Numerical Modeling of Shear-wave Splitting and Azimuthal Velocity Analysis in Fractured Media

This paper presents the processing and interpretation of seismic modeling data of the earth models for a fractured layer, based on well logs associated with potash mining. The purpose of the work is to study azimuthal seismic anisotropy, shear-wave splitting, and time-lapse seismic signals caused by vertically aligned fractures. The results show that seismic velocity anisotropy can be detected by both vertical and horizontal components of the HTI earth model; it is especially evident on radial component. Shear-wave splitting is evident and the fracture orientation determined from the polarization of fast and slow shear waves is consistent with the input model. The time-shift and amplitude changes due to anisotropic layer are also apparent on both vertical and radial component data. The time-shift on radial data is up to 5ms and the amplitude change is up to 46%.