问题的统一解及其动态特征分析

目前完全弹性介质中面波频散特征的研究已较为完善,多道面波分析技术(MASW)在近地表勘探领域也取得了较好的效果,但黏弹介质中面波的频散特征研究依然较少.本文基于解析函数零点求解技术,给出了完全弹性、常Q黏弹和Kelvin-Voigt黏弹层状介质中勒夫波频散特征方程的统一求解方法.对于每个待计算频率,首先根据传递矩阵理论得到勒夫波复频散函数及其偏导的解析递推式,然后在复相速度平面上利用矩形围道积分和牛顿恒等式将勒夫波频散特征复数方程的求根问题转化为等价的连带多项式求解问题,最后通过求解该连带多项式的零点得到多模式勒夫波频散曲线与衰减系数曲线.总结了地层速度随深度递增和夹低速层条件下勒夫波频散特征根在复相速度平面上的运动规律和差异.证明了频散曲线交叉现象在复相速度平面上表现为:随频率增加,某个模式特征根的移动轨迹跨越了另一个模式特征根所在的圆,并给出了这个圆的解析表达式.研究还表明,常Q黏弹地层中的基阶模式勒夫波衰减程度随频率近似线性增加,而Kelvin-Voigt黏弹地层中的基阶模式勒夫波衰减程度随频率近似指数增加,且所有模式总体衰减程度强于常Q黏弹地层中的情况.     

The influence of sea water velocity variation on seismic traveltimes, ray paths, and amplitude

The main factors affecting seismic exploration is the propagation velocity of seismic waves in the medium. In the past, during marine seismic data processing, the propagation velocity of sea water was generally taken as a constant 1500 m/s. However, for deep water exploration, the sound velocity varies with the season, time, location, water depth, ocean currents, and etc.. It also results in a layered velocity distribution, so there is a difference of seismic traveltime, ray paths, and amplitude, which affect the migration imaging results if sea water propagation velocity is still taken as constant for the propagation wavefield. In this paper, we will start from an empirical equation of seismic wave velocity in seawater with changes of temperature, salinity, and depth, consider the variation of their values, build a seawater velocity model, and quantitatively analyze the impact of seawater velocity variation on seismic traveltime, ray paths, and amplitude in the seawater velocity model.     

APPLICATION OF ELASTIC MODELLING IN PROCESSING AND INTERPRETATION OF VSP DATA: A CASE HISTORY1

Data from offshore Norway is used to study applications of elastic VSP modelling in detecting shear waves and observing the effects of successive mode conversion in field-recorded VSP data. The shear-wave velocities and densities from log data are used in conjunction with compressional wave velocities determined from surface seismic and log data in the VSP modelling. The time domain non-normal incidence elastic VSP modelling technique of Aminzadeh and Mendel is used as the modelling algorithm. Two surface seismograms are computed first. One is the vertical component and the other is the horizontal component for plane waves that have specified incident angles. A downward continuation method is then applied to generate seismograms at different depth points. The collection of these seismograms constitutes non-normal incidence VSPs. Both vertical and horizontal components of VSP data can be obtained by this procedure. In this paper non-normal incidence VSPs are generated for a 12.5° incident plane wave. The modelling results of layered earth systems of thin layers and thick layers are both compared with field data, and the effect of mode conversions in thin layers is observed. Several events in the field data can be explained by this elastic VSP modelling. Comparison of the model data and field data enabled a probable tube wave or out-of-plane event to be identified, the removal of which significantly improved the final VSP section. This study also shows how the VSP data helped the interpretation of the surface 3D data.     

Monte-Carlo Bayesian look-ahead inversion of walkaway vertical seismic profiles

We describe a method to invert a walkaway vertical seismic profile (VSP) and predict elastic properties (P‐wave velocity, S‐wave velocity and density) in a layered model looking ahead of the deepest receiver. Starting from Bayes's rule, we define a posterior distribution of layered models that combines prior information (on the overall variability of and correlations among the elastic properties observed in well logs) with information provided by the VSP data. This posterior distribution of layered models is sampled by a Monte‐Carlo method. The sampled layered models agree with prior information and fit the VSP data, and their overall variability defines the uncertainty in the predicted elastic properties. We apply this technique first to a zero‐offset VSP data set, and show that uncertainty in the long‐wavelength P‐wave velocity structure results in a sizable uncertainty in the predicted elastic properties. We then use walkaway VSP data, which contain information on the long‐wavelength P‐wave velocity (in the reflection moveout) and on S‐wave velocity and density contrasts (in the change of reflectivity with offset). The uncertainty of the look‐ahead prediction is considerably decreased compared with the zero‐offset VSP, and the predicted elastic properties are in good agreement with well‐log measurements.     

