Effect of grain scale alignment on seismic anisotropy and reflectivity of shales

The elastic properties and anisotropy of shales are strongly influenced by the degree of alignment of the grain scale texture. In general, an orientation distribution function (ODF) can be used to describe this alignment, which, in practice, can be characterized by two Legendre coefficients. We discuss various statistical ODFs that define the alignment by spreading from a mean value; in particular, the Gaussian, Fisher and Bingham distributions. We compare the statistical models with an ODF resulting from pure vertical compaction (no shear strain) of a sediment. The compaction ODF may be used to estimate how the elastic properties and anisotropy evolve due to burial of clayey sediments. Our study shows that the three statistical ODFs produce almost identical correspondence between the two Legendre coefficients as a function of the spreading parameter, so that the spreading parameter of one ODF can be converted to the spreading parameter of another ODF. In most cases it is then sufficient to apply the spreading parameter for the ODF instead of the two Legendre coefficients. The effect of compaction on the ODF gives a slightly different correspondence between the two Legendre coefficients from that for the other models. In principle, this opens up the possibility of distinguishing anisotropy effects due to compaction from those due to other processes. We also study reflection amplitudes versus angle of incidence (AVA) for all wave modes, where shales having various ODFs overlie an isotropic medium. The AVA responses are modelled using both exact and approximation formulae, and their intercepts and gradients are compared. The modelling shows that the S‐wave velocity is sensitive to any perturbation in the spreading parameter, while the P‐wave velocity becomes increasingly sensitive to a perturbation of a less ordered system. Similar observations are found for the AVA of the P‐P and P‐SV waves. Modelling indicates that a combined use of the amplitude versus offset of P‐P and P‐SV reflected waves may reveal certain grain scale alignment properties of shale‐like rocks.     

Elastic full waveform inversion of multi‐component OBC seismic data

Elastic full waveform inversion of seismic reflection data represents a data‐driven form of analysis leading to quantification of sub‐surface parameters in depth. In previous studies attention has been given to P‐wave data recorded in the marine environment, using either acoustic or elastic inversion schemes. In this paper we exploit both P‐waves and mode‐converted S‐waves in the marine environment in the inversion for both P‐ and S‐wave velocities by using wide‐angle, multi‐component, ocean‐bottom cable seismic data. An elastic waveform inversion scheme operating in the time domain was used, allowing accurate modelling of the full wavefield, including the elastic amplitude variation with offset response of reflected arrivals and mode‐converted events. A series of one‐ and two‐dimensional synthetic examples are presented, demonstrating the ability to invert for and thereby to quantify both P‐ and S‐wave velocities for different velocity models. In particular, for more realistic low velocity models, including a typically soft seabed, an effective strategy for inversion is proposed to exploit both P‐ and mode‐converted PS‐waves. Whilst P‐wave events are exploited for inversion for P‐wave velocity, examples show the contribution of both P‐ and PS‐waves to the successful recovery of S‐wave velocity.     

Direct inversion for a fluid factor and its application in heterogeneous reservoirs

Prestack seismic inversion plays an important role in estimating elastic parameters that are sensitive to reservoirs and fluid underground. In this paper, a simultaneous inversion method named FMR‐AVA (Fluid Factor, Mu (Shear modulus), Rho (Density)‐Amplitude Variation with Angle) is proposed based on partial angle stack seismic gathers. This method can be used for direct inversion for the fluid factor, shear modulus and density of heterogeneous reservoirs. Firstly, an FMR approximation equation of a reflection coefficient is derived based on poroelasticity with P‐ and S‐wave moduli. Secondly, a stable simultaneous AVA inversion approach is presented in a Bayesian scheme. This approach has little dependence on initial models. Furthermore, it can be applied in heterogeneous reservoirs whose initial models for inversion are not easy to establish. Finally, a model test shows the superiority of this FMR‐AVA inversion method in stability and independence of initial models. We obtain a reasonable fluid factor, shear modulus and density even with smooth initial models and moderate Gaussian noise. A real data case example shows that the inverted fluid factor, shear modulus and density fit nicely with well log interpretation results, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Reflection and refraction at an imperfectly bonded interface between poroelastic solid and cracked elastic solid

