Lessons Learned From the World's Largest Continuous Onshore and Offshore 3D Seismic Survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saif Ali Al Mesaabi ◽  
Guillaume Marie Cambois ◽  
James Cowell ◽  
David Arnold ◽  
Mohamed Fawzi Boukhanfra ◽  
...  

Abstract In 2017 ADNOC decided to cover the entire Abu Dhabi Emirate, onshore and offshore, with high- resolution and high-fold 3D seismic. Acquisition of the world's largest continuous seismic survey started in late 2018 and is around 77% complete at the time of writing. Data processing is well under way and interpretation of the first delivered 3D cubes is ongoing. Now is an opportune time to review the status of this gigantic project and draw preliminary lessons. Comparison with legacy data shows a massive improvement in deep imaging, which was one of the main objectives of this survey. The basement can clearly be interpreted, while it is hardly visible on legacy data being covered with high energy multiples. A thorough analysis demonstrated that increased offset is the main reason for the uplift. The large fold and the low frequency sweep also help recover signal down to 3 Hz. This extends the bandwidth in the low frequencies by one to two octaves compared to legacy data, which tremendously benefits structural interpretation and stratigraphic inversion.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Mahgoub ◽  
Guillaume Cambois ◽  
James Cowell ◽  
Suaad Khoori

Abstract The advances in seismic acquisition systems, especially onshore nodes, have made it possible to acquire ultra-dense 3D surveys at a reasonable cost. This new design enables accurate processing sequences that deliver higher resolution images of the subsurface. These images in turn lead to enhanced structural interpretation and better prediction of rock properties. In 2019, ADNOC and partners acquired an 81 square kilometer ultra-high density pilot survey onshore Abu Dhabi. The receivers were nimble nodes laid out on a 12.5x12.5m grid, which recorded continuously and stored the data on a memory chip. The sources were heavy vibrators sweeping the 2-110 Hz frequency range in 14 seconds on a 12.5x100m grid. 184 million traces per square kilometers did make such small area, the densest 3D seismic survey ever recorded. The single sensor data were expectedly very noisy and the unconstrained simultaneous shooting required elaborate deblending, but we managed these steps with existing tools. The dense 3D receiver grid actually enabled the use of interferometry-based ground-roll attenuation, a technique that is rarely used with conventional data due to inadequate sampling, but that resulted in increased signal-to-noise ratio. The data were migrated directly to depth using a velocity model derived after five iterations of tomographic inversion. The final image gathers were made of 18 reciprocal azimuths with 12.5m offset increment, resulting in 5,000 fold on a 6.25x6.25m grid. The main structural interpretation was achieved during the velocity model building stage. Key horizons were picked after the tomographic iterations and the velocity model was adjusted so that their depth matched the well markers. Anisotropic parameters were adjusted to maintain gather flatness and the new model was fed to the next iteration. This ultimately resulted in flat image gathers and horizons that tied to the wells. The final high-resolution data provided a much crisper image of the target clinoforms and faults. This resulted in a more detailed interpretation of the reservoirs. The data was subjected to pre-stack stratigraphic inversion. The availability of low frequency signal (down to 3 Hz) means that less well constraints are needed for the inversion. Preliminary results are particularly encouraging. Amplitude variations with azimuth have yet to be analyzed but data density bodes very well for the process. Ultra-dense 3D seismic acquisition is feasible and results in a step change in image quality. Structural and stratigraphic interpretation provided a more detailed image of faults and clinoforms. Stratigraphic inversion benefited from the low frequencies of the vibrator source and the increased spatial resolution.


