Band-limited Optavo, Seismic Inversion the Other Way Round

Accurate and stable inversion of seismic amplitude data using linearized AVO modelling operators is generally challenged by the presence of noise in the data and strong contrasts in the subsurface properties. Moreover, the value of long-offset data (when available) cannot be fully exploited given the inaccuracy of linearized AVO equations at high angles. We provide a different perspective on AVO inversion of band-limited pre-stack gathers. An optimal, linear modelling operator is found by directly exploiting well logs and/or geological knowledge, and seismic inversion is carried out ‘the other way round’: first, the effect of each elastic parameter (e.g., acoustic impendence, shear impedance, density) is separated out from seismic data by direct matrix multiplication with a series of operators, colored inversion is then performed to extract medium parameters from band-limited reflectivities. Examples are provided for both synthetic and field data.