Porous solid is in contact with a cracked elastic solid at a plane interface between them. For the presence of vertically aligned microcracks, the elastic solid behaves transversely isotropic to wave propagation. The coefficients of elastic anisotropy depend on the crack density and crack porosity in the medium. A loose bonding is considered between the two solids so that a limiting case could be the welded contact. At the plane interface, the imperfection in welded bonding is represented by tangential slipping and, hence, results in the dissipation of a part of strain energy. Three types of waves propagate in an isotropic fluid-saturated porous medium, which are considered for incidence at the interface. Incidence of a wave results in three reflected waves and two refracted waves. Partition of incident energy among the reflected and refracted waves is studied for each incidence, varying from normal to grazing directions. Numerical example calculates the energy shares of reflected and refracted waves at the plane interface between water-saturated sandstone and basalt. These energy shares are computed and analyzed for different values of crack parameters as well as loose bonding parameter.     

Geostatistical seismic Amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion

Seismic inversion plays an important role in reservoir modelling and characterisation due to its potential for assessing the spatial distribution of the sub‐surface petro‐elastic properties. Seismic amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion methodologies allow to retrieve P‐wave and S‐wave velocities and density individually allowing a better characterisation of existing litho‐fluid facies. We present an iterative geostatistical seismic amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion algorithm that inverts pre‐stack seismic data, sorted by angle gather, directly for: density; P‐wave; and S‐wave velocity models. The proposed iterative geostatistical inverse procedure is based on the use of stochastic sequential simulation and co‐simulation algorithms as the perturbation technique of the model parametre space; and the use of a genetic algorithm as a global optimiser to make the simulated elastic models converge from iteration to iteration. All the elastic models simulated during the iterative procedure honour the marginal prior distributions of P‐wave velocity, S‐wave velocity and density estimated from the available well‐log data, and the corresponding joint distributions between density versus P‐wave velocity and P‐wave versus S‐wave velocity. We successfully tested and implemented the proposed inversion procedure on a pre‐stack synthetic dataset, built from a real reservoir, and on a real pre‐stack seismic dataset acquired over a deep‐water gas reservoir. In both cases the results show a good convergence between real and synthetic seismic and reliable high‐resolution elastic sub‐surface Earth models.     

P‐wave stacking‐velocity tomography for VTI media

A major complication caused by anisotropy in velocity analysis and imaging is the uncertainty in estimating the vertical velocity and depth scale of the model from surface data. For laterally homogeneous VTI (transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis) media above the target reflector, P‐wave moveout has to be combined with other information (e.g. borehole data or converted waves) to build velocity models for depth imaging. The presence of lateral heterogeneity in the overburden creates the dependence of P‐wave reflection data on all three relevant parameters (the vertical velocity V_P0 and the Thomsen coefficients ε and δ) and, therefore, may help to determine the depth scale of the velocity field. Here, we propose a tomographic algorithm designed to invert NMO ellipses (obtained from azimuthally varying stacking velocities) and zero‐offset traveltimes of P‐waves for the parameters of homogeneous VTI layers separated by either plane dipping or curved interfaces. For plane non‐intersecting layer boundaries, the interval parameters cannot be recovered from P‐wave moveout in a unique way. Nonetheless, if the reflectors have sufficiently different azimuths, a priori knowledge of any single interval parameter makes it possible to reconstruct the whole model in depth. For example, the parameter estimation becomes unique if the subsurface layer is known to be isotropic. In the case of 2D inversion on the dip line of co‐orientated reflectors, it is necessary to specify one parameter (e.g. the vertical velocity) per layer. Despite the higher complexity of models with curved interfaces, the increased angle coverage of reflected rays helps to resolve the trade‐offs between the medium parameters. Singular value decomposition (SVD) shows that in the presence of sufficient interface curvature all parameters needed for anisotropic depth processing can be obtained solely from conventional‐spread P‐wave moveout. By performing tests on noise‐contaminated data we demonstrate that the tomographic inversion procedure reconstructs both the interfaces and the VTI parameters with high accuracy. Both SVD analysis and moveout inversion are implemented using an efficient modelling technique based on the theory of NMO‐velocity surfaces generalized for wave propagation through curved interfaces.     

