Beruflich Dokumente
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Introduction Elastic Waves and Rock Properties Seismic Resolution Vertical Resolution Lateral
Resolution Analysis of Amplitude Variation with Oset Reection and Refraction Reector Curvature
AVO Equations Processing Sequence for AVO Analysis Derivation of AVO Attributes by Prestack Amplitude
Inversion Interpretation of AVO Attributes 3-D AVO Analysis Acoustic Impedance Estimation Synthetic
Sonic Logs Processing Sequence for Acoustic Impedance Estimation Derivation of Acoustic Impedance Attribute
3-D Acoustic Impedance Estimation Instantaneous Attributes Vertical Seismic Proling VSP Acquisition
Geometry Processing of VSP Data VSP-CDP Transform 4-D Seismic Method Processing of 4-D Seismic
Data Seismic Reservoir Monitoring 4-C Seismic Method Recording of 4-C Seismic Data Gaisers Coupling
Analysis of Geophone Data Processing of P P Data Rotation of Horizontal Geophone Components CommonConversion-Point Binning Velocity Analysis of P S Data Dip-Moveout Correction of P S Data Migration of P S
Data Seismic Anisotropy Anisotropic Velocity Analysis Anisotropic Dip-Moveout Correction Anisotropic
Migration Eect of Anisotropy on AVO Shear-Wave Splitting in Anisotropic Media Exercises Appendix L:
Mathematical Foundation of Elastic Wave Propagation Stress-Strain Relation Elastic Wave Equation
Seismic Wave Types Body Waves and Surface Waves Wave Propagation Phenomena Diraction, Reection,
and Refraction The Zoeppritz Equations Prestack Amplitude Inversion References
11.0 INTRODUCTION
In Chapter 8, we reviewed the two-dimensional (2-D)
and three-dimensional (3-D), post- and prestack migration strategies for imaging the earths interior in depth.
In Chapter 9, we learned traveltime inversion techniques
for estimating a structural model of the earth that is
needed to obtain an accurate image in depth. In Chapter 10, structural inversion case studies for earth modeling and imaging in depth were presented. By structural
inversion, we dene the geometry of the reservoir unit,
and the overlying and underlying depositional units.
Traveltimes, however, are only one of the two compo-
1794
model of the earth (Section 11.3). The processes of estimating the acoustic impedance and AVO attributes
by way of inversion of amplitudes may be appropriately referred to as stratigraphic inversion. Our goal
ultimately is reservoir characterization based on structural and stratigraphic inversion of seismic data with
calibration to well data.
We appropriately begin this chapter by investigating the resolution we can achieve from seismic data in
dening vertical and lateral variations in the geometry
of the reservoir unit. Resolution is the ability to separate two events that are very close together (Section
11.1). There are two aspects of seismic resolution: vertical (or temporal) and lateral (or spatial). Seismic resolution becomes especially important in mapping small
structural features, such as subtle sealing faults, and in
delineating thin stratigraphic features that may have
limited areal extent.
Reservoir characterization involves calibration of
the results of analysis of surface seismic data both
from structural and stratigraphic inversion, to well
data. One category of well data includes various types
of logs recorded in the borehole. Logs that are most
relevant to seismic data are sonic, shear, and density.
Another category of well data is a vertical seismic prole (VSP) (Section 11.4).
Just as we can seismically characterize a reservoir,
we also can seismically monitor its depletion. This is
achieved by recording 3-D seismic data over the eld
that is being developed and produced at appropriate
time intervals and detecting changes in the reservoir
conditions; specically, changes in petrophysical properties of the reservoir rocks, such as uid saturation and
pore pressure. Specically, such changes may be related
to changes in the seismic amplitudes from one 3-D survey to the next. Time-lapse 3-D seismic monitoring of
reservoirs is referred to as the 4-D seismic method (Section 11.5). The fourth dimension represents the calendar
time over which the reservoir is being monitored.
Some reservoirs can be better identied and monitored by using shear-wave data. For instance, acoustic
impedance contrast at the top-reservoir boundary may
be too small to detect, whereas shear-wave impedance
contrast may be suciently large to detect. By recording multicomponent data at the ocean bottom, P -wave
and S-wave images can be derived. Commonly, four
data components are recorded the pressure waveeld,
and inline, crossline, and vertical components of particle
velocity. Thus, the multicomponent seismic data recording and analysis is often referred to as the 4-C seismic
method (Section 11.6).
This chapter ends with a brief discussion on
anisotropy. While exploration seismology at large is
based on the assumption of an isotropic medium, the
Reservoir Geophysics
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
that it does not cause any permanent deformation on rock particles along the propagation path.
Hence, the strain induced by seismic waves is very
small, usually around 106 . Consider two points, P
and Q, within a solid body as indicated in Figure
L-2. Subject to a stress eld, the solid is deformed
in some manner and the particles at points P and
Q are displaced to new locations P and Q . Consider deformations of specic types illustrated in
Figure L-3. The simplest deformation is the extension in one direction as a result of a tensional stress
(Figure L-3a). The fractional change in length in
a given direction is dened as the principal strain
component. A positive strain refers to an extension and a negative strain refers to a contraction.
Other types of deformation are caused by shearing
(Figure L-3b), rotation (Figure L-3c), and a combination of the two (Figure L-3d). These angular
deformations are called shear strains since they result in a shearing of the volume around a point
within a solid body (Figure L-3b).
Elastic deformation is a deformation in solid bodies
that vanishes once the stress is released.
Hookes law for elastic deformations states that the
strain at any point is directly proportional to the
stresses applied at that point.
Elastic moduli are material constants that describe
stress-strain relations:
(1) Bulk modulus is the ratio of hydrostatic stress
to volumetric strain; hence, it is a measure of incompressibility.
(2) Modulus of rigidity is the ratio of shear stress
to shear strain; hence, it is a measure of resistance
to shear stress.
(3) Youngs modulus is the ratio of the longitudinal
stress to the longitudinal strain associated with a
cylindrical rod that is subjected to a longitudinal
extension in the axial direction. Since strain is a
dimensionless quantity, Youngs modulus has the
dimensions of stress.
(4) Poissons ratio is the ratio of the lateral contraction to longitudinal extension associated with
a cylindrical rod that is subjected to a longitudinal extension in the axial direction. Since strain is
a dimensionless quantity, Poissons ratio is a pure
number.
Seismic waves are elastic waves that propagate in
the earth.
P -waves (or equvalently, compressional waves, longitudinal waves, or diltatational waves) are waves
with particle motion in the direction of wave propagation.
S-waves (or equivalently, shear waves, transverse
waves, or rotational waves) are waves with particle
1795
1796
FIG. 11.0-1. The relationships between the various elastic parameters for isotropic solids.
Reservoir Geophysics
FIG. 11.0-2. Variations in P -wave velocity with various rock types with dierent densities (Gardner et al., 1974).
1797
1798
FIG. 11.0-3. Crossplot of P -wave slowness versus S-wave slowness based on laboratory measurements wtih various rock
types (Pickett, 1963).
the lower the rock density the higher the wave velocity. A good example is halite which has low density (1.8
gr/cm3 ) and high P -wave velocity (4500 m/s). In most
cases, however, the higher the density the higher the
velocity (Figure 11.0-2). This is because an increase in
density usually is accompanied by an increase in the
ability of the rock to resist compressional and shear
stresses. So an increase in density usually implies an
increase in bulk modulus and modulus of rigidity. Returning to the expressions for the P - and S-wave velocities in Figure 11.0-1, note that the greater the bulk
modulus or the modulus of rigidity, the higher the velocity. Based on eld and laboratory measurements, Gardner et al. (1974) established an empirical relationship
between density and P -wave velocity . Known as
Gardners formula for density, this relationship given
by = c0.25 , where c is a constant that depends on
the rock type, is useful to estimate density from velocity when the former is unknown. With the exception of
anhydrites, most rock types sandstones, shales, and
carbonates, tend to obey Gardners equation for density.
Reservoir Geophysics
1799
FIG. 11.0-4. (a) Crossplot of P -wave velocity versus S-wave velocity derived from full-waveform sonic logs using rock samples
with dierent lithologies SS: sandstone, SH: shale and LS: limestone; (b) crossplot of the velocity ratio versus the P -wave
velocity using the same sample points as in (a) (Miller and Stewart, 1999).
1800
FIG. 11.0-5. Variation of the velocity ratio with respect to (a) shale content and (b) clay content (Miller and Stewart, 1999).
Reservoir Geophysics
This relationship is supported by the physical meaning
of Poissons ratio the ratio of shear strain to principle
strain. A way to describe the physical meaning of Poissons ratio is to consider a metal rod that is subject to
an extensional strain. As the rod is stretched, its length
increases while its thickness decreases. Hence, the less
rigid the rock, the higher the Poissons ratio. This is exactly what is implied by the expression in Figure 11.0-1
that relates the modulus of rigidity to Poissons ratio
. Unconsolidated sediments or uid-saturated reservoir
rocks have low rigidity, hence high Poissons ratio and
high velocity ratio /. Here is the rst encounter with
a direct hydrocarbon indicator the P - to S-wave velocity ratio. Ostrander (1984) was the rst to publish
the link between a change in Poissons ratio and change
in reection amplitude as a function of oset.
Aside from the direct measurement of S-wave velocities down the borehole, there are three indirect ways
to estimate the S-wave velocities. The rst approach
is to perform prestack amplitude inversion to estimate
the P - and S-wave reectivities and thus compute the
corresponding acoustic impedances (Section 11.2). The
second approach is to record multicomponent seismic
data and estimate the S-wave velocities from the P -toS converted-wave component (Section 11.6). The third
approach is to generate and record S-waves themselves.
Figure 11.0-3 shows a plot of the S-wave slowness (inverse of the S-wave velocity) versus the P -wave
slowness (inverse of the P -wave velocity) based on loboratory measurements (Pickett, 1963). Figure 11.0-4a
shows a plot of the P -wave velocity to S-wave velocity
based on full-waveform sonic logs from a producing oil
eld (Miller and Stewart, 1999). The key observation
made from these results is that a lithologic composition
may be associated with a reasonably distinctive velocity ratio /. The shale and limestone samples fall on
a linear trend that corresponds to a velocity ratio of
1.9, whereas the dolomite samples have a velocity ratio
of 1.8. The sandstone samples have a range of velocity
ratio of 1.6 to 1.7. Lithologic distinction sometimes is
more successful with a crossplot of P -wave to S-wave
velocity ratio versus the P -wave velocity itself (Miller
and Stewart, 1999). This is illustrated in Figure 11.04b which shows the same sample points as in Figure
11.0-4a.
Eect of shale and clay content on the velocity ratio
/ is an important factor in lithologic identication.
Field and laboratory data from sandstone cores indicate
that the velocity ratio / increases with increasing
shale and clay content as a result of a decrease in Swave velocity (Figure 11.0-5).
Finally, eect of porosity on the velocity ratio /
is generally dictated by the pore shape. For limestones
with their pores in the form of microcracks, the velocity ratio increases as the percent porosity increases
1801
Vertical Resolution
For two reections, one from the top and one from the
bottom of a thin layer, there is a limit on how close they
can be, yet still be separable. This limit depends on the
thickness of the layer and is the essence of the problem
of vertical resolution.
The dominant wavelength of seismic waves is given
by
v
(11 1)
= ,
f
where v is velocity and f is the dominant frequency.
Seismic wave velocities in the subsurface range between
2000 and 5000 m/s and generally increase in depth. On
the other hand, the dominant frequency of the seismic
signal typically varies between 50 and 20 Hz and decreases in depth. Therefore, typical seismic wavelengths
range from 40 to 250 m and generally increase with
depth. Since wavelength determines resolution, deep
features must be thicker than the shallow features to be
resolvable. A graph of wavelength as a function of velocity for various values of frequency is plotted in Figure
11.1-1. The wavelength is easily determined from this
graph, given the velocity and dominant frequency.
1802
f (Hz)
/4 (m)
2000
3000
4000
5000
50
40
30
20
10
18
33
62
FIG. 11.1-1. The relationship between velocity, dominant frequency, and wavelength. Here, wavelength = velocity/frequency. (Adapted from Sheri, 1976; courtesy American Association of Petroleum Geologists.)
Clearly the ability to resolve or detect small targets can be increased by increasing the dominant frequency of the stacked data. The dominant frequency of
a stacked section from a given area is governed by the
physical properties of the subsurface, processing quality,
and recording parameters. Since we cannot control the
subsurface properties, the high-frequency signal level
can only be inuenced by the eort put into recording
and processing.
The emphasis in recording should be to preserve
high frequencies and suppress noise. The sampling rate
and antialiasing lters should be adequate to record
the desired frequencies. Receiver arrays should be small
enough to prevent the signicant loss of high-frequency
signal because of intragroup moveout and statics. However, the arrays should not be too small, since small
arrays are not as eective at suppressing random, highfrequency noise (wind noise) as large arrays. Finally, the
source eort should be high enough to provide adequate
signal level relative to noise level within the desired frequency band. Unless the signal-to-noise ratio of the eld
data is above some minimal level, say 0.25, processing
algorithms have diculty in recovering the signal. The
signal has to be detectable before it can be enhanced.
The emphasis in processing should be to preserve
and display the high-frequency signal present in the
input data. Filters with good high-frequency response
should be used for interpolation processes such as NMO
Reservoir Geophysics
1803
FIG. 11.1-2. Faults with dierent amounts of vertical throws expressed in fractions of the dominant wavelength.
Lateral Resolution
Lateral resolution refers to how close two reecting
points can be situated horizontally, yet be recognized
as two separate points rather than one. Consider the
spherical wavefront that impinges on the horizontal planar reector AA in Figure 11.1-3. This reector can
be visualized as a continuum of point diractors. For
a coincident source and receiver at the earths surface
(location S), the energy from the subsurface point (0)
arrives at t0 = 2z0 /v. Now let the incident wavefront
advance in depth by the amount /4. Energy from subsurface location A, or A, will reach the receiver at time
t1 = 2(z0 + /4)/v. The energy from all the points
within the reecting disk with radius OA will arrive
sometime between t0 and t1 . The total energy arriving
within the time interval (t1 t0 ), which equals half the
dominant period (T /2), interferes constructively. The
reecting disk AA is called a half-wavelength Fresnel
zone (Hilterman, 1982) or the rst Fresnel zone (Sheri,
1991). Two reecting points that fall within this zone
generally are considered indistinguishable as observed
from the earths surface.
z0
.
2
(11 2a)
1804
FIG. 11.1-4. A constant-velocity zero-oset section from an earth model that consists of four reectors, each with four
nonreecting segments A, B, C, and D. Lateral resolution is governed by the size of the Fresnel zone. The lateral extent of
each gap is indicated by the solid bars on top. Note that A is hardly recognizable on any of the four horizons; B can be inferred
on the shallow horizon at 0.5 s; C is dicult to infer after 2 s, while D is recognizable at all depths. All of these observations
depend on noise level and how easily the diractions can be recognized.
Reservoir Geophysics
Table 11-2. Threshold for lateral resolution (rst Fresnel zone).
r = (v/2) t0 /f
t0 (s)
v (m/s)
f (Hz)
r (m)
1
2
3
4
2000
3000
4000
5000
50
40
30
20
141
335
632
1118
r=
v
2
t0
.
f
(11 2b)
1805
1806
FIG. 11.1-5. (a) The result of convolving a zero-phase wavelet of 20-Hz dominant frequency with a wedge reectivity model.
The reection coecients associated with the top and bottom of the wedge are of equal amplitude and identical polarity. The
true edge of the wedge is beneath location A and the true thickness of the wedge is indicated by the numbers on top; (b)
same as (a) except the dominant frequency of the wavelet is 30 Hz; (c) same as (a) except the dominant frequency of the
wavelet is 40 Hz; (d) same as (b) with the actual geometry of the wedge superimposed on the seismic response; (e) same as
(b) except the reection coecients from the top and bottom of the wedge have opposite polarity; (f) same as (e) with the
actual geometry of the wedge superimposed on the seismic response.
Reservoir Geophysics
1807
FIG. 11.2-1. A moveout-corrected CMP gather with a reection event at 1.25 s that exhibits amplitude variations
with oset. (Courtesy Western Geophysical.)
of reection coecients with equal amplitude and opposite polarity (Figure 11.1-5e). The composite waveform resulting from this reectivity model is discussed
by Widess (1973). Two spikes of opposite polarity with
a small separation between them act as a derivative operator. When applied to a zero-phase wavelet, this operator causes a 90-degree phase shift. This phase shift
can be seen in Figure 11.1-5e on the wavelets between
locations A and B. Widess (1973) observed that the
composite wavelet within this zone basically retains its
shape while its amplitude changes.
Figure 11.1-5f shows data of Figure 11.1-5e with
the actual geometry of the wedge superimposed on the
seismic response. Note that the wedge appears thicker
than it actually is between locations A and B. Also note
the apparent thinning of the layer between locations
B and C. Beyond location C, the apparent and true
1808
w
w
= ( + 2) 2 ,
(11 3a)
2
t
z
where is density of the medium, and and are
Lames constants (equations L-19a,b) associated with
an isotropic solid. They are directly related to the
compressional-wave velocity by equation (L-35) which
is rewritten below as
w2 (z, t) = A2 exp i z it ,
2
(11 4c)
(11 5)
w1 (z, t) = A1 exp i z it
(11 4b)
1
+ 2
.
(11 3b)
w0 (z, t) = A0 exp i z it ,
(11 4a)
1
where w0 is the wave function for the incident compressional wave, A0 is its amplitude, is the angular
Pzz
+ Pzz
= Pzz 2 .
