Staggered-grid Finite-difference Research Articles

Acoustic 2-D Full-Waveform Inversion with Non-Balanced Finite differences and Adaptive Weight Decay Methods

Full waveform inversion (FWI) is a powerful seismic imaging technique that aims to achieve high-resolution subsurface models by iteratively comparing recorded seismic waveforms with modeled waveforms. The success of FWI relies on the precision of forward modeling algorithms and the effectiveness of optimization strategies. In this study, we propose a FWI methodology that leverages non-balanced staggered-grid finite differences schemes (NBFD) in the forward modeling process. By employing operators with spatial differencing of varying lengths, these schemes enhance the efficiency of forward modeling.For the optimization process, we employ adaptive gradient-based optimization with weight decay, a widely-used approach in machine learning and deep learning algorithms for model training. These methods demonstrate efficient optimization processing for large data volumes with high precision. The objective of adaptive gradient-based optimization is to dynamically adjust the update rate model parameters during the iterative process. This facilitates improved convergence speed, enhances stability, and overcomes challenges associated with traditional fixed-rate adjustment methods.To ensure accurate inversion results and avoid local minima in the cost function minimization, we implement a Multiscaling inversion strategy within the workflow. The obtained results are compared with those achieved through conventional FWI using standard staggered finite differences and various optimization methods. Our findings demonstrate that employing non-balanced staggered-grid finite differences scheme leads to significant improvements compared to the previously reported results in the literature.

A time-domain SGFD-FK hybrid method for 2D teleseismic elastic wave modeling and inversion

AbstractFull waveform inversion (FWI) has proved to be a reliable tool for high-resolution imaging of lithospheric structures at various depths down to the upper mantle. However, when the size of the model is large, the computational burden is significative and applications are restricted to low frequencies. To tackle this issue, we developed a new 2D time-domain hybrid method to simulate high-frequency teleseismic body waves propagating through a local heterogeneous elastic Earth model: The frequency-wavenumber (FK) integration method is coupled with the staggered grid finite difference method (SGFD). The FK method is used to compute the wavefield due to obliquely incident plane P and SV waves in a 1D multilayered half space that excites a local heterogeneous region. Inside this region, the velocity-stress staggered grid FD method (SGFD) is used to accurately deal with wave propagation in heterogeneous media. Spurious waves that might be generated at the boundaries of the local region are avoided using convolutional perfectly matched layers (CPML). This new hybrid method inherits the low-memory requirements of the FK method and the accuracy, efficiency and easy implementation of the SGFD. The new hybrid method is benchmarked against the analytical FK method for some canonical models and shows good agreement with analytical solutions. Subsequently, our modeling tool is incorporated into a full waveform inversion algorithm adapted for teleseismic configurations to invert the incident P wave and its coda. The inversion is carried out using a gradient approach that is efficiently implemented via the adjoint-state method. The results suggest that our hybrid method and FWI algorithm represent a valuable tool for 2D forward and inverse regional applications using teleseismic data sets.

Fractional-order velocity-dilatation-rotation viscoelastic wave equation and numerical solution based on a constant-Q model

Viscoelastic wave equations based on the constant- Q (CQ) model can accurately describe the amplitude dissipation and phase distortion of waves in anelastic media. However, only three velocity or displacement components can be obtained directly by solving such equations. Starting from the time-domain second-order displacement viscoelastic wave equation, we derived the decoupled P- and S-wave displacement vector viscoelastic wave equation by using the polarization difference of P- and S-wave propagation in isotropic media. The equation can be transformed into the velocity-dilatation-rotation viscoelastic wave equation containing the first-order temporal derivative and fractional Laplacian operators, which can be solved directly by using the staggered-grid finite-difference and pseudospectral methods. We use the low-rank decomposition method to approximate the derived mixed space-wavenumber domain fractional Laplacian operators for modeling wave propagation in heterogeneous attenuating media. We also demonstrated the precision of our equation by comparing the numerical solutions with the analytical solutions. Furthermore, compared with the conventional velocity-stress viscoelastic wave equation, experimental results demonstrate that our equation can separate the pure P and S waves from the mixed wavefield during wavefield continuation. In addition, it can be separated into an equation containing predominantly an amplitude attenuation or a phase distortion term.