Kinematic parameters of pure‐ and converted‐mode waves in elastic orthorhombic media

I derive the kinematic properties of single‐mode P, S1, and S2 waves as well as converted PS1, PS2, and S1S2 waves in elastic orthorhombic media including vertical velocity, two normal moveout velocities defined in vertical symmetry planes, and three anelliptic parameters (two of them are defined in vertical symmetry plane and one parameter is the cross‐term one). I show that the azimuthal dependence of normal moveout velocity and anellipticity is different in phase and group domains. The effects on‐vertical‐axis singularity and on‐vertical‐axis triplication are considered for pure‐mode S1 and S2 waves and converted‐mode S1S2 waves. The conditions and properties of on‐vertical‐axis triplication are defined in terms of kinematic parameters. The results are illustrated in four homogeneous orthorhombic models and one multilayered orthorhombic model with no variation in azimuthal orientation for all the layers.     

转换波和非转换波与射线参数p的关系

本文对Aki固体-固体分界面的反射和透射公式进行适当变换,使之成为一组适合不同坐标系下,固体、液体、气体和真空之间所有可能形成的分界面上,入射P、SV和SH波所形成的反射和透射公式,从而把不同边界条件的反射和透射方程统一起来,并且阐明了转换波和非转换波动力学特征的差异.指出:在不同弹性介质分界面上入射平面弹性波,转换波的反射系数和透射系数是射线参数p的奇函数;非转换波的反射系数和透射系数是射线参数p的偶函数.根据奇函数和偶函数的性质可见:垂直入射时不存在转换波.同时也为简化Zoeppricz方程,开展AVO分析打开新思路.     

Elastic wave mode separation for tilted transverse isotropy media

Seismic waves propagate through the earth as a superposition of different wave modes. Seismic imaging in areas characterized by complex geology requires techniques based on accurate reconstruction of the seismic wavefields. A crucial component of the methods in this category, collectively known as wave‐equation migration, is the imaging condition that extracts information about the discontinuities of physical properties from the reconstructed wavefields at every location in space. Conventional acoustic migration techniques image a scalar wavefield representing the P‐wave mode, in contrast to elastic migration techniques, which image a vector wavefield representing both the P‐ and S‐waves. For elastic imaging, it is desirable that the reconstructed vector fields are decomposed into pure wave modes, such that the imaging condition produces interpretable images, characterizing, for example, PP or PS reflectivity. In anisotropic media, wave mode separation can be achieved by projection of the reconstructed vector fields on the polarization vectors characterizing various wave modes. For heterogeneous media, because polarization directions change with position, wave mode separation needs to be implemented using space‐domain filters. For transversely isotropic media with a tilted symmetry axis, the polarization vectors depend on the elastic material parameters, including the tilt angles. Using these parameters, we separate the wave modes by constructing nine filters corresponding to the nine Cartesian components of the three polarization directions at every grid point. Since the S polarization vectors in transverse isotropic media are not defined in the singular directions, e.g., along the symmetry axes, we construct these vectors by exploiting the orthogonality between the SV and SH polarization vectors, as well as their orthogonality with the P polarization vector. This procedure allows one to separate all three modes, with better preserved P‐wave amplitudes than S‐wave amplitudes. Realistic synthetic examples show that this wave mode separation is effective for both 2D and 3D models with strong heterogeneity and anisotropy.     

