Improving lateral and vertical resolution of seismic images by correcting for wavelet stretch in common-angle migration

Geophysics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. C95-C104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Perez ◽  
Kurt J. Marfurt

Long-offset or high-incident-angle seismic reflections provide us with improved velocity resolution, better leverage against multiples, less contamination by ground roll, and information that is often critical when estimating lithology and fluid product. Unfortunately, high-incident-angle seismic reflections suffer not only from nonhyperbolic moveout but also from wavelet stretch during imaging, resulting in lower-resolution images that mix the response from adjacent lithologies. For an arbitrary acoustic medium, wavelet stretch from prestack migration depends only on the cosine of the reflection angle, such that the amount of wavelet stretch will be the same for all samples of a common-reflection-angle migrated trace. Thus, we are able to implement a wavelet stretch correction by applying a simple stationary spectral shaping operation to common-angle migrated traces. We obtain such traces directly by a prestack Kirchhoff migration algorithm. Correcting for stretch effectively increases the fold of imaged data, far beyond that achieved in conventional migration, resulting in improved signal-to-noise ratio of the final stacked section. Increasing the fidelity of large incident angles results in images with improved vertical and lateral resolution and with increased angular illumination, valuable for amplitude variation with angle (AVA) and amplitude variation with offset (AVO) analysis. Finally, such large-angle images are more sensitive to and therefore provide increased leverage over errors in velocity and velocity anisotropy. These ideas were applied to prestack time migration on seismic data from the Fort Worth basin, in Texas.

Geophysics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih‐Hsiung Chang ◽  
Gerald H. F. Gardner

We investigate the effects of subsurface fractures on moveout velocity and on reflection amplitudes by constructing a fractured model with three layers. The physical model was constructed by embedding a Phenolitic disc within the intermediate layer, which acts as a zone of vertical fractures. Survey lines were run along seven azimuthal directions between the strike direction and the transverse direction to the fractures at an angle increment of 15°. For our set of experimental conditions, we observe that the horizontal moveout velocity decreases from the strike direction toward the transverse direction to the fractures, and that the rate of decrease in amplitude variation with offset (AVO) increases from the strike direction toward the transverse direction to the fracture.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. N15-N30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Bødker Madsen ◽  
Thomas Mejer Hansen

A linearized form of Zoeppritz equations combined with the convolution model is widely used in inversion of amplitude variation with offset (AVO) seismic data. This is shown to introduce a “modeling error,” compared with using the full Zoeppritz equations, whose magnitude depends on the degree of subsurface heterogeneity. Then, we evaluate a methodology for quantifying this modeling error through a probability distribution. First, a sample of the unknown probability density describing the modeling error is generated. Then, we determine how this sample can be described by a correlated Gaussian probability distribution. Finally, we develop how such modeling errors affect the linearized AVO inversion results. If not accounted for (which is most often the case), the modeling errors can introduce significant artifacts in the inversion results, if the signal-to-noise ratio is less than 2, as is the case for most AVO data obtained today. However, if accounted for, such artifacts can be avoided. The methodology can easily be adapted and applied to most linear AVO inversion methods, by allowing the use of the inferred modeling error as a correlated Gaussian noise model.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. N31-N50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Lu ◽  
Yun Wang ◽  
Jingyi Chen ◽  
Ying An

With the increase in exploration target complexity, more parameters are required to describe subsurface properties, particularly for finely stratified reservoirs with vertical transverse isotropic (VTI) features. We have developed an anisotropic amplitude variation with offset (AVO) inversion method using joint PP and PS seismic data for VTI media. Dealing with local minimum solutions is critical when using anisotropic AVO inversion because more parameters are expected to be derived. To enhance the inversion results, we adopt a hierarchical inversion strategy to solve the local minimum solution problem in the Gauss-Newton method. We perform the isotropic and anisotropic AVO inversions in two stages; however, we only use the inversion results from the first stage to form search windows for constraining the inversion in the second stage. To improve the efficiency of our method, we built stop conditions using Euclidean distance similarities to control iteration of the anisotropic AVO inversion in noisy situations. In addition, we evaluate a time-aligned amplitude variation with angle gather generation approach for our anisotropic AVO inversion using anisotropic prestack time migration. We test the proposed method on synthetic data in ideal and noisy situations, and find that the anisotropic AVO inversion method yields reasonable inversion results. Moreover, we apply our method to field data to show that it can be used to successfully identify complex lithologic and fluid information regarding fine layers in reservoirs.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Young Kim ◽  
Keith H. Wrolstad ◽  
Fred Aminzadeh

