Linearized elastic parameter sections

Contrasts in elastic parameters can be estimated directly from seismic data using offset-dependent information in the PP reflection coefficient. A linear approximation to the PP reflection coefficient including three coefficients is fitted to the data, and relative contrasts in various elastic parameters are obtained from linear combinations of the estimated coefficients. Linearized elastic parameter sections for the contrasts in P-wave impedance, P-wave velocity, density, plane-wave modulus, and the change in bulk modulus and shear modulus normalized with the plane-wave modulus are estimated. If the average P- to S-wave velocity ratio is known, linearized parameter sections including the contrast in the average P- to S-wave velocity ratio and a fluid factor section can be computed. Applied to synthetic data, visual comparison of the estimated and true elastic parameter sections agree qualitatively, and the results are confirmed by an analysis of the standard deviation of the estimated parameters. The parameter sections obtained by inversion of a shallow seismic anomaly in the Barents Sea are promising, but the reliability is uncertain because neither well data nor regional trends are available.