Full wavefield-based joint reflection and attenuation estimation
first land-data results
M. Safari (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
D.J. Verschuur (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
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Abstract
Seismic wave attenuation significantly degrades seismic data, reducing bandwidth, resolution, and amplitude reliability, and complicating imaging and inversion. Conventional spectral-based Q-estimation methods often provide laterally smeared results and are decoupled from imaging, limiting their effectiveness in complex land environments. This study investigates the applicability of Q-compensated Full Wavefield Migration (QFWM), an attenuation-aware extension of Full Wavefield Migration, in which visco-acoustic wave propagation is incorporated directly into the modeling and inversion process to jointly estimate reflectivity and the quality factor Q through full-waveform matching. Application to land seismic data demonstrates that QFWM produces clearer and more continuous reflectors, improved focusing at depth, and partial recovery of high-frequency content compared with conventional acoustic FWM, indicating effective compensation for intrinsic attenuation. The inverted Q model exhibits geologically plausible spatial variability, with low-Q zones correlating with areas of enhanced image improvement. These results highlight the potential of QFWM as a practical tool for attenuation-aware imaging and subsurface characterization in land seismic applications, particularly in strongly attenuating environments such as near-surface and geothermal settings.