(11 7)
Now, dierentiate the wave functions of equations (114a,b,c) with respect to z, substitute into equation (11-7)
and set z = 0 to obtain the following expression:
1 1 A0 1 1 A1 = 2 2 A2 ,
(11 8)
A1
2 2 1 1
=
.
A0
2 2 + 1 1
(11 9)
Reservoir Geophysics
1809
FIG. 11.2-2. A long, deep-water seismic section that shows internal reections within the water layer caused by density
contrast associated with temperature and salinity changes in the water layer. (Data courtesy IFP.)
1810
FIG. 11.2-3. Reection and refraction of an incident P -wave at a layer boundary. Medium parameters: is density, is
P -wave velocity, is S-wave velocity. (a) Reected P -wave; (b) reected S-wave; (c) refracted P -wave; (d) refracted S-wave;
(e) raypaths associated with the incident P wave, and reected and refracted P - and S-waves. The radius of the circular
wavefront associated with Huygens secondary source at A on the layer boundary is CB for the reected wave, (1 /1 ) for
the reected S-wave, (2 /1 )CB for the refracted P -wave, and (2 /1 ) for the refracted S-wave. The relationship between
the angles in (e) is given by Snells law (equation 11-10).
Reservoir Geophysics
and raypath are shown. By the time the incident wavefront at C reaches the reecting interface at B, the
spherical wavefront associated with the reected compressional wave reaches D, so that AD = CB and the
tangential line DB becomes the wavefront for the reected compressional wave. Since the incident and the
reected compressional waves travel with the same velocity, the angle of incidence 0 is equal to the angle of
reection 1 .
Now consider the reected shear wave as shown in
Figure 11.2-3b. By the time the incident wavefront at C
reaches the reecting interface at B, the spherical wavefront associated with the reected shear wave reaches
D, so that AD = (1 /1 )CB, and the tangential line
DB becomes the wavefront for the reected shear wave.
The angle for the reected shear wave 1 is no longer
equal to the angle of incidence 0 .
Huygens principle can also be applied to describe
the refracted wave at the interface. Refer to Figures
11.2-3c and 11.2-3d and note that the compressional
incident plane wave at A acts as a Huygens secondary
source and generates its own compressional wavefront
that travels into the lower medium with velocity 2 and
shear wavefront that travels into the lower medium with
velocity 2 . By the time the incident wavefront at C in
Figure 11.2-3c reaches the layer boundary at B, the
spherical wavefront associated with the refracted compressional wave reaches D, so that AD = (2 /1 )CB,
and the tangential line DB becomes the wavefront for
the refracted compressional wave. Similarly, by the time
the incident wavefront at C in Figure 11.2-3d reaches
the layer boundary at B, the spherical wavefront associated with the refracted shear wave reaches D, so that
AD = (2 /1 )CB, and the tangential line DB becomes
the wavefront for the refracted shear wave.
From the geometry of reected and refracted raypaths shown in Figure 11.2-3e, Snells law of refraction
can be deducted as
sin 0
sin 1
sin 2
sin 1
sin 2
=
=
=
=
.
1
1
2
1
2
(11 10)
Note that for all four cases in Figure 11.2-3, the horizontal distance AB at the interface is the same for the
incident and reected or the refracted wave. If AC is set
to the wavenumber along the propagation path of the
incident wave, then AB is the horizontal wavenumber
which is invariant as a result of reection or refraction.
Actually, Snells law given by equation (11-10) is a direct consequence of this physical observation.
If the compressional velocity 1 of the upper layer
is less than the compressional velocity 2 of the lower
layer, then there exists an angle of incidence such that
no refracted compressional energy is transmitted into
the lower layer. Instead, the refracted energy travels
1811
sin 21 A1
1812
FIG. 11.2-4. Framework for derivation of the Zoeppritz equations. For details see Section L.5.
the refracted shear-wave amplitude B2 . Equations (1112a,b,c,d) have been normalized by the incident-wave
amplitude A0 = 1 (Section L.5).
From Snells law (equation 11-10), given the incident angle for the compressional wave and specifying
the compressional- and shear-wave velocities, the angles of reection and refraction can be computed. Substitution into equation (11-12) yields the required wave
amplitudes. These wave amplitudes, of course, depend
on the angle of incidence (Figure 11.2-3e).
Figure 11.2-4 outlines the framework for deriving
the Zoeppritz equations based on an earth model that
comprises two layers separated by a horizontal interface.
Details are left to Section L.5. Starting with the equations of motion and Hookes law, derive the wave equation for elastic waves in isotropic media in which elastic
properties are invariant in any spatial direction at any
given location. Then, use the equations of continuity
which state that the vertical and tangential stress and
stress components coincide at layer boundary, planewave solutions to the wave equation and Snells law that
relates propagation angles to wave velocities to derive
the equations for computing the amplitudes of the reected and transmitted P - and S-waves.
Refer to Figure 11.2-5 for a specic case of the
partition of energy of an incident compressional-wave
amplitude into four components. Note the signicant
changes at critical angles of refraction for the compressional and shear wave. It is important to keep in mind
that the shape of these curves varies greatly with different situations of medium parameters. Also, note that
at normal incidence no P -to-S conversion takes place,
and equations (11-12a,b,c,d) reduce to the special case
described by equations (11-5) and (11-8).
From a practical standpoint, the angle-dependency
of reection coecients implies that the reection amplitude associated with a reecting boundary varies
with source-receiver separation as well as the depth of
the reector. For suciently deep reectors and the typical source-receiver separations used in practice, the amplitude for the reected compressional wave is nearly
constant or slowly varying with oset (left of the critical angle on the curve corresponding to the reected
compressional-wave energy in Figure 11.2-5). It is this
Reservoir Geophysics
1813
FIG. 11.2-5. Partitioning of a unit-amplitude incident P -wave energy into four components reected and refracted P and S-waves (Richards, 1961.).
11-34a), a density prole was derived. Also, using a ratio of P -wave to S-wave velocity, a shear-wave velocity
prole was generated. The objective in this modeling
exercise was to see the eect of a change in Poissons
ratio at some depth on the amplitude variation with
oset. The Poissons ratio prole shows a change at approximately 650 ms at which time we observe a marked
variation of amplitudes with oset on the CMP gather.
Reector Curvature
Dene the ratio CE of the reection amplitude at normal incidence from a curved boundary to the reection amplitude from a at boundary at the same depth
1814
FIG. 11.2-6. An example of modeling of a CMP gather based on Zoeppritz equations. (Courtesy Hampson-Russell.)
(Hilterman, 1975) as
CE =
1
,
1 + A1 z
(11 13a)
where z is the depth to the reector, and A is the reector curvature negative for synclines and positive
for anticlines. Note that for a at reector, whatever its
depth, CE = 1. But for a curved reector, the reection
amplitude at normal incidence to a synclinal interface
is greater than the case of a at reector, and the reection amplitude at normal incidence to an anticlinal
interface is smaller than the case of a at reector. The
physical basis of equation (11-13a) is that a synclinal interface focuses the energy associated with the reecting
wave, whereas an anticlinal interface defocuses it.
The eect of reector curvature on amplitude variation with oset is quantied as (Shuey et al., 1984)
CE() =
1
1+
A1 z/ cos2
(11 13b)
Reservoir Geophysics
1815
FIG. 11.2-7. Eect of reector curvature on angular dependence of reected wave amplitudes. The incident wave is of
compressional type. (a) A synclinal reector (x < 0), (b) an anticlinal reector (x > 0), (c) eect of curvature on the angledependent reection amplitudes associated with the reector as in (a), and (d) the same as in (c) for the reector as in (b).
(Adapted from Shuey et al., 1984.)
1816
AVO Equations
Consider the two elastic half-space layers in Figure 11.23e. The Zoeppritz equations (11-14) can be solved for
the reected and refracted P - and S-wave amplitudes,
A1 , B1 , A2 , and B2 . However, our interest in exploration
seismology is largely the angle-dependency of the P -toP reections given by the coecient A1 . Specically,
we wish to infer or possibly estimate elastic parameters
of reservoir rocks from reection amplitudes and relate
these parameters to reservoir uids.
The exact expression for A1 derived from the solution of the Zoeppritz equations (11-13) is complicated
and not intuitive in terms of its practical use for inferring petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks. The
rst approximation to the Zoeppritz equation for P -toP reection amplitude is given by Bortfeld (1961) as
R(1 ) =
1
2 2 cos 2
ln
2
1 1 cos 1
+ 2+
ln
ln
2
1
2
2 1
ln
1
1 2
12 22
sin2 1 .
12
(11 14)
R() =
+
2
4 2 sin2
2
1
1 4 2 sin2
2
(11 15)
Reservoir Geophysics
1817
FIG. 11.2-8. P -to-P reection amplitude as a function of angle of incidence computed by using the exact Zoeppritz equation,
and Bortfeld (equation 11-14) and Aki-Richards (equation 11-15) approximations (Smith and Gidlow, 1987).
1818
reectivity /, S-wave reectivity / and fractional chnage in density / that we wish to estimate from the observed angle-dependent reection amplitudes. To use the Aki-Richards equation (11-15) in
the inversion of reection amplitudes for these elastic parameters, we rst need to recast it in successive
ranges of angle of incidence. This change of philosophy
in arranging the terms in the Aki-Richards equation
(11-15) was rst introduced by Shuey (1985) and led
to practical developments in AVO analysis. The new
arrangement in terms of successive ranges of angle of
incidence is given by
R() =
1
2
1
2
2
4 2
2 2
sin2
2
1
2
tan2 sin2 .
1
2
1 2
2
1
(11 17a)
2 (1 )(1 2)
(11 17b)
(11 17c)
1
2
.
+
(11 18)
(11 16)
(11-3b) and the shear-wave velocity is given by equation (L-47) which is rewritten below as
1
2
+
2
1
2
12
+
sin2
1
(1)2
tan2 sin2 .
(11 19)
(11 20)
(11 21a)
= 2 RP H.
= 2 RP (1 H).
(11 21b)
1
2
sin2
(1 )2
tan2 sin2 ,
(11 22)
where
H0 = H 2(1 + H)
1 2
.
1
(11 23)
(11 24)
Reservoir Geophysics
1819
1820
.
(1 )2
(11 25)
1
2
1
+
2
+ 2
2 1
8 2
+
2
2 1
sin2
2
2
sin2
(11 28)
such that, much like the denition for the P -wave reectivity RP given by equation (11-18), an expression
for the S-wave reectivity RS
RS =
1
2
(11 29)
RP 8
2
1
2
RS
2
sin2 .
sin2
(11 30)
Set / = 0.5 to make the last term on the righthand side vanish and obtain (Spratt et al., 1984)
R() = RP + RP 2 RS sin2 .
(11 31)
(11 32)
Reservoir Geophysics
1821
FIG. 11.2-10. (a) A portion of a prestack time-migrated section; (b) portion of a common-reection-point gather in the
vicinity of the structural apex in (a); (c) reection amplitudes as a function of oset measured along three events indicted by
the red, horizontal trajectories in (b).
1822
FIG. 11.2-11. The AVO gradient section dened by G in equation (11-24); (b) close-up of (a) in the vicinity of the structural
apex.
Reservoir Geophysics
1823
FIG. 11.2-12. (a) The AVO intercept section dened by RP in equation (11-24); (b) close-up of (a) in the vicinity of the
structural apex.
1824
FIG. 11.2-13. P -to-P reection amplitude as a function of angle of incidence computed by using the exact Zoeppritz equation
(the three curves labeled as A) and the approximate form given by equation (11-31) (the three curves labeled as B) (Spratt
et al., 1984).
(11 34a)
where k is a scalar. This relation holds for most watersaturated rocks. Dierentiate to get
1
=
.
(11 34b)
1
2
1
1 + tan2 +
1 4 2 sin2
2
8
sin2
.
2
(11 35)
Simplify the algebra to obtain the desired two-parameter model equation for prestack amplitude inversion
(Section L.6)
1
5 1 2
2
2
sin
+
tan
4
sin2
.
8 2 2
2
(11 36)
Redene the coecients ai and bi and write the
discrete form of equation (11-36)
R()=
Ri = ai
+ bi
,
(11 37)
where
ai =
5 1 2
1
sin2 i + tan2 i
2
8 2
2
(11 38a)
and
2
sin2 i .
(11 38b)
2
Consider the case of N -fold CMP data represented
in the domain of angle of incidence. We have, for each
CMP location and for a specic reection event associated with a layer boundary, N equations of the form
as equation (11-37) and two unknowns / and
/. We have more equations than unknowns; hence,
we encounter yet another example of a generalized linear inversion (GLI) problem (Section J.1). The objective is to determine the two parameters such that the
bi = 4
Reservoir Geophysics
1825
FIG. 11.2-14. (a) P -wave and (b) S-wave reectivity sections derived from the Smith-Gidlow inversion of prestack amplitudes
(equation 11-39).
1826
FIG. 11.2-15. Laboratory measurements of (a) P -wave and (b) S-wave reectivities at a gas-brine interface in sandstones
(Spratt et al., 1984). The horizontal axis in both plots denotes induration which is a measure of rock strength.
FIG. 11.2-16. Portions of (a) P -wave and (b) an S-wave stacked section that show anomalies associated with lithology (coal)
and uid content (gas) (Spratt et al., 1984).
Reservoir Geophysics
1827
FIG. 11.2-17. A sketch of crossplot of P - to S-wave velocity (Castagna et al., 1985; Fatti et al., 1994).
N
N 2
N
i ai
i ai bi
i ai Xi
.
=
N
N 2
N
i bi
i ai bi
i bi X i
(11 39)
This matrix equation is solved for the two parameters P -wave reectivity / and S-wave reectivity /. Note from the denitions of the coecients
ai and bi given by equations (11-38a,b) that you have
to choose a value for the ratio / to compute the two
reectivities.
Shown in Figure 11.2-14 are the P - and S-wave reectivity sections that were derived from prestack amplitude inversion applied to the CRP gathers associated
1828
FIG. 11.2-18. Crossplot of P - to S-wave velocity measured down a borehole (Fatti et al., 1994).
.
(11 40)
=
(11 41a)
=
.
(11 41b)
(11 42)
= c1
.
(11 43)
c1
.
(11 44)
Reservoir Geophysics
1829
FIG. 11.2-19. (a) Pseudo-Poisson and (b) uid factor attribute sections derived by using equations (11-40) and (11-44),
respectively.
1830
FIG. 11.2-20. (a) The and (b) attribute sections derived by using equations (11-52b) and (11-52c), respectively.
Reservoir Geophysics
1831
FIG. 11.2-21. (a) Crossplot of P -wave impedance versus S-wave impedance, and (b) crossplot of versus AVO attributes.
If F is close to zero, it means that you have watersaturated rock. If you have a gas-saturated sandstone,
F will be negative at the top and positive at the base
of the reservoir unit (Smith and Gidlow, 1987).
Figure 11.2-19 shows the pseudo-Poisson and uidfactor sections that were derived from prestack amplitude inversion applied to the CRP gathers associated
with the data shown in Figure 11.2-10a. Note the distinctive AVO anomalies along the anks of the structural closure.
The two parameters / and /, estimated
by using the least-squares solution given by equation
(11-39), represent fractional changes in P - and S-wave
velocities. As such, they are related to P - and S-wave
reectivities, IP /IP and IS /IS , respectively, where
IP and IS are the P - and S-wave impedances given by
IP =
(11 45a)
and
IS = .
(11 45b)
and
IP
=
+
IP
(11 46a)
IS
=
+
.
IS
(11 46b)
1832
Reservoir Geophysics
A direct estimation of the P - and S-wave reectivities given by equations (L-46a,b) can be made by using
an alternative formulation of prestack amplitude inversion which is based on transforming the Aki-Richards
equation (11-15) to the new variables IP /IP and
IS /IS (Goodway et al., 1998). Solve equation (11-46a)
for / and equation (11-46b) for /, and substitute into the Aki-Richards equation (11-15). Following
the algebraic simplication, we obtain (Section L.6)
R() =
1
1 + tan2
2
IP
IS
2
4 2 sin2
IP
IS
1
2
tan2 2 2 sin2
.
2
(11 47)
(11 48)
(11 49)
1
1 + tan2 i
2
(11 50a)
and
bi = 2 sin2 i .
(11 50b)
The reection amplitude Ri in equation (11-49) is a linear combination of the two parameters, RP and RS . As
for the Smith-Gidlow equation (11-37), the two parameters, RP and RS , can be estimated for a specic event
from CMP data using the least-squares solution given
by
N 2
N
RP
i ai
i ai bi
i ai Xi
=
.
N
N 2
N
RS
i bi
i ai bi
i bi X i
(11 51)
Following the estimation of the P -wave reectivity RP and the S-wave reectivity RS using the leastsquares solution given by equation (11-51), the P -wave
1833
(11 52a)
(11 52b)
(11 52c)
1834
FIG. 11.2-23. A raw shot record from the AVO line presented in Section 11.2. (Data courtesy Britannia Gas Ltd.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1835
FIG. 11.2-24. The shot record in Figure 11.2-23 after muting for guided waves and t2 -scaling for geometric spreading
correction. (Data courtesy Britannia Gas Ltd.)
1836
FIG. 11.2-25. The shot record in Figure 11.2-24 after spiking deconvolution. (Data courtesy Britannia Gas Ltd.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1837
1838
FIG. 11.2-27. Autocorrelogram (a) of the shot record in Figure 11.2-23, (b) after muting for guided waves and t2 -scaling for
geometric spreading correction, and (c) after spiking deconvolution.
