Simultaneous Acquisition of P‐ and S‐Wave Crosswell Seismic Profiles in a Contaminated Basalt Aquifer

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Daley ◽  
John E. Peterson ◽  
Ernest L. Majer
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja H. Wadas ◽  
David C. Tanner ◽  
Ulrich Polom ◽  
Charlotte M. Krawczyk

Abstract. In November 2010, a large sinkhole opened up in the urban area of Schmalkalden, Germany. To determine the key factors which benefited the development of this collapse structure and therefore the subrosion, we carried out several shear wave reflection seismic profiles around the sinkhole. In the seismic sections we see evidence of the Mesozoic tectonic movement, in the form of a NW–SE striking, dextral strike-slip fault, known as the Heßleser Fault, which faulted and fractured the subsurface below the town. The strike-slip faulting created a zone of small blocks (


Geophysics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Aminzadeh ◽  
J. M. Mendel

Vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) are, by definition, recordings of seismic signals (total upgoing and downgoing seismic wave fields) at different depth points, usually at equally spaced intervals [Formula: see text], i = 1, 2, …, I. In a nonnormal incidence (NNI) elastic model, where each layer is described by thickness, density, and P- and S-wave velocities, the mapping between time and depth needed to generate synthetic VSPs is not usually straightforward. In this paper we develop a relatively simple procedure for generating synthetic vertical and horizontal direction plane wave NNI VSPs. No spatial discretization is necessary. We (1) compute two surface seismograms, one vertical and the other horizontal, exactly as described in Aminzadeh and Mendel (1982); and (2) downward continue the surface seismograms to fixed VSP depth points. This paper demonstrates an algorithm for downward continuation of an elastic wave field using state‐space representation and gives simulations which illustrate both z- and x-direction primaries and complete VSPs for different geologic models and different incident angles.


Geophysics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 582-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald F. Winterstein ◽  
Gopa S. De ◽  
Mark A. Meadows

Since 1986, when industry scientists first publicly showed data supporting the presence of azimuthal anisotropy in sedimentary rock, we have studied vertical shear‐wave (S-wave) birefringence in 23 different wells in western North America. The data were from nine‐component vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) supplemented in recent years with data from wireline crossed‐dipole logs. This paper summarizes our results, including birefringence results in tabular form for 54 depth intervals in 19 of those 23 wells. In the Appendix we present our conclusions about how to record VSP data optimally for study of vertical birefringence. We arrived at four principal conclusions about vertical S-wave birefringence. First, birefringence was common but not universal. Second, birefringence ranged from 0–21%, but values larger than 4% occurred only in shallow formations (<1200 m) within 40 km of California’s San Andreas fault. Third, at large scales birefringence tended to be blocky. That is, both the birefringence magnitude and the S-wave polarization azimuth were often consistent over depth intervals of several tens to hundreds of meters but then changed abruptly, sometimes by large amounts. Birefringence in some instances diminished with depth and in others increased with depth, but in almost every case a layer near the surface was more birefringent than the layer immediately below it. Fourth, observed birefringence patterns generally do not encourage use of multicomponent surface reflection seismic data for finding fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs, but they do encourage use of crossed‐dipole logs to examine them. That is, most reservoirs were birefringent, but none we studied showed increased birefringence confined to the reservoir.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 2335-2350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja H. Wadas ◽  
David C. Tanner ◽  
Ulrich Polom ◽  
Charlotte M. Krawczyk

Abstract. In November 2010, a large sinkhole opened up in the urban area of Schmalkalden, Germany. To determine the key factors which benefited the development of this collapse structure and therefore the dissolution, we carried out several shear-wave reflection-seismic profiles around the sinkhole. In the seismic sections we see evidence of the Mesozoic tectonic movement in the form of a NW–SE striking, dextral strike-slip fault, known as the Heßleser Fault, which faulted and fractured the subsurface below the town. The strike-slip faulting created a zone of small blocks ( < 100 m in size), around which steep-dipping normal faults, reverse faults and a dense fracture network serve as fluid pathways for the artesian-confined groundwater. The faults also acted as barriers for horizontal groundwater flow perpendicular to the fault planes. Instead groundwater flows along the faults which serve as conduits and forms cavities in the Permian deposits below ca. 60 m depth. Mass movements and the resulting cavities lead to the formation of sinkholes and dissolution-induced depressions. Since the processes are still ongoing, the occurrence of a new sinkhole cannot be ruled out. This case study demonstrates how S-wave seismics can characterize a sinkhole and, together with geological information, can be used to study the processes that result in sinkhole formation, such as a near-surface fault zone located in soluble rocks. The more complex the fault geometry and interaction between faults, the more prone an area is to sinkhole occurrence.


