Prestack exploding reflector modelling and migration for anisotropic media

The double‐square‐root equation is commonly used to image data by downward continuation using one‐way depth extrapolation methods. A two‐way time extrapolation of the double‐square‐root‐derived phase operator allows for up and downgoing wavefields but suffers from an essential singularity for horizontally travelling waves. This singularity is also associated with an anisotropic version of the double‐square‐root extrapolator. Perturbation theory allows us to separate the isotropic contribution, as well as the singularity, from the anisotropic contribution to the operator. As a result, the anisotropic residual operator is free from such singularities and can be applied as a stand alone operator to correct for anisotropy. We can apply the residual anisotropy operator even if the original prestack wavefield was obtained using, for example, reverse‐time migration. The residual correction is also useful for anisotropic parameter estimation. Applications to synthetic data demonstrate the accuracy of the new prestack modelling and migration approach. It also proves useful in approximately imaging the Vertical Transverse Isotropic Marmousi model.     

VTI介质角度域转换波高斯束偏移成像方法研究

转换波偏移可以利用纵横波波场信息,得到高分辨率的成像结果,从而为油藏描述提供高质量的地震资料.目前的研究主要是利用纵波波场信息进行偏移成像,然而,传统的纵波方法在复杂探区成像时具有一定的局限性.为此,本文在各向异性介质声波射线追踪算法的基础上,推导出各向异性介质转换波射线追踪方程,发展了一种转换波射线追踪算法;并将研究的追踪算法应用到偏移成像中,提出了一种各向异性VTI介质角度域转换波高斯束偏移成像方法.通过各向异性VTI介质断块模型和复杂构造模型试算,说明了本文方法的正确性和有效性.模型试算的结果表明,在考虑地下各向异性时,本文研究的方法具有更好的成像效果,提取的角道集结果可以为偏移速度分析提供依据.

     

2.5D modelling, inversion and angle migration in anisotropic elastic media

2.5D modelling approximates 3D wave propagation in the dip‐direction of a 2D geological model. Attention is restricted to raypaths for waves propagating in a plane. In this way, fast inversion or migration can be performed. For velocity analysis, this reduction of the problem is particularly useful. We review 2.5D modelling for Born volume scattering and Born–Helmholtz surface scattering. The amplitudes are corrected for 3D wave propagation, taking into account both in‐plane and out‐of‐plane geometrical spreading. We also derive some new inversion/migration results. An AVA‐compensated migration routine is presented that is simplified compared with earlier results. This formula can be used to create common‐image gathers for use in velocity analysis by studying the residual moveout. We also give a migration formula for the energy‐flux‐normalized plane‐wave reflection coefficient that models large contrast in the medium parameters not treated by the Born and the Born–Helmholtz equation results. All results are derived using the generalized Radon transform (GRT) directly in the natural coordinate system characterized by scattering angle and migration dip. Consequently, no Jacobians are needed in their calculation. Inversion and migration in an orthorhombic medium or a transversely isotropic (TI) medium with tilted symmetry axis are the lowest symmetries for practical purposes (symmetry axis is in the plane). We give an analysis, using derived methods, of the parameters for these two types of media used in velocity analysis, inversion and migration. The kinematics of the two media involve the same parameters, hence there is no distinction when carrying out velocity analysis. The in‐plane scattering coefficient, used in the inversion and migration, also depends on the same parameters for both media. The out‐of‐plane geometrical spreading, necessary for amplitude‐preserving computations, for the TI medium is dependent on the same parameters that govern in‐plane kinematics. For orthorhombic media, information on additional parameters is required that is not needed for in‐plane kinematics and the scattering coefficients. Resolution analysis of the scattering coefficient suggests that direct inversion by GRT yields unreliable parameter estimates. A more practical approach to inversion is amplitude‐preserving migration followed by AVA analysis. SYMBOLS AND NOTATION A list of symbols and notation is given in Appendix D .     