Geophysics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. A13-A18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Landrø ◽  
Lasse Amundsen

In marine seismic acquisition, it used to be commonly accepted that it is optimal to tow the source deep to enhance the low-frequency content in the seismic data. However, Mayne and Quay found in 1971 that the low-frequency response of air guns actually improves as the source depth decreases. We evaluated a simple ad hoc theory that demonstrates that two effects are counteracting each other: The free-surface effect favors deep-towed sources, whereas the bubble time period (increasing with decreasing source depth) favors shallower tow depths. From a fjord test, we found that combining several source depths in an air gun array might flatten and improve the low-frequency part of the source spectrum. The experiment confirms that various source depths result in local, characteristic maxima in the low-frequency spectrum, corresponding to the bubble time period of the air gun.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gradel ◽  
Gerelbaatar Sukhbaatar ◽  
Daniel Karthe ◽  
Hoduck Kang

The natural conditions, climate change and socio-economic challenges related to the transformation from a socialistic society towards a market-driven system make the implementation of sustainable land management practices in Mongolia especially complicated. Forests play an important role in land management. In addition to providing resources and ecosystem functions, Mongolian forests protect against land degradation.We conducted a literature review of the status of forest management in Mongolia and lessons learned, with special consideration to halting deforestation and degradation. We grouped our review into seven challenges relevant to developing regionally adapted forest management systems that both safeguard forest health and consider socio-economic needs. In our review, we found that current forest management in Mongolia is not always sustainable, and that some practices lack scientific grounding. An overwhelming number of sources noticed a decrease in forest area and quality during the last decades, although afforestation initiatives are reported to have increased. We found that they have had, with few exceptions, only limited success. During our review, however, we found a number of case studies that presented or proposed promising approaches to (re-)establishing and managing forests. These studies are further supported by a body of literature that examines how forest administration, and local participation can be modified to better support sustainable forestry. Based on our review, we conclude that it is necessary to integrate capacity development and forest research into holistic initiatives. A special focus should be given to the linkages between vegetation cover and the hydrological regime.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Gabriele ◽  
Mattia Udina ◽  
Lara Benfatto

AbstractThe hallmark of superconductivity is the rigidity of the quantum-mechanical phase of electrons, responsible for superfluid behavior and Meissner effect. The strength of the phase stiffness is set by the Josephson coupling, which is strongly anisotropic in layered cuprates. So far, THz light pulses have been used to achieve non-linear control of the out-of-plane Josephson plasma mode, whose frequency lies in the THz range. However, the high-energy in-plane plasma mode has been considered insensitive to THz pumping. Here, we show that THz driving of both low-frequency and high-frequency plasma waves is possible via a general two-plasmon excitation mechanism. The anisotropy of the Josephson couplings leads to markedly different thermal effects for the out-of-plane and in-plane response, linking in both cases the emergence of non-linear photonics across Tc to the superfluid stiffness. Our results show that THz light pulses represent a preferential knob to selectively drive phase excitations in unconventional superconductors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-F. Ripoll ◽  
T. Farges ◽  
D. M. Malaspina ◽  
G. S. Cunningham ◽  
E. H. Lay ◽  
...  

AbstractLightning superbolts are the most powerful and rare lightning events with intense optical emission, first identified from space. Superbolt events occurred in 2010-2018 could be localized by extracting the high energy tail of the lightning stroke signals measured by the very low frequency ground stations of the World-Wide Lightning Location Network. Here, we report electromagnetic observations of superbolts from space using Van Allen Probes satellite measurements, and ground measurements, and with two events measured both from ground and space. From burst-triggered measurements, we compute electric and magnetic power spectral density for very low frequency waves driven by superbolts, both on Earth and transmitted into space, demonstrating that superbolts transmit 10-1000 times more powerful very low frequency waves into space than typical strokes and revealing that their extreme nature is observed in space. We find several properties of superbolts that notably differ from most lightning flashes; a more symmetric first ground-wave peak due to a longer rise time, larger peak current, weaker decay of electromagnetic power density in space with distance, and a power mostly confined in the very low frequency range. Their signal is absent in space during day times and is received with a long-time delay on the Van Allen Probes. These results have implications for our understanding of lightning and superbolts, for ionosphere-magnetosphere wave transmission, wave propagation in space, and remote sensing of extreme events.


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