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Anisotropic elastic full‐waveform inversion of walkaway vertical seismic profiling data from the Arabian Gulf
Author(s) -
Owusu John C,
Podgornova Olga,
Charara Marwan,
Leaney Scott,
Campbell Allan,
Ali Shujaat,
Borodin Igor,
Nutt Les,
Menkiti Henry
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical prospecting
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.735
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1365-2478
pISSN - 0016-8025
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2478.12227
Subject(s) - vertical seismic profile , geology , waveform , borehole , inversion (geology) , seismology , anisotropy , regional geology , economic geology , seismic wave , geophysics , environmental geology , engineering geology , optics , volcanism , geotechnical engineering , computer science , tectonics , telecommunications , physics , radar
Borehole seismic addresses the need for high‐resolution images and elastic parameters of the subsurface. Full‐waveform inversion of vertical seismic profile data is a promising technology with the potential to recover quantitative information about elastic properties of the medium. Full‐waveform inversion has the capability to process the entire wavefield and to address the wave propagation effects contained in the borehole data—multi‐component measurements; anisotropic effects; compressional and shear waves; and transmitted, converted, and reflected waves and multiples. Full‐waveform inversion, therefore, has the potential to provide a more accurate result compared with conventional processing methods. We present a feasibility study with results of the application of high‐frequency (up to 60 Hz) anisotropic elastic full‐waveform inversion to a walkaway vertical seismic profile data from the Arabian Gulf. Full‐waveform inversion has reproduced the majority of the wave events and recovered a geologically plausible layered model with physically meaningful values of the medium.