A linear, second-order accurate, positivity-preserving and unconditionally energy stable scheme for the Navier–Stokes–Poisson–Nernst–Planck system

Electrokinetic phenomena involving the transport of ions in fluids generally appears in biological system, hydrodynamics and geodynamics. The underlining mathematical models involve the nonlinear coupling between the fluid motion and ion transportation. Performing efficient, accurate and structure preserving computation for these electrohydrodynamic models is challenging due to their multiphysics and complex nature. The Navier–Stokes–Poisson–Nernst–Planck (NSPNP) system is a widely used electrokinetic model in the existing literature. In this paper, a linear, second-order accurate, positivity-preserving and unconditionally energy stable scheme is developed for the NSPNP system. First, a square root transformation is employed to ensure the positivity of ion concentrations. Next, a specific ordinary differential equation is introduced to deal with the nonlinear coupling terms satisfying the “zero-energy-contribution” feature, which is combined with the scalar auxiliary variable method for nonlinear potentials to achieve a decoupled energy stable scheme. Therefore, only several linearly independent equations need to be solved at each time step. The staggered grid finite difference method is used for the spatial discretizations, and the unconditional energy stability of the fully discrete scheme is established. Finally, the unique solvability of the scheme is proved. Numerical experiments are carried out to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the proposed scheme, and the effect of electric Coulomb force on the flow and motion of ions are also illustrated.

Hybrid CPU-GPU solution to regularized divergence-free curl-curl equations for electromagnetic inversion problems

The Curl-Curl equation is the foundation of time-harmonic electromagnetic (EM) problems in geophysics. The efficiency of its solution is key to EM simulations, accounting for over 95% of the computation cost in geophysical inversions for magnetotelluric or controlled-source EM problems. However, most published EM inversion codes are still central processing unit (CPU)-based and cannot utilize recent computational developments on the graphic processing units (GPUs). Based on a previously proposed divergence-free algorithm developed on CPUs, this study demonstrates the current limits of the CPU-based inversion procedure. To exploit the high throughput capability of GPUs, we propose a hybrid CPU-GPU framework to solve forward and adjoint problems required for EM inversions. The large sparse linear systems arising from the staggered-grid finite difference approximation of the Curl-Curl equation are solved with a mixed-precision Krylov subspace solver implemented on a GPU. The algorithm is then tested in EM forward and adjoint calculations, with real-world three-dimensional numerical examples. Test results show promising 30× kernel-level speed-ups over the conventional CPU algorithm. This approach may further take the complex frequency domain EM inversions onto the next, practical stage on small affordable GPU platforms.

Simulation and analysis of elastic waves in partially saturated double-porosity media based on finite difference method

Double-porosity poroelastic model takes into account the effect of mesoscopic flow induced by rock heterogeneity on dispersion and attenuation of elastic waves, and has obtained good application results in the quantitative explanation of seismic data in heterogeneous reservoirs. Wavefield simulation based on double-porosity model not only helps visualize the propagation characteristics of the elastic waves but also lays the foundation for seismic imaging. In this work, we perform wavefield simulation and analysis based on the Santos-Rayleigh model which incorporates mesoscopic and global flow in a partially-saturated double-porosity medium. Specifically, the mesoscopic flow mechanism is represented with a Zener viscoelastic model. The comparison shows that the Zener model can accurately capture the propagation characteristics of fast P-wave, but fails to describe the attenuation characteristics of slow P3 wave in the low-frequency band. It implies that Zener viscoelastic model and slow wave modes follow different mechanisms. Then the staggered grid finite-difference method is used to simulate wave propagation in a double-porosity medium, and the stiff problem is solved with a time-splitting algorithm, which can significantly improve computational efficiency. Based on the above methods, the correctness of our algorithm is verified with derived analytical solution for a P-wave source in a uniform partially saturated poroelastic medium. Analytical and numerical solutions are in good agreement and mean error is 0.33%. We provide some examples of wavefield snapshots and seismograms in homogeneous and layered heterogeneous media at seismic and ultrasonic frequencies. The simulation results demonstrate the strong attenuation of fast P-wave and no change of S-wave in the seismic band due to mesoscopic flow mechanism, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction of double-porosity model. Moreover, the energy of fast P-wave is concentrated in solid phase while slow waves are stronger in fluid phase. This work contributes to the understanding of broadband elastic wave propagation in a heterogeneous partially saturated porous medium and can be applied to the reservoir imaging with broadband geophysical data.

