Full waveform modeling in seismic exploration based on a digital geological model using spectral element method on GPU

Abstract

The paper considers the solution of a three-dimensional problem of modeling of all types of seismic waves propagating in real geological media. The numerical algorithm based on the spectral element method (SEM). The main advantages of SEM (high order space discretization, explicit time integration scheme) are presented in comparison with the classical approach based on the finite element method (FEM). The features of the massively parallel implementation of the algorithm on modern MultiGPU systems (based on A100 GPU) using CUDA technology are considered. The efficiency of parallelization on hybrid systems with different SEM orders and parameters of the numerical time integration scheme is analyzed. The results of solving a three-dimensional problem of modeling the propagation of seismic waves in a heterogeneous geological media with faults and sharply varying properties of layers are presented. Analysis of the numerical convergence of SEM for dispersive waves of the Rayleigh type is performed. Local and non-local non-reflective boundary conditions on the artificial boundary of the computational region are considered. The 3D computational model is constructed using a detailed digital geological model built for one of the Arctic regions. It was converted to an unstructured hexahedral mesh to perform SEM calculations using CAE FIDESYS software. The model is further generalized for typical seismic-geological conditions of Western Siberia, so that on the basis of such modeling it is possible to conduct a wide range of studies on the possibilities of seismic exploration to study the main oil and gas reservoirs in this region. The solution was sought on a hexahedral mesh consisting of 5.5 mln spectral elements of the 5th order with a total number of SEM nodes 1.2 billion. The output results of full-wave modeling are stored in the SEG-Y format, suitable for all types of industrial seismic processing. The analysis of the obtained model seismograms and wave fields is carried out. The conclusion is made about the practical significance of the conducted research.