AVO Modeling

After having evaluated the different impedance structures across the BSR, I perform AVO modeling of the BSR amplitudes in order to obtain possible velocity models that can explain the cause of the BSR. These models can be used to examine the actual predictions based on the impedance inversion.

Using the interval velocities presented in Chapter 2, I explore the effects of different impedance structures on the BSR AVO response in an attempt to reproduce the observed seismic data. Several models are constructed based on the possible causes of the BSR shown in Figure . The velocity models are constrained to preserve the average interval velocity of the macro layers. To avoid possible tuning effects in this basic modeling approach, the layers are assumed to be thicker than a quarter of a wave length. Synthetic AVO responses are then estimated for the individual models using Zoeppritz equations () and compared with the amplitude responses observed by the seismic data.