Tip-wave Superposition Method Research Articles

Transmission–propagation–diffraction operator theory for an arbitrary acoustic two-block model

By applying the transmission–propagation–diffraction​ operator theory (TPDOT; in earlier publications abbreviated as TPOT) we have derived an analytical representation of the wavefield in two 3D inhomogeneous acoustic half-spaces separated by a piecewise-smooth interface. We scrutinize the conventional approach and reformulate the mechanical particle motion forward problem in terms of a novel wave amplitude form of counter-propagating wave events. The new wave motion statement is composed of two systems of integral equations describing propagation and transmission of the seismic wavefields. The first system represents the propagation–diffraction operator equation. We express the propagation–diffraction operator as the feasible Kirchhoff-type surface integral with a feasible fundamental solution in the kernel. The feasible fundamental solution generalizes the conventional free space Green’s function for an arbitrary domain case. The second system represents the transmission (refraction/reflection) operator equation. This convolutional interface equation generalizes the Sommerfeld–Weyl spatial-frequency plane wave decomposition in an infinitesimally thin interface layer. We transform the wave amplitude formulation by Neumann iteration into infinite series of counter-propagating multiply transmitted (reflected/refracted) wave modes, representing an analytical solution to the problem. Since the wave motion statement of the forward problem enables analysis of separate wave modes of the total wavefield, it has an advantage over the particle motion statement. The suggested wavefield representation therefore solves both forward and inverse wave motion problems. Calculation of separate wave modes of TPDOT can be done by the software package of the tip-wave superposition method (TWSM) introduced in our earlier papers (in co-authorship). The proposed TPDOT provides the theoretical foundations for TWSM.

Effective reflection coefficients for curved interfaces in transversely isotropic media

Plane-wave reflection coefficients (PWRCs) are routinely used in amplitude-variation-with-offset analysis and for generating boundary data in Kirchhoff modeling. However, the geometrical-seismics approximation based on PWRCs becomes inadequate in describing reflected wavefields at near- and postcritical incidence angles. Also, PWRCs are derived for plane interfaces and break down in the presence of significant reflector curvature. Here, we discuss effective reflection coefficients (ERCs) designed to overcome the limitations of PWRCs for multicomponent data from heterogeneous anisotropic media. We represent the reflected wavefield in the immediate vicinity of a curved interface by a generalized plane-wave decomposition, which approximately reduces to the conventional Weyl-type integral computed for an apparent source location. The ERC then is obtainedas the ratio of the reflected and incident wavefields at each point of the interface. To conduct diffraction modeling, we combine ERCs with the tip-wave superposition method (TWSM), extended to elastic media. This methodology is implemented for curved interfaces that separate an isotropic incidence half-space and a transversely isotropic (TI) medium with the symmetry axis orthogonal to the reflector. If the interface is plane, ERCs generally are close to the exact solution, sensitive to the anisotropy parameters and source-receiver geometry. Numerical tests demonstrate that the difference between ERCs and PWRCs for typical TI models can be significant, especially at low frequencies and in the postcritical domain. For curved interfaces, ERCs provide a practical approximate tool to compute the reflected wavefield. We analyze the dependence of ERCs on reflector shape and demonstrate their advantages over PWRCs in 3D diffraction modeling of PP and PS reflection data.

Tip-wave superposition method with effective reflection and transmission coefficients: A new 3D Kirchhoff-based approach to synthetic seismic modeling

Interest in synthetic modeling of seismic wavefields scattered in the subsurface is growing today due to its applicability in various forward and inverse problems of geophysics. It has been used extensively for general evaluation of the subsurface structure, in survey design and illumination studies, and also as the basis for imaging and inversion algorithms. Models with complex geological structures that contain strong-contrast or irregular reflectors and shadow zones and where conventional algorithms fail to simulate realistic wavefields present a particular challenge.