Towards forward modeling beyond Zoeppritz's: Fullwavefield modeling for inhomogeneous media

Full wavefield modeling is a method that invokes the transfer coefficients in order to model wave propagation. However, generalized transfer coefficients, which are more general than those that are equivalent to Zoeppritz equations in acoustic media, are needed in order to model waves in such media. We compute those generalized transfer coefficients and invoke them into the full wavefield modeling method, which models multiples along with primaries. We compute those coefficients using a formulation that allows discontinuous media to be modeled. A comparison between the conventional approach of using the acoustic equivalent of Zoeppritz equations and our proposed method show a pronounced difference. In one example, it is shown that neighboring sand channels have a pronounced impact on the reflection coefficient at a single sand channel. This work sets the stage to an elastic formulation that has the potential to replace the commonly used Zoeppritz equations.