Stratigraphic attenuation of seismic waves

Arnim B. Haase, Robert R. Stewart

In this report we are investigating the role of stratigraphic attenuation (scattering) in Q-estimation. We find that 2D scattering shows offset dependent stratigraphic attenuation/amplification. Stratigraphic "amplification" is one possible explanation for the peaking of shallow depth Q-estimates from actual VSP data. Another possibility is the relative boost of high frequencies in shallow layers.