Stability of source mechanisms inverted from P‐wave amplitude microseismic monitoring data acquired at the surface

We study the stability of source mechanisms inverted from data acquired at surface and near‐surface monitoring arrays. The study is focused on P‐wave data acquired on vertical components, as this is the most common type of acquisition. We apply ray modelling on three models: a fully homogeneous isotropic model, a laterally homogeneous isotropic model and a laterally homogeneous anisotropic model to simulate three commonly used models in inversion. We use geometries of real arrays, one consisting in surface receivers and one consisting in ‘buried’ geophones at the near‐surface. Stability was tested for two of the frequently observed source mechanisms: strike‐slip and dip‐slip and was evaluated by comparing the parameters of correct and inverted mechanisms. We assume these double‐couple source mechanisms and use quantitatively the inversion allowing non‐double‐couple components to measure stability of the inversion. To test the robustness we inverted synthetic amplitudes computed for a laterally homogeneous isotropic model and contaminated with noise using a fully homogeneous model in the inversion. Analogously amplitudes computed in a laterally homogeneous anisotropic model were inverted in all three models. We show that a star‐like surface acquisition array provides very stable inversion up to a very high level of noise in data. Furthermore, we reveal that strike‐slip inversion is more stable than dip‐slip inversion for the receiver geometries considered here. We show that noise and an incorrect velocity model may result in narrow bands of source mechanisms in Hudson's plots.     

含衰减地层微地震震源机制反演及其反演分辨率

微地震震源机制的反演对于非常规油气开发具有至关重要的作用.微地震信号主频高、能量小,容易受地层吸收衰减作用的影响使其波形发生畸变,本文提出了一种考虑地层吸收衰减作用的微震源机制反演方法,并利用费雷谢偏导矩阵的SVD分解（特征值分解）方法,分析研究了地层的吸收衰减因子的变化对于微地震震源机制反演分辨率的影响,根据理论计算给出了不同地震数据对各种震源机制反演的适用条件.理论计算证明,采用直达P波和S波数据联合反演震源的T值,单独利用直达P波反演震源的k值,可以有效降低地层吸收衰减作用对反演结果的影响.     

基于异向波速模型的微震定位改进

针对波速分层的区域岩体,在异向波速模型的基础上,对垂向上的应力波按岩体波速值大小作分段区别,推导震源应力波走时关系式,建立分层速度定位目标函数,基于此提出一种由参数准备、层速度反演、微震定位三个模块组成的分层速度定位模型SV,并采用遗传算法进行优化求解.然后,对分层速度定位模型在已构建微震监测系统的白鹤滩水电站左岸岩质边坡进行验证.微震事件重定位结果表明,分层速度定位模型定位微震事件的最大、最小和平均偏离层内错动带程度指标较单一速度模型分别降低了57.17%、36.51%和57.35%,证明了定位模型在波速分层的区域岩体微震定位应用中比单一速度定位模型更加合理可靠.     

Transmission + reflection anisotropic wave-equation traveltime and waveform inversion

A transmission + reflection wave-equation traveltime and waveform inversion method is presented that inverts the seismic data for the anisotropic parameters in a vertical transverse isotropic medium. The simultaneous inversion of anisotropic parameters and ε is initially performed using transmission wave-equation traveltime inversion method. Transmission wave-equation traveltime only provides the low-intermediate wavenumbers for the shallow part of the anisotropic model; in contrast, reflection wave-equation traveltime estimates the anisotropic parameters in the deeper section of the model. By incorporating a layer-stripping method with reflection wave-equation traveltime, the ambiguity between the background-velocity model and the depths of reflectors can be greatly mitigated. In the final step, multi-scale full-waveform inversion is performed to recover the high-wavenumber component of the model.  We use a synthetic model to illustrate the local minima problem of full-waveform inversion and how transmission and reflection wave-equation traveltime can mitigate this problem. We demonstrate the efficacy of our new method using field data from the Gulf of Mexico.     