Velocity anisotropy should be taken into account when analyzing the amplitude variation with offset (AVO) response of gas sands encased in shales. The anisotropic effects on the AVO of gas sands in transversely isotropic (TI) media are reviewed. Reflection coefficients in TI media are computed using a planewave formula based on ray theory. We present results of modeling special cases of exploration interest having positive reflectivity, near‐zero reflectivity, and negative reflectivity. The AVO reflectivity in anisotropic media can be decomposed into two parts; one for isotropy and the other for anisotropy. Zero‐offset reflectivity and Poisson’s ratio contrast are the most significant parameters for the isotropic component while the δ difference (Δδ) between shale and gas sand is the most important factor for the anisotropic component. For typical values of Tl anisotropy in shale (positive δ and ε), both δ difference (Δδ) and ε difference (Δε) amplify AVO effects. For small angles of incidence, Δδ plays an important role in AVO while Δε dominates for large angles of incidence. For typical values of δ and ε, the effects of anisotropy in shale are: (1) a more rapid increase in AVO for Class 3 and Class 2 gas sands, (2) a more rapid decrease in AVO for Class 1 gas sands, and (3) a shift in the offset of polarity reversal for some Class 1 and Class 2 gas sands.


Geophysics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. S15-S27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiubing Cheng ◽  
Jianhua Geng ◽  
Huazhong Wang ◽  
Zaitian Ma

Conventional offset domain prestack migration tends to bring ambiguity and migration artifacts because it smears energy from different angles at the image point. To avoid this, prestack depth migration implementations in angle domain have been investigated in the past decades. As an efficient imaging tool, angle domain Kirchhoff prestack time migration is still useful and was proposed recently. However, existing algorithms cannot handle ray bending and anisotropy correctly. Practically, azimuth analysis for fractured reservoirs should be carried out after migration for most geological settings. Unfortunately, the existing migration algorithm implicitly involves some kind of binning to source-receiver azimuth, which may not be the real wave-pathazimuth, especially for side-scattering or out-of-plane waves. In this paper, we present an algorithm for 3D Kirchhoff prestack time migration in average illumination azimuth and incident angle domain, which matches true wave path naturally and more accurately. To handle ray bending and vertical transversely isotropy, we propose several approaches to estimate two-way traveltime and the corresponding angular attributes through extended offset-to-angle mapping. Based upon these approaches, our 3D prestack time migration can provide high-quality common-image gathers for amplitude variation with incident angle and/or amplitude variation with offset and azimuth analyses, even in media with slight to moderate lateral heterogeneity. The 2D and 3D synthetic examples prove the validity of our methods.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1297-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Xu ◽  
G. H. F. Gardner ◽  
J. A. McDonald

In recent years interest has increased in the interpretation of the amplitude variation of reflected signals as a function of offset (AVO). A more meaningful relationship for interpreting reflection coefficients at the target horizon is amplitude variation with incident angle (AVA). The challenge is to convert from AVO to AVA. The effects of velocity variation in the overburden on amplitude variation with offset (AVO) and on the final inversion of AVO data into velocity, density, and Poisson’s ratio can be significant. Examples are given here for subsurface medium with a vertical velocity gradient range of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. When the medium is treated as homogeneous in the conversion from AVO to AVA, this velocity variation causes significant errors (about 10 percent) in both the gradient of AVA and in the normal incident reflection coefficient. Such errors produce errors of similar magnitude in the inversion of AVA data into the elastic parameters of velocity, Poisson’s ratio, and density. The errors depend on the velocity gradient, the offset range, the elastic parameter contrast across the interface, and the interface depth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuang Xie ◽  
Peng Song ◽  
Xishuang Li ◽  
Jun Tan ◽  
Shaowen Wang ◽  
...  