横向各向同性(VTI)介质中非线性地震波场模拟

数值计算方法是考察非线性弹性波在介质中（如岩石）传播特征的重要手段.非线性弹性波的数值模拟存在陡峭间断面（点）、数值振荡以及误差的指数级增长等现象而破坏数值解的稳定性、收敛性,能否消减上述现象的不利影响成为制约数值方法有效与否的重要因素.文中同时引入了FCT算子和幅值限制器,采用中心差分格式对具有垂直对称轴的横向各向同性（VTI）介质中的二维非线性弹性波进行数值模拟,从而克服了上述困难;介绍了适用于非线性弹性波的吸收边界条件,给出了差分方程的稳定性条件.在验证了方法的有效性后成功地获取了二维VTI介质中非线性弹性波的三分量地震正演记录,表明非线性波在传播过程中会发生波形畸变等现象.     

Generalized Dix equation and analytic treatment of normal-moveout velocity for anisotropic media*

Despite the complexity of wave propagation in anisotropic media, reflection moveout on conventional common-midpoint (CMP) spreads is usually well described by the normal-moveout (NMO) velocity defined in the zero-offset limit. In their recent work, Grechka and Tsvankin showed that the azimuthal variation of NMO velocity around a fixed CMP location generally has an elliptical form (i.e. plotting the NMO velocity in each azimuthal direction produces an ellipse) and is determined by the spatial derivatives of the slowness vector evaluated at the CMP location. This formalism is used here to develop exact solutions for the NMO velocity in anisotropic media of arbitrary symmetry. For the model of a single homogeneous layer above a dipping reflector, we obtain an explicit NMO expression valid for all pure modes and any orientation of the CMP line with respect to the reflector strike. The contribution of anisotropy to NMO velocity is contained in the slowness components of the zero-offset ray (along with the derivatives of the vertical slowness with respect to the horizontal slownesses) — quantities that can be found in a straightforward way from the Christoffel equation. If the medium above a dipping reflector is horizontally stratified, the effective NMO velocity is determined through a Dix-type average of the matrices responsible for the ‘interval’ NMO ellipses in the individual layers. This generalized Dix equation provides an analytic basis for moveout inversion in vertically inhomogeneous, arbitrarily anisotropic media. For models with a throughgoing vertical symmetry plane (i.e. if the dip plane of the reflector coincides with a symmetry plane of the overburden), the semi-axes of the NMO ellipse are found by the more conventional rms averaging of the interval NMO velocities in the dip and strike directions. Modelling of normal moveout in general heterogeneous anisotropic media requires dynamic ray tracing of only one (zero-offset) ray. Remarkably, the expressions for geometrical spreading along the zero-offset ray contain all the components necessary to build the NMO ellipse. This method is orders of magnitude faster than multi-azimuth, multi-offset ray tracing and, therefore, can be used efficiently in traveltime inversion and in devising fast dip-moveout (DMO) processing algorithms for anisotropic media. This technique becomes especially efficient if the model consists of homogeneous layers or blocks separated by smooth interfaces. The high accuracy of our NMO expressions is illustrated by comparison with ray-traced reflection traveltimes in piecewise-homogeneous, azimuthally anisotropic models. We also apply the generalized Dix equation to field data collected over a fractured reservoir and show that P-wave moveout can be used to find the depth-dependent fracture orientation and to evaluate the magnitude of azimuthal anisotropy.     

轴对称各向异性介质波动方程深度偏移的对称非平稳相移方法

由所建立的三维qP波相速度表示式出发,导出并解析求解各向异性介质中的频散方程,得到三维各向异性介质中的相移算子,进而将以相移算子为基础的对称非平稳相移方法推广到各向异性介质,发展了一个三维各向异性介质的深度偏移方法. 文中使用的各向异性介质的速度模型与现行的各向异性构造的速度估计方法一致,将各向同性、弱各向异性及强各向异性统一在一个模型中. 所建立的各向异性介质对称非平稳相移波场延拓算子可以同时适应速度及各向异性参数横向变化;文中给出的算例虽然是针对二维VTI介质的,但所提出的算法同样适用于三维TI介质.     

