Temperature and Salinity Inverted for a Mediterranean Eddy Captured With Seismic Data, Using a Spatially Iterative Markov Chain Monte Carlo Approach

Ocean submesoscale dynamics are thought to play a key role in both the climate system and ocean productivity, however, subsurface observations at these scales remain rare. Seismic oceanography, an established acoustic imaging method, provides a unique tool for capturing oceanic structure throughout the water column with spatial resolutions of tens of meters. A drawback to the seismic method is that temperature and salinity are not measured directly, limiting the quantitative interpretation of imaged features. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) inversion approach has been used to invert for temperature and salinity from seismic data, with spatially quantified uncertainties. However, the requisite prior model used in previous studies relied upon highly continuous acoustic reflection horizons rarely present in real oceanic environments due to instabilities and turbulence. Here we adapt the MCMC inversion approach with an iteratively updated prior model based on hydrographic data, sidestepping the necessity of continuous reflection horizons. Furthermore, uncertainties introduced by the starting model thermohaline fields as well as those from the MCMC inversion itself are accounted for. The impact on uncertainties of varying the resolution of hydrographic data used to produce the inversion starting model is also investigated. The inversion is applied to a mid-depth Mediterranean water eddy (or meddy) captured with seismic imaging in the Gulf of Cadiz in 2007. The meddy boundary exhibits regions of disrupted seismic reflectivity and rapid horizontal changes of temperature and salinity. Inverted temperature and salinity values typically have uncertainties of 0.16°C and 0.055 psu, respectively, and agree well with direct measurements. Uncertainties of inverted results are found to be highly dependent on the resolution of the hydrographic data used to produce the prior model, particularly in regions where background temperature and salinity vary rapidly, such as at the edge of the meddy. This further advancement of inversion techniques to extract temperature and salinity from seismic data will help expand the use of ocean acoustics for understanding the mesoscale to finescale structure of the interior ocean.

A Composite Matching Layer with Anti-Reflection Characteristics for Broadband Acoustic Scattering Reduction

A composite matching layer composed of periodically arranged scatters with anti-reflection (AR) characteristics is proposed for broadband scattering reduction. The anti-reflection structure is composed of periodically arranged metal foam scatters, and it is the first attempt to be applied in the field of suppressing acoustic reflection. A complete theoretical model is developed to reveal the mechanism of scattering reduction and acoustic absorption based on effective medium theory and the transfer matrix method. The correctness and effectiveness of the theoretical model are verified by the finite element method (FEM), showing acoustic reflectance of less than 13.5% at broadband frequencies. The variation trends of reflectance are deeply investigated. The superior acoustic scattering reduction performance suggests that the matching layer possesses potential for acoustic imaging equipment and acoustic stealth.

Novel Integrated Approach for Complex Carbonate Reservoirs Testing with Wireline Formation Tester: Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye Field Cases Study

In the presented paper, the object of the study are carbonate rocks of the Riphean and clastic-carbonate rocks of Vendian-Cambrian ages, uncovered by the well drilled at Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye field. These reservoirs are characterized by extremely low porosity (1-4%) and determining saturation nature and fluid contacts cannot be reliably solved by conventional wireline petrophysical logging. Solutions to these problems are provided by interval testing using wireline formation evaluation testing tool (WFT). However, to obtain quality results from WFT testing it is important to identify porous intervals first by using advanced wireline logging services which are sensitive to porosity and fractures. In order to select the optimal WFT toolstring combination and to prospective testing intervals, advanced petrophysical wireline logging suit ran first. Porous reservoirs were identified from density, neutron and nuclear magnetic resonance evaluation. Saturation evaluated through dielectric and induction-based resistivity logging. In fracture-vug type reservoir, the main inflow of formation fluid into the well is provided from fractures, so it was very important to allocate conductive fractures to plan test intervals for WFT accordingly. based on imagers evaluation, fractures and faults were visualized; using Stoneley's wave conductive fractures, not clogged with drilling mud solids were identified; borehole acoustic reflection survey was used to segregate large fractures that propagated in the reservoir; During WFT logging, a total of 23 intervals were tested, for 8 of which reservoir fluid inflow was achieved, in all others, mainly with low porosity or single non-conductive fracture, the inflow was not achieved or was insignificant. According to the results of WFT testing, the nature of saturation for clastic-carbonate sediments of Vendian age was determined. Inflow of formation fluid (oil and water) from Riphean fractured reservoirs was achieved from 6 intervals, with identified fractures according to described above advanced logging suit. In addition, pressure transient analysis was performed, to measure the formation pressure, define pressure gradient curves and assess the fluids contact level with high confidence, for the first time for this field.

