Thermoelastic Dispersion and Attenuation of P and SV Wave Scattering by Aligned Fluid‐Saturated Cracks of Finite Thickness in an Isothermal Elastic Medium.

P and SV wave scattering by thermally constrained saturated cracks couples elastic deformation with temperature. We estimate the scattering attenuation and velocity dispersion by aligned fluid‐saturated cracks with finite thickness, which are sparsely and randomly embedded in an isothermal and isotropic elastic medium. By incorporating thermoelastic effects into the representation theorem with the non‐interaction Foldy approximation, we formulate the dispersion and attenuation of P and SV waves induced by displacement discontinuities across aligned cracks constrained by a thermoelastic boundary condition. The frequency‐dependent response as a function of temperature is calculated for various P and SV wave incidence angles. The resulting scattering attenuation and dispersion are compared with those of the conventional aligned‐crack model. The examples show that the dissipation increases with increasing temperature, but the scattering is inhibited at a given temperature. The P wave shows a strong sensitivity to temperature along the direction normal to the cracks, whereas the SV wave has an opposite behavior. This theory has the potential to assess the distribution of temperature from seismic attributes. Key Points: We study the thermoelastic dispersion and attenuation of P and SV wave scattering by aligned‐crack in an isothermal elastic mediumThe dissipation increases with increasing temperature, but the scattering is inhibited at a given temperatureThe P wave shows a strong sensitivity to temperature along the crack normal, whereas the SV wave behaves in opposite manner [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]