Tau-p SEISMIC DATA FOR VISCOELASTIC MEDIA - PART 1: MODELLING1

Abstract

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