Ray-based modeling and imaging in viscoelastic media using graphics processing units

Abstract

In seismic data processing, the amplitude loss caused by attenuation should be taken into account. The basis for this is provided by a 3D attenuation model described by the quality factor Q, which is used in viscoelastic modeling and imaging. We have accomplished viscoelastic modeling and imaging using ray theory and the ray-Born approximation. This makes it possible to take Q into account using complex-valued and frequency-dependent traveltimes. We have developed a unified parallel implementation for modeling and imaging in the frequency domain and carried out the numerical integration on a graphics processing unit. A central part of the implementation is an efficient technique for computing large integrals. We applied the integration method to the 3D SEG/EAGE overthrust model to generate synthetic seismograms and imaging results. The attenuation effects are accurately modeled in the seismograms and compensated for in the imaging algorithm. The results indicate a significant improvement in computational efficiency compared to a parallel central processing unit baseline.