A case study showing the value of multioffset synthetic seismograms in seismic data interpretation

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. T455-T459 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Helen Isaac ◽  
Don C. Lawton

A baseline 3D3C seismic survey was acquired in May 2014 at a Field Research Station in Southern Alberta, Canada, which is the site of experimental [Formula: see text] injection into an Upper Cretaceous sandstone at approximately 300 m depth. We have created synthetic seismograms from sonic and density logs to identify reflectors seen on the processed seismic data. The high-amplitude positive response (peak) at the top of the Upper Cretaceous Milk River Formation sandstone on the normal incidence PP synthetic seismogram does not match the response seen on the migrated PP seismic data, which is a very low amplitude peak. For such a high impedance, low Poisson’s ratio sandstone, the Zoeppritz equations predict a high-amplitude reflection coefficient at zero offset, then a decrease in amplitude, and even a change in polarity with increasing source-receiver offset. To match the stacked seismic data better, we have created offset synthetic seismograms using P- and S-wave sonic logs and density logs. The character of the top Milk River reflection on the seismic data stacked using all offset traces resembles that observed on the stacked offset synthetic seismogram, which is a similar low-amplitude peak. The character of the top Milk River reflection on the seismic data stacked using only near-offset traces to 250 m looks like that seen on the normal incidence synthetic seismogram.

Geophysics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1365-1368
Author(s):  
M. Boulfoul ◽  
Doyle R. Watts

The petroleum exploration industry uses S‐wave vertical seismic profiling (VSP) to determine S‐wave velocities from downgoing direct arrivals, and S‐wave reflectivities from upgoing waves. Seismic models for quantitative calibration of amplitude variation with offset (AVO) data require S‐wave velocity profiles (Castagna et al., 1993). Vertical summations (Hardage, 1983) of the upgoing waves produce S‐wave composite traces and enable interpretation of S‐wave seismic profile sections. In the simplest application of amplitude anomalies, the coincidence of high amplitude P‐wave reflectivity and low amplitude S‐wave reflectivity is potentially a direct indicator of the presence of natural gas.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1248-1256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf A. Khalil ◽  
Robert R. Stewart ◽  
David C. Henley

High‐frequency, cross‐well seismic data, from the Midale oil field of southeastern Saskatchewan, are analyzed for direct and reflected energy. The goal of the analysis is to produce interpretable sections to assist in enhanced oil recovery activities ([Formula: see text] injection) in this field. Direct arrivals are used for velocity information while reflected arrivals are processed into a reflection image. Raw field data show a complex assortment of wave types that includes direct compressional and shear waves and reflected shear waves. A traveltime inversion technique (layer stripping via ray tracing) is used to obtain P‐ and S‐wave interval velocities from the respective direct arrivals. The velocities from the cross‐well inversion and the sonic log are in reasonable agreement. The subsurface coverage of the cross‐well geometry is investigated; it covers zones extending from the source well to the receiver well and includes regions above and below the source/receiver depths. Upgoing and downgoing primary reflections are processed, in a manner similar to the vertical seismic profiling/common‐depth‐point (VSP/CDP) map, to construct the cross‐well images. A final section is produced by summing the individual reflection images from each receiver‐gather map. This section provides an image with evidence of strata thicknesses down to about 1 m. Synthetic seismograms are used to interpret the final sections. Correlations can be drawn between some of the events on the synthetic seismograms and the cross‐well image.


Geophysics ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1357-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Mathisen ◽  
M. Budny

Recent improvements in land seismic data quality have made it possible to initiate lithostratigraphic interpretations of deep (4000–5500 m; 2.2–2.8 s) subsalt Permo‐Carboniferous gas reservoirs in the Northwest German Basin. The first modeling and interpretation results indicate that the reflection character of Permian reservoir dolomites and sandstones can be interpreted to predict lithology and porosity variations using reflection character analysis. These formations are commonly thick enough to be resolved (>20 m) and typically have velocities 1000 to 2000 m/s slower than overlying and underlying nonreservoir rocks. Deeper Upper Carboniferous reservoir sandstones occur within a discontinuous low‐amplitude seismic facies which can be clearly differentiated from a continuous high‐amplitude facies formed by the less prospective Upper Carboniferous coal measures. The accuracy of Permian reflection character interpretations is dependent on the availability of high‐frequency, zero‐phase, relative amplitude seismic data. New 3-D data are appropriate but of limited availability. To provide suitable 2-D data, wavelet processing of selected variable vintage lines was completed. More routine use of wavelet processing and lithostratigraphic interpretation methods should help to better define reservoir facies and stratigraphic traps, lower prospect risk, and increase success ratios.