High-Accuracy Simulation of Rayleigh Waves Using Fractional Viscoelastic Wave Equation

The propagation of Rayleigh waves is usually accompanied by dispersion, which becomes more complex with inherent attenuation. The accurate simulation of Rayleigh waves in attenuation media is crucial for understanding wave mechanisms, layer thickness identification, and parameter inversion. Although the vacuum formalism or stress image method (SIM) combined with the generalized standard linear solid (GSLS) is widely used to implement the numerical simulation of Rayleigh waves in attenuation media, this type of method still has its limitations. First, the GSLS model cannot split the velocity dispersion and amplitude attenuation term, thus limiting its application in the Q-compensated reverse time migration/full waveform inversion. In addition, GSLS-model-based wave equation is usually numerically solved using staggered-grid finite-difference (SGFD) method, which may result in the numerical dispersion due to the harsh stability condition and poses complexity and computational burden. To overcome these issues, we propose a high-accuracy Rayleigh-waves simulation scheme that involves the integration of the fractional viscoelastic wave equation and vacuum formalism. The proposed scheme not only decouples the amplitude attenuation and velocity dispersion but also significantly suppresses the numerical dispersion of Rayleigh waves under the same grid sizes. We first use a homogeneous elastic model to demonstrate the accuracy in comparison with the analytical solutions, and the correctness for a viscoelastic half-space model is verified by comparing the phase velocities with the dispersive images generated by the phase shift transformation. We then simulate several two-dimensional synthetic models to analyze the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method uses twice as many spatial step sizes and takes 0.6 times that of the GSLS method (solved by the SGFD method) when achieved at 95% accuracy.

Fast 3D Magnetotelluric Forward Modeling Based on a Regularization Approach in Spherical Coordinate

The earth’s curvature shouldn’t be ignored for the large-scale magnetotelluric (MT) modeling. A forward code of spherical coordinate MT method based on staggered grid finite difference method is developed. In addition, the forward problem is usually solved numerically, mostly based on iterative solution. Krylov subspace method is widely used to solve electromagnetic forward modeling problems in frequency domain. However, as the period increases, the convergence of these methods becomes significantly slower (especially for long-period MT data). We added a scaled grad-div operator to the double curl equation of the electric field to perform the nondivergence condition (CCGD). The results show that CCGD method is more efficient than other methods, which is an efficient method for our code.

3D Forward and Inversion Research on Frequency Domain Electromagnetic Tipper Data

The tipper is one of the main parameters of the electromagnetic exploration data in the frequency domain and has an important role and significant advantage in the exploration under complex geological conditions. In this paper, the 3D forward modeling is carried out based on the staggered grid finite difference method, and the analytical solution of the layered medium is used to verify its correctness; the L-BFGS algorithm is used to perform the 3D inversion of the tipper data. Through the three-dimensional complex model, the forward response characteristics and spatial distribution of the tipper are analyzed. The inversion results show that the inversion using the inversion data has less influence on static displacement and better inversion results.

A stable staggered-grid finite-difference scheme for acoustic modeling beyond conventional stability limit

Staggered-grid finite-difference (SGFD) schemes have been widely used in acoustic wave modeling for geophysical problems. Many improved methods are proposed to enhance the accuracy of numerical modeling. However, these methods are inevitably limited by the maximum Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) numbers, making them unstable when modeling with large time sampling intervals or small grid spacings. To solve this problem, we extend a stable SGFD scheme by controlling SGFD dispersion relations and maximizing the maximum CFL numbers. First, to improve modeling stability, we minimize the error between the FD dispersion relation and the exact relation in the given wave-number region, and make the FD dispersion approach a given function outside the given wave-number area, thus breaking the conventional limits of the maximum CFL number. Second, to obtain high modeling accuracy, we use the SGFD scheme based on the Remez algorithm to compute the FD coefficients. In addition, the hybrid absorbing boundary condition is adopted to suppress boundary reflections and we find a suitable weighting coefficient for the proposed scheme. Theoretical derivation and numerical modeling demonstrate that the proposed scheme can maintain high accuracy in the modeling process and the value of the maximum CFL number of the proposed scheme can exceed that of the conventional SGFD scheme when adopting a small maximum effective wavenumber, indicating that the proposed scheme improves stability during the modeling.

