Sensitivity analysis for elastic full-waveform inversion in VTI media

Multiparameter full-waveform inversion (FWI) is generally nonunique, and the results are strongly influenced by the geometry of the experiment and the type of recorded data. Studying the sensitivity of different subsets of data to the model parameters may help in choosing an optimal acquisition design, inversion workflow, and parameterization. Here, we derive the Fréchet kernel for FWI of multicomponent data from a 2D VTI (tranversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis) medium. The kernel is obtained by linearizing the elastic wave equation using the Born approximation and employing the asymptotic Green's function. The amplitude of the kernel (‘radiation pattern’) yields the angle-dependent energy scattered by a perturbation in a certain model parameter. The perturbations are described in terms of the P- and S-wave vertical velocities and the P-wave normal-moveout and horizontal velocities. The background medium is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic, which allows us to obtain simple expressions for the radiation patterns corresonding to all four velocities. These patterns help explain the FWI results for multicomponent transmission data generated for Gaussian anomalies in the Thomsen parameters inserted into a homogeneous VTI medium.