Reverse time migration (RTM) is based on the two-way wave equation, so its imaging results obtained by conventional zero-lag cross-correlation imaging conditions contain a lot of low-wavenumber noises. So far, the wavefield decomposition method based on the Poynting vector has been developed to suppress these noises; however, this method also has some problems, such as unstable calculation of the Poynting vector, low accuracy of wavefield decomposition, and poor effect of large-angle migration artifacts suppression. This article introduces the optical flow vector method to RTM to realize high-precision wavefield decomposition for both the source and receiver wavefields and obtains four directions of wavefields: up-, down-, left-, and right-going. Then, the cross-correlation imaging sections of one-way propagation components of forward- and back-propagated wavefields are optimized and stacked. On this basis, the reflection angle of each imaging point is calculated based on the optical flow vector, and an attenuation factor related to the reflection angle is introduced as the weight to generate the optimal stack images. The tests of theoretical model and field marine seismic data illustrate that compared with the conventional RTM with wavefield decomposition based on the Poynting vector, the angle-weighted RTM with wavefield decomposition based on the optical flow vector proposed in this article can achieve wavefield decomposition for both the source and receiver wavefields and calculate the reflection angle of each imaging point more accurately and stably. Moreover, the proposed method adopts angle weighting processing, which can further eliminate large-angle migration artifacts and effectively improve the imaging accuracy of RTM.


Geophysics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 1603-1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles C. Mosher ◽  
Timothy H. Keho ◽  
Arthur B. Weglein ◽  
Douglas J. Foster

Amplitude variation with offset (AVO) analysis is often limited to areas where multidimensional propagation effects such as reflector dip and diffractions from faults can be ignored. Migration‐inversion provides a framework for extending the use of seismic amplitudes to areas where structural or stratigraphic effects are important. In this procedure, sources and receivers are downward continued into the earth using uncollapsed prestack migration. Instead of stacking the data as in normal migration, the prestack migrated data are used in AVO analysis or other inversion techniques to infer local earth properties. The prestack migration can take many forms. In particular, prestack time migration of common‐angle sections provides a convenient tool for improving the lateral resolution and spatial positioning of AVO anomalies. In this approach, a plane‐wave decomposition is first applied in the offset direction, separating the wavefield into different propagating angles. The data are then gathered into common‐angle sections and migrated one angle at a time. The common‐angle migrations have a simple form and are shown to adequately preserve amplitude as a function of angle. Normal AVO analysis is then applied to the prestack migrated data. Examples using seismic lines from the Gulf of Mexico show how migration improves AVO analysis. In the first set of examples, migration is shown to improve imaging of subtle spatial variations in bright spots. Subsequent AVO analysis reveals dim spots associated with dry‐hole locations that were not resolvable using traditional processing techniques, including both conventional AVO and poststack migration. A second set of examples shows improvements in AVO response after migration is used to reduce interference from coherent noise and diffractions. A final example shows the impact of migration on the spatial location of dipping AVO anomalies. In all cases, migration improves both the signal‐to‐noise ratio and spatial resolution of AVO anomalies.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3443-3450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Nan Liu ◽  
Rui Chen ◽  
Wei-Yi Shi ◽  
Ke-Bo Zeng ◽  
Fu-Li Zhao ◽  
...  

AbstractSelective transmission or filtering always responds to either frequency or incident angle, so as hardly to maximize signal-to-noise ratio in communication, detection and sensing. Here, we propose compact meta-filters of narrow-frequency sharp-angular transmission peak along with broad omnidirectional reflection sidebands, in all-dielectric cascaded subwavelength meta-gratings. The inherent collective resonance of waveguide-array modes and thin film approximation of meta-grating are employed as the design strategy. A unity transmission peak, locating at the incident angle of 44.4° and the center wavelength of 1550 nm, is demonstrated in a silicon meta-filter consisting of two-layer silicon rectangular meta-grating. These findings provide possibilities in cascaded meta-gratings spectroscopic design and alternative utilities for high signal-to-noise ratio applications in focus-free spatial filtering and anti-noise systems in telecommunications.


Geophysics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. WB175-WB182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Huang ◽  
Bing Bai ◽  
Haiyong Quan ◽  
Tony Huang ◽  
Sheng Xu ◽  
...  

The availability of wide-azimuth data and the use of reverse time migration (RTM) have dramatically increased the capabilities of imaging complex subsalt geology. With these improvements, the current obstacle for creating accurate subsalt images now lies in the velocity model. One of the challenges is to generate common image gathers that take full advantage of the additional information provided by wide-azimuth data and the additional accuracy provided by RTM for velocity model updating. A solution is to generate 3D angle domain common image gathers from RTM, which are indexed by subsurface reflection angle and subsurface azimuth angle. We apply these 3D angle gathers to subsalt tomography with the result that there were improvements in velocity updating with a wide-azimuth data set in the Gulf of Mexico.


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