Attenuation versus scattering in a periodically layered medium

Summary The propagation of acoustic waves through a periodically layered medium is a classical problem in seismic theory and is of importance for stratigraphic interpretation, matching of well-log data and seismic modeling. The key parameters controlling propagation are the layer thickness to wavelength ratio and the acoustic contrast between the layers. In this paper, we introduce the intrinsic attenuation for periodically layered structure to investigate how the intrinsic attenuation interferes with the scattering due to layering. The presence of intrinsic attenuation results in the stretch of reflection and transmission responses in frequency domain. We show that the anomalies in energy loss follow the stop-bands in frequency scale, which are wider for higher acoustic contrast between the layers. The high-frequency limit of the phase velocity is affected by intrinsic attenuation.