Multi-parameter nonlinear inversion with exact reflection coefficient equation

Amplitude variation with amplitude or angle (AVO/AVA) inversion has been widely utilized in exploration geophysics to estimate the formation of elastic parameters underground. However, conventional AVO/AVA inversion approaches are based on different approximate equations of Zoeppritz equations under various hypotheses, such as limited incident angles or weak property contrast, which reduces their prediction precision theoretically. This study combines the exact P-wave Zoeppritz equation with a nonlinear direct inversion algorithm to estimate the six parameters imbedded in the exact equation simultaneously. A more direct and explicit expression of the Zoeppritz equation is discussed in the case of P-wave exploration, under which condition the incident longitudinal wave produces the reflected longitudinal (P–P) wave and upgoing converted shear (P–SV) wave. Utilizing this equation as the forward solver, a nonlinear direct inversion method is introduced to implement the direct inversion of the six parameters including P-wave velocities, S-wave velocities, and densities in the upper and lower media around an interface, respectively. This nonlinear algorithm is able to estimate the inverse of the nonlinear function in terms of model parameters directly rather than in a conventional optimization way. Model tests illustrate that the nonlinear direct inversion method shows great potential to estimate multiple parameters with the exact Zoeppritz equation.     

Fracture characterization using converted waves

We present a method for inversion of fracture compliance matrix components from wide‐azimuth noisy synthetic PS reflection data and quantitatively show that reflection amplitude variations with offset and azimuth for converted PS‐waves are more informative than P‐waves for fracture characterization. We consider monoclinic symmetry for fractured reservoir (parameters chosen from Woodford Shale), which can be formed by two or more sets of vertical fractures embedded in a vertically transverse isotropic background. Components of effective fracture compliance matrices for a medium with monoclinic symmetry are related to the characteristics of the fractured medium. Monte Carlo simulation results show that inversion of PS reflection data is more robust than that of PP reflection data to uncertainties in our a priori knowledge (vertically transverse isotropic parameters of unfractured rock) than PP reflection data. We also show that, while inversion of PP reflections is sensitive to contrasts in elastic properties of upper and lower media, inversion of PS reflections is robust with respect to such contrasts.     

Scattering of elastic waves by a general anisotropic basin. Part 2: a 3D model

Scattering of plane harmonic waves by a three‐dimensional basin of arbitrary shape embedded within elastic half‐space is investigated by using an indirect boundary integral equation approach. The materials of the basin and the half‐space are assumed to be the most general anisotropic, homogeneous, linearly elastic solids without any material symmetry (i.e. triclinic). The unknown scattered waves are expressed in terms of three‐dimensional triclinic time harmonic full‐space Green's functions. The results have been tested by comparing the surface response of semi spherical isotropic and transversely isotropic basins for which the numerical solutions are available. Surface displacements are presented for a semicircular basin subjected to a vertical incident plane harmonic pseudo‐P‐, SV‐, or SH‐wave. These results are compared with the motion obtained for the corresponding equivalent isotropic models. The results show that presence of the basin may cause significant amplification of ground motion when compared to the free‐field displacements. The peak amplitude of the predominant component of surface motion is smaller for the anisotropic basin than for the corresponding isotropic one. Anisotropic response may be asymmetric even for symmetric geometry and incidence. Anisotropic surface displacement generally includes all three components of motion which may not be the case for the isotropic results. Furthermore, anisotropic response strongly depends upon the nature of the incident wave, degree of material anisotropy and the azimuthal orientation of the observation station. These results clearly demonstrate the importance of anisotropy in amplification of surface ground motion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PP and PS joint AVO inversion and fluid prediction