Study and application of PS-wave pre-stack migration in HTI media and an anisotropic correction method

Anisotropy correction is necessary during the processing of converted PSwave seismic data to achieve accurate structural imaging, reservoir prediction, and fracture detection. To effectively eliminate the adverse effects of S-wave splitting and to improve PSwave imaging quality, we tested methods for pre-stack migration imaging and anisotropic correction of PS-wave data. We based this on the propagation rules of seismic waves in a horizontal transverse isotropy medium, which is a fractured medium model that reflects likely subsurface conditions in the field. We used the radial (R) and transverse (T) components of PS-wave data to separate the fast and slow S-wave components, after which their propagation moveout was effectively extracted. Meanwhile, corrections for the energies and propagation moveouts of the R and T components were implemented using mathematical rotation. The PS-wave imaging quality was distinctly improved, and we demonstrated the reliability of our methods through numerical simulations. Applying our methods to three-dimensional and three-component seismic field data from the Xinchang-Hexingchang region of the Western Sichuan Depression in China, we obtained high-quality seismic imaging with continuous reflection wave groups, distinct structural features, and specific stratigraphic contact relationships. This study provides an effective and reliable approach for data processing that will improve the exploration of complex, hidden lithologic gas reservoirs.     

裂隙各向异性介质中的NMO速度

推导了各向异性介质中由弹性系数表示的方位动校NMO速度的具体表达式,表明各向异性介质中方位NMO速度程椭圆形状,并分别对具水平对称轴的横向各向同性介质(HTI)、正交介质和单斜各向异性介质及在不同的裂隙填充物的性质下方位NMO速度进行了计算,结果表明裂隙的存在对NMO速度的影响不仅与裂隙密度有关,还取决于裂隙填充物的性质.同时,研究表明对于裂隙型单斜各向异性介质,其方位NMO速度椭圆轴向并不象HTI介质和正交介质中的那样与自然坐标系的坐标轴一致,而是发生了一定角度的偏离,其大小与裂隙填充物的性质、两组裂隙密度的比值及裂隙间的夹角等因素有关,研究结果为进一步区分裂隙介质的类型及裂隙填充物的性质提供依据.     

Ray-centred coordinate systems in anisotropic media

Whereas the ray-centred coordinates for isotropic media by Popov and Pšenčík are uniquely defined by the selection of the basis vectors at one point along the ray, there is considerable freedom in selecting the ray-centred coordinates for anisotropic media. We describe the properties common to all ray-centred coordinate systems for anisotropic media and general conditions, which may be imposed on the basis vectors. We then discuss six different particular choices of ray-centred coordinates in an anisotropic medium. This overview may be useful in choosing the ray-centred coordinates best suited for a particular application. The equations are derived for a general homogeneous Hamiltonian of an arbitrary degree and are thus applicable both to the anisotropic-ray-theory rays and anisotropic common S-wave rays.     

Reference ellipsoids for anisotropic media

Perturbation methods are common tools for describing wave propagation in weakly anisotropic media. The anisotropic medium is replaced by an average isotropic medium where wave propagation can be treated analytically and the correction for the effect of anisotropy is computed by perturbation techniques. This works well for anisotropies of up to 10%. Some materials (e.g. shales), however, can exhibit a much stronger anisotropy. In this case a background is required which still can be treated analytically but is applicable to stronger P-wave anisotropy. We present an averaging technique to compute a best-fitting ellipsoidal medium to an arbitrary anisotropic medium. Ellipsoidal media are sufficiently simple for analytical expressions to be available for many applications and allow consideration of strong P-wave anisotropy. The averaging of the arbitrary anisotropic medium can be carried out globally (i.e. for the whole sphere) or sectorially (e.g. for seismic waves propagating predominantly in the vertical direction). We derive linear relationships for the coefficients of the ellipsoid which depend on the elastic coefficients of the anisotropic medium. We also provide specifications for best-fitting elliptical and best-fitting isotropic media. Numerical examples for different rocks demonstrate the improved approximation of the anisotropic model obtained using the formulae derived, compared with the conventionally used average isotropic medium.     

