Processing the Artificial Edge-Effects for Finite-Difference Frequency-Domain in Viscoelastic Anisotropic Formations

Abstract

Real sedimentary media can usually be characterized as transverse isotropy. To reveal wave propagation in the true models and improve the accuracy of migrations and evaluations, we investigated the algorithm of wavefield simulations in an anisotropic viscoelastic medium. The finite difference in the frequency domain (FDFD) has several advantages compared with that in the time domain, e.g., implementing multiple sources, multi-scaled inversion, and introducing attenuation. However, medium anisotropy will lead to the complexity of the wavefield in the calculation. The damping profile of the conventional absorption boundary is only defined in one single direction, which produces instability when the wavefields of strong anisotropy are reflected on that truncated boundary. We applied the multi-axis perfectly matched layer (M-PML) to the wavefield simulations in anisotropic viscoelastic media to overcome this issue, which defines the damping profiles along different axes. In the numerical examples, we simulated seismic wave propagation in three viscous anisotropic media and focused on the wave attenuation in the absorbing layers using time domain snapshots. The M-PML was more effective for wave absorption compared to the conventional perfectly matched layer (PML). In strongly anisotropic media, the PML became unstable, and prominent reflections appeared at truncated boundaries. In contrast, the M-PML remained stable and efficient in the same model. Finally, the modeling of the stratified cross-well model showed the applicability of this proposed algorithm to heterogeneous viscous anisotropic media. The numerical algorithm can analyze wave propagation in viscoelastic anisotropic media. It also provides a reliable forward operator for waveform inversion, wave equation travel-time inversion, and seismic migration in anisotropic viscoelastic media.