2007 ◽  
Vol 178 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ombeline Méric ◽  
Stéphane Garambois ◽  
Jean-Philippe Malet ◽  
Héloïse Cadet ◽  
Philippe Guéguen ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to better understand the mechanics and dynamic of landslides, it is of primary interest to image correctly their internal structure and their slip surface. Several active geophysical methods are able to provide the geometry of a given landslide, but were rarely applied in 3 dimensions in the past. The main disadvantages of methods like seismic reflection and electrical tomography are that there are heavy to set up and/or to process, and they consequently are expensive and time consuming. Moreover, in the particular case of soft-rock landslides, their respective sensitivity and resolution are not always adequate to locate the potential slip surfaces. Passive methods may represent an interesting alternative particularly for landslides difficult to access, as they require lighter instrumentation and easier processing tools. Among them, the seismic noise based methods have shown increasing applications and developments, in particular for seismic hazard mapping in urban environment. In this paper, we present seismic noise investigations carried out on two different sites, the “Super Sauze” mudslide and the “Saint Guillaume” translational clayey landslide (France), where independent measurements (geotechnical and geophysical tests) were performed earlier. Our investigations were composed of electrical tomography profiles, seismic profiles for surface-wave inversions, H/V measurements, which are fast and easy to perform in the field, in order to image shear wave contrasts (slip surfaces), and seismic noise array method, which is heavier to apply and interpret, but provides (S)-waves velocity profile versus depth. For both sites, landslide bodies are characterized by lower S wave velocity (Vs &lt; 300 m.s−1) and lower resistivity (ρ &lt; 60 Ohm.m) than in the stable part (Vs &gt; 550 m.s−1; ρ &gt; 150 ohm.m). Their thickness vary from a few m to 50 m. Comparison between geophysical investigations and geotechnical data proved the applicability of such passive methods in 3D complex structures, with however some limitations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace E. Shephard ◽  
Christine Houser ◽  
John W. Hernlund ◽  
Juan J. Valencia-Cardona ◽  
Reidar G. Trønnes ◽  
...  

AbstractThe two most abundant minerals in the Earth’s lower mantle are bridgmanite and ferropericlase. The bulk modulus of ferropericlase (Fp) softens as iron d-electrons transition from a high-spin to low-spin state, affecting the seismic compressional velocity but not the shear velocity. Here, we identify a seismological expression of the iron spin crossover in fast regions associated with cold Fp-rich subducted oceanic lithosphere: the relative abundance of fast velocities in P- and S-wave tomography models diverges in the ~1,400-2,000 km depth range. This is consistent with a reduced temperature sensitivity of P-waves throughout the iron spin crossover. A similar signal is also found in seismically slow regions below ~1,800 km, consistent with broadening and deepening of the crossover at higher temperatures. The corresponding inflection in P-wave velocity is not yet observed in 1-D seismic profiles, suggesting that the lower mantle is composed of non-uniformly distributed thermochemical heterogeneities which dampen the global signature of the Fp spin crossover.


Author(s):  
Francis Omonefe ◽  
Eteh Desmond ◽  
Oborie Ebiegberi ◽  
Oboshenure Kingsley Karo

Three surface refraction seismic profiles were conducted in a site targeted for huge construction in an underdeveloped area in Opolo, Yenagoa city to portray some of the subsurface soil engineering characteristics for the purposes of construction. The Generalized Reciprocal Method (GRM) was used to interpret the acquired P and S-wave. Various shallow rock engineering parameters such as Oedometric modulus, Concentration Index, Material Index, Lame’s constant, Density Gradient, Stress Ratio, Shear modulus, Bearing capacity, and N-value were calculated in other to assess the strength of the subsurface  from a geophysical and engineering perspective. The values from the seismic velocity and strength parameters indicates that the bedrock layer (layer 3) of the area studied is characterized by more competent rock quality than layer 1 and 2. Hence, the Opolo site is suggested for construction activities with percussive measures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suyu Fu ◽  
Yanyao Zhang ◽  
Takuo Okuchi ◽  
Jung-Fu Lin

Abstract Earth’s mantle composition is essential to our understanding of its physics and dynamics. Here we report single-crystal elasticity (Cij) of (Al,Fe)-bearing bridgmanite, Mg0.88Fe0.1Al0.14Si0.90O3 with Fe3+/∑Fe=~0.65, up to ~82 GPa measured in diamond anvil cells. Together with heat capacity measurements on bridgmanite and ferropericlase, we develop a fully internally-consistent thermoelastic model to simultaneously evaluate lower-mantle mineralogy and geotherm via comparisons of P-wave, S-wave velocities, and density (VP, VS, and ρ) with one-dimensional seismic profiles. Our best-fit model demonstrates the lower mantle consists of ~89 vol% (Al,Fe)-bearing bridgmanite, ~4 vol% ferropericlase, and ~7 vol% CaSiO3 perovskite. A chemically layered mantle with pyrolitic upper mantle and bridgmanite-predominant lower mantle would display ~3.2(±1.5)%, ~5.2(±1.5)%, and ~5.0(±1.0)% jumps in VP, VS, and ρ, respectively, across the 660-km discontinuity, which are well consistent with seismic reflection observations. The lower mantle could have become bridgmanite-predominant via accumulations of ancient silica-rich materials, which helps explain current deep-Earth seismic and geochemical signatures.


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