Interval anisotropic parameter estimation from walkaway vertical seismic profiling data

This paper presents a new explicit method for the estimation of layered vertical transverse isotropic (VTI) anisotropic parameters from walkaway VSP data. This method is based on Dix‐type normal moveout (NMO) inversion. To estimate interval anisotropic parameters above a receiver array, the method uses time arrivals of surface‐related double‐reflected downgoing waves. A three‐term NMO approximation function is used to estimate NMO velocity and a non‐hyperbolic parameter. Assuming the vertical velocity is known from zero‐offset VSP data, Dix‐type inversion is applied to estimate the layered Thomsen anisotropic parameters ?, δ above the receivers array. Model results show reasonable accuracy for estimates through Dix‐type inversion. Results also show that in many cases we can neglect the influence of the velocity gradient on anisotropy estimates. First breaks are used to estimate anisotropic parameters within the walkaway receiver interval. Analytical uncertainty analysis is performed to NMO parameter estimates. Its conclusions are confirmed by modelling.     

Traveltime parameters in a tilted elliptical anisotropic medium‡

In this paper, we derive analytical expressions for one‐way and two‐way kinematical parameters in elliptical tilted transverse isotropy media. We show that the homogeneous elliptical tilted transverse isotropy models result in hyperbolic moveout with a reflection point sideslip x₀, which can be considered as an additional traveltime parameter for one‐way wave propagation. For homogeneous elliptical tilted transverse isotropy models we show that the inversion of one‐way traveltime parameters suffers from the ambiguity for large tilts. It is shown that the accuracy of the inversion is sensitive to the error in x₀. We also derive and invert the traveltime parameters for a vertically heterogeneous elliptical tilted transverse isotropy model with a tilt gradually changing with depth. The a priori knowledge of parameter δ is very important for inversion. The wrong choise of this parameter results in significant errors in inverted model parameters.     

Effects of rupture complexity and stress regime on scaling relations of induced microseismic events

Source parameter scaling relations are examined for microseismic events (–2.4M–0.3) occurring within higyly and moderately stressed and fractured rock masses at Strathcona mine, Sudbury, Canada. Insight into scaling is provided by waveform complexities, calculated rupture velocities, and maximum shear stresses based onin situ and numerical modelling data. The importance of normal stress on the failure process is also considered. Our results show that a strong dependence exists between stress release and seismic moment. An observed positive scaling in excess stress release (/2– _a ) is consistent with the concept of overshoot. Rupture velocities ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 and waveform complexities less than 1.5 suggested that overshoot was related to healing behind a slowly advancing rupture front. Scaling in seismic efficiency paralleled that in apparent stress, implying that seismic stress release estimates are quasi-independent of the maximum shear stress. High levels of normal stress further supported the importance of high resisting stress in the observed overshoot behaviour and its role in the failure process.     

基于碳酸盐岩裂缝岩石物理模型的横波速度和各向异性参数预测

高角度缝隙充填的碳酸盐岩储层可以等效为具有水平对称轴的横向各向同性介质.本文提出了适用于裂缝型碳酸盐岩的岩石物理模型构建流程,重点介绍了在碳酸盐岩各向同性背景中,综合利用微小裂隙模型和线性滑动模型添加缝隙系统,并分析了当缝隙充填不同流体时,各向异性参数随纵横波速比的变化特征.同时本文讨论了裂缝密度和缝隙充填流体对地震反射系数的影响,推导了不同类型流体充填时储层反射系数与裂缝密度的近似关系式,阐述了各向异性流体替换理论,最终实现饱含流体碳酸盐岩裂缝储层的纵横波速度和各向异性参数的估测.选取某碳酸盐岩工区A井对该方法进行试算,结果表明基于碳酸盐岩裂缝岩石物理模型估算的纵横波速度值与测井值吻合较好,而且估测所得的各向异性参数值也能够较好地反映出裂缝储层位置.     

Geometrical characteristics of phase and group velocity surfaces in anisotropic media

The phase and group velocity surfaces are essential for wave propagation in anisotropic media. These surfaces have certain features that, especially, for shear waves result in complications for modelling and inversion of recorded wavefields. To analyse wave propagation in an anisotropic model, it is important to identify these features in both the phase and group domains. We propose few characteristics for this analysis: the energy flux angle, decomposed in the polar and azimuth angle correction angles and enhancement factor, which is able to characterize both singularity points and triplication zones. The very simple equation that controls the triplications is derived in the phase domain. The proposed characteristics are illustrated for elastic and acoustic anisotropic models of different symmetry classes.     