黏弹性介质VSP记录模拟及在估算Q值研究中应用

采用标准线性固体模型,本文建立了黏弹性介质完全匹配层吸收边界的高阶速度-应力交错网格有限差分算法,并对黏弹性介质中的地震波传播进行了数值模拟.基于黏弹性波动方程正演模拟提供的零偏VSP全波场数据,本文进行了质心频移法计算Q值的反演分析.结果表明,反射波、转换波及短程多次波对频谱的影响较大,对Q值反演造成一定误差.本文的...     

DOWNHOLE SYNTHETIC SEISMIC PROFILES IN ELASTIC MEDIA1

A multichannel lattice filter structure is utilized to represent seismic waves propagating in adjacent layers in an elastic medium. Using this model, an explicit time-domain solution for arbitrary source and receiver locations is obtained as an ARMA (AutoRegressive and Moving-Average) process. The lattice and ARMA structures have given rise to an effective algorithm for the calculation of offset/downhole synthetic seismograms. A large range of recently developed offset/downhole seismic survey geometries, such as the ‘Yo-Yo’ arrangement, can thus be simulated. In addition, the explicit solutions for upgoing and downgoing waves provide new insight into the properties of general downhole seismic signals, including wave-mode conversion effects and multiple reflections. Furthermore, offset/downhole seismograms generated by a line source (i.e. 2D point source) can also be constructed by superposition of plane waves with different incidence angles. Synthetic seismograms generated using a different source-receiver arrangement indicate that the properties especially associated with offset/downhole seismic signals can be predicted by this modelling method. These properties include arrival times, amplitude attenuation and wave-mode conversion effects. Finally, utilizing this numerical modelling method to a real downhole survey with Yo-Yo geometry may lead to a proper data acquisition and processing procedure, and improves the interpretation confidence of the field section.     

SIMULATIONS OF REFLECTIONS AND DIFFRACTIONS FROM TARGETS BURIED IN A MEDIUM WITH LINEAR VARIATION OF VELOCITY WITH DISTANCE*

A combination of ray theory and diffraction theory has been used to simulate reflections of seismic pulses from a full plane and reflections and diffractions from a half plane buried horizontally in earth models with linear increase of velocity with depth. Wave forms of signals reflected from a full plane in this case are modifications of the source pulse, even if the medium is assumed to be perfectly elastic. The extent of pulse modification increases with increase of the velocity gradient. The duration of the reflected pulse is always longer than that of the source pulse. The pulses diffracted from the edge of the half plane in such cases do not lie along hyperbolic curves in the time-offset plane. Diffracted signals can be observed only up to a limited distance from the edge of the half plane equalling half the horizontal range of the ray which is tangential to the half plane and has its end points at the level of the source and the receiver.     

Characterization of seismic hazard and structural response by energy flux

Seismic safety of structures depends on the structure's ability to absorb the seismic energy that is transmitted from ground to structure. One parameter that can be used to characterize seismic energy is the energy flux. Energy flux is defined as the amount of energy transmitted per unit time through a cross-section of a medium, and is equal to kinetic energy multiplied by the propagation velocity of seismic waves. The peak or the integral of energy flux can be used to characterize ground motions. By definition, energy flux automatically accounts for site amplification. Energy flux in a structure can be studied by formulating the problem as a wave propagation problem. For buildings founded on layered soil media and subjected to vertically incident plane shear waves, energy flux equations are derived by modeling the building as an extension of the layered soil medium, and considering each story as another layer. The propagation of energy flux in the layers is described in terms of the upgoing and downgoing energy flux in each layer, and the energy reflection and transmission coefficients at each interface. The formulation results in a pair of simple finite-difference equations for each layer, which can be solved recursively starting from the bedrock. The upgoing and downgoing energy flux in the layers allows calculation of the energy demand and energy dissipation in each layer. The methodology is applicable to linear, as well as nonlinear structures.     

