Q-model building using one-way wave-equation migration Q analysis - Part 1: Theory and synthetic test

The goal of this study is to understand and quantify the attenuation effects in the subsurface and to create an accurate laterally and vertically varying quality factor Q model for gas clouds/pockets. Such Q models are used in seismic migration to improve image quality. We evaluate an inversion-based method, wave-equation migration Q analysis, with two major features. First, this method is performed in the image space to reduce noise, focus events, and provide a direct link between Q model perturbations and image perturbations. Second, this method uses wave-equation-based Q tomography to handle the complex wave propagation. We apply this method to three 2D synthetic examples. The numerical synthetic tests of this Q estimation method demonstrate its feasibility on characterizing Q anomalies and, as a consequence, improving the seismic image.