Reservoir Geophysics
Returning to the three-term Aki-Richards equation (11-15), you may reduce it to the two-term SmithGidlow equation (11-36) by using Gardners relation of
density and P -wave velocity. Then, for a specied ratio
of P - to S-wave velocity, perform inversion of prestack
amplitudes associated with target events on CMP or
CRP gathers to obtain the P - and S-wave reectivity
attributes. In addition, using these attributes to derive
two more AVO attributes psuedo-Poisson and uid
factor.
Finally, you may recast the Aki-Richards equation
(11-15) in terms of P - and S-wave reectivities (equations 11-46a,b) and assume that / = 2 to obtain the
two-term Goodway et al. equation (11-48). Again, perform inversion of prestack amplitudes associated with
target events on CMP or CRP gathers to obtain the P and S-wave impedance attributes. Subsequently, by using the relations between impedances and Lames constants, you can compute two additional AVO attributes
and .
The AVO equations derived in this section are all
expressed in terms of angle of incidence (equations 1124, 11-31, and 11-36). In practice, the mapping of amplitudes associated with a reection event on a CMP
gather from oset to angle of incidence needs to be performed. Assume that the CMP gather is associated with
a horizontally layered earth model so that the event
moveout on the CMP gather is given by the hyperbolic
equation
t2 = t20 +
x2
2
vrms
(11 53)
(11 54)
1839
1840
Reservoir Geophysics
1841
FIG. 11.2-29. The CRP gather at well location CRP 1134. The reservoir zone coincides with the time window indicated by
the area within the rectangle.
1842
FIG. 11.2-30. The unmigrated stack associated with the prestack time-migrated data as in Figure 11.2-28.
Reservoir Geophysics
FIG. 11.2-31. The same stack as in Figure 11.2-30 after poststack deconvolution.
1843
1844
FIG. 11.2-32. Migration of the stack in Figure 11.2-31 using the rms velocity eld derived from the velocity analysis of the
CRP gathers as in Figure 11.2-28. The area within the rectangle corresponds approximately to the sections in Figures 11.2-41
and 11.2-42.
Reservoir Geophysics
1845
1846
FIG. 11.2-34. Autocorrelogram (a) of the stack in Figure 11.2-30, (b) of the stack in Figure 11.2-31, and (c) of the stack in
Figure 11.2-32.
Reservoir Geophysics
1847
1848
23.5
37.5
18.75
9.375
150
3050
156
78
2
km
m
m
m
m
m
ms
Reservoir Geophysics
1849
FIG. 11.2-36. Log data measured at well location CRP 1134: (a) the sonic log, (b) the density log, (c) synthetic seismogram
using a 90-degree phase-rotated band-limited wavelet (plotted at time 3.5 s), and (d) the reectivity series computed from
(a) and (b) and used in creating (c).
1850
Reservoir Geophysics
1851
FIG. 11.2-38. (b) A close-up portion of the CRP gather 1134 as in Figure 11.2-37a at the well location and at reservoir
level, (b) the corresponding modeled CRP gather as in Figure 11.2-37b.
applied to the nal product from prestack time migration (Figure 11.2-32). Figure 11.2-33 shows the
amplitude spectrum of the CRP stack after each
step of the poststack processing. The amplitude
spectrum of the CRP stack from step (i) shows the
attenuation of high frequencies (Figure 11.2-33a),
which are restored by deconvolution (Figure 11.233b), but are slightly shifted to lower frequencies by
migration (Figure 11.2-33c). The autocorrelogram
of the CRP stack from step (i) exhibits remnants
of the water-bottom multiples (Figure 11.2-34a),
which are largely attenuated by poststack deconvolution (Figure 11.2-34b).
1852
FIG. 11.2-39. Amplitude variation with oset extracted from the CRP gather as in Figure 11.2-38 at the well location and
transformed to amplitude variation with angle by using the angle of incidence information shown in Figure 11.2-37c. See text
for details.
Reservoir Geophysics
1853
FIG. 11.2-40. The stacks of the CRP data from prestack time migration as in Figure 11.2-28. The solid triangle denotes the
well location at the surface, and the insertion below the well location is the synthetic equivalent of the sections shown. The
dotted near-vertical line to the right is the well trajectory within the time gate corresponding to the portion of the sections
shown.
1854
FIG. 11.2-41. Part 1: AVO attributes derived from prestack amplitude inversion of the CRP data as in Figure 11.2-28. The
solid triangle denotes the well location at the surface, and the insertion below the well location is the corresponding synthetic
AVO attribute. The dotted near-vertical line to the right is the well trajectory within the time gate corresponding to the
portion of the sections shown.
Reservoir Geophysics
1855
FIG. 11.2-41. Part 2: AVO attributes derived from prestack amplitude inversion of the CRP data as in Figure 11.2-28. The
solid triangle denotes the well location at the surface, and the insertion below the well location is the corresponding synthetic
AVO attribute. The dotted near-vertical line to the right is the well trajectory within the time gate corresponding to the
portion of the sections shown.
1856
FIG. 11.2-41. Part 3: AVO attributes derived from prestack amplitude inversion of the CRP data as in Figure 11.2-28. The
solid triangle denotes the well location at the surface, and the insertion below the well location is the corresponding synthetic
AVO attribute. The dotted near-vertical line to the right is the well trajectory within the time gate corresponding to the
portion of the sections shown.
Reservoir Geophysics
1857
FIG. 11.2-42. The postreservoir zone in the vicinity of the well location CRP 1134 (within the blue rectangle), the reservoir
zone (within the red rectangle), and the prereservoir zone (within the green rectangle) labeled on (a) the intercept and (b)
the gradient sections.
1858
FIG. 11.2-43. Crossplots of the attributes within (a) the postreservoir zones, (b) the reservoir zones, and (c) the prereservoir
zones labeled in the sections shown in Figure 11.2-42.
Reservoir Geophysics
This in turn requires, strictly, an estimated earth model
in depth that can be used to trace rays associated with
the CRP geometry. Figure 11.2-35 shows a velocitydepth model associated with the CRP stack shown in
Figure 11.2-32. Often, the following procedure is adequate for a velocity-depth model estimation for the
purpose of AVO analysis (Section 9.1):
(a) Interpret a set of time horizons from the CRP stack
(Figure 11.2-32).
(b) Intersect the migration velocity eld from step (g)
of the prestack time migration sequence described
above, which is equivalent to the rms velocity eld
associated with the vertical raypaths, with the time
horizons from step (a) and create a set of horizonconsistent rms velocity proles.
(c) Perform Dix conversion of the rms velocity proles
to derive a set of interval velocity proles.
(d) Convert the time horizons from step (a) to depth
horizons by using the interval velocity proles from
step (c) along image rays.
(e) Combine the depth horizons from step (d) with the
interval velocity proles from step (c) and build a
velocity-depth model as shown in Figure 11.2-35.
Before we proceed with prestack amplitude inversion to derive the AVO attributes, we rst need to verify the existence of amplitude variation with oset on
recorded data by modeling the amplitudes on a CRP
gather coincident with a well location. Actually, we
model a moveout-corrected CMP gather at the well location using a locally at earth model, which is consistent with the earth model associated with the CRP
gather. Figure 11.2-36 shows a sonic and a density log
at a well location that coincides with the CMP location
1134 (Figure 11.2-32). By using the log curves and the
S-wave velocity calculated from the mudrock relation
(equation 11-42), compute the synthetic CMP gather
associated with a horizontally layered earth model at
the well location. Figure 11.2-37 shows a portion of the
CRP gather from prestack time migration as in Figure 11.2-28 and the synthetic CMP gather computed
by using the Zoeppritz equation for P -to-P reection
amplitudes associated with a horizontally layered earth
model (Section L.5). Shown also in this gure is the angle of incidence within the same time window as for the
CRP gather derived from the velocity-depth model in
Figure 11.2-35. It is evident that given the oset range
of 150-3050 m, the maximum angle of incidence at the
target zone (3.1-3.3 s) is nearly 30 degrees. This means
that the AVO attributes based on the Shuey approximation (equation 11-24) can be considered accurate.
A close-up view of the real CRP gather and the synthetic gather of Figure 11.2-37 at the reservoir zone is
1859
shown in Figure 11.2-38. Note that the amplitude variations in the two gathers are fairly consistent. In fact,
examine in Figure 11.2-39 the amplitude variation with
oset at three time levels that coincide with top-gas,
top-oil, and top-water boundaries. We may draw two
conclusions from the comparison of the real and modeled amplitudes as a function of oset shown in Figure
11.2-39. First, note that the Zoeppritz-modeled (red)
and the best-t actual (dotted green) amplitude variation with oset are in very good agreement it appears
that if you scale one AVO curve by a constant, you will
get the other AVO curve. Second, the amplitudes do
indeed vary with oset there is a decrease in amplitude with increasing oset at the top-gas and top-water
boundaries, and there is an increase in amplitudes with
increasing oset at the top-oil boundary.
The top-gas AVO curve shown in Figure 11.2-39 extracted from the real CRP gather is consistent with the
observations made by Rutherford and Williams (1989)
who classied the AVO anomalies associated with a
shale formation over a gas-bearing sand formation. A
Class 1 AVO anomaly indicates a large positive P -toP normal-incidence amplitude (large positive AVO intercept attribute value) and a marked decrease in amplitudes with increasing oset, with a possible phase
change at large osets. According to the RutherfordWilliams classication, the top-gas AVO curve in Figure 11.2-39 can be labeled as Class 1. A Class 2 AVO
anomaly indicates a small positive P -to-P normalincidence amplitude (small positive AVO intercept attribute value) and a marked decrease in amplitudes with
increasing oset, with a possible phase change at smallto-moderate osets. Finally, a Class 3 AVO anomaly
indicates a large negative P -to-P normal-incidence amplitude (large negative AVO intercept attribute value)
and a marked decrease in amplitudes with increasing
oset, typically manifested as bright-spot anomalies.
Another AVO indicator is the dierence between a
near-angle stack (say, up to 15 degrees of angle of incidence as shown in Figure 11.2-37c) and a wide-angle
stack (say, between 15-30 degrees of angles of incidence
as shown in Figure 11.2-37c). If there were no amplitude
variation with oset, there would not be a dierence between the two sections shown in Figure 11.2-40, except
for noise and residual moveout errors.
To calibrate the sections in Figure 11.2-40 to well
data, compute the reectivity series using the two log
curves in Figure 11.2-36. Then, by using a zero-phase
band-limited wavelet with a passband that corresponds
to the signal band associated with the prestack timemigrated data (Figure 11.2-32), compute the zero-oset
synthetic seismogram that contains primaries only. Insert the synthetic seismogram into the CRP stack at the
well location as shown in Figure 11.2-40. Apply constant
1860
FIG. 11.2-44. (a) Opacity removal applied to the AVO gradient volume associated with the image volume as in Figure
7.5-31, (b) a magnied view of a portion of (a).
Reservoir Geophysics
1861
FIG. 11.2-45. (a) Opacity removal applied to the AVO intercept volume associated with the image volume as in Figure
7.5-31, (b) a magnied view of a portion of (a).
1862
made from the intercept attribute derived from the amplitude inversion of CRP gathers.
Now compare each attribute section in Figure 11.241 with the synthetic equivalent at the well location
and note that the match between the two within the
reservoir zone generally is very good. While the intercept section shows the sandstone (green) with shale interbeddings (pale orange) within the reservoir unit, the
gradient section indicates variations in uid saturation
(indicated by the dierent tones of orange) within the
reservoir rocks. The uid saturation can also be inferred
from the Poisson reectivity (equation 11-27) or the
pseudo-Poisson (equation 11-40) section shown in Figure 11.2-41. The orange color in the uid-factor section
represents the gas-saturated reservoir sandstone.
AVO attributes are usually interpreted by crossplotting one attribute against another. Figure 11.2-42
shows three dierent zones postreservoir (blue rectangle), within reservoir (red rectangle) and prereservoir
(green rectangle), labeled on the intercept and gradient
sections. The crossplots of the intercept and gradient
attribute values within each of these zones are shown
in Figure 11.2-43. The slopes of the best-t lines for
the postreservoir (-4.5) and the prereservoir (-5.5) zones
are comparable. Whereas, the slope from the crossplot
is signicantly larger in the reservoir zone (-7.5). The
Reservoir Geophysics
increase in slope within the reservoir zone indicates
an increase in the gradient attribute value, which in
turn, suggests an increase in the change in Poissons
ratio (equation 11-25), hence an indication of the gassaturated reservoir sands.
1863
1864
FIG. 11.3-2. A synthetic sonic log section derived from the stacked section in Figure 11.3-1.
impedance values of the layer above and the layer below the reecting boundary (equation 11-9). Based on
this special case of the Zoeppritz equation, computing
the impedance series from a reectivity series involves
a simple integration of the latter. The assumption of
vertical incidence also requires that the stacked section
input to inversion must be migrated.
Results of poststack amplitude inversion must be
viewed within the realm of the underlying critical assumptions we make about seismic amplitudes. Amplitude inversion of poststack time-migrated data should
be limited to earth models with low-relief structures
and stratigraphic targets. Many of the assumptions indicated above are violated in the presence of reectors
with dip and curvature. To account for the dip and curvature eects, at least kinematically, amplitude inversion must be applied to prestack time-migrated data.
Moreover, limitations in the removal of multiple reections, linear and random noise must be taken into consideration when interpreting anomalies observed on an
acoustic impedance section.
Synthetic Sonic Logs
From the discussion on the convolutional model of a
seismic trace in Section 2.1, recall that the starting
point was the sonic log (Figure 2.1-8a). The reection
coecient is dened as the ratio of the reection amplitude to the incident wave amplitude. In terms of acoustic impedance I = , where is rock density and is
the P -wave velocity, the reection coecient c is given
by equation (11-9).
From equation (11-9), the reection coecient is
interpreted as the ratio of the change in acoustic
impedance to twice the average acoustic impedance. If
we assume that density is constant, then equation (119) takes the form
ci =
i+1 i
,
i+1 + i
(11 56)
where i is the sampling index. Therefore, reection coecients can be computed by dierentiating the sonic
log. The inverse process of getting the interval velocities for synthetic sonic logs from the reection coecients, which are assumed proportional to the stacked
trace amplitudes, involves integration. In practice, only
the high-frequency component of the interval velocity
function can be obtained from this inversion. The lowfrequency trend must be obtained from other sources
of information such as conventional velocity analysis or
nearby sonic logs. In many practical situations, there
is insucient well control and the bands of the lowand high-frequency information derived from the seismic data do not overlap. In these cases, problems arise
in merging the various types of information; hence, the
delity of the synthetic sonic logs is degraded.
Reservoir Geophysics
Lindseth (1979) rst introduced the concept of
synthetic sonic logs and used it in the interpretation
of stratigraphic prospects. Figure 11.3-1 illustrates a
stacked section with a bright-spot prospect. The corresponding synthetic sonic log section is shown in Figure 11.3-2 wherein the seismic data are superimposed
as wiggle traces.
Measured sonic logs generally contain much higher
frequencies than seismic data. Integration of seismic
traces to get synthetic sonic logs implies a further lowering of the frequency content. A synthetic sonic log and
a measured log can only be compared when a high-cut
lter is applied to the measured log to make the two
appear to have equivalent bandwidths.
The inversion described here is based on the recursive relation in equation (11-56). Specically, given
values for ci and i , i+1 can be computed. Modelbased, iterative inversion schemes also exist (Cooke and
Schneider, 1983). These begin with an initial impedance
function (specied at a CMP location) from which a
synthetic seismogram is computed. This seismogram is
crosscorrelated with the actual stack trace at that CMP
location. The initial impedance model then is perturbed
until the best match is attained between the estimated
and actual seismic traces. Finally, inversion techniques,
which are based on a certain type of characterization of
the reection coecient series estimated from stacked
data, also exist. For example, the estimated reection
coecient series can be characterized by a sparse spike
series. The sparseness requirement can be satised by
the condition that the sum of the absolute values of the
estimated reection coecients is minimum (Oldenburg
et al., 1983).
Note that regardless of the method, any inversion
process suers from the uncertainty (nonuniqueness)
associated with the frequency components outside the
dominant seismic signal bandwidth. Thus, the results of
the inversion may be questionable for the low-and highfrequency ends of the spectrum at which noise dominates the signal. Constraints (information other than
the seismic data being inverted, such as geologic or well
control) often are incorporated into inversion schemes
used to handle the low-and high-frequency ends of the
spectrum.
1865
23.2
25
16.67
8.33
80
3064
180
60
2
km
m
m
m
m
m
ms
1866
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
Poststack time migration may precede the poststack signal processing, particularly deconvolution. As
a result of migration, we transform a 2-D or a 3-D
waveeld to a 1-D waveeld along the seismic traverse.
Hence, we map the normal-incident energy to verticalincident energy and obtain 1-D zero-oset seismograms
at each CMP location. This satises the underlying assumption for poststack deconvolution.
Figure 11.3-5 shows the test panel for poststack
processing in which migration precedes the signal processing. The sequence includes f x deconvolution,
phase-shift migration (Figure 11.3-5a), spiking deconvolution (Figure 11.3-5b), time-variant spectral whitening (Figure 11.3-5c), and time-variant ltering (Figure
11.3-5d). Finally, a mild (3-trace) Karhunen-Loeve lter was applied to the data to attenuate coherent linear noise and any remaining random noise uncorrelated
Reservoir Geophysics
1867
FIG. 11.3-3. A portion of a CMP stack for a test for optimum stacking fold using dierent cable lengths: (a) using an
optimum mute pattern that minimzes angle dependency of seismic amplitudes, (b) using a mute pattern that provides a
full-oset stack, (c) 75 percent near-oset stack, (d) 50 percent near-oset stack, (e) 25 percent near-oset stack, and (f) 17
percent near-oset stack. On top of each panel is the amplitude spectrum averaged over the shot record, and at the bottom
is the autocorrelogram.
