Estimation of seismic parameters from multifold reflection seismic data by generalized linear inversion of Zoeppritz equations

An inversion method is developed to estimate the P- and S-wave velocities and density ratio of two elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous media separated by a plane, horizontal boundary from P-wave reflection amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) data recorded at the surface. The method has for its basis the inversion of the plane wave Zoeppritz equations are converted into the time-offset domain by using Snell's law, common mid-point (CMP) geometry, and two-way travel (twt) time. The equations in the time-offset domain have five independent variables that enable estimation of P- and S-wave velocities and density ration for the upper and lower layers. The linearity and uniqueness of the inversion are investigated by residual function maps (RFMs).; The inversion method is tested using model AVO data with and without random noise. The tests show that the model parameters are exactly recovered when offset-to-depth (O/D) ratio is about 2 or larger, depending on the contrast among the seismic parameters of the media. The results for small O/D rations ({dollar}<{dollar}1) diverge from the true values, especially for S-wave velocities, and indicate the importance of the O/D ration in the AVO data inversion. The parameters are not recovered correctly in the case of noisy model AVO data because of the degrading effect of noise in the inversion.; The AVO inversion is applied to field data from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in South Carolina to show the feasibility of the method. The first example is from Charleston, S.C. where the estimated seismic parameters from adjacent CMP gathers are in close agreement demonstrating the stability of the AVO inversion. The second example is a data set that crosses the border fault of the Dunbarton Triassic basin, S.C. For this data set common offset stacked CMP gathers are used to increase the S/N ratio and minimize the surface coupling effects. The inversion results show that the seismic parameters are greater north of the border fault indicating crystalline basement while smaller parameters to the south represent the Triassic basin. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)...