Geostatistical traveltime tomography in elliptically anisotropic media

In geological materials, anisotropy may arise due to different mechanisms and can be found at different scales. Neglecting anisotropy in traveltime tomographic reconstruction leads to artefacts that can obscure important subsurface features. In this paper, a geostatistical tomography algorithm to invert cross‐hole traveltime data in elliptically anisotropic media is presented. The advantages of geostatistical tomography are that the solution is regularized by the covariance of the model parameters, that known model parameters can be used as constraints and fitted exactly or within a prescribed variance and that stochastic simulations can be performed to appraise the variability of the solution space. The benefits of the algorithm to image anisotropic media are illustrated by two examples using synthetic georadar data and real seismic data. The first example confirms suspected electromagnetic anisotropy in the vadose zone caused by relatively rapid water content variations with respect to wavelength at georadar frequencies. The second presents how sonic log data can be used to constrain the inversion of cross‐well seismic data and how geostatistical simulations can be used to infer parameter uncertainty. Results of both examples show that considering anisotropy yields a better fit to the data at high ray angles and reduces reconstruction artefacts.     

Vertical image waves in elliptically anisotropic media

By reparameterization of the kinematic expressions for remigration in elliptically anisotropic media using a new ellipticity parameter, we derive a new image-wave equation in elliptically anisotropic media describing the position of the reflector as a function of the medium ellipticity. This image wave equation, which is a kind of medium-dependent one-way wave equation, can be used for automatically stretching a time-migrated image in depth until wells are tied or other given geologic criteria are met. In this way, it provides a useful means to use a priori depth information for finding an estimate of the vertical velocity, which cannot be detected from time processing only. Simple numerical examples confirm the validity of the image-wave equation even for nonconstant velocity.     

Elastic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic media

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各向异性介质Low-rank有限差分法纯qP波叠前平面波最小二乘逆时偏移

拟声波最小二乘逆时偏移是一种极具潜力的地震波成像工具,但该方法遭受各向异性拟声波近似的限制,TTI介质正演模拟不稳定、反偏移记录中遭受伪横波二次扰动及数值频散假象,另外拟声波最小二乘逆时偏移还面临计算效率低、收敛速度慢、对速度等模型参数依赖性高等问题.为了克服各向异性拟声波最小二乘逆时偏移的缺陷,在反演框架下,本文借助Low-rank有限差分算法首次提出并实现了TTI介质纯qP波线性正演模拟及纯qP波最小二乘逆时偏移;为了进一步提升反演成像效率,同时改善反演成像方法对模型参数误差的依赖性及对地震数据噪声的适应性,通过引入叠前平面波优化策略,发展了TTI介质纯qP波叠前平面波最小二乘逆时偏移成像方法.在编程实现方法的基础上,通过开展模型成像测试,展示了本方法的优势和潜力：一方面加快了反演成像效率,另一方面也提升了方法的抗噪性,同时还降低了方法对模型参数的依赖性.

     

Love wave propagation in multilayered anisotropic inhomogeneous media

Summary Love wave propagation in a finite set of anisotropic inhomogeneous layers lying between two anisotropic homogeneous half spaces is considered. Generalized frequency equation is obtained by using the Thomson-Haskell matrix method. The usefulness of the general analytical result for discussing more special cases of interest in seismology is brought out in the end.     

Finite-difference modelling of S-wave splitting in anisotropic media

We have implemented a 3D finite‐difference scheme to simulate wave propagation in arbitrary anisotropic media. The anisotropic media up to orthorhombic symmetry were modelled using a standard staggered grid scheme and beyond (monoclinic and triclinic) using a rotated staggered grid scheme. The rationale of not using rotated staggered grid for all types of anisotropic media is that the rotated staggered grid schemes are more expensive than standard staggered grid schemes. For a 1D azimuthally anistropic medium, we show a comparison between the seismic data generated by our finite‐difference code and by the reflectivity algorithm; they are in excellent agreement. We conducted a study on zero‐offset shear‐wave splitting using the finite‐difference modelling algorithm using the rotated staggered grid scheme. Our S‐wave splitting study is mainly focused on fractured media. On the scale of seismic wavelenghts, small aligned fractures behave as an equivalent anisotropic medium. We computed the equivalent elastic properties of the fractures and the background in which the fractures were embedded, using low‐frequency equivalent media theories. Wave propagation was simulated for both rotationally invariant and corrugated fractures embedded in an isotropic background for one, or more than one, set of fluid‐filled and dry fractures. S‐wave splitting was studied for dipping fractures, two vertical non‐orthogonal fractures and corrugated fractures. Our modelling results confirm that S‐wave splitting can reveal the fracture infill in the case of dipping fractures. S‐wave splitting has the potential to reveal the angle between the two vertical fractures. We also notice that in the case of vertical corrugated fractures, S‐wave splitting is sensitive to the fracture infill.     

