Thomsen-type parameters and attenuation coefficients for constant-Q transverse isotropy

Abstract

Transversely isotropic (TI) media with the frequency-independent quality-factor elements (also called ``constant-$Q$'' transverse isotropy) are often used to describe attenuation anisotropy in sedimentary rocks. The attenuation coefficients in constant-$Q$ TI models can be conveniently defined in terms of the Thomsen-type attenuation-anisotropy parameters. Recent research indicates that not all those parameters for such constant-$Q$ media are frequency-independent. Here, we present concise analytic formulae for the Thomsen-type attenuation parameters for Kjartansson's constant-$Q$ TI model and show that one of them ($\delta_{Q}$) varies with frequency. The analytic expression for $\delta_{Q}$ helps evaluate the frequency dependence of the normalized attenuation coefficients of P- and SV-waves by introducing the newly defined ``dispersion factors''. Viscoacoustic constant-$Q$ transverse isotropy is also discussed as a special case, for which the elliptical condition and simplified expressions for the parameters $\delta$ and $\delta_{Q}$ are derived. Our results show that in the presence of significant absorption the attenuation coefficients of the ``constant-$Q$'' model vary with frequency for oblique propagation with respect to the symmetry axis. This variation needs to be taken into account when applying the spectral-ratio method and other attenuation-analysis techniques.