Geophysics ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1552-1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Liner ◽  
Robert G. Clapp

Seismic trace alignment is a recurring need in seismic processing and interpretation. For global alignment via static shift, there are robust tools available, including crosscorrelation. However, another kind of alignment problem arises in applications as diverse as associating synthetic seismograms to field data, harmonizing P‐ and S‐wave data, residual NMO, and final multilevel flattening of common image gathers. These cases require combinations of trace compression, extension, and shift—all of which are time variant. The difficulty is to find a mapping between the traces that is in some senseoptimum. This problem is solved here using a modified form of the Needleman‐Wunsch algorithm, a global optimization method originally developed for aligning amino acid sequences in proteins. Applied to seismic traces, this algorithm provides a nonlinear mapping of one seismic trace onto another. The method extends to multitrace alignment since that problem can be broken down into a cascade of pairwise alignments. Seismic implementation of the Needleman‐Wunsch algorithm is a promising new tool for nonlinear alignment and flattening of seismic data.


Geophysics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1398-1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Ross ◽  
Daniel L. Kinman

The use of amplitude variation with offset (AVO) attribute sections such as the product of the normal incidence trace (A) and the gradient trace (B) have been used extensively in bright spot AVO analysis and interpretation. However, while these sections have often worked well with low acoustic impedance bright spot responses, they are not reliable indicators of nonbright‐spot seismic anomalies. Analyzing nonbright‐spot seismic data with common AVO attribute sections will: (1) not detect the gas‐charged reservoir because of near‐zero acoustic impedance contrast between the sands and encasing shales, or (2) yield an incorrect (negative) AVO product if the normal incidence and gradient values are opposite in sign. We divide nonbright‐spot AVO offset responses into two subcategories: those with phase reversals and those without. An AVO analysis procedure for these anomalies is presented through two examples. The procedure exploits the nature of the prestack response, yielding a more definitive AVO attribute section, and this technique is adaptive to both subcategories of nonbright‐spot AVO responses. This technique identifies the presence of gas‐charged pore fluids within the reservoir when compared to a conventionally processed, relative amplitude seismic section with characteristically low amplitude responses for near‐zero acoustic impedance contrast sands.


Geophysics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 1624-1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan O. A. Robertsson ◽  
Andrew Curtis

Surface seismic data are usually acquired by placing receivers on the earth's free surface. This is exactly the surface at which all up‐coming wave energy is reflecting and converting into down‐going energy, so the wavefield recorded is the sum of up‐coming, down‐going reflected, and down‐going converted waves. In order to anaylze up‐coming (from the reservoir) energy only (e.g., for “true” amplitude analysis), it is necessary to separate and remove all down‐going waves from the recorded data. We present a new approach for wavefield separation of land surface‐seismic data based on receiver groups with densely deployed single‐sensor recordings. By converting vertical spatial derivatives to horizontal derivatives using the free‐surface condition, the methodology only requires locally dense measurements of the wavefield at the free surface to calculate all spatial derivatives of the wavefield. These can in turn be used to compute divergence (giving P‐wave potential) and curl (giving S‐wave potential) of the wavefield at the free surface. The effects of the free surface are removed through an up/down separation step using the elastodynamic representation theorem. This results in infinite spatial‐filter expressions that are appropriate for homogeneous media. The filter for P‐waves depends on both P‐ and S‐velocity at the receivers, whereas the S‐wave filters only depend on the S‐velocity. These velocities can be estimated using the techniques in the companion paper by Curtis and Robertsson in this issue. Spatially compact filters are chosen to approximate the analytical filter expressions. The filters are designed so that they can be applied within a densely deployed, spatially limited group of three‐component (3C) receivers. By assuming that the earth is locally homogeneous (no significant variations within the near‐surface region of the group), wavefield separation can be carried out also in areas with significant statics variations over the survey area. In particular, the simplest approximate expression for P‐waves consists of two terms. The first term corresponds to divergence in the presence of the free surface scaled by a material constant. The second term is a time derivative of the recorded vertical component scaled by a material constant. Hence, the first term is a correction that is added to the “traditional” P‐interpretation—the second term—which improves accuracy for incidence angles other than normal incidence. The proposed methodology is tested on synthetic data. By comparing “traditional” P‐sections to those obtained using the new methodology, we demonstrate that a significant improvement in amplitudes and phases of arrivals is obtained using the new methodology. By using the simplest possible filter which only involves first‐order derivatives in time and space, we obtained sufficiently accurate results up to incidence angles of around 30° away from normal incidence.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Eduardo Soares Ferreira ◽  
Milton José Porsani ◽  
Michelângelo G. Da Silva ◽  
Giovani Lopes Vasconcelos

