The Frequency (or Time) -Temperature Equivalence of Relaxation in Saturated Rocks

Laboratory data on dry and saturated rocks show that pore fluid has the most important effect on rock attenuation. It is known that viscous and inertial coupling between the frame of a porous rock and its pore fluid dissipates seismic energy by conversion to heat and hence cause attenuation. We show that attenuation peaks, in saturated rock have the same property as that of typical thermally activated relaxations. In the frequency domain, a plot of attenuation versus frequency shows an obvious systematic shift to higher frequencies with increasing temperatures. Similarly, the attenuation versus temperature curve moves to higher temperature with increasing frequencies. The attenuation peaks are somewhat broader than that for a Zener relaxation. A Cole-Cole distribution of relaxation times closely matches the attenuations. This behavior can be explained theoretically by local flow mechanisms.