1868
FIG. 11.3-4. A portion of the CMP stack as in Figure 11.3-3a after: (a) poststack f x deconvolution to attenuate random
noise, (b) spiking deconvolution, and (c) time-variant spectral whitening. On top of each panel is the amplitude spectrum
averaged over the shot record, and at the bottom is the autocorrelogram.
Reservoir Geophysics
1869
FIG. 11.3-5. A portion of the time-migrated CMP stack after: (a) f x deconvolution, (b) spiking deconvolution, (c) timevariant spectral whitening, (d) time-variant ltering, and (e) Karhunen-Loeve ltering. On top of each panel is the amplitude
spectrum averaged over the shot record, and at the bottom is the autocorrelogram.
1870
Reservoir Geophysics
1871
1872
Reservoir Geophysics
1873
FIG. 11.3-8. (a) A portion of the sonic log that spans the time window of interest at one well location on the line shown in
Figure 11.3-7 after check-shot correction and depth-to-time conversion; (b) acoustic impedance curves derived from the log in
(a), assuming that density is constant, with a range of constant phase rotations.
1874
FIG. 11.3-9. (a) Synthetic seismograms derived from the impedance curve in Figure 11.3-8 and using a range of pass-bands,
with normal (n) and reverse (r) polarity displays; (b) traces from the migrated CMP stacked section in Figure 11.3-7 in the
neighborhood of the well location with the sonic log shown in Figure 11.3-8a with a range of constant phase rotations.
Reservoir Geophysics
1875
FIG. 11.3-10. First portion of: (a) unmigrated CMP stack as in Figure 11.3-6; (b) migrated CMP stack as in Figure 11.3-7;
(c) migrated CMP stack with a constant phase rotation of 90 degrees. A display gain has been applied to all three sections.
1876
FIG. 11.3-11. Second portion of: (a) unmigrated CMP stack as in Figure 11.3-6; (b) migrated CMP stack as in Figure 11.3-7;
(c) migrated CMP stack with a constant phase rotation of 90 degrees. A display gain has been applied to all three sections.
Reservoir Geophysics
1877
FIG. 11.3-12. (a) Broad-band sparse-spike reectivity section derived from the wide-band time-migrated section shown in
Figure 11.3-10b; (b) acoustic impedance section derived from (a).
1878
FIG. 11.3-13. (a) Broad-band sparse-spike reectivity section derived from the wide-band time-migrated section shown in
Figure 11.3-11b; (b) acoustic impedance section derived from (a).
Reservoir Geophysics
1879
FIG. 11.3-14. (a) Broad-band sparse-spike reectivity section derived from the wide-band time-migrated section shown in
Figure 11.3-10c; (b) acoustic impedance section derived from (a).
1880
FIG. 11.3-15. (a) Broad-band sparse-spike reectivity section derived from the wide-band time-migrated section shown in
Figure 11.3-11c; (b) acoustic impedance section derived from (a).
Reservoir Geophysics
1881
FIG. 11.3-16. Part 1: Portion of the acoustic impedance section in Figure 11.3-12b around CMP 370 with constant phase
rotations applied.
1882
FIG. 11.3-16. Part 2: Portion of the acoustic impedance section in Figure 11.3-13b around CMP 370 with constant phase
rotations applied.
Reservoir Geophysics
1883
FIG. 11.3-17. Part 1: Portion of the acoustic impedance section in Figure 11.3-12b around CMP 450 with constant phase
rotations applied.
1884
FIG. 11.3-17. Part 2: Portion of the acoustic impedance section in Figure 11.3-13b around CMP 450 with constant phase
rotations applied.
Reservoir Geophysics
1885
FIG. 11.3-18. Fold of coverage map of the land 3-D survey data used in the acoustic impedance case study presented in
Section 11.3.
1886
FIG. 11.3-19. Part 1: Selected shot records from the 3-D survey data associated with the case study presented in Section
11.3. (Data courtesy Talisman Energy.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1887
FIG. 11.3-19. Part 2: Selected shot records from the 3-D survey data associated with the case study presented in Section
11.3. (Data courtesy Talisman Energy.)
1888
FIG. 11.3-20. (a) A raw shot record from the 3-D seismic data associated with the case study presented in Section 11.3, (b)
after geometric spreading correction. (Data courtesy Talisman Energy.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1889
FIG. 11.3-21. (a) The same shot record as in Figure 11.3-20b after deconvolution, and (b) time-variant spectral whitening.
(Data courtesy Talisman Energy.)
1890
FIG. 11.3-22. Amplitude spectrum of the shot record in (a) Figure 11.3-20a, (b) Figure 11.3-20b, (c) Figure 11.3-21a, and
(d) Figure 11.3-21b.
Reservoir Geophysics
1891
FIG. 11.3-23. (a) An inline section from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration, (b) amplitude
spectrum of (a).
1892
FIG. 11.3-24. Part 1: Selected inline sections from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration.
Reservoir Geophysics
1893
FIG. 11.3-24. Part 2: Selected inline sections from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration.
1894
FIG. 11.3-24. Part 3: Selected inline sections from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration.
Reservoir Geophysics
1895
FIG. 11.3-24. Part 4: Selected inline sections from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration.
1896
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
27.3
7.35
3.75
60
30 30
124
245
30,380
16
2
km2
km
km
m
m
ms
the spectrum. Apply time-variant spectral whitening (Figure 11.3-21b) to attain a at spectrum
within the signal passband (Figure 11.3-22d) and
attenuate the ground-roll energy.
Sort the data into common-cell gathers and perform velocity analysis at coarse grid spacing.
Create a 3-D stacking velocity eld and apply NMO
correction to the cell gathers.
Apply residual statics corrections (Section 7.2) and
inverse NMO correction using the velocity eld
from step (e).
Perform velocity analysis at tight grid spacing and
create a new 3-D velocity eld.
Apply NMO correction to the cell gathers from step
(f), mute and stack.
Perform poststack deconvolution and a wide bandpass lter.
Apply f x deconvolution (Section 6.5) to attenuate random noise uncorrelated from trace to trace.
Finally, perform 3-D poststack phase-shift migration. Note from Figure 11.3-23 that the processing
sequence described above yields the spectral shape
of the data that we wish to input to poststack amplitude inversion a broadband spectrum with
nearly a at passband.
Figure 11.3-24 shows selected inlines from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration.
Following the principle of parsimony in processing for
AVO analysis and acoustic impedance estimation, no
DMO correction was deemed necessary in the present
case study since the subsurface geology can be described
by a horizontally layered earth model with no signicant
faulting or structural distortions.
The next phase in the analysis involves the estimation and removal of the residual phase contained in the
time-migrated volume of data. Figure 11.3-25 shows a
sonic and a density log measured at a well located at
the intersection of inline 76 and crossline 79. Compute
Instantaneous Attributes
Aside from the AVO attributes, the instantaneous attributes can be helpful in inferring reservoir parameters.
When considered as an analytic signal (in the mathematical sense), a seismic trace can be expressed as a
(text continues on p. 1906)
Reservoir Geophysics
1897
FIG. 11.3-25. Log data measured at well location Inline 76 - Crossline 79: (a) the sonic log, (b) the density log, (c) acoustic
impedance, (d) the reectivity series computed from (c) and used in creating (e), and (e) synthetic seismogram using a
band-limited wavelet.
1898
FIG. 11.3-26. A portion of Inline 76 from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration with the sonic log
as in Figure 11.3-25a inserted at well location, Crossline 79.
Reservoir Geophysics
1899
FIG. 11.3-27. A portion of Inline 76 as in Figure 11.3-26 from the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration
with the synthetic seismogram as in Figure 11.3-25e inserted at well location, Crossline 79.
1900
FIG. 11.3-28. Cross-sections along inline 76 from (a) the image volume derived from 3-D poststack time migration, (b) the
image volume after 90-degree phase rotation, (c) the sparse-spike reectivity volume, and (d) the acoustic impedance volume.
Reservoir Geophysics
FIG. 11.3-29. Part 1: Selected inline sections from the acoustic impedance volume.
1901
1902
FIG. 11.3-29. Part 2: Selected inline sections from the acoustic impedance volume.
Reservoir Geophysics
1903
FIG. 11.3-30. A 3-D view of the detrital sand level at approximately 850 ms from within the image volume derived from
3-D poststack time migration as in Figure 11.3-24. Red represents high amplitudes.
1904
FIG. 11.3-31. A 3-D view of the detrital sand level at approximately 850 ms from within the acoustic impedance volume
derived from sparse-spike inversion as in Figure 11.3-29. Red represents high impedance values.
Reservoir Geophysics
1905
FIG. 11.3-32. Instantaneous attributes derived from the stacked section in Figure 11.3-1: (a) reectivity strength, (b) phase,
(c) frequency, and (d) smoothed frequency.
1906
FIG. 11.4-1. Vertical seismic proling geometry. (a) Raypaths and (b) associated traveltimes (see text for details). Static
correction amounts to mapping traveltime associated with raypath ABC to traveltime associated with raypath ABC + CD;
the NMO correction amounts to mapping traveltime associated with raypath ABCD to traveltime associated with raypath
2DE.
(11 57)
(11 58)
(11 59)
(11 60)
where
R(t) =
x2 (t) + y 2 (t)
(11 61a)
and
(t) = arctan
y(t)
.
x(t)
(11 61b)
R(t) represents instantaneous amplitude and (t) represents instantaneous phase at time t. In practice, instantaneous phase is computed by rst taking the logarithm
of both sides of equation (11-60)
ln u(t) = ln R(t) + i(t)
(11 62)
Reservoir Geophysics
and extracting the imaginary part
(t) = Im ln u(t) ,
(11 63)
d(t)
1 du(t)
.
= Im
dt
u(t) dt
(11 64b)
1907
on top of the attributes as wiggle traces. Note the distinctive anomaly on the instantaneous amplitude section and enhancement of the continuity of reections
on the instantaneous phase section.
1908
VSP-CDP Transform
When there are dipping interfaces, the upcoming-wave
prole needs to be migrated; that is, the energy must
be mapped to the actual subsurface reection points.
This is true even for zero-oset VSP data. A ray-tracing
procedure for reector mapping is illustrated in Figure
11.4-4. Note that reection points D, E, and F have different lateral displacements OA, OB, and OC, respectively, from borehole Oz (Figure 11.4-4a). However, upcoming wave energy from all three reection points is
recorded on the same VSP trace at the receiver location
R. The reection times RG, RH, and RK (Figure 11.44b) are associated with raypaths SDR, SER, and SFR,
respectively. Mapping this energy to reection points
involves a coordinate transformation (Wyatt and Wyatt, 1981; Cassell et al., 1984). In this transformation,
the amplitudes on a single VSP trace are mapped onto
several traces on the x t plane, where x is the lateral
distance of reection points from the borehole (Figure
Reservoir Geophysics
1909
FIG. 11.4-2. Zero-oset VSP data at various stages of the processing sequence from left to right: (a) raw data, (b) upcoming
waves, (c) after statics corrections followed by deconvolution and band-pass ltering, (d) corridor stack. Here, TT is a tube
wave traveling through the borehole. (Data courtesy Amoco Europe and West Africa, Inc.)
1910
FIG. 11.4-3. (a) Unprocessed oset VSP data, (b) downgoing waves, (c) upcoming waves, (d) upcoming waves after deconvolution, (e) VSP-CDP transform of the upcoming wave prole in (d) inlaid to the migrated surface seismic section for
comparison. (Adapted from Alam and Millahn, 1986; data courtesy Shell, U.K.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1911
FIG. 11.4-4. (a) Source-receiver geometry for oset VSP; (b) VSP-CDP transformation: Traveltimes RG, RH, and RK,
associated with raypaths SDR, SER, and SFR are mapped to traveltimes AL, BM, and CN, associated with the two-way
vertical raypaths 2AD, 2BE, and 2CF . Also note that the amplitudes on the VSP trace are positioned on traces after
transformation with x-coordinate values the same as those of the reection points OA, OB, and OC.
(Cassell et al., 1984). Starting with an initial velocitydepth model and the recording geometry for the VSP
data, traveltimes for upcoming waves are computed.
When these estimated traveltimes are compared with
the observed traveltimes, discrepancies are noted and
the velocity-depth model is modied accordingly. The
process is repeated until a good match is attained between the estimated and observed traveltimes.
Finally, note that the VSP-CDP transform is not
exactly a migration process. It handles neither diractions nor curved interfaces. To handle these features,
VSP data must be migrated (Dillon and Thomson,
1983). The VSP geometry is like the geometry of a
common-shot gather, except the shot axis is perpendicular to the receiver axis. Migration of VSP data can
be viewed as mapping amplitudes along semielliptical
trajectories with their focal points being the source and
receiver locations. Superposition of all these trajectories yields the migrated section. The aperture width for
VSP data often is inadequate to obtain a migrated section without much smearing.
1912
measurements, and the interpretation of the measurements is inuenced by the changing medical knowledge
and experience of the cardiologist.
Similarly, the reservoir geophysicist uses the 3-D
seismic method combined with the direct observations
made at well locations to monitor the reservoir conditions that are crucial for optimum development of the
eld. The objective in optimum eld development is to
lengthen the life span of the eld, prevent water invasion, and recover as much hydrocarbon as possible. By
recording 3-D seismic data over the eld at various time
intervals, which may be from months to years, we introduce the fourth dimension to the the analysis of the data
calendar time, thus the term 4-D seismic method to
describe the time-lapse 3-D seismic exploration.
What type of reservoir parameters can we monitor
using the 4-D seismic method? Known applications of
the 4-D seismic method are summarized below ( Lumley
et al., 1994; Lumley, 1995a,b; Ecker, 1999; MacLeod et
al., 1999).
(a) Monitoring the spatial extent of the steam front following in-situ combustion or steam injection used
for thermal recovery,
(b) Monitoring the spatial extent of the injected water
front used for secondary recovery,
(c) Imaging bypassed oil,
(d) Determining ow properties of sealing or leaking
faults, and
(e) Detecting changes in oil-water contact.
A demonstrative example of the 4-D seismic
method is shown in Figure 11.5-1 (MacLeod et al.,
1999). The two seismic sections along the same inline
traverse have been extracted from the image volumes
derived from 3-D poststack time migrations of two timelapse 3-D seismic data. One survey was conducted in
1989 before the production commenced in the eld and
the other survey was conducted in 1998 sometime after the production was started. The oil-water contact
(OWC) is distinctly visible in the 1989 section, while
it is not apparent in the 1998-section. Additionally, the
top-sand reector is stronger in the 1998 section. This
may be attributed to the increased impedance contrast
between the overlying shales and the reservoir sands
which have higher water saturation as a result of continuing production.
Figure 11.5-2 shows another application of the 4-D
seismic method to steam ooding of a reservoir for thermal recovery. In this eld study, six time-lapse 3-D seismic surveys were conducted (Lumley, 1995b). The rst
survey at time T 1 was conducted prior to steam injection, while the subsequent surveys were conducted after
Reservoir Geophysics
1913
FIG. 11.5-1. Time-lapse seismic data: (a) preproduction (1989), and (b) postproduction (1998). (MacLeod et al., 1999; gure
courtesy MacLeod et al., Chevron and Schlumerger Geco-Prakla; data courtesy Chevron.)
1914
FIG. 11.5-2. Time lapse-seismic data: six generations of data displayed side by side. (Lumley, 1995b; gure courtesy Lumley,
4th Wave Imaging and Chevron; data courtesy Chevron.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1915
FIG. 11.5-3. Survey geometries of two time-lapse 3-D seismic data as in Figure 11.5-4: (a) the grid orientations, and (b) grid
sizes. See text for details. (Rickett and Lumley, 1998; gure courtesy Rickett, Stanford Exploration Project, and 4th Wave
Imaging; data courtesy Chevron.)
1916
FIG. 11.5-4. Time-lapse 3-D seismic data: (a) an inline section and (b) a time slice from the time image volume associated
with the 1979 survey; (c) an inline section and (d) a time slice from the time image volume associated with the 1991 survey.
The interior of the broken yellow line denes the overlapping area between the two surveys. See text for details. (Rickett and
Lumley, 1998; gure courtesy Rickett, Stanford Exploration Project, and 4th Wave Imaging; data courtesy Chevron.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1917
FIG. 11.5-5. Amplitude spectra of the two time-lapse 3-D seismic data as in Figure 11.5-4 (a) before and (b) after crossequalization; (c) a dierence section following cross-equalization. (Rickett and Lumley, 1998; gure courtesy Rickett, Stanford
Exploration Project, and 4th Wave Imaging; data courtesy Chevron.)
In a conventional marine seismic survey, we cannot record P -to-S converted-wave energy even if we deploy sensors that can register the shear-wave energy.
This is because the upcoming converted-wave energy
is not transmitted through the water column to reach
the recording cable since uids cannot support shear
strain. Thus, to capture the converted-wave energy, we
need to record it at the water bottom using an oceanbottom cable (OBC). And to record it, we need to use
geophones that register velocity of the particle motion
that is perpendicular to the direction of the wave propagation. Since the upcoming wave is primarily in the vertical direction, we need to use a geophone that records
the particle motion in the horizontal direction. In fact,
for a good reason that will be obvious later in the section, we need to deploy not one, but two horizontal geophones that are oriented perpendicular to one another.