Khuff and Pre-Khuff Reservoir Fracture Characterization using the Cross Dipole Shear Wave Imaging and Borehole Imaging Data Integration

Increasing demands for gas in UAE have led to increased focus on more tight gas reservoirs like Khuff and pre-Khuff formations, away from the conventional oil-bearing carbonate reservoirs. The case study presented is in an offshore field, Northwest of Abu Dhabi city. The structure, with an area of 50 Sq.km was first identified in 1966 and it is part of the regional N-S extending structural. The multi-discipline approach applied in this study required the integration of a suite of open-hole data over a variety of length scales. Combination of the Borehole Acoustic Reflection Imaging technique and borehole imaging logs (BHI) in 3D, provides a better understanding of the complex fracturing network and the associated formation stress orientation up to 100ft away from the wellbore. The ability to "see" away from wellbore what was previously hidden on seismic, allows unlocking further potential reserves or avoiding certain production hazards. The well has penetrated the highly economical tight clastic Pre-khuff formation and the carbonate Kuff formation, allowing the analysis over a large geological history of offshore Abu Dhabi. The coherency of all data has helped establish for the first time a baseline understanding of the role of the fractures and fault in the petrophysical properties distribution along the wellbore and the 3D structural characterization in an larger area around the wellbore (up to 100ft). The emphasize in this paper is on the Borehole Acoustic Reflection Imaging technique (DSWI), which allows the identification of both intersecting and non-intersecting of geological features with a depth of investigation up to 100 ft away from the borehole. Moreover, the combination of DSWI with BHI have been used for the anisotropy estimation away from wellbore especially in a very tight and fractured reservoir deciphering multiple fault orientation, which potentially, cancel the anisotropy estimation due to destructive interference. In addition to the presence of drilling induced fractures interfering in with the natural fracture as seen on the BHI. The detailed BHI interpretation and the petrophysical data revealed that the fracture densities and orientation vary from bottom to top interval indicating tectonic regimes affecting the field. The lithological variation due to the evolution of the depositional setting has significantly influenced the fracture distribution and their length. The presence of these induced fractures and how deep they propagate into the formation, dominates the behavior acoustic anisotropy by reaching the flexural (dipole shear) investigation zone (3 to 4ft deep). It is also interesting to see the behavior of both natural and induced fractures and their respective strike change over the different formations revealing a geomechanically complex structure.

Identifying reflector azimuth from borehole multicomponent cross-dipole acoustic measurement

The borehole dipole shear-wave reflection imaging method has a high potential in heterogeneous reservoir explorations because of its deep investigation depth and relatively large reflection amplitude. However, the generally used shear horizontal (SH) reflection approach can only indicate the reflector strike and has an inherent defect in azimuth ambiguity. We have developed a multicomponent cross-dipole array acoustic measurement with four azimuthally distributed receiver arrays and a method using reflected dipole P-waves to eliminate the azimuth ambiguity caused by the SH reflection. The recorded data includes cross-dipole waves with four components and two combined dipole-monopole waves that stack the data of the four azimuthally distributed receivers induced by each dipole source. A theoretical analysis indicates that the dipole compressional reflection is sensitive to the reflector azimuth. Therefore, the cross-dipole waves are first used to determine the reflective interface strike with the SH reflection. The compressional reflections obtained from both the cross-dipole data and the combined dipole-monopole data are then processed to identify the correct azimuth. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method are validated via both synthetic and field data examples in a soft formation. The proposed method may potentially solve the azimuth ambiguity problem in borehole acoustic reflection imaging and fully use cross-dipole acoustic measurements.

Elevation of underlying basement rock, Ogdensburg Harbor, NY

Over six linear miles of shallow acoustic reflection geophysical data were collected in an 800 ft by 300 ft survey region at Ogdensburg Harbor, Ogdensburg, NY. To better accommodate modern commercial vessels and expand the harbor’s capacity, the current navigable depth of -19 ft Low Water Depth (LWD) needs to be increased to -28 ft LWD, and an accurate map of the nature of the riverbed material (e.g., unconsolidated sediment, partially indurated glacial till, or bedrock) is required to effectively plan for removal. A total of 28 boreholes were previously collected to map the stratigraphy, and the effort revealed significant spatial variability in unit thickness and elevation between adjacent boreholes. To accurately map this variable stratigraphy, chirp sub-bottom profiles were collected throughout the region, with an average line spacing of 13 ft. These sub-bottom data, validated and augmented by the borehole data, resulted in high-resolution spatial maps of stratigraphic elevation and thickness for the study area. The data will allow for more accurate assessment of the type and extent of different dredging efforts required to achieve a future uniform depth of -28 ft LWD for the navigable region.

Acoustical Properties of Fiberglass Blankets Impregnated with Silica Aerogel

It is known that aerogel impregnated fibrous blankets offer high acoustic absorption and thermal insulation performance. These materials are becoming very popular in various industrial and building applications. Although the reasons for the high thermal insulation performance of these materials are well understood, it is still largely unclear what controls their acoustic performance. Additionally, only a small number of publications to date report on the acoustical properties of fibrous blankets impregnated with powder aerogels. There is a lack of studies that attempt to explain the measured absorption properties with a valid mathematical model. This paper contributes to this knowledge gap through a simulation that predicts the measured complex acoustic reflection coefficient of aerogel blankets with different filling ratios. It is shown that the acoustic performance of a fibrous blanket impregnated with aerogel is generally controlled by the effective pore size and porosity of the composite structure. It is shown that there is a need for refinement of a classical Biot-type model to take into account the sorption and pressure diffusion effects, which become important with the increased filling ratio.