ABSTRACT. Seismic processing aims to provide an adequate image of the subsurface geology. During seismic processing, the filtering of signals considered noise is of utmost importance. Among these signals is the surface rolling noise, better known as ground-roll. Ground-roll occurs mainly in land seismic data, masking reflections, and this roll has the following main features: high amplitude, low frequency and low speed. The attenuation of this noise is generally performed through so-called conventional methods using 1-D or 2-D frequency filters in the fk domain. This study uses the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method for ground-roll attenuation. The EMD method was implemented in the programming language FORTRAN 90 and applied in the time and frequency domains. The application of this method to the processing of land seismic line 204-RL-247 in Tacutu Basin resulted in stacked seismic sections that were of similar or sometimes better quality compared with those obtained using the fk and high-pass filtering methods.Keywords: seismic processing, empirical mode decomposition, seismic data filtering, ground-roll. RESUMO. O processamento sísmico tem como principal objetivo fornecer uma imagem adequada da geologia da subsuperfície. Nas etapas do processamento sísmico a filtragem de sinais considerados como ruídos é de fundamental importância. Dentre esses ruídos encontramos o ruído de rolamento superficial, mais conhecido como ground-roll . O ground-roll ocorre principalmente em dados sísmicos terrestres, mascarando as reflexões e possui como principais características: alta amplitude, baixa frequência e baixa velocidade. A atenuação desse ruído é geralmente realizada através de métodos de filtragem ditos convencionais, que utilizam filtros de frequência 1D ou filtro 2D no domínio fk. Este trabalho utiliza o método de Decomposição em Modos Empíricos (DME) para a atenuação do ground-roll. O método DME foi implementado em linguagem de programação FORTRAN 90, e foi aplicado no domínio do tempo e da frequência. Sua aplicação no processamento da linha sísmica terrestre 204-RL-247 da Bacia do Tacutu gerou como resultados, seções sísmicas empilhadas de qualidade semelhante e por vezes melhor, quando comparadas as obtidas com os métodos de filtragem fk e passa-alta.Palavras-chave: processamento sísmico, decomposição em modos empíricos, filtragem dados sísmicos, atenuação do ground-roll.


2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (01) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. García ◽  
G. Wagner ◽  
R. Bailón ◽  
L. Sörnmo ◽  
P. Laguna ◽  
...  

Summary Objectives: In this work we studied the temporal evolution of changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) as a consequence of the induced ischemia during prolonged coronary angioplasty, comparing the time course of indexes reflecting depolarization and those reflecting repolarization. Methods: We considered both local (measured at specific points of the ECG) and global (obtained from the Karhunen-Loève transform) indexes. In particular, the evolution of Q, R and S wave amplitudes during ischemia was analyzed with respect to classical indexes such as ST level. As a measurement of sensitivity we used an Ischemic Changes Sensor (ICS), which reflects the capacity of an index to detect changes in the ECG. Results: The results showed that, in leads with low-amplitude ST-T complexes, the S wave amplitude was more sensitive in detecting ischemia than was the commonly used index ST60. It was found that in such leads the S wave amplitude initially exhibited a delayed response to ischemia when compared to ST60, but its performance was better from the second minute of occlusion. The global indexes describing the ST-T complex were, in terms of the ICS, superior to the S wave amplitude for ischemia detection. Conclusions: Ischemic ECG changes occur both at repolarization and depolarization, with alterations in the depolarization period appearing later in time. Local indexes are less sensitive to ischemia than global ones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Wawerzinek ◽  
Hermann Buness ◽  
Hartwig von Hartmann ◽  
David C. Tanner

AbstractThere are many successful geothermal projects that exploit the Upper Jurassic aquifer at 2–3 km depth in the German Molasse Basin. However, up to now, only P-wave seismic exploration has been carried out. In an experiment in the Greater Munich area, we recorded S-waves that were generated by the conventional P-wave seismic survey, using 3C receivers. From this, we built a 3D volume of P- to S-converted (PS) waves using the asymptotic conversion point approach. By combining the P-volume and the resulting PS-seismic volume, we were able to derive the spatial distribution of the vp/vs ratio of both the Molasse overburden and the Upper Jurassic reservoir. We found that the vp/vs ratios for the Molasse units range from 2.0 to 2.3 with a median of 2.15, which is much higher than previously assumed. This raises the depth of hypocenters of induced earthquakes in surrounding geothermal wells. The vp/vs ratios found in the Upper Jurassic vary laterally between 1.5 and 2.2. Since no boreholes are available for verification, we test our results against an independently derived facies classification of the conventional 3D seismic volume and found it correlates well. Furthermore, we see that low vp/vs ratios correlate with high vp and vs velocities. We interpret the latter as dolomitized rocks, which are connected with enhanced permeability in the reservoir. We conclude that 3C registration of conventional P-wave surveys is worthwhile.


Author(s):  
Patrick Stahl ◽  
G. Nakhaie Jazar

Non-smooth piecewise functional isolators are smart passive vibration isolators that can provide effective isolation for high frequency/low amplitude excitation by introducing a soft primary suspension, and by preventing a high relative displacement in low frequency/high amplitude excitation by introducing a relatively damped secondary suspension. In this investigation a linear secondary suspension is attached to a nonlinear primary suspension. The primary is assumed to be nonlinear to model the inherent nonlinearities involved in real suspensions. However, the secondary suspension comes into action only during a short period of time, and in mall domain around resonance. Therefore, a linear assumption for the secondary suspension is reasonable. The dynamic behavior of the system subject to a harmonic base excitation has been analyzed utilizing the analytic results derived by applying the averaging method. The analytic results match very well in the transition between the two suspensions. A sensitivity analysis has shown the effect of varying dynamic parameters in the steady state behavior of the system.


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