An improved acoustic/elastic interface approach for 2D staggered grid finite-difference modeling of Rayleigh waves in the presence of surface topography

Rayleigh waves are generated along the free-surface and their propagation can be strongly influenced by surface topography. Therefore, a critical aspect of Rayleigh-wave study is to understand the wave-propagation behavior in the presence of surface topography. The acoustic/elastic boundary approach was incorporated into a ‘stair-case’ mesh for Rayleigh-wave modeling in the presence of surface topography. The conventional acoustic/elastic boundary approach, however, fails to completely fulfill the free-surface boundary condition at some grid nodes, leading to unphysical simulation results. To solve this problem, we develop a stable acoustic/elastic boundary approach that fully satisfies the free-surface boundary condition by adjusting the free boundary conditions at problematic nodes in the mesh. The accuracy is demonstrated by modeling tests in two-dimensional isotropic models in the presence of surface topography. And compared to the improved vacuum formulation, the proposed method takes less time. Our approach optimizes the free-surface boundary condition and enables the high-precision numerical simulation of Rayleigh waves.

Higher-order thin layer method (HTLM) based wavefield modeling approach

Traditional free vibration-based forward modeling approaches provide only the theoretical modal solution that lacks information regarding modal amplitudes. Moreover, they ignore the influence of source-receiver layout on the wavefield. Numerical wavefield modeling approaches can generate a dispersion spectrum mimicking the actual field test; however, numerical methods are not efficient in terms of computational time and produce numerical artifacts. Furthermore, they can be contaminated with leaky waves for soil strata with a high Poisson's ratio. This study presents a new wavefield modeling approach for developing full dispersion spectra of stratified media incorporating source-receiver configuration. The proposed method calculates the theoretical modal amplitude using the higher-order thin layer method and determines the vertical displacement responses at specified virtual receiver positions in the frequency-space domain. Afterward, it searches for spectral values at each frequency over a broad range of trial phase velocities to create a full dispersion spectrum. The accuracy and computational efficacy of the present method are demonstrated on different soil profiles adopted from literature, including normally dispersive media, irregularly dispersive media with high-velocity contrast, and a crustal level model. Results indicate the proposed approach can clearly distinguish the relative spectral amplitude of each mode and dominant dispersion trend. Calculated seismograms and dispersion images are compared with the existing 2D staggered grid finite difference method. Although both methods yield similar results, the current method is at least two orders (x102) faster than the staggered grid finite difference method. Unlike numerical approaches, the proposed method does not require additional computational resources to model materials with a high Poisson's ratio. Furthermore, it minimizes the contamination of leaky waves in the dispersion spectrum when modeling a high Poisson's ratio. The proposed method does not produce any numerical artifacts and can be used to generate accurate synthetic seismograms as well as dispersion spectra. In addition, the proposed wavefield modeling approach can be effectively used to develop an accurate and faster inversion scheme by including the entire dispersion spectrum.

Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Reverse-Time Migration Imaging of Submarine Pipeline Nondestructive Testing in Cylindrical Coordinates

Submarine pipelines are a safe and energy-efficient mode of gas transport. However, due to the complex manufacturing process and harsh operating environment, submarine pipelines are subject to fatigue cracks under long-term cyclic loading. A comprehensive and high-precision characterization strategy for submarine pipelines can effectively prevent potential safety hazards and have significant economic and social repercussions. As a matter of fact, pipeline defects cannot be reliably detected with current traditional 2D methods. On the other hand, in ultrasonic testing, cylindrical geometry increases the complexity of the 3D wave field in the submarine pipeline space and significantly influences the accuracy of the detection results. In this paper, we put forward a novel method for 3D ultrasonic image testing that is suitable for cylindrical coordinates. In order to accurately simulate the ultrasonic signal received from pipelines, we generalize the 3D staggered-grid finite-difference method from Cartesian coordinates to cylindrical ones and simulate the full wave field in the 3D pipeline space. Then, signal processing is performed on the ultrasound simulation records, and 3D reverse-time migration imaging of submarine pipeline defects can be effectively achieved using the reverse-time migration method and cross-correlation imaging conditions. The results obtained from simulations and real field data show that the proposed method provides high-quality 3D imaging of defects in pipelines, taking into account multiple scattering and mode conversion information at the bottom of the defects.

