AVO Gradient Analysis Theory

Introduction
A large part of current industry practice in AVO analysis involves intercept/gradient analysis. This
analysis is used in the Gradient Analysis function. These concepts are also used in the AVO Attribute
Map and Volume functions.

When you plot the amplitude of the signal for a reflector (i.e., horizon) against the offset of the trace
(or the calculated angle that the corresponding sound wave would make when it met the reflector),
the plot yields the "Intercept". This is where the trend of the amplitude measurements meets the
zero-offset line (so it would be equivalent to a geophone directly next to the source, and a 90° angle
to the reflector). It also yields the "Gradient", which is the slope of the curve made by the plot points.
The sums or differences of these gradients and intercept values can then be used for mapping AVO
anomalies. Traditionally, the offset is expressed as the sine squared of the incident angle.

Figure 1

Approximations of the Zoeppritz Equations

The Aki-Richards Approximation
The Zoeppritz equations have been the basis for a number of approximations to the Zoeppritz
equations have been made (see Zoeppritz Theory for a listing). This equation is written as three
terms, the first involving P-wave velocity, the second involving density, and the third involving S-
wave velocity. Their formula can be written:

                           (1)

where:

This equation holds reasonably accurately where the  and the  terms are less than
approximately 0.1.

Rearranging the Aki-Richards Equation

1
Equation (1) can be rearranged to take the form:          (2)

where

For more detail on these equations, see Zoeppritz Theory.

From this, we can derive density, using the intercept and curvature, as

As density directly measures hydrocarbon saturation, this is valuable, particularly for the Fizz Water
problem. However, the C coefficient depends on far angle data (>45°) and can be affected by noise.

Estimating Intercept, Gradient and Curvature

Angle-dependent Amplitudes

Figure 3

This figure shows the amplitudes that are described by the AVO equation. Note that the analysis is
done for every time sample.

Extracting the Intercept, Gradient and Curvature with Angles

For N traces, where we know the angles, we can write (using the Aki-Richards equation in the
intercept-gradient notation):

2
 

This can be written in matrix form as:

Converting from Offset to Angle

Even if the angles are unknown, you can convert from offset to angle. See Transforming From the
Offset to the Angle Domain.

Matrix Form of the Intercept-Gradient Solution

Note that:

Combining these equations gives us:

3
 

If we let:

Then this is an over-constrained problem which can be solved by a least-squares solution:

Therefore, we pick amplitudes at a time sample as a function of offset. We then convert to angle
using the ray-parameter approach. Finally, we invert a three-term matrix using least-squares. To
calculate only intercept and gradient, drop the third term (C).

Velocity Approximation
We can approximate values without the calculation mentioned above by making assumptions based
on equation 2 (the Aki-Richards equation).

4
  

First, set the S-wave to P-wave velocity ratio:

 (this is equivalent to ).

and then ignore the third term in equation (2).  is small for angles less than
30 degrees.

This leads to:

           (3)

Notice that, if we let

 and

we can rewrite equation (3) as:              (4)

From this, we see that:

Matching the form for equation 2:

We can further show that, using these assumptions:

Therefore we can estimate the S-wave reflectivity from the Intercept and Gradient:

which means that: 

For another approximation approach, see The Shuey AVO Approximation and The Smith and Gidlow

5
For another approximation approach, see The Shuey AVO Approximation and The Smith and Gidlow

AVO Approximation.
Summary
The following table is a summary of all these approximations:
Term a b Approximation to Aki/Richards
r 1 0 Drop 3rd term
G 0 1 Drop 3rd term
rs 0.5 -0.5

Assume   =  1/2

Ds 4/9 4/9 Assume s  =  1/3
1.6 0

 
0.6 -1

 
Ds/s 1 1

 
DF 1.252 0.58

For a mathematical example of a gradient analysis, see Gradient Analysis Implementation.

See Problems with AVO Gradient Analysis for potential problems and their fixes.