AVF inversion of anelastic reflectivity: Practical issues concerning implementation

Christopher W. Bird, Kristopher A. Innanen, Laurence R. Lines, Mostafa Naghizadeh

A frequency by frequency method (AVF) of inverting for Q exists which requires as input an estimate of the local spectrum of the absorptive reflection coefficient. We have a calibrated fast S-transform (FST) which we have demonstrated provides a high fidelity estimate of the local spectra of seismic reflection events and is suitable as input for AVF inversion. In this paper we consider a prioritized set of issues a method like this face when applied in the field. We develop methodologies and recommendations to manage: 1. Random/uncorrelated noise; 2. Nearby/difficult-to-isolate events; 3. Source wavelet. We begin by describing our synthetic testing environment including forward model for attenuating traces, and then consider each of these ideas in turn. In their presence we consider AVF inversion, though more complicated, to be a likely tractable problem.