Finite-difference modeling with topography using 3D viscoelastic parameter-modified free-surface condition

The free-surface boundary condition is a crucial aspect in the numerical modeling of (visco)elastic wave equations, especially when using a finite-difference (FD) method in the presence of surface topography. The parameter-modified method is a widely used approach to solve this problem. In this regard, the adaptive Poisson’s ratio parameter-modified method has proven to be effective in accurately simulating seismic surface waves within the FD discretization framework. Based on the equivalent medium theory, vacuum approximation, and mathematical limit, we develop a viscoelastic parameter-modified (VPM) method for the implementation of the free-surface boundary condition in the 3D viscoelastic wave equation. Our approach modifies the viscoelastic constitutive relation and density at the free surface and provides a formulation in terms of displacement and stress. We determine that our VPM method is more general than the viscoelastic stress-image method as it includes the latter as a limit case when the Poisson’s ratio equals zero. The presented free-surface method is represented implicitly within the FD grid, and we provide implementation details when simulating surface waves with topography in the standard staggered-grid FD scheme. We support our theory’s feasibility and accuracy through numerical examples.

A fast and accurate elastic reverse-time migration method based on decoupled elastic wave equations

The extrapolation and decomposition of different mode waves are very important to efficiently obtain multi-wave depth images for elastic reverse-time migration (ERTM). To achieve this goal successfully, we firstly develop an efficient and accurate staggered-grid finite-difference method (SFDM) based on decoupled elastic wave equations. This developed SFDM uses two sets of difference operator lengths for decoupled elastic wave equations to respectively perform the extrapolation of decoupled P- and S-wavefields and employs the least squares (LS) to minimize the objective functions respectively constructed from the time-space dispersion equations of P- and S-waves to generate their corresponding difference coefficients. This developed method can theoretically be regarded as the optimal SFDM based on least squares (LSSFDM), and it can provide the high-precision separated wavefields of different mode waves simultaneously and reduce the computing time effectively for elastic wave modeling under the given accuracy requirements. The modeling results of different models illustrate that our developed LSSFDM based on decoupled elastic wave equations can generate the decomposed P- and S-wavefields and suppress their numerical dispersions effectively. Secondly, we present a fast and accurate ERTM method based on this developed LSSFDM to successfully achieve the multi-wave imaging results, including PP, PS, SP and SS images. The ERTM examples of different models demonstrate that our ERTM based on this developed LSSFDM can accurately obtain the high-precision depth images of multimode waves and effectively reduce the computing time of wavefield extrapolation.

Elastic full-wave field simulation in 3D tunnel space with the variable staggered-grid finite-difference method in cylindrical coordinates

Tunnel advance detection technology is an important method for determining the structure of complex geological bodies in front of the tunnel face. Among the tunnel advance detection technologies, the seismic method is one of the most accurate methods with long detection distances. In seismic tunnel advance detection, the cylindrical configuration aggravates the complexity of the wave field in the 3D tunnel space and significantly influences the accuracy of the detection results. Thus, it is crucial to simulate an accurate seismic full-wave field of the tunnel space and to understand the propagation and wave-field characteristics of individual seismic waves for seismic tunnel advance detection. Usually, in 3D Cartesian coordinates, the tunnel wall is approximated with a staircase boundary, but it is not sufficiently accurate in shape and generates numerical dispersion in the simulation, especially in the presence of surface waves. Therefore, we developed a variable staggered-grid finite-difference method in cylindrical coordinates to simulate the elastic full-wave field in a 3D tunnel space. Properly setting free-surface boundary conditions solves the propagation of surface waves on the tunnel wall and face. The interference of the instability and discontinuity of the pole axis in the seismic wave field simulation was eliminated using our method. According to practical engineering situations, models containing three types of geological bodies in front of the tunnel face were designed. Their seismic wave propagation and wave field characteristics were analyzed. Compared with the simulation results in Cartesian coordinates, the results in cylindrical coordinates show that numerical dispersion is negligible and conclude that a higher signal-to-noise ratio and more accurate seismic wave field can be simulated with cylindrical coordinates in the 3D tunnel space. Our simulation method provides theoretical and practical guidance for analyzing and interpreting seismic wave fields in tunnel advance detection.