The technique of amplitude variation with offset or angle (AVO or AVA) can be used to extract fluid and lithology information from prestack seismic data. Based on three-term AVO equations, three elastic parameters can be inverted for by linear AVO inversion. However, many theoretical and numerical studies have demonstrated that by using offset limited data, a three-term AVO inversion may have problems of instability and inaccuracy while inverting for the density term. We have searched for an elastic parameter that contains density information and inverted this parameter in a more stable manner using offset limited data. First, we test the sensitivity of elastic parameters to hydrocarbon reservoirs and select the optimal fluid factor (ρf) that contains density information and has an excellent performance as an inversion parameter used to detect hydrocarbons. Then, we derive approximate PP and PS reflection coefficient equations in terms of the fluid factor. The derived equations allow us to directly estimate the fluid factor of the reservoir. Finally, we apply these equations to synthetic data by employing a joint AVO inversion technique. The results show that the method is stable and unambiguous.     

Effects of petrophysical parameters on attenuation and dispersion of seismic waves in the simplified poroelastic theory: Comparison between the Biot's theory and viscosity‐extended theory

The simplified macro‐equations of porous elastic media are presented based on Hickey's theory upon ignoring effects of thermomechanical coupling and fluctuations of porosity and density induced by passing waves. The macro‐equations with definite physical parameters predict two types of compressional waves (P wave) and two types of shear waves (S wave). The first types of P and S waves, similar to the fast P wave and S wave in Biot's theory, propagate with fast velocity and have relatively weak dispersion and attenuation, while the second types of waves behave as diffusive modes due to their distinct dispersion and strong attenuation. The second S wave resulting from the bulk and shear viscous loss within pore fluid is slower than the second P wave but with strong attenuation at lower frequencies. Based on the simplified porous elastic equations, the effects of petrophysical parameters (permeability, porosity, coupling density and fluid viscosity) on the velocity dispersion and attenuation of P and S waves are studied in brine‐saturated sandstone compared with the results of Biot's theory. The results show that the dispersion and attenuation of P waves in simplified theory are stronger than those of Biot's theory and appear at slightly lower frequencies because of the existence of bulk and shear viscous loss within pore fluid. The properties of the first S wave are almost consistent with the S wave in Biot's theory, while the second S wave not included in Biot's theory even dies off around its source due to its extremely strong attenuation. The permeability and porosity have an obvious impact on the velocity dispersion and attenuation of both P and S waves. Higher permeabilities make the peaks of attenuation shift towards lower frequencies. Higher porosities correspond to higher dispersion and attenuation. Moreover, the inertial coupling between fluid and solid induces weak velocity dispersion and attenuation of both P and S waves at higher frequencies, whereas the fluid viscosity dominates the dispersion and attenuation in a macroscopic porous medium. Besides, the heavy oil sand is used to investigate the influence of high viscous fluid on the dispersion and attenuation of both P and S waves. The dispersion and attenuation in heavy oil sand are stronger than those in brine‐saturated sandstone due to the considerable shear viscosity of heavy oil. Seismic properties are strongly influenced by the fluid viscosity; thus, viscosity should be included in fluid properties to explain solid–fluid combination behaviour properly.     

S‐wave kinematics in acoustic transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis

Acoustic transversely isotropic models are widely used in seismic exploration for P‐wave processing and analysis. In isotropic acoustic media only P‐wave can propagate, while in an acoustic transversely isotropic medium both P and S waves propagate. In this paper, we focus on kinematic properties of S‐wave in acoustic transversely isotropic media. We define new parameters better suited for S‐wave kinematics analysis. We also establish the travel time and relative geometrical spreading equations and analyse their properties. To illustrate the behaviour of the S‐wave in multi‐layered acoustic transversely isotropic media, we define the Dix‐type equations that are different from the ones widely used for the P‐wave propagation.     

