A New Approximation to the Reflection Coefficient Based on the Diffusive-Viscous Wave Equation

The frequency-dependent seismic anomalies related to the hydrocarbon reservoirs have lately attracted wide attentions, and the diffusive-viscous wave equation was built to explain these anomalies. Frequency-dependent amplitude versus angles of incidence (FAVA) inversion is a commonly used and effective reservoir prediction technique. The existing frequency-dependent reflection coefficient formula based on the diffusive-viscous wave equation is complex and highly nonlinear, containing eight model parameters, then it is difficult to apply for FAVA inversion. In this abstract, we derive a simplified reflection coefficient formula for the diffusive-viscous wave equation. The new formula contains half of the model parameters of the exact formula, which greatly shrinks the search space of the global optimization algorithm and improves computational efficiency in FAVA inversion. The accuracy of the approximate formula is analyzed by the forward modeling. The test results show that the proposed formula is applicable within incident angle of 35 degrees and the frequency band range of seismic exploration, which supplies a theoretical foundation for the practical application of the FAVA inversion based on the diffusive-viscous wave equation.