Modeling and velocity analysis with a wavefront-construction algorithm for anisotropic media

Wavefront construction methods allow for efficient simulation of seismic wave propagation in anisotropic media using ray theory. This approach models an individual wavefront as a mesh that is adaptively refined as the wave travels through an earth model. The algorithm, implemented here for quasi-compressional waves, provides an effective tool for modeling and analyzing a large vertical seismic-profile data set from the Gulf of Mexico. Seismic velocities in this region generally increase linearly with depth, but simulations show that an isotropic vertical-gradient model cannot accurately reproduce traveltimes of first arrivals. However, a simple velocity-analysis inversion based on the wavefront-construction method allows a straightforward estimation of improved isotropic and transversely isotropic models that significantly reduce the misfit between computed traveltimes and the observations. The goal of this analysis is to produce a simple model suitable for use as a starting point for migrations and for assessing the importance of anisotropy in the field site. In fact, the final anisotropic model is much more consistent with background geologic information than the best isotropic model, which also has a larger rms traveltime error. The results strongly support the presence of measurable anisotropy.