In situ evidence for frequency dependence of near-surface Q

The frequency dependence of the quality factor Q has long been predicted by mathematical modelling and laboratory measurements; however, in situ evidence from seismic surveys is still lacking. We have conducted the cross-hole seismic surveys to investigate the near-surface seismic attenuation in the Daqing oilfield in northeastern China. The seismic waves were fired in a source hole of 40 m from the bottom to the surface at an interval of 1 m and were recorded in a receiver hole of 40 m by two geophones with one at the surface and the other one at the bottom. The direct waves were extracted to avoid the noise disturbance and the reflection interference, and the attenuations without the effects of the source signature and the receiver coupling were estimated by a method we proposed. The nonlinear attenuations were observed and fitted using the power-law-based Q. The reliability of Q estimate was verified by the high similarity between the real and the simulated attenuations. Therefore, the experiment we have conducted can be treated as a reliable evidence for the frequency dependence of near-surface Q.