Pure P and S wave equations in transversely isotropic media

Abstract

Pure mode wave propagation is important for applications ranging from imaging to avoiding parameter tradeoff in waveform inversion. Although seismic anisotropy is an elastic phenomenon, pseudo-acoustic approximations are routinely used to avoid the high computational cost and difficulty in decoupling wave modes to obtain interpretable seismic images. However, such approximations may result in inaccuracies in characterizing anisotropic wave propagation. We propose new pure mode equations for P- and S-waves resulting in an artifact-free solution in transversely isotropic medium with a vertical symmetry axis. Our approximations are more accurate than other known approximations as they are not based on weak anisotropy assumptions. Therefore, the S-wave approximation can reproduce the group velocity triplications in strongly anisotropic media. The proposed approximations can be used for accurate modelling and imaging of pure P- and S-waves in transversely isotropic media.