1918
contact, on the other hand, corresponds to a signicant contrast on the P -wave velocity curve. While the
position and geometry of the oil-water contact are important in terms of the production history of the eld,
this is not the only strategic information that is needed
for the development. Specically, for production, it is
the top-reservoir boundary that needs to be delineated
accurately so as to place the horizontal well trajectory
close to the top and avoid missing a signicant vertical
oil column.
Compare the P P section derived from the conventional streamer 3-D survey and the P S section derived
from the 4-C OBC survey, both of the same vintage,
shown in Figures 11.6-1b and 11.6-1c. The P P section shows a strong event at 2 s that corresponds to
the strong contrast on the P velocity curve associated
with the oil-water contact (Figure 11.6-1a). Neverthe-
Reservoir Geophysics
less, the top reservoir is nearly impossible to identify on
this section. The P S section, on the other hand, shows
two strong events with irregular geometry at about 3.6
s and 3.8 s. These events correspond to the strong contrasts on the S velocity curve associated with the topand base-reservoir boundaries labeled A and B in Figure
11.6-1a, respectively.
It is important to note that the P S section is not a
replacement for the P P section; instead, they are complementary. The P P section provides the information
about the oil-water contact while the P S section provides the information about the top-reservoir boundary.
Both are needed for optimum development of the eld.
Another case for converted-wave data is shown
in Figure 11.6-2. The P P section shows a zone of
gas plume associated with the underlying leaky reservoir. The gas-saturated formations cause amplitude and
traveltime distortions of the P -wave that passes through
the anomalous zone. This can make the geometry of the
underlying reservoir unit dicult to delineate. The gas
plume actually represents a complex overburden that
gives rise to strong lateral velocity variations. As such,
the complexity of the overburden can be resolved by
earth modeling in depth and the underlying reservoir
zone can, in some cases, be imaged by prestack depth
migration with an acceptable accuracy. The S-wave, on
the other hand, is relatively unscathed by the presence
of gas within the overburden; hence, the P S data provide a more accurate time image of the reservoir zone as
compared to the time image derived from the P P data.
Note also from both the sections in Figure 11.6-2 and
the 3-D image volumes shown in Figure 11.6-3 that the
reectors within the overburden above the gas plume
zone are stronger in the P P data compared to the P S
data. This is because only a fraction of the incident
P -wave energy is converted to S-wave energy at layer
boundaries. Once again, the P P and P S data complement each other, and it certainly is not one or the other.
While the P S section provides a better image of the
reservoir structure, the P P section clearly indicates the
presence of a gas plume above. This anomalous pressure
zone has to be taken seriously during well planning.
1919
1920
FIG. 11.5-7. Amplitude extractions along a time slice from two time-lapse 3-D seismic data recorded in 1996 and 1997, (a)
before and (b) after cross-equalization. (Ecker et al., 1999; gure courtesy Ecker et al. and Chevron, and 4th Wave Imaging;
data courtesy Chevron.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1921
FIG. 11.6-1. (a) Portions of a dipole sonic log that shows the S-wave (left) and the P -wave (right) velocity curves; (b) a
portion of a migrated P P streamer section, and (c) a portion of a migrated P S OBC section. (Courtesy MacLeod et al., 1999;
data courtesy Chevron and Schlumberger Geco-Prakla.)
1922
FIG. 11.6-2. (a) A migrated P P section, and (b) a migrated P S section. (Figure courtesy Probert et al., 1999, and Schlumberger Geco-Prakla; data courtesy BP-Amoco.)
multichannel processing applications, such as f k ltering or migration, to S-wave data than P -wave data.
Figure 11.6-8 shows a common-receiver gather
which was created by sorting the common-shot gather
data as in Figure 11.6-6. The same receiver gather with
AGC applied is shown in Figure 11.6-9. The horizontal
geophone records from both the common-shot gather
(Figure 11.6-7) and the common-receiver gather (Figure 11.6-9) exhibit events with relatively more complex
moveout than those observed on the hydrophone or vertical geophone records. You should not expect a one-toone correspondence between the events on the two sets
of records. Because layer boundaries give rise to dierences in P -wave and S-wave impedance contrasts, there
may be some events that appear on both records with
dierent strengths, or some events may be present in
one record set and absent in the other.
Figure 11.6-10 shows a close-up portion of the composite shot gather shown in Figure 11.6-7 and the spectra of the individual components. Note the polarity reversal from one side of the cable to the other on the in-
line record as a consequence of the right-handed recording convention (Figure 11.6-5). The frequency content
of the hydrophone data appears to be broader than
the vertical geophone component; this is because of the
imperfect coupling of the geophones with the seabed
sediments. This dierence in bandwidth because of the
coupling issue is observed also in the common-receiver
gather shown in Figure 11.6-11.
Acquisition of 4-C OBC data is dierent from conventional streamer recording in respect of the receivers.
In fact, it is like land acquisition at the seabed. When
the seabed has irregular geometry, it gives rise to both
long- and short-wavelength statics. Therefore, in processing 4-C data, receiver statics need to be calculated
and applied to both P P and P S data.
Gaisers Coupling Analysis of Geophone Data
Variations in geophone coupling contaminate signal amplitudes registered by the geophone components, and
Reservoir Geophysics
1923
FIG. 11.6-3. 3-D image volumes associated with (a) P P data and (b) P S data as in Figure 11.6-2. (Figure courtesy Probert
et al., 1999, and Schlumberger Geco-Prakla; data courtesy BP-Amoco.)
need to be compensated for in a surface-consistent manner. Because of coupling problems, what is recorded
by each one of the three geophones is not exactly the
same as the ground motion at the seabed. A frequencydomain model equation that relates the recorded signal components {X (), Y (), Z ()} by the three geophones in the inline, crossline, and vertical directions
(x, y, z), respectively, and the actual ground motions in
the three orthogonal directions {X(), Y (), Z()} is
given by (Gaiser, 1998)
X ()
I 0
0
X()
Y () = 0 Cy Cz Y () , (11 66)
Z ()
0 Vy Vz
Z()
where is the angular frequency, I is unity, and the
nonzero elements Cy , Cz , Vy , and Vz describe the coupling response of the geophones.
Note from equation (11-66) that X () = X();
this means that we assume that the inline geophone is
perfectly coupled. Since the inline geophone is guided by
the cable itself, this is considered a valid assumption in
practice. Whereas the vertical and crossline geophones
are not coupled completely hence the nonzero elements of the coupling matrix. The imperfect coupling
leads to vertical and crossline geophone signals mutually contaminating each other in a manner that can be
modeled by equation (11-66).
We wish to estimate the ground motion vector
{X(), Y (), Z()}; this requires inverting equation
(11-66) as given by Gaiser (1998)
X()
D
0
0
X ()
1
Y () =
0
Vz Cz Y () ,
D
Z()
0 Vy Cy
Z ()
(11 67)
where D = Vz Cy Vy Cz and is the determinant of the
coupling matrix in equation (11-66).
From the matrix equation (11-67), write explicitly
the recovered ground motions
Y () =
and
Cz
Vz
Y ()
Z ()
D
D
(11 68a)
Vy
Cy
(11 68b)
Y () +
Z ().
D
D
The coupling compensation operators are estimated in a surface-consistent manner (Taner and
Koehler, 1981) with the constraint that, following the
Z() =
1924
Reservoir Geophysics
1925
1926
the vertical shift may not be valid; instead, the datuming may have to be done by wave-equation datuming
(Section 8.1).
The remaining prestack processing sequence for the
P P data is no dierent from the land data processing sequence and includes geometric spreading correction, deconvolution, refraction and residual statics corrections
to account for the variations in the seabed geometry, velocity analysis, NMO and DMO corrections. The poststack processing sequence typically includes deconvolution, time-variant ltering, and migration. Shown in
Figure 11.6-20 is a CMP gather associated with the P P
data as in Figure 11.6-14. The CMP stack is shown in
Figure 11.6-21. The average fold of coverage is 150.
Rotation of Horizontal Geophone Components
Return to the OBC geometry shown in Figure 11.6-5. As
discussed earlier in the section, by using gimballed geophones, the vertical geophone orientation can be maintained in a true vertical direction. The two horizontal
geophones, however, cannot be oriented along the desired inline and crossline directions. Instead, they align
themselves in arbitrary orientations from one receiver
station to the next. We need to realign the horizontal
geophones associated with one common-shot gather to
a common orientation. One common orientation that
is the source-centered Cartesian coordinates is shown
in Figure 11.6-22. This means that the horizontal geophones of all receivers that contribute traces to the shot
station with a circle around it are rotated from inlinecrossline (x, y) coordinates (the acquisition coordinate
system) to radial-transverse (r, t) coordinates relative to
the source location (the processing coordinate system).
As a result, the radial geophone response will represent
the horizontal particle motion in the source-receiver
plane and the transverse geophone response will represent the horizontal particle motion perpendicular to the
radial response. Following the rotation, a common-shot
or a common-receiver gather associated with the radial
component will comprise traces with radial responses in
the source-receiver azimuthal directions.
Figure 11.6-23 shows a common-receiver gather associated with the inline and crossline geophone components before and after rotation. The equations for coordinate transformation of the particle motions from
inline-crossline (x, y) ccordinates to radial-transverse
(r, t) coordinates are (Li and Yuan, 1999)
R(t)
cos
sin
X(t)
, (11 69)
T (t)
sin cos
Y (t)
(text continues on p. 1933)
Reservoir Geophysics
1927
FIG. 11.6-6. Individual components of a common-shot gather from a 4-C survey, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline,
and (d) vertical geophone components. (Field data related to Figures 11.6-6 through 11.6-29 are courtesy Chevron.)
1928
FIG. 11.6-7. Individual components of a common-shot gather as in Figure 11.6-6, but displayed with AGC, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1929
FIG. 11.6-8. Individual components of a common-receiver gather from a 4-C survey, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c)
crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1930
FIG. 11.6-9. Individual components of a common-receiver gather as in Figure 11.6-8, but displayed with AGC, (a) the
hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1931
FIG. 11.6-10. A close-up portion of the composite common-shot gather shown in Figure 11.6-6 and the spectra of the
individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1932
FIG. 11.6-11. A close-up portion of the composite common-receiver gather shown in Figure 11.6-8 and the spectra of the
individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
where the rotation angle is as labeled in Figure 11.623c, Y (t) and X(t) are the inline and crossline components as recorded in the eld following the compensation for variations in coupling, and R(t) and T (t) are the
rotational and transverse components after rotation.
It is generally assumed that most signicant signal components reections, diractions, and converted waves, are polarized in the source-receiver direction (Gaiser, 1998). This means that, following the rotation of the horizontal geophone components, the radial
component would contain most of the P S energy while
the transverse component would contain negligible P S
energy (Figure 11.6-23). If the transverse component
does contain anomalously high level of signal energy,
it may be attributable to anisotropy that causes shearwave splitting in fractured rocks. We shall review this
pheonomenon briey in Section 11.7.
Figure 11.6-24 shows the common-shot gather as
in Figure 11.6-14 after rotation of the horizontal components. The hydrophone record (rst record from left)
and the vertical geophone record (fourth record from
left) are the same in both gures. The second and third
record from the left in Figure 11.6-14 represent the inline and crossline geophone components of the particle
motion; whereas, the second and third record from the
left in Figure 11.6-24 represent the radial and transverse
geophone components of the particle motion. Note from
the AGC applied version of the same shot gather in
Figure 11.6-25 that the radial component, unlike the
inline component shown in Figure 11.6-15, does not
exhibit the polarity reversal at zero oset. Also, the
transverse component in Figure 11.6-25 contains relatively weak signal energy when compared to the radial
component. These observations are also veried in the
common-receiver gather shown in Figure 11.6-26. Compare the AGC applied version of the receiver gather before (Figure 11.6-16) and after (Figure 11.6-27) rotation
and note the switch in polarity and low signal level in
the transverse component. The spectral analysis of the
shot and receiver gathers are shown in Figures 11.6-28
and 11.6-29; compare these results with Figures 11.6-18
and 11.6-19.
Common-Conversion-Point Binning
We learned in Section 11.2 that an incident P -wave
is partitioned at a layer boundary into reected and
transmitted P - and S-wave components. Consider the
raypath geometry in Figure 11.6-30a for an incident P wave generated by the source S1 and a at reector.
The reection angle for the P P -wave is equal to the
angle of incidence; however, the reection angle for the
1933
(11 70)
1934
Reservoir Geophysics
1935
1936
FIG. 11.6-14. The composite common-shot gather as in Figure 11.6-6 after coupling corrections of Figure 11.6-13, (a) the
hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline and (d) vertical geophone components (Data courtesy Chevron.)
Reservoir Geophysics
1937
FIG. 11.6-15. The composite common-shot gather as in Figure 11.6-14, but displayed with with AGC, (a) the hydrophone,
(b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1938
FIG. 11.6-16. The composite common-receiver gather as in Figure 11.6-8 after coupling corrections of Figure 11.6-13, (a)
the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1939
FIG. 11.6-17. The composite common-receiver gather as in Figure 11.6-16, but displayed with with AGC, (a) the hydrophone,
(b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1940
FIG. 11.6-18. A close-up view of the composite common-shot gather after coupling corrections as in Figure 11.6-14, and the
spectra of the individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1941
FIG. 11.6-19. A close-up view of the composite of the common-receiver gather after coupling corrections as in Figure 11.616, and the spectra of the individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) inline, (c) crossline, and (d) vertical geophone
components.
1942
Reservoir Geophysics
1943
FIG. 11.6-21. The CMP stack derived from the P P -data as in Figure 11.6-14. (Processing by Orhan Yilmaz, 1999).
1944
Reservoir Geophysics
1945
1946
xS
x2S + z 2
(11 71b)
(11 72a)
xP
x2
2 + 2 1 P2
z
(11 72b)
x.
(11 73a)
xP =
1+
Since < , the conversion point is closer to the receiver location than the source location (Figure 11.631b). The displacement d = xP x/2 of the asymptotic
conversion point from the midpoint is, by way of equation (11-73a),
1
d=
2
1
+1
x.
(11 73b)
1
1
+
z.
(11 75)
x2P +
2
+1
x xP
2
2 t0
2
+1
2
2 t0 ,
(11 76)
where = /.
Equation (11-76) describes the P S-wave moveout
observed on a CCP gather. Although it is derived for
a single at layer in a constant-velocity medium, this
equation also is applicable to a horizontally layered
earth model. In that case, and refer to the P - and
S-wave rms velocities.
Note from equation (11-76) that the asymmetric
raypath associated with the P S reection shown in
(text continues on p. 1955)
Reservoir Geophysics
1947
FIG. 11.6-24. The composite common-shot gather as in Figure 11.6-14 after rotation of inline and crossline components to
radial and transverse components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1948
FIG. 11.6-25. The composite common-shot gather as in Figure 11.6-24, but displayed with AGC, (a) the hydrophone, (b)
radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1949
FIG. 11.6-26. The composite common-receiver gather as in Figure 11.6-16 after rotation of inline and crossline components
to radial and transverse components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1950
FIG. 11.6-27. The composite common-receiver gather as in Figure 11.6-26, but displayed with AGC, (a) the hydrophone,
(b) radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1951
FIG. 11.6-28. A close-up view of the composite common-shot gather after rotation as in Figure 11.6-24, and the spectra of
the individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
1952
FIG. 11.6-29. A close-up view of the composite common-shot gather after rotation as in Figure 11.6-26, and the spectra of
the individual components, (a) the hydrophone, (b) radial, (c) transverse, and (d) vertical geophone components.
Reservoir Geophysics
1953
FIG. 11.6-30. (a) Conversion of an incident P -wave to a reecting S-wave; (b) P -to-P and P -to-S reection at a at
reecting interface. The arrows along the raypaths represent the direction of particle motion. See text for details.
1954
FIG. 11.6-31. Geometry of (a) common-midpoint (CMP) raypaths, and (b) common-conversion-point (CCP) and raypaths.
At innite depth, the CCP location reaches an asymptotic conversion point (ACP). See text for details.
Reservoir Geophysics
1955
FIG. 11.6-32. Geometry of a common-conversion-point (CCP) raypath used to derive the reection traveltime equation
(11-74) for the P S-wave.
x2
2
vN
MO
(11 77)
to the traveltime trajectory associated with a P S reection on a CCP gather (Tessmer and Behle, 1988). In
equation (11-77), t and t0 mean the same traveltimes
as in equation (11-76), and vN M O is the moveout velocity for P S-wave derived from the best-t hyperbola; as
such, it is neither the P -wave velocity nor the S-wave
velocity . In fact, the Taylor expansion
of equation
1956
FIG. 11.6-33. (a) A common-conversion-point (CCP) gather, (b) after hyperbolic moveout correction using equation (11-77),
and (c) after nonhyperbolic movoeut correction using equation (11-76). (Figure courtesy Li and Yuan, 1999.)
Another strategy for velocity analysis of the P Swave data is the direct estimation of the P S-wave velocity , rather than estimating the velocity ratio .
Return to equation (11-76) and rewrite it explicitly in
terms of and as
Reservoir Geophysics
1957
FIG. 11.6-34. Analysis of CCP gather in Figure 11.6-33a for the velocity ratio, = /. (Figure courtesy Li and Yuan,
1999.)
1958
FIG. 11.6-35. The velocity-ratio section derived from the analysis as in Figure 11.6-34. (Figure courtesy Li and Yuan, 1999.)
Reservoir Geophysics
t=
x2P +
2 2
+
x xP
2
2 t0
2 2
+
2
2 t0 .
