Reconstruction of the near‐offset gap in marine seismic data using seismic interferometric interpolation

In conventional seismic exploration, especially in marine seismic exploration, shot gathers with missing near‐offset traces are common. Interferometric interpolation methods are one of a range of different methods that have been developed to solve this problem. Interferometric interpolation methods differ from conventional interpolation methods as they utilise information from multiples in the interpolation process. In this study, we apply both conventional interferometric interpolation (shot domain) and multi‐domain interferometric interpolation (shot and receiver domain) to a synthetic and a real‐towed marine dataset from the Baltic Sea with the primary aim of improving the image of the seabed by extrapolation of a near‐offset gap. We utilise a matching filter after interferometric interpolation to partially mitigate artefacts and coherent noise associated with the far‐field approximation and a limited recording aperture size. The results show that an improved image of the seabed is obtained after performing interferometric interpolation. In most cases, the results from multi‐domain interferometric interpolation are similar to those from conventional interferometric interpolation. However, when the source–receiver aperture is limited, the multi‐domain method performs better. A quantitative analysis for assessing the performance of interferometric interpolation shows that multi‐domain interferometric interpolation typically performs better than conventional interferometric interpolation. We also benchmark the interpolated results generated by interferometric interpolation against those obtained using sparse recovery interpolation.     

Quantitative evaluation of crosshole seismic reflection images using physical model data1

Physical models give us a known geometry with which to compare our processed reflection images and therefore our imaging techniques. We show how this comparison may be quantified in order to evaluate processed images properly. A crosshole data set was acquired through a model interrogated at ultrasonic frequencies using Durham University's physical modelling system. Various reflectivity images were obtained using processing sequences which include deconvolution, wavefield separation and migration. An error-energy scheme was used to assess the quality of these images, by comparing them against a best-fit depth model. A synthetic data set was also used to evaluate the imaging capability of the crosshole geometry and the effectiveness of the different processing schemes.     

Velocity model building from seismic reflection data by full‐waveform inversion

Full‐waveform inversion is re‐emerging as a powerful data‐fitting procedure for quantitative seismic imaging of the subsurface from wide‐azimuth seismic data. This method is suitable to build high‐resolution velocity models provided that the targeted area is sampled by both diving waves and reflected waves. However, the conventional formulation of full‐waveform inversion prevents the reconstruction of the small wavenumber components of the velocity model when the subsurface is sampled by reflected waves only. This typically occurs as the depth becomes significant with respect to the length of the receiver array. This study first aims to highlight the limits of the conventional form of full‐waveform inversion when applied to seismic reflection data, through a simple canonical example of seismic imaging and to propose a new inversion workflow that overcomes these limitations. The governing idea is to decompose the subsurface model as a background part, which we seek to update and a singular part that corresponds to some prior knowledge of the reflectivity. Forcing this scale uncoupling in the full‐waveform inversion formalism brings out the transmitted wavepaths that connect the sources and receivers to the reflectors in the sensitivity kernel of the full‐waveform inversion, which is otherwise dominated by the migration impulse responses formed by the correlation of the downgoing direct wavefields coming from the shot and receiver positions. This transmission regime makes full‐waveform inversion amenable to the update of the long‐to‐intermediate wavelengths of the background model from the wide scattering‐angle information. However, we show that this prior knowledge of the reflectivity does not prevent the use of a suitable misfit measurement based on cross‐correlation, to avoid cycle‐skipping issues as well as a suitable inversion domain as the pseudo‐depth domain that allows us to preserve the invariant property of the zero‐offset time. This latter feature is useful to avoid updating the reflectivity information at each non‐linear iteration of the full‐waveform inversion, hence considerably reducing the computational cost of the entire workflow. Prior information of the reflectivity in the full‐waveform inversion formalism, a robust misfit function that prevents cycle‐skipping issues and a suitable inversion domain that preserves the seismic invariant are the three key ingredients that should ensure well‐posedness and computational efficiency of full‐waveform inversion algorithms for seismic reflection data.     

准噶尔地区物理模型应用效果

准噶尔盆地腹部侏罗系埋藏深,地震资料在目的层分辨率较低、地震反射特征不清晰,制约了对该区的低幅构造、岩性圈闭的识别和评价.地震物理模拟提供认识复杂地震波场的直观手段.通过建立永进地区、莫西庄符合准噶尔盆地腹部侏罗系油藏实际的物理模型,进行地震物理波场模拟,研究了准噶尔盆地腹部侏罗系含油气地层的地震属性特征,为有效识别侏罗系油藏提供有力了依据.     