弹性波被动源数据一次波估计方法研究

与声波被动源数据相比,弹性波被动源数据含有更加丰富的地下地质信息.弹性波被动源数据合成的虚拟炮记录中,同样存在表面相关多次波,影响数据的后续处理以及对地下地质构造的准确判断.对弹性波被动源数据合成的虚拟炮记录进行多次波的预测与匹配相减,将比声波数据更加困难.本文提出弹性波被动源数据一次波估计方法,针对各向同性介质条件下的弹性波被动源数据进行研究,依据声波被动源数据一次波估计方法的研究思路,推导弹性波被动源数据一次波估计方法的理论过程,充分考虑弹性波被动源数据所包含的波场成分,包括纵波、横波以及在传播过程中产生的转换波.在传播过程中,由于能量的损失,略去多次传播的高阶项,进而给出相应的目标函数.利用数据的稀疏性,结合L_1范数约束的最优化问题求解方法,避免对弹性波虚拟炮记录进行多次波的预测与匹配相减,解决多次波影响问题.本文通过合成的弹性波被动源数据,进行一次波估计的测试,并与主动源和合成的虚拟炮记录进行对比,验证本文提出方法的有效性与准确性.     

τ-p SEISMIC DATA FOR VISCOELASTIC MEDIA – PART 1: MODELLING1

Viscoelastic modelling reveals that the interaction of compressional-wave velocity C_p, compressional-wave quality factor Q_p, shear-wave velocity C_s, shear-wave quality factor Q_s and Poisson's ratio as a function of time intercept τ and ray parameter p, is complicated; however, distinct, potentially diagnostic behaviours are seen for different combinations of viscoelastic parameters. Synthetic seismograms for three viscoelastic reservoir models show that variations in the Poisson's ratio produce visible differences when compared to the corresponding elastic synthetic seismograms; these differences are attributable to interaction of the elastic parameters with Q_p and Q_s. When the P-wave acoustic impedance contrast is small, viscoelastic effects become more apparent and more useful for interpretation purposes. The corresponding amplitude and net phase spectra reveal significant differences between the elastic and the viscoelastic responses. When P-wave reflectivities are large, they tend to dominate the total response and to mask the Q reflectivity effects. The attenuation effects are manifested as an amplitude decay that increases with both time and ray parameter. The sensitivity of the computed seismic responses for various combinations of viscoelastic parameters suggests the opportunity for diagnostic interpretation of τ-p seismic data. The interpretation of the viscoelastic parameters can permit a better understanding of the rock types and pore fluid distribution existing in the subsurface.     

近地表强衰减介质中的地震波传播模型

建立符合油气储层近地表复杂介质强衰减性质的数学-物理模型是油气勘探和开发的重要课题.本文针对D'Alembert黏弹性介质模型存在的量纲不统一和不能充分刻画孔隙介质结构的不足,通过引入孔隙度和渗透率等参数修改耗散项,改进了原D'Alembert模型,获得了能精细刻画具有强吸收衰减特征的近地表复杂介质模型,即改进的近地表黏弹性模型.基于这种改进的模型,推导了波频散和衰减的表达式,并研究了孔隙度、流体黏度等物理参数对波频散和衰减的影响,获得了相应的规律性认识.为了验证新模型预测近地表介质中波衰减的有效性,本文将新模型应用于胜利油田YX工区的近地表实测数据,同时与弹性Biot模型和BISQ模型以及黏弹性BISQ模型进行了比较.结果表明,与其它三个模型比较,改进的近地表黏弹性模型能够很好地刻画近地表介质的强衰减性,而且新模型所涉及到的物理参数明显少于其它几种模型,有利于新模型在油气储层近地表复杂介质地震勘探的实际应用.     

高保真VSP波场分离方法研究

三维VSP资料中,各种不同类型的波混杂一起形成复杂的波场.因此,波场分离是三维VSP数据处理关键的第一步.从不同波场的偏振方向和传播方向之差异着手,提出了一种高保真的VSP波场分离方法.首先通过射线追踪和偏振滤波的结合,把复杂波场(分解为简单波场;然后根据简单波场中不同波的传播方向截然相反的特点,进行方向滤波,达到波场分离的目的.实际数据处理表明,与常规波场分离方法相比,本方法大大降低了混波作用以及由此而生的波形畸变.     