大地电磁相位张量和倾子的三维主轴各向异性反演

地壳和上地幔普遍存在的电性各向异性是大地电磁测深方法在实践应用中的关键和难点问题,而由近地表局部地电异常引起的电流型畸变可进一步加剧各向异性反演的多解性和不确定性.为压制电流型畸变影响,本文实现了一种利用大地电磁相位张量和倾子数据获取地下介质主轴电性各向异性结构的三维反演算法.该算法正演问题的求解采用交错采样有限差分法,反演问题的求解采用非线性共轭梯度法.理论模型测试表明,相位张量和倾子的三维各向异性反演不仅恢复了真实的各向异性异常分布特征,且压制了为拟合电流型畸变出现的假异常.由于相位张量和倾子数据不含幅值信息,先验模型选取对反演模型电阻率值的恢复效果影响较大,但初始模型的改变基本不影响反演结果.为进一步验证该算法的有效性,将其应用于USArray项目在美国西北部采集的109个长周期大地电磁实测数据.反演结果表明,相对于阻抗数据,相位张量和倾子数据的各向异性反演结果对浅层结构的刻画更为准确,与地表地质特征更为吻合.

     

Back‐projection stacking of P‐ and S‐waves to determine location and focal mechanism of microseismic events recorded by a surface array

We present an automatic method of processing microseismic data acquired at the surface by a star‐like array. The back‐projection approach allows successive determination of the hypocenter position of each event and of its focal mechanisms. One‐component vertical geophone groups and three‐component accelerometers are employed to monitor both P‐ and S‐waves. Hypocenter coordinates are determined in a grid by back‐projection stacking of the short‐time‐average‐to‐long‐time‐average ratio of absolute amplitudes at vertical components and polarization norm derived from horizontal components of the P‐ and S‐waves, respectively. To make the location process more efficient, calculation is started with a coarse grid and zoomed to the optimum hypocenter using an oct‐tree algorithm. The focal mechanism is then determined by stacking the vertical component seismograms corrected for the theoretical P‐wave polarity of the focal mechanism. The mechanism is resolved in the coordinate space of strike, dip, and rake angles. The method is tested on 34 selected events of a dataset of hydraulic fracture monitoring of a shale gas play in North America. It was found that, by including S‐waves, the vertical accuracy of locations improved by a factor of two and is equal to approximately the horizontal location error. A twofold enhancement of horizontal location accuracy is achieved if a denser array of geophone groups is used instead of the sparse array of three‐component seismometers. The determined focal mechanisms are similar to those obtained by other methods applied to the same dataset.     

Improved microseismic event location by inclusion of a priori dip particle motion: a case study from Ekofisk

Microseismic monitoring in petroleum settings provides insights into induced and naturally occurring stress changes. Such data are commonly acquired using an array of sensors in a borehole, providing measures of arrival times and polarizations. Events are located using 1D velocity models, P‐ and S‐wave arrival times and the azimuths of P‐wave particle motions. However in the case of all the sensors being deployed in a vertical or near‐vertical borehole, such analysis leads to an inherent 180° ambiguity in the source location. Here we present a location procedure that removes this ambiguity by using the dip of the particle motion as an a priori information to constrain the initial source location. The new procedure is demonstrated with a dataset acquired during hydraulic fracture stimulation, where we know which side of the monitoring well the events are located. Using a 5‐step location procedure, we then reinvestigate a microseismic data set acquired in April 1997 at the Ekofisk oilfield in the North Sea. Traveltimes for 2683 candidate events are manually picked. A noise‐weighted analytic‐signal polarization analysis is used to estimate the dip and azimuth of P‐wave particle motions. A modified t‐test is used to statistically assess the reliability of event location. As a result, 1462 events are located but 627 are deemed to be statistically reliable. The application of a hierarchal cluster analysis highlights coherent structures that cluster around wells and inferred faults. Most events cluster at a depth of roughly 3km in the Ekofisk chalk formation but very little seismicity is observed from the underlying Tor chalk formation, which is separated from the Ekofisk formation by an impermeable layer. We see no evidence for seismicity in the overburden but such events may be too distant to detect. The resulting picture of microseismicity at Ekofisk is very different from those presented in previous studies.     