(11 78)
By using the nonhyperbolic equation (11-78), follow the alternative procedure for P S-wave velocity
analysis outlined below.
(a) Again, estimate the P P -wave velocity as before
using the P P data set itself.
(b) Also, assume an initial value for = / and estimate an initial value for xP using equation (1173a).
(c) Knowing and xP , use the nonhyperbolic moveout
equation (11-78) to scan for as a function of t0 .
Figure 11.6-36 shows a CCP gather and the computed -spectrum. Compare with the -spectrum
in Figure 11.6-20 and note the dierence in the velocity ranges in the two spectra.
(d) Pick a function (t0 ) at each CCP analysis location
along the line over the survey area and derive a
(x, t0 )-section.
(e) Use the (x, t0 )-section and the P P -wave velocity
to calculate an updated value for xP (t0 ) from
equation (11-72c).
(f) Substitute the updated xP (t0 ) and the estimated
and into equation (11-78) to perform the nonhyperbolic moveout correction.
Figure 11.6-37 shows the P S-wave stack based on
the alternative procedure described above. Note the differences between this section and the P P -wave stack
shown in Figure 11.6-21. Specically, the P S-wave stack
shows some interesting reector geometry between 4-5
s; this behavior is absent within the equivalent time
window (2-2.5 s) in the P P -wave stack.
One subtle issue is related to the time at which is
specied in equations (11-76) and (11-78). The two-way
zero-oset time t0 in these equations is associated with
the P S-wave; whereas, is estimated at two-way zerooset time associated with the P P -wave. To distinguish
the two zero-oset times, rst, rewrite equation (11-75)
(P S)
for the P S two-way time t0
(P S)
t0
1
1
+
z.
(11 79a)
(P P )
t0
2
z.
is
(11 79b)
1959
t0
2
(P S)
t
.
+1 0
(11 80b)
(P P )
1960
Reservoir Geophysics
have been adapted to the CMP geometry. Note that you
need to apply DMO correction to the P S data even in
the absence of dip to remove the reection-point dispersal (Alfaraj, 1993). Expressed dierently, implicit to
the P S DMO correction is CCP binning that involves
mapping of amplitudes along the dotted trajectory in
Figure 11.6-38b.
Migration of PS Data
We learned in Section 4.1 that migration of the stacked
P P data can be performed by summation of amplitudes
(equation 4-5) along a hyperbolic traveltime trajectory (equation 4-4) associated with a coincident sourcereceiver pair at the surface and a point diractor at the
subsurface. The amplitude from the resulting summation is placed at the apex time of the diraction hyperbola. Prior to summation (equation 4-5), amplitude and
phase factors inferred by the Kirchho integral solution
to the scalar wave equation are applied to the stacked
data (Section 4.1).
Similarly, migration of the stacked P S data can
be conceptualized as a summation along a traveltime
trajectory associated with a coincident source-receiver
pair at the surface and a point diractor at the subsurface. The dierence between the zero-oset P P and the
P S diraction summation trajectories is in the velocities. Set x = 0 in equation (11-76) to get the traveltime
equation for the zero-oset P S diraction summation
trajectory as
+1 2 2
xP ,
(11 81)
where t is the time associated with the unmigrated P Sstack, and t0 is the time associated with the migrated
P S-stack given by equation (11-75).
Equation (11-81) is of the same form as equation
(4-4) that describes the zero-oset P P diraction summation trajectory. In fact, setting = 1 in equation
(11-81) yields equation (4-4) for the case of constant
velocity. Note from equation (11-81) that the migration
velocity for the P S data is given by /( + 1), which is
neither the P -wave velocity nor the S-wave velocity
. The P S-velocity /( + 1) can be obtained from the
P P -velocity and the velocity ratio , both estimated
from the velocity analysis described earlier in this section. Once the velocity eld is estimated, the P S-stack
can, in principle, be migrated using any of the algorithms described in Chapter 4.
t2 = t20 +
1961
1962
FIG. 11.6-37. The CCP stack derived from the P S data as in Figure 11.6-14. Compare with the CMP stack derived from
the P P data shown in Figure 11.6-21. (Processing by Orhan Yilmaz, 1999).
Reservoir Geophysics
1963
FIG. 11.6-38. Impulse responses of a DMO operator for (a) P P data, and (b) P S data (adapted from Alfaraj, 1993) for a
given source (S) and receiver (R) separation. The horizontal axis is the midpoint axis and the vertical axis is the event time
after NMO correction. The dotted curve represents the common-conversion-point (CCP) trajectory as in Figure 11.6-31b.
Huygens secondary sources situated along the wavefront A, say at time t. This wavefront actually coincides with an exploding reector dipping at an angle .
Because of the anisotropic behavior of the propagation
medium, the Huygens sources do not emanate semicircular wavefronts; instead, the wavefronts are skewed in
the direction of the fast velocity. These skewed wavefronts will form the plane wavefront B at a later time
t + t. While the energy was transmitted along the raypath SP at group velocity, the wavefront that represents
a constant phase actually traveled from position A to
B along T P normal to the wavefront at phase velocity. Because the group velocity is associated with the
raypath, it is sometimes referred to as the ray velocity. Similarly, because the phase velocity is associated
with the wavefront, it is sometimes referred to as the
wavefront velocity. Note that the wavefront angle associated with the phase velocity is dierent from the
ray angle associated with the group velocity. Only if
the medium were isotropic, Huygens secondary sources
would produce semicircular wavefronts and the phase
angle would coincide with the ray angle .
Note from Figure 11.7-1 that the zero-oset raypath SP does not make a right angle with the reector;
thus, in the case of anisotropy, the zero-oset ray is not a
normal-incident ray as would be in the case of isotropy.
This behavior can be better explained by sketching the
isotropic and anisotropic wavefronts as shown in Figure
11.7-1b. Specically, in the case of isotropic medium,
the wavefront emanating from a point P is circular and
the zero-oset ray is normal-incident to the reector.
Whereas, in the case of an anisotropic medium, the
wavefront is skewed and the zero-oset ray impinges
on the reector at a non-normal incidence angle.
An example of how velocity changes with direction in an anisotropic medium is shown in Figure 11.7-2
(Uren et al., 1990a). Based on velocity characterisitcs of
the Green River shale (Thomsen, 1986), this polar plot
of group velocities shows that, as for most rock types,
the P -wave velocity is nonelliptical, whereas the SHwave velocity behaves elliptically anisotropic. Also note
that the horizontal P -wave velocity is greater than the
vertical P -wave velocity.
We shall associate seismic aniostropy primarily with seismic velocities. Aside from anisotropic
1964
FIG. 11.6-39. (a) Common-midpoint (CMP) raypath geometry for P P -data, and (b) common-conversion-point (CCP)
raypath geometry for P S-data. (Adapted from den Rooijen, 1991.)
Reservoir Geophysics
velocity analysis, this means that we will need to review those processes that are intimately inuenced by
velocity anisotropy, such as dip-moveout correction, migration and AVO analysis.
The generalized form of Hookes law, which is the
foundation of linear elastic theory, states that each
stress component can be expressed as a linear combination of all the strain components (Ocer, 1958).
Hookes law is based on the assumption that elastic deformations in solids are innitesimally small. The stiness matrix, otherwise known as the elastic modulus
matrix (Thomsen, 1986), that relates the stress components to the strain components is (Section L.1)
c
c
c
c
c
c
{cij } = 31 32 33 34 35 36 .
c41 c42 c43 c44 c45 c46
+2
0
0
0
+2
0
0
0
+2
0
0
0
{cij }=
.
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
(11 82b)
To describe the P - and S-wave propagation in
isotropic solids, only two elastic parameters are needed
Lames constants, and . Other elastic parameters Youngs modulus E, Poissons ratio and bulk
modulus , and the P - and S-wave velocities can all
be expressed in terms of and (Figure 11.0-1 and
Appendix L.1).
For a transversely isotropic solid, the elastic behavior of which is the same in two orthogonal directions but
dierent in the third direction, the number of independent constants is ve (Ocer, 1958; Thomsen, 1986;
Sheri, 1991). For the more specic case of vertically
transverse isotropy (VTI), which has a vertical symmetry axis, the ve independent elastic constants are c11 ,
c13 , c33 , c44 , and c66 (Thomsen, 1986).
1965
c33
,
(11 83a)
0 =
c44
,
(11 83b)
c11 c33
,
2c33
(11 83c)
(11 83d)
c66 c44
.
2c44
(11 83e)
and
=
1966
(11 84)
(11 85)
h 0
.
0
(11 86)
(11 87)
vN M O (0) = 0 1 + 2.
In the special case of = 0, the moveout velocity is the
same as the velocity of an isotropic medium represented
by 0 (Section 3.1).
The P -wave traveltime equation for a at reector in an anisotropic medium is given by Tsvankin and
Thomsen (1994)
A4 x4
,
(11 88)
1 + Ax2
where t is the two-way time from source to reector
to receiver, t0 is the two-way zero-oset time, x is the
source-receiver oset, and A2 and A4 are coecients
which are written below to acknowledge their complexity
t2 = t20 + A2 x2 +
A2 =
A4 =
02 (1
1
,
+ 2)
(11-89a)
2( ) 1 + 2 1 02 /02 )1
t20 04 1 + 2
(11-89b)
and
A=
A4
.
A2
h2
(11 89c)
Just for comparison, we write the traveltime equation (3-11) for a at reector in an isotropic medium
using the current notation
t2 = t20 +
x2
2
vN
MO
(11 90)
For isotropic velocity analysis using equation (1190), we only need to scan one parameter the velocity
vN M O (Section 3.2). For anisotropic velocity analysis
using equation (11-88), note that we have to do a multiparameter scan involving 0 , h , 0 , , and an
impractical and unacceptable proposal.
As a way to circumvent this insurmountable problem of a multiparameter scan in velocity analysis,
Alkhalifah and Tsvankin (1995) dene a new eective
anisotropy parameter
=
.
1 + 2
(11 91)
By way of equations (11-85), (11-87), (11-91), and (1189a,b,c), and neglecting the eect of 0 , equation (1188) takes a form that is suitable for practical implementation (Alkhalifah and Tsvankin, 1995)
t2 = t20 +
x2
2
vN
MO
2
vN
MO
2x4
,
2
2
t20 vN
M O + 1 + 2 x
(11 92)
Reservoir Geophysics
1967
1968
FIG. 11.7-2. Group velocity functions for P - and SHwaves in Green River shale (After Uren et al., 1990b; Thomsen, 1986).
h2 2 sin
t2n vN M O (0)
(11 94)
vN M O (0)ky
,
20
(11 95)
1+
h2 ky2
.
t2n 02
(11 96)
(11 93)
1+
vN M O () =
()
cos
1+
1 d2 ()
() d2
tan d()
1
()
d
(11 97)
Reservoir Geophysics
1969
FIG. 11.7-3. Crossplot of P -wave anisotropy parameters, and , associated with various rock samples (after Thomsen,
1986).
1970
1+
4h2 1 cos2
.
2
t2n vN
M O (0)
(11 100a)
(11 98)
where
B=
sin3
4sin4 9 sin2 + 6 .
1 sin2
(11 99)
Equation (11-98) states that anisotropic DMO correction maps the moveout velocity vN M O () for a dipping reector to the moveout velocity vN M O (0) for a
at reector. By setting the anisotropy parameters =
= 0, or making the assumption that the anisotropy is
1+
1
4h2
1
. (11 100b)
2
2
2
tn vN M O (0) vN M O ()
1+
h2 ky2
1+ C ,
t2n 02
(11 101)
where
C = 8 sin4 18 sin2 + 12,
(11 102)
Reservoir Geophysics
parameters, that dictates the anisotropic eect. What
remains to be determined is the dierence . Combine equations (11-87) and (11-91) to get the relation
=
vN M O (0)
0
(11 103)
1971
1972
FIG. 11.7-5. (a) An NMO-corrected CMP gather and (b) its velocity spectrum based on isotropic moveout equation (11-90);
(c) and (d) are enlargements of (a) and (b), respectively.
Reservoir Geophysics
1973
FIG. 11.7-6. (a) The CMP gather and (b) its velocity spectrum as in Figure (11.7-5c,d), except that the NMO correction
has been applied using a dierent velocity function.
1974
FIG. 11.7-7. (a) The NMO-corrected CMP gather as in Figure 11.7-5a but with a dierent mute, and (b) its velocity
spectrum; (c) and (d) are enlargements of (a) and (b), respectively.
Reservoir Geophysics
1975
FIG. 11.7-8. (a) The NMO-corrected CMP gather as in Figure 11.7-5c and (b) its -spectrum computed from the anisotropic
moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the function picked from
the spectrum in (d).
1976
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1977
1978
Reservoir Geophysics
1979
1980
Anisotropic Migration
A convenient way to understand the eect of anisotropy
on migration is to refer to the zero-oset dispersion relation of the one-way scalar wave equation that describes
wave propagation associated with exploding reectors
(Section 4.1), using the present notation,
kz =
2
0
0 ky
2
(11 104)
Reservoir Geophysics
1981
FIG. 11.7-14. (a) The NMO-corrected CMP gather as in Figure 11.7-5a after DMO correction and (b) its velocity spectrum
based on isotropic moveout equation (11-90); (c) and (d) are enlargements of (a) and (b), respectively.
1982
FIG. 11.7-15. (a) The DMO-corrected CMP gather and (b) its velocity spectrum as in Figure (11.7-14c,d), except that the
NMO correction has been applied using a dierent velocity function.
Reservoir Geophysics
1983
FIG. 11.7-16. (a) The NMO-corrected CMP gather as in Figure 11.7-14a after DMO correction but with a dierent mute,
and (b) its velocity spectrum; (c) and (d) are enlargements of (a) and (b), respectively.
1984
FIG. 11.7-17. (a) The NMO-corrected CMP gather as in Figure 11.7-14c after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum
computed from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction
using the function picked from the spectrum in (d).
Reservoir Geophysics
1985
FIG. 11.7-18. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
1986
FIG. 11.7-19. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
Reservoir Geophysics
1987
FIG. 11.7-20. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
1988
FIG. 11.7-21. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
Reservoir Geophysics
1989
FIG. 11.7-22. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
1990
FIG. 11.7-23. (a) A portion of an NMO-corrected CMP gather after DMO correction and (b) its -spectrum computed
from the anisotropic moveout equation (11-92); (c) the same gather as in (a) after anisotropic moveout correction using the
function picked from the spectrum in (d).
Reservoir Geophysics
1991
1992
Reservoir Geophysics
1993
1994
Reservoir Geophysics
1995
0
2
ky2 + kz2
ky2 + kz2
To account for the eect of anisotropy in migration, the medium velocity 0 in the dispersion relation
given by equation (11-104) needs to be replaced with the
P -wave phase velocity given by equation (11-84). This
means that velocity used in anisotropic migration is dependent on the phase angle of the propagating wavefront (Figure 11.7-1). We shall rst rewrite the dispersion relation of equation (11-104) explicitly in terms of
the velocity
4 2
= 02 ,
+ kz2
(11 106)
ky2
and replace 0 with the phase velocity of equation (1184) specied for the reector dip
4 2
2
= 02 1 + sin2 cos2 + sin4 .
ky2 + kz2
(11 107)
Next, we shall use the relations (Section D.1)
sin =
ky
ky2
(11 108a)
+ kz2
and
cos =
kz
ky2 + kz2
(11 108b)
(11 109)
1996
FIG. 11.7-29. A portion of a 2-D seismic section based on the application of DMO correction and phase-shift time migration
(a) without and (b) with anisotropy accounted for (Alkhalifah et al., 1996).
Reservoir Geophysics
1997
FIG. 11.7-30. P -to-P reection amplitudes as a function of angle of incidence at two dierent interfaces associated with a
horizontally layered earth model with transverse isotropy (Haase, 1998). See text for details.
1998
1
2
2
2 1
1
4 2
2 2
+ sin2
2
2
1 1
+
2
2
tan2 sin2 ,
(11 110)
Reservoir Geophysics
1999
FIG. 11.7-32. Shear-wave splitting from a North Sea 3-D survey: (a) radial and (b) transverse components as a function of source receiver-azimuth in degrees. See text for details. (Figure courtesy Gaiser, 1999a, and Baker-Hughes Western
Geophysical.)
2000
EXERCISES
in two orthogonal directions the shear-wave component that is polarized parallel to the fracture orientation
and the shear-wave component that is polarized perpendicular to the fracture orientation. Shear-wave splitting
in azimuthally anisotropic media is sometimes referred
to as shear-wave birefringence.
The shear-wave component polarized parallel to
the fracture orientation travels with a speed faster than
the shear-wave component in the perpendicular direction. In practice, we have the radial and transverse components; but not the slow and fast shear-wave components. The fast and slow shear-wave components, however, can be extracted from the radial and transverse
geophone components (Section 11.6) by a special rotation developed by Alford (1986). The Alford rotational
analysis of the shear-wave data provides an estimate
of fracture orientation. This is strategically important
in developing reservoirs within fractured rocks (Martin
and Davis, 1987; Ata and Michelena, 1995); specically,
in planning trajectories for production wells.
Appendix L
MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION OF ELASTIC WAVE PROPAGATION
u
u/x u/y u/z
x
v = v/x v/y v/z y .
(L 2)
w
w/x w/y w/z
z
To understand the physical meaning of the elements of the tensor containing the partial
derivatives in equation (L-2), instead of arbitrary displacement as shown in Figure L-2, consider
deformations of specic types. The simplest deformation is an extension in one direction as a
result of a tensional stress as illustrated in Figure L-3a. (For simplicity, only one surface of the
volume in Figure L-1 is considered.) The fractional change in length in the x-direction is u/x,
2002
FIG. L-1. Stress components acting on an innitesimally small volume surrounding a point within an
elastic solid.