Rayleigh wave propagation in a two-layer anisotropic media

Summary The possibility of propagation of Rayleigh waves in an incompressible crust of constant density and rigidity varying exponentially with depth lying on a semi-infinite transversely isotropic base has been discussed in this paper. Frequency equation has been derived and numerical calculations are made. The result obtained in this case is compared with that ofNewlands [3]²) andDutta [4].     

各向异性介质中的弹性阻抗及其反演

地震反演已成为油藏描述中的重要组成部分.绝大多数的常规地震反演是叠后地震数据体上进行,很少考虑各向异性存在的情况.随着勘探开发的发展,地震各向异性和叠前地震波阻抗反演引起了人们极大关注.本文在各向同性介质中弹性阻抗研究基础上,推导出了各向异性介质中的弹性阻抗方程,提出了地震各向异性介质中用弹性阻抗进行储层参数描述的技术路线和框架,并对反演过程中存在的问题进行了有益探讨.     

Paraxial ray methods for anisotropic inhomogeneous media

A new formalism of surface-to-surface paraxial matrices allows a very general and flexible formulation of the paraxial ray theory, equally valid in anisotropic and isotropic inhomogeneous layered media. The formalism is based on conventional dynamic ray tracing in Cartesian coordinates along a reference ray. At any user-selected pair of points of the reference ray, a pair of surfaces may be defined. These surfaces may be arbitrarily curved and oriented, and may represent structural interfaces, data recording surfaces, or merely formal surfaces. A newly obtained factorization of the interface propagator matrix allows to transform the conventional 6 × 6 propagator matrix in Cartesian coordinates into a 6 × 6 surface-to-surface paraxial matrix. This matrix defines the transformation of paraxial ray quantities from one surface to another. The redundant non-eikonal and ray-tangent solutions of the dynamic ray-tracing system in Cartesian coordinates can be easily eliminated from the 6 × 6 surface-to-surface paraxial matrix, and it can be reduced to 4 × 4 form. Both the 6 × 6 and 4 × 4 surface-to-surface paraxial matrices satisfy useful properties, particularly the symplecticity. In their 4 × 4 reduced form, they can be used to solve important boundary-value problems of a four-parametric system of paraxial rays, connecting the two surfaces, similarly as the well-known surface-to-surface matrices in isotropic media in ray-centred coordinates. Applications of such boundary-value problems include the two-point eikonal, relative geometrical spreading, Fresnel zones, the design of migration operators, and more.     

Source-independent waveform inversion for attenuation estimation in anisotropic media

In previous publications, we presented a waveform-inversion algorithm for attenuation analysis in heterogeneous anisotropic media. However, waveform inversion requires an accurate estimate of the source wavelet, which is often difficult to obtain from field data. To address this problem, here we adopt a source-independent waveform-inversion algorithm that obviates the need for joint estimation of the source signal and attenuation coefficients. The key operations in that algorithm are the convolutions (1) of the observed wavefield with a reference trace from the modelled data and (2) of the modelled wavefield with a reference trace from the observed data. The influence of the source signature on attenuation estimation is mitigated by defining the objective function as the ℓ₂-norm of the difference between the two convolved data sets. The inversion gradients for the medium parameters are similar to those for conventional waveform-inversion techniques, with the exception of the adjoint sources computed by convolution and cross-correlation operations. To make the source-independent inversion methodology more stable in the presence of velocity errors, we combine it with the local-similarity technique. The proposed algorithm is validated using transmission tests for a homogeneous transversely isotropic model with a vertical symmetry axis that contains a Gaussian anomaly in the shear-wave vertical attenuation coefficient. Then the method is applied to the inversion of reflection data for a modified transversely isotropic model from Hess. It should be noted that due to the increased nonlinearity of the inverse problem, the source-independent algorithm requires a more accurate initial model to obtain inversion results comparable to those produced by conventional waveform inversion with the actual wavelet.