Sequential velocity imaging and microseismic monitoring of mining-induced stress change

Sequential imaging of the temporal changes inP-wave velocity offers a practical tool to monitor a rock mass. Using established correlations between the location of seismic events and velocity structure, the temporal seismic potential characteristics of the rock may be monitored. Furthermore, the temporal velocity differences isolate the time dependent factors effecting velocity such as stress, while cancelling static factors such as lithology. Various sequential imaging techniques were compared with respect to accuracy. Differences between successive velocity images were found to have relatively high associated error estimates. However, images of velocity differences calculated from measured travel time delays between successive velocity surveys were found to have lower error estimates. In particular, travel time delays measured using cross-correlation techniques resulted in the most accurate sequential image. Two 3D sequential imaging studies were carried out at Strathcona Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Results of the average static images indicated an association between the location of induced microseismicity and a zone of both high velocity and high gradient. Additional examples are described from the global seismology literature which also show a similar correlation between seismicity and velocity structure. We attribute this association to an interrelated stress and strength effect. The Strathcona Mine sequential images show zones of significantly decreased velocity in regions of concentrated microseismic activity, which are postulated to be indications of localized destressing and relaxation of the clamping forces resulting in the microseismicity. The zones of decreased velocity corresponded to an increase in the velocity gradient. One of the case studies also shows an increase in velocity in a zone of high static velocity, which is later the site of am _N 2.5 mining-induced seismic tremor. The increase in velocity is believed to correspond to a region of stress concentration, resulting in the subsequent seismic tremor.     

大地电磁全张量响应的一维各向异性反演

目前大地电磁(MT)测深资料反演主要基于各向同性介质,但随着MT实际应用的需要,各向异性研究已逐渐引起关注.我们采用广泛应用的广义逆法对一维MT水平层状各向异性介质模型反演进行了探索性研究,并实现了MT全张量响应(即所有的阻抗张量的视电阻率和相位)的一维各向异性反演.理论模型试验表明,无论理论观测值中是否含有噪声,这种方法都能够较好地恢复真实模型,验证了其正确性和有效性.将此方法用于MT实测资料时,能够同时拟合4对视电阻率和阻抗相位曲线,说明本方法可以用于实测资料的处理解释,具有一定的实用价值.     

层状TI介质中微地震定位和各向异性速度结构同时反演

微地震监测被广泛应用于非常规油气资源的水力压裂作业、油藏描绘和水驱前缘监测工程中.微地震定位采用的初始速度模型一般是基于地震测井记录和射孔数据建立,该速度模型的不准确性易引起定位误差.为降低这种定位误差,本文发展了一种微地震定位和各向异性速度结构同时反演的方法.研究对象为1-D的层状TI介质,其中对称轴方向任意.利用改进的分区多步最短路径算法计算qP、qSV和qSH波的到达时间和射线路径,结合共轭梯度法求解带约束的阻尼最小二乘问题.数值模拟结果表明,该算法能同时进行各向异性速度结构模型（每层的Thomsen参数和界面深度）和微震震源参数（空间坐标和发震时刻）的反演,并且对随机噪声不敏感,有利于实际工程应用.

     

Constrained tomography of realistic velocity models in microseismic monitoring using calibration shots

The knowledge of the velocity model in microseismic jobs is critical to achieving statistically reliable microseismic event locations. The design of microseismic networks and the limited sources for calibration do not allow for a full tomographic inversion. We propose optimizing a priori velocity models using a few active shots and a non‐linear inversion, suitable to poorly constrained systems. The considered models can be described by several layers with different P‐ and S‐wave velocities. The velocities may be constant or have 3D gradients; the layer interfaces may be simple dipping planes or more complex 3D surfaces. In this process the P‐ and S‐ wave arrival times and polarizations measured on the seismograms constitute the observed data set. They are used to estimate two misfit functions: i) one based on the measurement residuals and ii) one based on the inaccuracy of the source relocation. These two functions are minimized thanks to a simulated annealing scheme, which decreases the risk of converging to a local solution within the velocity model. The case study used to illustrate this methodology highlights the ability of this technique to constrain a velocity model with dipping layers. This was performed by jointly using sixteen perforation shots recorded during a multi‐stage fracturing operation from a single string of 3C‐receivers. This decreased the location inaccuracies and the residuals by a factor of six. In addition, the retrieved layer dip was consistent with the pseudo‐horizontal trajectories of the wells and the background information provided by the customer. Finally, the theoretical position of each calibration shot was contained in the uncertainty domain of the relocation of each shot. In contrast, single‐stage inversions provided different velocity models that were neither consistent between each other nor with the well trajectories. This example showed that it is essential to perform a multi‐stage inversion to derive a better updated velocity model.     

