Traveltime approximations for inhomogeneous HTI media

Traveltimes information is convenient for parameter estimation especially if the medium is described by an anisotropic set of parameters. This is especially true if we could relate traveltimes analytically to these medium parameters, which is generally hard to do in inhomogeneous media. As a result, I develop traveltimes approximations for horizontaly transversely isotropic (HTI) media as simplified and even linear functions of the anisotropic parameters. This is accomplished by perturbing the solution of the HTI eikonal equation with respect to η and the azimuthal symmetry direction (usually used to describe the fracture direction) from a generally inhomogeneous elliptically anisotropic background medium. The resulting approximations can provide accurate analytical description of the traveltime in a homogenous background compared to other published moveout equations out there. These equations will allow us to readily extend the inhomogenous background elliptical anisotropic model to an HTI with a variable, but smoothly varying, η and horizontal symmetry direction values. © 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.