Logarithmic spectral simultaneous inversion for interval-attenuation estimation

Frequency domain Q estimation methods usually pick two reflections at different traveltimes, and estimate Q according to the variation of their amplitude spectra. However, the variation of the amplitude spectra is not only affected by the target layer, but also affected by the overburden, which lead to error of Q estimation results. In addition, this influence will become more obvious as the increase of offset, making the traces of large offset unusable for Q estimation. We have developed a novel Q estimation method, called logarithmic spectral simultaneous inversion (LSSI), to address this problem. This proposed method account for the effect of the overburden by picking another adjacent reflection, which is used as a constraint for the Q value estimation in the overburden, and separating attenuations from different layers according to the traveltime through the process of inversion. Q values of both target layer and overburden are estimated simultaneously. Model test and field data application indicate the validity of the method.