FIG. L-2. Two points, P and Q, within a solid body subject to a stress eld. The solid is deformed in
some manner and the particles at points P and Q are displaced to new locations P and Q . Here, u,
v, and w are the displacement components.
which, in the limit as the volume becomes innitesimally small, is dened as the normal strain
component.
Strain is a dimensionless quantity. There are three normal strain components, exx , eyy , and
ezz :
exx =
u
,
x
(L 3a)
eyy =
v
,
y
(L 3b)
w
.
(L 3c)
z
The stress eld away from the typical seismic source is so small that it does not cause any
permanent deformation on rock particles along the propagation path. Hence, the strain induced
ezz =
2003
FIG. L-3. Deformations caused by stress acting on one surface of the volume in Figure L-1: (a) linear
deformation that results in extension of the side AB in the x direction by an amount BB ; (b) shearing
only; (c) rotation only; (d) combined angular deformation () and rotation (). See text for details.
by seismic waves is very small, usually around 106 . A positive strain refers to an extension and
a negative strain refers to a contraction.
Other types of deformation are caused by shearing (Figure L-3b), rotation (Figure L-3c),
and a combination of the two (Figure L-3d). The angular deformations and , in the limit as
the volume becomes innitesimally small, can be expressed in terms of displacement components
u and w, by using the relations
=
w
x
(L 4a)
+ =
u
,
z
(L 4b)
and
2004
1 w u
= ezx .
+
2 x
z
(L 5a)
Similarly, we obtain
exy =
1 v
u
= eyx
+
2 x y
(L 5b)
ezy =
1 w v
+
2 y
z
(L 5c)
and
exx exy
{eij } = eyx eyy
ezx ezy
= eyz .
exz
eyz .
(L 6)
ezz
Note that, by way of equations (L-5a,b,c), the strain tensor (L-6) is symmetric.
Also from equations (L-4a,b), we obtain by subtraction
= xz =
1 w u
= zx .
2 x
z
(L 7a)
Similarly,
u
1 v
= yx
2 x y
(L 7b)
1 w v
2 y
z
(L 7c)
xy =
and
yz =
= zy .
0
v/x u/y w/x u/z
1
u/y v/x
0
w/y v/z .
2
u/z w/x v/z w/y
0
(L 8)
The elements of the matrices in equation (L-8) can then be expressed in terms of the normal
strain components exx , eyy , and ezz , given by equations (L-3a,b,c), the shear strain components,
exz , exy , and eyz , given by equations (L-5a,b,c), and the rigid rotational components xz , xy , and
yz , given by equations (L-7a,b,c). All of these components are then substituted into equation
(L-2) to get
u
exx exy exz
0 xy xz
x
v = eyx eyy eyz + yx
0 yz y .
(L 9)
w
ezx ezy ezz
zx zy
0
z
2005
Next, we need to establish the relation between the stress tensor (L-1) and the strain
tensor (L-6). For an elastic solid, Hookes law states that the strain at any point is directly
proportional to the stresses applied at that point. First, consider a volume (Figure L-1) under
tensional principle stresses, Pxx , Pyy , and Pzz . The stress-strain relations are written as
Pxx = Eexx ,
(L 10a)
Pxx = Eeyy ,
(L 10b)
Pxx = Eezz ,
(L 10c)
and
where E and are proportionality constants, which are specic to the material and are called
Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio, respectively.
Consider a cylindrical rod that is subjected to a longitudinal extension in the x-direction. All
other stresses being zero, this causes a lateral contraction in the y-direction. Note from equation
(L-10a) that Youngs modulus is the ratio of the longitudinal stress Pxx to the longitudinal
strain exx . Substitute Pxx from equation (L-10a) into equation (L-10b) and note that Poissons
ratio is the ratio of the lateral contraction dened by the strain component eyy to longitudinal
extension dened by the strain component exx . Since strain is a dimensionless quantity, Youngs
modulus has the dimensions of stress, and Poissons ratio is a pure number.
Similar to equations (L-10a,b,c), we establish the following relations
Pyy = Eeyy ,
(L 11a)
Pyy = Eexx ,
(L 11b)
Pyy = Eezz ,
(L 11c)
Pzz = Eezz ,
(L 12a)
Pzz = Eexx ,
(L 12b)
Pzz = Eeyy .
(L 12c)
and
By combining equations (L-10), (L-11), and (L-12), we rewrite the principal stress-strain
relations as
Pxx Pyy Pzz = 3Eexx ,
(L 13a)
(L 13b)
(L 13c)
(L 14a)
(L 14b)
(L 14c)
(L 15)
2006
(L 16)
E
.
1 2
(L 17)
Finally, by using the relations (L-16) and (L-17), and back substituting into equations (L13a,b,c), we obtain the relations between the principal stress and principal strain components:
Pxx = + 2exx ,
(L 18a)
Pyy = + 2eyy ,
(L 18b)
Pzz = + 2ezz ,
(L 18c)
where and are the elastic moduli for the solid given by
=
E
(1 + )(1 2)
(L 19a)
E
.
2(1 + )
(L 19b)
and
=
(L 20a)
Pxz = 2exz ,
(L 20b)
Pyz = 2eyz ,
(L 20c)
where the proportionality constant is known as the modulus of rigidity. Note, from equation
(L-20a), that modulus of rigidity is the ratio of shear stress to shear strain.
By combining equations (L-18a,b,c) and (L-20a,b,c), we obtain the stress-strain relation for
elastic solids:
2007
Since the stress tensor (L-1) and the strain tensor (L-6) are symmetric, equation (L-21) can
be written in the form
Pxx
+ 2
0
0
0
exx
+ 2
0
0
0 eyy
Pyy
+ 2
0
0
0 ezz
Pzz
(L 22)
.
0
0
2
0
0 exy
Pxy 0
Pxz
0
0
0
0
2
0
exz
Pyz
0
0
0
0
0
2
eyz
This equation is a special form of
Pxx
c11
Pyy c21
Pzz c31
=
Pxy c41
Pxz
c51
Pyz
c61
,
c42 c43 c44 c45 c46 exy
where cij = cji are the 21 independent constants for an elastic medium. The stress vector on
the left is related to the strain vector on the right by the stiness matrix {cij }. Equation (L-23)
states that a stress component is a linear combination of all the strain components. This relation
is the foundation of the linear theory of elasticity and its physical basis is the assumption that
elastic deformations in solids are innitesimally small.
For an isotropic solid, the number of independent constants is reduced to two Lames
constants, and given by equations (L-19a,b); hence equation (L-23) reduces to the special
form of equation (L-22). For a transversely isotropic solid, for which elastic behavior is the same
in two orthogonal directions but dierent in the third direction, the number of independent
constants is ve (Sheri, 1991).
Pxx
Pxy
Pxz
2u
=
+
+
,
2
t
x
y
z
(L 24)
where is the density. From the expression (L-21) for Hookes law, we have
Pxx = + 2exx ,
(L 25a)
Pxy = 2exy ,
(L 25b)
Pxz = 2exz .
(L 25c)
and
By making these substitutions into equation (L-24), and assuming that the elastic parameters and are constant, we obtain
exx
exy
exz
2u
=
+ 2
+ 2
+ 2
.
t2
x
x
y
z
(L 26)
By using the denitions for the principal strains given by equations (L-3a,b,c) and that for the
dilatation given by equation (L-16), the latter can be expressed in terms of the displacement
2008
u v
w
+
+
.
x y
z
(L 27)
Next, by substituting equation (L-27) and the relations for the strain components in terms of
the displacement components given by equations (L-3a,b,c) and (L-5a,b,c) into equation (L-26),
we obtain
2u
w
2u
2u
2u
2w
2v
u v
+
+
+
+
+
2
+
.
=
t2
x x y
z
x2
yx y 2
zx z 2
(L 28a)
Rearrange the terms on the right-hand side to get the following expression
2u
w
u v
2u 2u 2u
+
+
+
=
(
+
)
+ 2 + 2 .
t2
x x y
z
x2
y
z
(L 28b)
Finally, back substitution of equation (L-27) and the denition for the Laplacian operator,
2 : ( 2 /x2 + 2 /y 2 + 2 /z 2 ) into equation (L-28b), yields the equation of motion for the
displacement component u:
2u
+ 2 u.
= ( + )
t2
x
(L 29a)
Similarly, we can derive the equations of motion for the displacement components v and w
2v
= ( + )
+ 2 v
t2
y
(L 29b)
2w
= ( + )
+ 2 w.
2
t
z
(L 29c)
and
get
Dene the displacement vector u :(u, v, w) and combine the three equations (L-29a,b,c) to
2u
= ( + ) + 2 u.
t2
(L 30)
This is the equation of wave propagation in homogeneous, isotropic, and elastic solids.
2
2u 2u 2u
2u
=
(
+
)
+
+ 2 + 2 ,
x t2
x2
x x2
y
z
(L 31a)
2v
y t2
= ( + )
2
2v
2v
2v
+
+ 2+ 2 ,
2
2
y
y x
y
z
(L 31b)
2009
2w
z t2
= ( + )
2
2w 2w 2w
.
+
+
+
z 2
z x2
y 2
z 2
(L 31c)
Next, reorder the dierentiation on the left-hand side of equations (L-31a,b,c) and add them to
get
2 u v
2 2 2
w
=
(
+
)
+
+
+
+
t2 x y
z
x2
y 2
z 2
2
2
2
2
u u u
v 2v 2v
2w 2w 2w
+
+
+
.
+
+
+
+
+
+
x x2 y 2 z 2
y x2 y 2 z 2
z x2 y 2 z 2
(L 32)
Then, change the order of dierentiation and rearrange the terms on the right-hand side to get
2 u v
2 2
w
=
(
+
)
+
+
+
+
t2 x y
z
x2
y 2
2
2 u v
w
+ 2
+ 2
+
+
x x y
z
y
2
z 2
2 u v
w
w
u v
+ 2
.
+
+
+
+
x y
z
z x y
z
(L 33)
Finally, substitution of equation (L-27) and the denition for the Laplacian operator, 2 :
( 2 /x2 + 2 /y 2 + 2 /z 2 ) into the above expression, yield the equation for dilatational or
compressional-wave propogation:
2
= ( + 2)2 .
t2
(L 34)
The velocity with which compressional waves propagate in an elastic solid then is
=
+ 2
.
(L 35)
Equation (L-34) also can be derived by using the more compact vector algebra. Specically,
by taking the divergence of both sides of equation (L-30) and reordering the dierentiation, we
have
2
( u) = ( + ) () + 2 ( u).
t2
(L 36)
By referring to equation (L-27), note that the dilatation is the divergence of the displacement
vector: = u. Substitution of this relation into equation (L-36) and observing that the
divergence of a gradient is the Laplacian, () = 2 (Lass, 1950), yield equation (L-34)
that describes the compressional-wave propagation.
Dierentiate equation (L-29b) with respect to z
2v
z t2
= ( + )
+
2 v ,
zy
z
(L 37a)
+
2 w .
yz
y
(L 37b)
2w
y t2
= ( + )
Next, change the order of dierentiation and subtract equation (L-37a) from (L-37b)
2 w v
t2 y
z
= 2
w v
.
y
z
(L 38)
2010
2 yz
= 2 yz .
t2
(L 39)
2
2u
= ( + )
+
2 u ,
2
z t
zx
z
(L 40a)
2w
x t2
= ( + )
+
2 w .
xz
x
(L 40b)
Next, change the order of dierentiation and subtract equation (L-40a) from (L-40b)
2 w u
w u
= 2
,
t2 x
z
x
z
(L 41)
2 xz
= 2 xz .
t2
(L 42)
2
2u
=
(
+
)
+
2 u ,
2
y t
yx
y
(L 43a)
2v
x t2
= ( + )
+
2 v .
xy
x
(L 43b)
Next, change the order of dierentiation and subtract equation (L-43a) from (L-43b)
2 v
v
u
u
= 2
,
t2 x y
x y
(L 44)
2 xy
= 2 xy .
t2
(L 45)
Dene the rotational vector : (xy , xz , yz ), and combine the three equations (L-39), (L-42),
and (L-45) to get the equation for rotational or shear-wave propagation:
2
= 2 .
t2
The velocity with which shear waves propagate in an elastic solid then is
(L 46)
(L 47)
Equation (L-46) also can be derived by using the more compact vector algebra. Specically,
by taking the curl of both sides of equation (L-30) and reordering dierentiation, we have
2
( u) = ( + ) + 2 ( u).
t2
(L 48)
By referring to equations (L-7a,b,c) note that the rotational vector : (xy , xz , yz ) is the curl
of the displacement vector: = (1/2) u. Substitution of this relation into equation (L-48)
and observing that the curl of a gradient is zero, = 0 (Lass, 1950), yield equation (L-46)
for rotational or shear-wave propagation.
2011
By taking the ratio of equations (L-35) and (L-47), and using the relations (L-19a,b),
we obtain the expression for the ratio of the shear-wave velocity to the compressional-wave
velocity
1 2
,
2(1 )
(L 49)
which indicates that the velocity ratio /, depends on Poissons ratio , and that the
compressional-wave velocity is always greater than the shear-wave velocity .
The wave type described by equation (L-34) is commonly referred to as the P -wave (or
equivalently, longitudinal wave, dilatational wave, or compressional wave), and the wave type
described by equation (L-46) is commonly referred to as the S-wave (or equivalently, rotational
wave, transverse wave, or shear wave). For P -waves, the particle motion is in the direction of
wave propagation, whereas for S-waves, the particle motion is in the direction perpendicular to
the direction of wave propagation.
To understand the nature of P - and S-wave propagation, consider the simple case of planewave propagation in the x-direction. This makes the displacement vector u : (u, v, w) a function
of x only. Refer to equations (L-29a,b,c), substitute for the cubical dilatation from equation
(L-27), and nally, retain only the derivatives with respect to x to obtain
2u
2u
=
(
+
2)
,
t2
x2
(L 50a)
2v
2v
=
,
t2
x2
(L 50b)
and
2w
2w
= 2.
(L 50c)
2
t
x
From equation (L-50a), note that the particle displacement u (the longitudinal vibration)
which is in the direction of propagation (in this case in the x-direction) travels with the velocity
of compressional waves (equation L-35). From equations (L-50b,c), the particle displacements v
and w (the transverse vibrations), which are in the directions perpendicular to the direction of
propagation, travel with the velocity of shear waves (equation L-47).
To a great extent, seismic waves traveling in the earth can be considered as elastic waves.
Therefore, we can use the wave equation (L-30) for elastic solids to describe seismic wave propagation. Source types used in seismic prospecting often generate P -waves. Furthermore, in marine
exploration, because of the water layer surrounding the source, S-waves cannot propagate. Nevertheless, at non-normal incidence, part of the P -wave energy is converted to S-waves. The
P -to-S conversion phenomenon is the basis for the 4-C seismic method (Section 11.6).
Equations for elastic wave propagation can be specialized to describe acoustic wave propagation induced by hydrostatic stress. Hookes law given by equation (L-21) takes the form
Pxx = + 2exx ,
(L 51a)
Pyy = + 2eyy ,
(L 51b)
Pzz = + 2ezz .
(L 51c)
and
Also, note that the normal stress components are equal to the hydrostatic pressure, Pxx =
Pyy = Pzz = P , and that shear stress components vanish, Pxy = Pxz = Pyz = 0. By summing
the three equations (L-51a,b,c) and substituting for the dilatation from equation (L-16), we
obtain
2
(L 52a)
= + ,
3
2012
4
+
3 .
(L 52b)
For uids, modulus of rigidity is zero. Hence, by setting = 0, = and using the relation
(L-52), for acoustic waves traveling in uid media, equation (L-34) takes the form
2P
= 2 P,
t2
(L 53)
2013
As the spherical wave propagates outward and away from its source, two things happen
to the source waveform. First, the energy generated by the source is spread over the area of
the spherical wavefront, which increases as the square of the radius of the wavefront. Hence,
the energy per unit area is inversely proportional to the square of the radius, while the wave
amplitude is inversely proportional to the radius. The phenomenon of wave amplitude decaying
with distance from the source is called spherical spreading.
Second, part of the seismic energy is lost along the path of propagation because of intrinsic
attenuation of rocks. This attenuation is in the form of frictional dissipation of energy into heat.
Attenuation mechanisms are still subject to research; nevertheless, a probable cause of loss of
seismic energy from absorption is widely believed to be the presence of pore uids. When set
to motion by the passing wave, uids take out a signicant part of the seismic energy. Wave
attenuation is generally described by an amplitude function that decays exponentially with
distance from the source. The rate of decay depends on the rock type and is described by a
constant factor. The constant fractional energy loss per cycle of seismic waves is highest for
weathered rocks (3 dB/wavelength), and it is about 0.5 dB/wavelength for normal rock types.
Since the energy loss is considered to be constant for a given wavelength, higher frequencies are
attenuated more rapidly than lower frequencies. As the source waveform travels down in the
earth, it gets broader along the propagation path because of gradual loss of higher frequencies.
This means that the earth behaves as a low-pass lter.
Another aspect of wave attenuation is related to the observation made about many of the
earth materials that do not behave as perfectly elastic when subjected to extended loading. This
nonelastic behavior is called viscoelasticity (Fung, 1965), and it requires some modications to
Hookes law given by equation (L-21). Specically, stress components are related to strain components and the rate of change of strain components themselves. When viscosity is introduced
into the wave propagation in solids, we can still identify P - and S-wave types. However, these
waves are now damped and dispersive they are subjected to frequency-dependent attenuation.