Extended reflectivity method for modelling the propagation of diffusive–viscous wave in dip‐layered media

The reflectivity method plays an important role in seismic modelling. It has been used to model different types of waves propagating in elastic and anelastic media. The diffusive–viscous wave equation was proposed to investigate the relationship between frequency dependence of reflections and fluid saturation. It is also used to describe the attenuation property of seismic wave in a fluid‐saturated medium. The attenuation of diffusive–viscous wave is mainly characterised by the effective attenuation parameters in the equation. Thus, it is essential to obtain those parameters and further characterise the features of the diffusive–viscous wave. In this work, we use inversion method to obtain the effective attenuation parameters through quality factor to investigate the characteristics of diffusive–viscous wave by comparing with those of the viscoacoustic wave. Then, the reflection/transmission coefficients in a dip plane‐layered medium are studied through coordinate transform and plane‐wave theory. Consequently, the reflectivity method is extended to compute seismograms of diffusive–viscous wave in a dip plane multi‐layered medium. Finally, we present two models to simulate the propagation of diffusive–viscous wave in a dip plane multi‐layered medium by comparing the results with those in a viscoacoustic medium. The numerical results demonstrate the validity of our extension of reflectivity method to the diffusive–viscous medium. The numerical examples in both time domain and time–frequency domain show that the reflections from a dip plane interface have significant phase shift and amplitude change compared with the results of horizontal plane interface due to the differences in reflection/transmission coefficients. Moreover, the modelling results show strong attenuation and phase shift in the diffusive–viscous wave compared to those of the viscoacoustic wave.     

Transhorizon propagation of decameter waves

Solutions to the problem of the point source field in a spherically layered medium are analyzed. For a three-layer waveguide model, a solution in the form of the Watson integral was used. A consideration of the singularities in the plane of the integration variable made it possible to represent the integral as a superposition of three waves. Two of them are connected with the interaction of the primary spherical wave with the lower convex and upper concave interfaces. The third wave is connected with the alternate action with both interfaces. The fourth wave is caused by the interaction between the primary wave and random inhomogeneities of the external medium (the ionosphere). Here, simulation was carried out based on Green equations. The considered unique data of flight measurements of the point source field strength indicate the efficiency of simulating the transhorizon propagation of decameter waves based on the superposition of all four aforesaid wave packets.     

VERTICAL SEISMIC PROFILING IN COAL*

The intellection of seismic wave propagation in coal measures demands direct observation of the wavefield progression. Two vertical seismic profiles with high spatial and temporal sampling, were recently recorded in the Sydney Basin coalfields as part of an experimental coal seismic program. Static corrections and interval velocities were obtained by an automated system to determine first kicks and pulse rise times. Upgoing and downgoing waves were separated in the f—k-plane using a novel technique of contour slice filtering. The isolated upgoing waves clearly display reflections from the major coal seams within the stratigraphic sequence. The downgoing wave spectra were subjected to attenuation analysis. The deduced specific quality factor Q for Permian coal measure rocks lies in the range 20–70. Similar estimates were obtained in the time domain from measurements of pulse broadening. Synthetic VSP seismograms, computed using an exact recursive formulation, are an indispensable aid to interpretation. They illustrate the filtering effects of coal seams and sequences, and the effects of the contribution of internal and free-surface multiple reflections in the recorded wavetrains.     

Simulation of the Seismic Response of Sedimentary Basins with Vertical Constant-Gradient Velocity for Incident <Emphasis Type="Italic">SH</Emphasis> Waves

The simulation of the seismic response of heterogeneous sedimentary basins under incident plane waves is computed using the Indirect Boundary Element Method (IBEM). To deal with these kinds of basins we used approximate analytical expressions for the two-dimensional Greens functions of a medium with constant-gradient wave propagation velocity. On the other hand, for the homogeneous half space underlying the sedimentary basin, the full space Greens functions were used. The response of semi-circular heterogeneous basins under incident SH waves is explored by means of the displacements in the frequency-space diagrams and synthetic seismograms. Moreover, we compared these results with those obtained for other homogeneous semi-circular models. The principal differences among them are pointed out. This simulation provided interesting results that displayed a complex amplification pattern in a rich spectrum of frequencies and locations. The maximum amplitudes levels were found around the edges of the heterogeneous sedimentary basins. In time domain some features characterize the seismic response of the basin which include enhanced generation and trapping of surface waves inside the sediments, and the reduced emission of seismic energy to the hard rock. In the heterogeneous models the lateral reflections of surface waves greatly influence the total displacements at the free surface in comparison with the homogeneous models where the displacements have a shared influence among both vertical and lateral reflections.