弹性波逆散射微扰论

本文将普遍声逆散射微扰论应用于弹性波层析成像问题,在Born变换下推出了以旋转角为补偿参数的各阶微扰重建公式,实现了对非均匀各向同性散射体内3个参数（质量密度ρ和两个Lamé系数λ,μ）的同时重建. 对于层析成像问题,在弹性波的传播过程中P波与SV波有耦合,但它们不会和SH波发生耦合,于是可以得到3个形式相对简单的标量方程. 在Born变换下,在散射波中引入微扰参数,将散射体的3个参数分别按该微扰参数展开,然后利用二维自由空间的Green函数分别得到散射的P波、SV波和SH波的积分表示. 最后,经一维傅氏变换后,得到Born变换下散射体3个参数的各阶微扰重建公式.     

Numerical simulation of seismic wave in elastic and viscoelastic TTI media*

Based on the two-dimensional (2D) three-component first-order velocity-stress equation, the high order staggered mesh finite difference numerical simulation method was used to simulate the elastic and viscoelastic tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. The perfect matched layer (PML) absorption boundary condition was selected to eliminate the boundary effect. The results show that: ① Under the condition of fixed elastic parameters of elastic TTI medium, when the polarization angle and azimuth are 60° and 45° respectively, the degree of shear wave splitting is significantly greater than the angle of 0°; ② The influence of viscoelasticity on TTI medium is mainly reflected in the amplitude. If the quality factor decreases, the attenuation of the seismic wave amplitude increases, causing the waveform to become wider and distorted. If the quality factor increases, the viscoelastic medium becomes closer to elastic medium; ③ For TTI medium with different polarization angle and azimuth angle in the upper and lower layers, the shear wave can multiple splits at the interface of medium. The symmetry of seismograms is affected by the polarization angle and azimuth angle of TTI medium; ④ Viscoelasticity has a great influence on reflected wave, transmitted wave and converted wave in the low-velocity model. When the viscoelasticity is strong, the weaker waves may not be shown.     

Slowness domain offset and traveltime approximations in layered vertical transversely isotropic media

Considering horizontally layered transversely isotropic media with vertical symmetry axis and all types of pure‐mode and converted waves we present a new wide‐angle series approximation for the kinematical characteristics of reflected waves: horizontal offset, intercept time, and total reflection traveltime as functions of horizontal slowness. The method is based on combining (gluing) both zero‐offset and (large) finite‐offset series coefficients. The horizontal slowness is bounded by the critical value, characterised by nearly horizontal propagation within the layer with the highest horizontal velocity. The suggested approximation uses five parameters to approximate the offset, six parameters to approximate the intercept time or the traveltime, and seven parameters to approximate any two or all three kinematical characteristics. Overall, the method is very accurate for pure‐mode compressional waves and shear waves polarised in the horizontal plane and for converted waves. The application of the method to pure‐mode shear waves polarised in the vertical plane is limited due to cusps and triplications. To demonstrate the high accuracy of the method, we consider a synthetic, multi‐layer model, and we plot the normalised errors with respect to numerical ray tracing.     

Scattering of elastic waves by a general anisotropic basin. Part 1: a 2D model

Scattering of incident plane harmonic pseudo P‐, SH‐, and SV‐waves by a two‐dimensional basin of arbitrary shape is investigated by using an indirect boundary integral equation approach. The basin and surrounding half‐space are assumed to be generally anisotropic, homogeneous, linearly elastic solids. No material symmetries are assumed. The unknown scattered waves are expressed as linear combinations of full‐space time‐harmonic two‐dimensional Green functions. Using the Radon transform, the Green functions are obtained in the form of finite integrals over a unit circle. An algorithm for the accurate and efficient numerical evaluation of the Green functions is discussed. A detailed convergence and parametric analysis of the problem is presented. Excellent agreement is obtained with isotropic results available in the literature. Steady‐state surface ground motion is presented for semi‐circular basins with generally anisotropic material properties. The results show that surface motion strongly depends upon the material properties of the basin as well as the angle of incidence and frequency of the incident wave. Significant mode conversion can be observed for general triclinic materials which are not present in isotropic models. Comparison with an isotropic basin response demonstrates that anisotropy is very important for assessing the nature of surface motion atop basins. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.