It is generally believed that the dispersive nature attributable to viscoelastic wave propagation
is negligible within the range of frequencies used in seismic prospecting.
Seismic waves whether compressional or shear, are subjected to reection and refraction
at layer boundaries with impedance contrast and diraction at a sharp discontinuity. In this
section, we shall briey review diraction phenomenon and discuss reection and refraction of
seismic waves within the context of amplitude variation with oset (AVO) analysis and amplitude
inversion.
When the incident plane wave encounters a sharp discontinuity with the radius of curvature
much less than the seismic wavelength, such as a fault edge, then the energy propagates outward
from that point acting as a Huygens secondary source in the form of a spherical wave. This
phenomenon is known as diraction.
The amplitude of the diracted wave along the hyperbolic traveltime trajectory decays with
distance away from the diractor. For an incident plane compressional plane wave, Sommerfeld
gives the exact solution for the diracted wave amplitude as (Grant and West, 1965)
A(, x, z) = A1 exp i( r + ) ,
(L 54a)
4
where
A1 = A0
1
1
sec ( ) csc ( + ) ,
2
2
(L 54b)
and
A0 is the incident wave amplitude, is the wave velocity, is the angle of incidence,
r = x2 + z 2 , is the angle at which energy diracts, and is the angular frequency. Note that
the solution given by equation (L-54a) is for 2-D geometry and for suciently large distances,
thus the term far-eld solution.
It is interesting to note that a reector can be represented by a series of discrete point
diractors. The response of a series of diractors is simply the superposition of the individual
responses. In the limit, we obtain the traveltime response associated with the reector which is
made up of diractors with an innitesimal separation between them.
2014
FIG. L-4. A two-layered 2-D earth model used in deriving the Zoeppritz equations (L-78).
We now review the reection and refraction phenomena. For simplicity, consider a
monochromatic compressional plane wave that impinges at normal incidence upon a at layer
boundary at z = 0. The incident energy is partitioned between a reected and transmitted
compressional plane wave. This special case is discussed in Section 11.2. In the next section, we
shall treat the general case of a compressional plane wave that is incident at an oblique angle to
the interface. Derivation of the reected and transmitted wave functions gets complicated, and
we nd that the reection coecient changes with angle of incidence. Moreover, at non-normal
incidence, the incident compressional-wave energy is partitioned at the interface into four components reected compressional, reected shear, transmitted compressional, and transmitted
shear waves.
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+
x
z
(L 55a)
w=
.
z
x
(L 55b)
and
Choice of the displacement potentials is made on the basis that they satisfy the wave equation
while enabling us to describe the displacement vector u in terms of a compressional component
and a rotational component. To see that the two potentials dened by equations (L-55a,b) satisfy
the wave equation, proceed as follows.
Adapt the dilatation given by equation (L-27) to the geometry of Figure L-4 in (x, z)
coordinates
u w
+
,
x
z
(L 56)
+
.
+
x x
z
z z
x
(L 57)
=
and subsitute equations (L-55a,b)
=
2 2
+
.
x2
z 2
(L 58)
Finally, substitute equation (L-58) into the compressional-wave equation (L-34) to obtain
2 2
1 2
+
=
,
x2
z 2
2 t2
(L 59)
where the compressional-wave velocity is given by equation (L-35). Equation (L-59) indicates
that the displacement potential obeys the wave equation.
Now consider the rotational shear component xz given by equation (L-7a). This is the
shear strain that is relevant to the wave motion in (x, z) coordinates of Figure L-4. Substitute
equations (L-55a,b) into equation (L-7a)
xz =
+
2 x z
x
z x
z
(L 60)
1 2 2
.
+
2 x2
z 2
(L 61)
Finally, substitute equation (L-61) into the shear-wave equation (L-42) to obtain
2 2
1 2
+
=
,
x2
z 2
2 t2
(L 62)
where the shear-wave velocity is given by equation (L-47). Equation (L-62) indicates that the
displacement potential also obeys the wave equation.
The plane-wave solutions (x, z, t) and (x, z, t) to the wave equations (L-59) and (L-62)
in (x, z) coordinates of Figure L-4 are expressed as follows:
sin 0 x + i cos 0 z it
1
1
,
1 = A0 exp i
(L 63a)
2016
sin 1 x i cos 1 z it ,
1
1
(L 63b)
2 = A2 exp i
sin 2 x + i cos 2 z it ,
2
2
(L 63c)
2 = B2 exp i
sin 2 x + i cos 2 z it ,
2
2
(L 63d)
where A0 , A1 , B1 , A2 , and B2 are the incident P -wave, reected P -wave, reected S-wave,
transmitted P -wave, and transmitted S-wave amplitudes, 1 and 1 are the P - and S-wave
velocities in layer 1 (top layer), and 2 and 2 are the P - and S-wave velocities in layer 2
(bottom layer). The angles 0 , 1 , 2 , 1 , and 2 are denoted in Figure L-4. Finally, is the
angular frequency, and the z variable is positive in the downward direction.
Note that the displacement potential 1 given by equation (L-63a) has two components
associated with the incident P -wave and the reected P -wave. To prove that the wave functions
given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) are solutions to the wave equation, simply substitute these
functions into the respective equations (L-59) and (L-62).
Given the incident P -wave amplitude A0 , our objective is to compute the amplitudes of
the partitioned wave components A1 , B1 , A2 , and B2 . We will require the following four
boundary conditions to be satised at the layer boundary z = 0:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
The
The
The
The
(L 64)
Note that the phase of the wave functions given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) coincide at the layer
boundary z = 0. With this obervation in mind, refer to equation (L-55a) and consider the rst
boundary condition expressed as
1
1
2
2
+
=
+
.
x
z
x
z
(L 65)
Dierentiate the respective wave functions given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) and substitute into
equation (L-65), while noting from Snells law that 0 = 1
sin 1
cos 1
sin 2
cos 2
sin 1
A0 +
A1
B1 =
A2 +
B2 .
1
1
1
2
2
(L 66)
Next, refer to equation (L-55b) and consider the second boundary condition expressed as
1
1
2
2
.
z
x
z
x
(L 67)
Dierentiate the respective wave functions given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) and substitute into
equation (L-67)
cos 1
sin 1
cos 2
sin 2
cos 1
A0
A1
B1 =
A2
B2 .
1
1
1
2
2
Next, refer to equation (L-18c) rewritten below
Pzz = + 2ezz
(L 68)
2017
and substitute equation (L-56) for and equation (L-3c) for ezz to get
Pzz =
u w
w
+
+ 2
.
x
z
z
(L 69a)
u
w
+ ,
z
x
(L 69b)
+
+
,
z z
x
x x
z
(L 69c)
2
2
2
.
+ 2 2
2
z
x
zx
(L 69d)
2 2
2
2
+
2
+
,
x2
z 2
x2
zx
(L 69e)
and substitute equations (L-35), (L-47), and (L-59) to get the nal expression for the normal
stress Pzz in terms of the displacement potentials and
Pzz =
2
2
2
2 2
+
.
2
2
t
x
zx
(L 69f )
Now, refer to equation (L-69f) and consider the third boundary condition expressed as
1
2
2
2 1
2 2
2 1
2 2
2 1
2 2
+
=
.
1
2
2
1
2
t2
x2
zx
t2
x2
zx
(L 70)
Dierentiate the respective wave functions given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) and substitute into
equation (L-70) to get the expression at the boundary z = 0
1 A0 1 A1 + 21
12
2
sin2 0 A0 + 21 12 sin2 1 A1 21 sin 1 cos 1 B1
2
1
1
= 2 A2 + 22
22
sin2 2 A2 + 22 sin 2 cos 2 B2 .
22
(L 71a)
Simplify by combining terms and using the trigonometric relation sin 2 = 2 sin cos to get
12
12
12
2
A
sin
2
sin2 1 A1 sin 21 B1
1
0
12
12
2
2
2
1 2 22 sin2 2 A2 +
sin 22 B2 .
1
2
1
(L 71b)
(L 72a)
22
sin2 2 = sin2 2 .
22
(L 72b)
and
2018
2
2
cos 22 A2 +
sin 22 B2 .
1
1
(L 73)
w u
+
.
x
z
(L 74a)
Next, substitute equations (L-55a,b) into equation (L-74a) for the displacement potentials
Pxz =
+
+
x z
x
z x
z
(L 74b)
2
2 2
.
+
zx
z 2
x2
(L 74c)
Now, refer to equation (L-74c) and consider the fourth boundary condition expressed as
1 2
2 1
2 1
2 1
+
zx
z 2
x2
= 2 2
2 2
2 2
2 2
.
+
zx
z 2
x2
(L 75)
Dierentiate the respective wave functions given by equations (L-63a,b,c,d) and substitute into
equation (L-75) to get the expression at the boundary z = 0
1
2
2
1
1
sin 0 cos 0 A0 + 2 sin 1 cos 1 A1 2 cos2 1 B1 + 2 sin2 1 B1
2
1
1
1
1
= 2
2
1
1
sin 2 cos 2 A2 2 cos2 2 B2 + 2 sin2 2 B2 .
22
2
2
(L 76a)
Simplify by combining terms and using the trigonometric relation sin 2 = 2 sin cos to get
1
1
1
sin 21 A0 + 2 sin 21 A1 2 (cos2 1 sin2 1 ) B1
2
1
1
1
=
2
2
sin 22 A2 2 (cos2 2 sin2 2 ) B2 .
2
2
2
(L 76b)
Substitute equation (L-47) into equation (L-76b), while noting the trigonometric relations
sin 2 = 2 sin cos and cos 2 = cos2 sin2 to get
sin 21 A0 + sin 21 A1
2 22 12
2 12
12
cos 21 B1 =
sin 22 A2
cos 22 B2 . (L 77)
2
2
2
1
1 1 2
1 12
Equations (L-66), (L-68), (L-73), and (L-77) are the Zoeppritz equations that can be solved
for the four unknowns the reected compressional-wave amplitude A1 , the reected shearwave amplitude B1 , the transmitted compressional-wave amplitude A2 , and the transmitted
shear-wave amplitude B2 .
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Equations (L-66), (L-68), (L-73), and (L-77) are best displayed in matrix form normalized
by the incident-wave amplitude A0 = 1:
1
1
1
sin 1
cos 2
sin 2
cos 1
A1
cos 1
1
2
2
1
1
1
sin 1
cos 1
sin 2
cos 2
B
sin
1
1
1
2
2
=
.
2
2
cos 21
sin
2
cos
2
sin
2
1
2
2 A
cos
2
1
1
1
12
2 22 12
2 12
B2
sin 21
sin 21
2 cos 21
sin 22
cos 22
1
1 12 22
1 12
(L 78)
Given the model parameters and angles of propagation as in Figure L-4, equation (L-78) can
be used to model angle-dependent reection amplitudes. In the next section, we shall discuss
the practical use of an approximate solution of the Zoeppritz equations for P -to-P reection
amplitudes to derive the AVO attributes.
1
1 + tan2
2
2
2
1
1 4 2 sin2
4 2 sin2
+
(L 79)
+ bi
+ ci
,
(L 80)
where i is the trace index and the coecients ai , bi , and ci are given by
ai =
1
1 + tan2 i ,
2
bi = 4
2
sin2 i ,
2
(L 81a)
(L 81b)
2020
2
1
1 4 2 sin2 i .
2
(L 81c)
Note that the reection amplitude Ri is a linear combination of three elastic parameters
fractional change in P -wave velocity /, fractional change in S-wave velocity /, and
fractional change in density /.
We have, for each CMP location and for a specic reection event associated with a layer
boundary, N such equations (L-80) and three unknowns /, /, and /. We have
more equations than unknowns; hence, we encounter yet another example of generalized linear
inversion (GLI) problem. The objective is to determine the three parameters such that the
dierence between the modeled reection amplitudes Ri represented by equation (L-80) and the
actual reection amplitudes Xi is minimum in the least-squares sense (Smith and Gidlow, 1987).
The least-squares error energy S is dened as
N
S=
Ri Xi .
(L 82)
Smith and Gidlow (1987) argue in favor of solving for only two of the three parameters by
making use of the empirical relation between density and P -wave velocity (Gardner et al.,
1974):
= k1/4 ,
(L 83a)
where k is a scalar. This relation holds for most water-saturated rocks. Dierentiate to get
1
=
.
(L 83b)
Now substitute equation (L-83b) into the original Aki-Richards equation (L-80) and combine
the terms with /
R() =
1
2
1
1 + tan2 +
1 4 2 sin2
2
8
4 2 sin2
.
(L 84)
Simplify the algebra to obtain the desired two-parameter model equation for prestack amplitude
inversion
R() =
5 1 2
2
1
4 2 sin2
.
sin2 + tan2
2
8 2
2
(L 85)
Redene the coecients ai and bi and write the discrete form of equation (L-85)
Ri = ai
+ bi
,
(L 86)
where
ai =
5 1 2
1
sin2 i + tan2 i
2
8 2
2
(L 87a)
and
bi = 4
2
sin2 i .
2
(L 87b)
Now substitute equation (L-86) into the error-energy equation (L-82) and expand the terms
N
S=
i
a2i
+ 2ai bi
+ b2i
2 ai
+ bi
Xi + Xi2 .
(L 88)
2021
(L 89a)
S
= 0.
(/)
(L 89b)
and
Compute the partial derivatives using equation (L-88) and substitute into equations (L-89a,b)
to get two simultaneous equations
N
a2i
ai bi
i
ai Xi
(L 90a)
bi X i .
(L 90b)
and
N
b2i
ai bi
i
N
i
N
i
a2i
ai bi
=
N 2
b
i
i
N
i
ai bi
N
i
ai Xi
N
i
bi X i
(L 91)
(L 92a)
IS = .
(L 92b)
and
The fractional change in P -wave impedance is given by
IP =
IP
IP
+
.
(L 93a)
Apply dierentiation to equation (L-92a) and substitute into equation (L-93a), then divide both
sides of the resulting equation by IP to get the expression for P -wave reectivity
IP
=
+
.
IP
(L 93b)
IS
IS
+
.
(L 94a)
Apply dierentiation to equation (L-92b) and subsitute into equation (L-94a), then divide both
sides of the resulting equation by IS to get the expression for S-wave reectivity
IS
=
+
.
IS
(L 94b)
Petrophysical interpretation is then made using the crossplot of P - and S-wave reectivities.
Note from the denitions of the coecients ai and bi given by equations (L-87a,b) that you have
to choose a value for the ratio / to compute the two reectivities.
2022
(L 95a)
= 2 .
(L 95b)
and
The fractional changes in and are given by
=
(L 96a)
+
.
(L 96b)
and
Apply dierentiation to equation (L-95a) and substitute into equation (L-96a), then divide
both sides by
=2
+
.
(L 97a)
Similarly, apply dierentiation to equation (L-95b) and substitute into equation (L-96b), then
divide both sides by
=2
+
.
(L 97b)
Now solve equations (L-97a,b) for / and /, respectively, and substitute into the
Aki-Richards equation (L-79)
R() =
1
1 + tan2
4
1
1 + tan2
2
2
1
2 2 sin2
1 4 2 sin2
+ 2 2 sin2
+
(L 98)
Finally, simplify to get the Aki-Richards equation transformed to the new variables / and
/
R() =
1
1 + tan2
4
1
1 tan2
2 2 sin2
+
(L 99)
As for the original Aki-Richards equation (L-79), consider the case of N -fold CMP data
represented in the domain of angle of incidence. In discrete form, equation (L-99) can be rewritten
as
Ri = ai
+ bi
+ ci
,
(L 100)
where i is the trace index and the coecients ai , bi , and ci are given by
ai =
1
1 + tan2 i ,
4
bi = 2
2
sin2 i ,
2
(L 101a)
(L 101b)
2023
and
1
1 tan2 i .
(L 101c)
4
The reection amplitude Ri in equation (L-100) is a linear combination of three elastic parameters fractional changes /, /, and /. Based on the least-squares minimization
given by equation (L-82), these three parameters can, in principle, be estimated for a specic
event from CMP data.
A variant to the transformation given by equation (L-99) can be formulated in terms of
the P - and S-wave reectivities, IP /IP and IS /IS , respectively. Solve equation (L-93b) for
/ and equation (L-94b) for /, and substitute into the Aki-Richards equation (L-79)
ci =
R() =
1
1 + tan2
2
IP
1
1 + tan2
IP
2
2
2
2
IS
1
4 2 sin2
1 4 2 sin2
+ 4 2 sin2
+
IS
(L 102)
Simplify to get the Aki-Richards equation transformed to the new variables IP /IP and IS /IS
R() =
1
1 + tan2
2
IP
2
1
2
IS
4 2 sin2
tan2 2 2 sin2
.
IP
IS
2
(L 103)
Again, consider the case of N -fold CMP data represented in the domain of angle of incidence.
In discrete form, equation (L-103) can be rewritten as
Ri = ai
IS
IP
+ bi
+ ci
,
IP
IS
(L 104)
where i is the trace index and the coecients ai , bi , and ci are given by
ai =
1
1 + tan2 i ,
2
bi = 4
2
sin2 i ,
2
(L 105a)
(L 105b)
and
2
1
(L 105c)
tan2 2 2 sin2 i .
2
IP N
N 2
N
ai Xi
i
i ai
i ai bi
IP
.
(L 106)
=
IS
N
N
N 2
b
X
a
b
b
i i
i i
i
i
i
i
IS
ci =
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