Efficient temporal high-order staggered-grid scheme with a dispersion-relation-preserving method for the scalar wave modeling

Staggered-grid finite-difference (FD) method is widely used to solve the wave equation for the numerical seismic modeling, and it is a key step of the advanced seismic imaging and inversion problem. However, the conventional FD method is prone to instability and dispersion error due to the insufficient approximation accuracy. In this work, we propose an efficient temporal high-order finite-difference (FD) scheme with the cross-rhombus stencil. Compared with the standard cross-rhombus method, the new method has less computational cost due to we simplify the FD scheme. Moreover, the dispersion relation of the new method is easy to obtain the dispersion-relation-preserving (DRP) FD coefficients, which can significantly alleviate the spatial and temporal dispersion errors. Dispersion and stability analyses indicate that the new scheme has better performance in seismic modeling than the conventional method, and numerical experiments also indicate that the new scheme can effectively mitigate dispersion error and improve the numerical accuracy.

Mimetic finite differences for boundaries misaligned with grid nodes

This paper considers the problem of mimetic staggered-grid finite difference scheme construction in the case of a boundary misaligned with the grid points. We show that depending on the reciprocal positions of the nearest grid point and whether the point is inside or outside the domain, two cases should be considered separately. In both cases, we present general rules to construct the mimetic difference operators to approximate the gradient and divergence operators. In addition, we investigate the stability criterion of the explicit in time scheme, which employs derived operators to approximate spatial derivatives. We show that, depending on the reciprocal positions of the nearest grid point, the Courant number may be smaller by 7% than that of the initial value problem approximation.

Effects of Earth–Rock Dam Heterogeneity on Seismic Wavefield Characteristics

Earth–rock dams are typical soil–rock mixtures with high heterogeneity. Mastering the effect of dam heterogeneity on seismic wavefields is the premise of accurately detecting hidden risks in dams. In this paper, based on the soil–rock mixture characteristics of actual dams, a soil–rock mixture model that can reflect the heterogeneity of dams is established through local segmentation and reassignment of random disturbances. The influence of local area size on model heterogeneity is described. The seismic wavefield in a soil–rock mixture dam is numerically simulated through a staggered-grid finite-difference algorithm with second-order accuracy in time and sixth-order accuracy in space. Then, the effect of dam heterogeneity on effective wavefields is analyzed. The results show that the heterogeneity of the earth–rock dam can lead to scattered waves in the seismic wavefield, and the scattered waves are mainly generated by Rayleigh surface waves. In the seismic record, scattered waves with strong energy appear in the region below the surface waves. The scattered wave energy is weak and close to that in the homogeneous media in the region above the surface waves. As the rock content in the dam increases, the scattering of seismic wavefields and the energy of scattered waves weaken gradually. The scattered waves generated by the heterogeneity of the dam significantly impact the reflected longitudinal wave and converted wave but, affect the reflected shear wave less. The numerical simulation results are consistent with the acquired seismic wavefield from the field test, proving the effectiveness of the numerical simulation for the seismic wavefield propagation characteristics of the earth–rock dam.

3D Viscoelastic Finite-Difference Analysis of the Monopole Acoustic Logs in Cylindrical Coordinates

In this paper, a model of the heterogeneous anelastic seismic wave problem is proposed in three-dimensional (3D) cylindrical coordinates. We use the velocity-stress formula to describe the realistic attenuation properties of viscoelastic materials, derived from a rheological model of the generalized standard linear solid (GSLS). The equation system is completed by additional equations for the anelastic functions including the strain history of the material. We apply the staggered grid finite-difference (FD) method in 3D cylindrical coordinates to solve the equations. Moreover, to avoid the effect of gradual expansion of the grid size as the radius increases, we use a variable grid method to achieve compensation. In real drilling operations, the mud injected in the borehole is a fluid with viscous properties. The actual formation is also not elastic. In the synthetic data of acoustic logging while drilling (LWD), we find that the drill collar wave is not affected by the viscoelastic parameters of the formation. In contrast, the Stoneley wave is more sensitive to the viscosity of the drilling fluid. The phase and amplitude of the received waveform are affected by the drilling fluid as well as the formation viscoelasticity. Therefore, the development of the cylindrical variable-grid FD method provides a flexible and efficient numerical technique to solve 3D viscoelastic wave propagation problems, including realistic attenuation and complex geometry.