AccScience Publishing / JSE / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/JSE026030004
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Full-wavefield modeling using a decoupled viscoacoustic wave equation with vector-reflectivity

Fei Li1 ,  Zilong Ye2* ,  Jintao Liu1 ,  Jianping Huang2 ,  Mengmeng Wu1 ,  Mei Li1 ,  Yanjiao Dong2
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1 Exploration and Development Research Institute, Changqing Oilfield Branch Company Ltd., PetroChina, Xi’an, Shanxi, China
2 National Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong
JSE, 026030004 https://doi.org/10.36922/JSE026030004
Received: 13 January 2026 | Revised: 6 March 2026 | Accepted: 20 March 2026 | Published online: 29 May 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Conventional Q-compensated least-squares reverse time migration generally employs a linearized viscoacoustic modeling operator based on the first‑order Born approximation, which simulates only primary reflections in synthetic data. As a result, it cannot properly match seismic data containing multiples, leading to prominent crosstalk artifacts and reduced image quality. To overcome this limitation, we started with the relaxation function of the generalized standard linearized solid model and derived a viscoacoustic wave equation with vector-reflectivity. This formulation enabled the simulation of full viscoacoustic wavefields that included both primary and multiple reflections, and it could be numerically solved using finite‑difference algorithms. Numerical experiments demonstrated that the wavefields generated using the proposed vector-reflectivity equation were equivalent to those produced using the original variable-density viscoacoustic wave equation. To further investigate the attenuation characterizations, we decoupled the dissipation and dispersion effects in the viscoacoustic wave equation with vector-reflectivity and derived a corresponding decoupled formulation. Numerical experiments demonstrated that the decoupled viscoacoustic wave equation with vector-reflectivity accurately simulated both dissipation and phase-dispersion wavefields. Based on decoupled characteristics and full-wavefield simulation capabilities, the proposed formulation provides an effective linearized forward-modeling engine for Q-compensated least-squares reverse time migration.

Keywords
Attenuation
Generalized standard linearized solid
Vector-reflectivity
Forward modeling
Funding
This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42374164) and the High Precision Imaging Study of Small-scale and High-angle Structures in the Western Ordos Basin (Grant No. 2024D2ZZ01).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Journal of Seismic Exploration, Electronic ISSN: 0963-0651 Print ISSN: 0963-0651, Published by AccScience Publishing
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