Improvements on particle swarm optimization algorithm for velocity calibration in microseismic monitoring

In this paper,we apply particle swarm optimization(PSO),an artificial intelligence technique,to velocity calibration in microseismic monitoring.We ran simulations with four 1-D layered velocity models and three different initial model ranges.The results using the basic PSO algorithm were reliable and accurate for simple models,but unsuccessful for complex models.We propose the staged shrinkage strategy(SSS) for the PSO algorithm.The SSS-PSO algorithm produced robust inversion results and had a fast convergence rate.We investigated the effects of PSO's velocity clamping factor in terms of the algorithm reliability and computational efficiency.The velocity clamping factor had little impact on the reliability and efficiency of basic PSO,whereas it had a large effect on the efficiency of SSS-PSO.Reassuringly,SSS-PSO exhibits marginal reliability fluctuations,which suggests that it can be confidently implemented.     

Full‐waveform based microseismic event detection and signal enhancement: An application of the subspace approach

Microseismic monitoring has proven invaluable for optimizing hydraulic fracturing stimulations and monitoring reservoir changes. The signal to noise ratio of the recorded microseismic data varies enormously from one dataset to another, and it can often be very low, especially for surface monitoring scenarios. Moreover, the data are often contaminated by correlated noises such as borehole waves in the downhole monitoring case. These issues pose a significant challenge for microseismic event detection. In addition, for downhole monitoring, the location of microseismic events relies on the accurate polarization analysis of the often weak P‐wave to determine the event azimuth. Therefore, enhancing the microseismic signal, especially the low signal to noise ratio P‐wave data, has become an important task. In this study, a statistical approach based on the binary hypothesis test is developed to detect the weak events embedded in high noise. The method constructs a vector space, known as the signal subspace, from previously detected events to represent similar, yet significantly variable microseismic signals from specific source regions. Empirical procedures are presented for building the signal subspace from clusters of events. The distribution of the detection statistics is analysed to determine the parameters of the subspace detector including the signal subspace dimension and detection threshold. The effect of correlated noise is corrected in the statistical analysis. The subspace design and detection approach is illustrated on a dual‐array hydrofracture monitoring dataset. The comparison between the subspace approach, array correlation method, and array short‐time average/long‐time average detector is performed on the data from the far monitoring well. It is shown that, at the same expected false alarm rate, the subspace detector gives fewer false alarms than the array short‐time average/long‐time average detector and more event detections than the array correlation detector. The additionally detected events from the subspace detector are further validated using the data from the nearby monitoring well. The comparison demonstrates the potential benefit of using the subspace approach to improve the microseismic viewing distance. Following event detection, a novel method based on subspace projection is proposed to enhance weak microseismic signals. Examples on field data are presented, indicating the effectiveness of this subspace‐projection‐based signal enhancement procedure.     

起伏地表条件下各向异性地震波最短路径射线追踪

在地震波正反演研究中,考虑起伏地表和地震各向异性具有非常重要的理论意义和实际应用价值.本文在前人研究的基础上,将最短路径追踪算法引入到起伏地表各向异性介质模型的地震波走时计算中.模型剖分时,整体模型划分成正方形单元,起伏边界附近以不规则网格逼近,进而采用非规则节点布置实现非规则网格处的最短路径计算.追踪计算中采用Sena群速度近似公式,得到各向异性地震波的走时,实现了复杂地表情况下各向异性介质模型中地震波的射线追踪.理论模型计算结果显示,本文方法能够可靠地应用于复杂各向异性介质模型,具有较高的计算精度.