Ray Velocity Derivatives in Anisotropic Elastic Media. Part II - Polar Anisotropy

TL;DR

This paper derives and tests analytical formulas for ray velocity derivatives in polar anisotropic media, specifically TTI, for coupled qP, qSV, and SH waves, enhancing seismic anisotropy modeling accuracy.

Contribution

It extends the computational framework for ray velocity derivatives to polar anisotropic media, including geometric parameters, and validates the results against numerical derivatives.

Findings

Analytical derivatives match finite difference results.

Transformations to general anisotropic parameters yield identical derivatives.

Application to shale and sand rocks demonstrates practical relevance.

Abstract

In Part I of this study, we obtained the ray (group) velocity gradients and Hessians with respect to the ray locations, directions and the anisotropic model parameters, at nodal points along ray trajectories, considering general anisotropic (triclinic) media and both, quasi-compressional and quasi-shear waves. Ray velocity derivatives for anisotropic media with higher symmetries were considered particular cases of general anisotropy. In this part, Part II, we follow the computational workflow presented in Part I, formulating the ray velocity derivatives directly for polar anisotropic (transverse isotropy with tilted axis of symmetry, TTI) media for the coupled qP and qSV waves and for SH waves. The acoustic approximation for qP waves is considered a special case. The medium properties, normally specified at regular three-dimensional fine grid points, are the five material parameters: the axial compressional and shear velocities and the three Thomsen parameters, and two geometric parameters: the polar angles defining the local direction of the medium symmetry axis. All the parameters are assumed spatially (smoothly) varying, where their gradients and Hessians can be reliably computed. Two case examples are considered; the first represents compacted shale/sand rocks (with positive anellipticity) and the second, unconsolidated sand rocks with strong negative anellipticity (manifesting a qSV triplication). The ray velocity derivatives obtained in this part are first tested by comparing them with the corresponding numerical (finite difference) derivatives. Additionally, we show that exactly the same results (ray velocity derivatives) can be obtained if we transform the given polar anisotropic model parameters (five material and two geometric) into the twenty-one stiffness tensor components of a general anisotropic (triclinic) medium, and apply the theory derived in Part I.