浅谈反射地震走时层析中的正则化

反射地震走时层析本质上是一个病态问题,而正则化是改善问题病态程度的有效手段.反射地震走时层析最终可归结为线性方程组的求解,本文讨论了在线性方程组求解过程中正则化的作用和方式.正则化的作用有:(1)用超定分量约束欠定分量和零空间分量;(2)用先验信息约束欠定分量和零空间分量;(3)对射线的不均匀覆盖进行阻尼;(4)对数据的不准确性进行阻尼.正则化的加入方式有:(1)加法型(将正则化矩阵补在层析矩阵后面,包括导数型正则化和零阶正则化,一阶导数型正则化对应最平坦解,二阶导数型正则化对应最光滑解,零阶正则化对应紧约束解);(2)乘法型(将正则化矩阵与层析矩阵相乘,主要包括阻尼型正则化).并利用简单的模型对正则化的效果进行了试验,发现经各种正则化约束后,与未加任何正则化约束得到的速度模型比较,尽管恢复的异常体的幅度不如后者大,但得到的速度剖面要平滑得多,更利于后续的射线追踪正演和层析反演.     

A multi‐azimuth seismic refraction study for a horizontal transverse isotropic medium: physical modelling results

To investigate the characteristics of the anisotropic stratum, a multi‐azimuth seismic refraction technique is proposed in this study since the travel time anomaly of the refraction wave induced by this anisotropic stratum will be large for a far offset receiver. To simplify the problem, a two‐layer (isotropy–horizontal transverse isotropy) model is considered. A new travel time equation of the refracted P‐wave propagation in this two‐layer model is derived, which is the function of the phase and group velocities of the horizontal transverse isotropic stratum. In addition, the measured refraction wave velocity in the physical model experiment is the group velocity. The isotropic intercept time equation of a refraction wave can be directly used to estimate the thickness of the top (isotropic) layer of the two‐layer model because the contrast between the phase and group velocities of the horizontal transverse isotropic medium is seldom greater than 10% in the Earth. If the contrast between the phase and group velocities of an anisotropic medium is small, the approximated travel time equation of a refraction wave is obtained. This equation is only dependent on the group velocity of the horizontal transverse isotropic stratum. The elastic constants A₁₁, A₁₃, and A₃₃ and the Thomsen anisotropic parameter ε of the horizontal transverse isotropic stratum can be estimated using this multi‐azimuth seismic refraction technique. Furthermore, under a condition of weak anisotropy, the Thomsen anisotropic parameter δ of the horizontal transverse isotropic stratum can be estimated by this technique as well.     

Vp‐Vs relationship and amplitude variation with offset modelling of glauconitic greensand‡

The relationship between V_p and V_s may be used to predict V_s where only V_p is known. V_p/V_s is also used to identify pore fluids from seismic data and amplitude variation with offset analysis. Theoretical, physical, as well as statistical empirical V_p‐V_s relationships have been proposed for reservoir characterization when shear‐wave data are not available. In published work, the focus is primarily on the V_p‐V_s relationship of quartzitic sandstone. In order to broaden the picture we present V_p‐V_s relationships of greensand composed of quartz and glauconite by using data from the Paleocene greensand Nini oil field in the North Sea. A V_p‐V_s relationship derived from modelling is compared with empirical V_p‐V_s regressions from laboratory data as well as from log data. The accuracy of V_s prediction is quantified in terms of root‐mean‐square error. We find that the V_p‐V_s relationship derived from modelling works well for greensand shear‐wave velocity prediction. We model the seismic response of glauconitic greensand by using laboratory data from the Nini field. Our studies here reveal that brine‐saturated glauconitic greensand can have a similar seismic response to that from oil‐saturated quartzitic sandstone and that oil‐saturated strongly cemented greensand can have a similar amplitude variation with offset response to that from brine‐saturated weakly cemented greensand.     

Sensitivity of reflection seismic data to oil-column height in high-porosity sandstones

Tuning is the effect of interference between the reflections from the top and bottom of a thin layer on the amplitude of the composite reflection. For a homogeneous sandstone reservoir containing an oil column overlying brine, interference between the reflection from the top reservoir and the oil/water contact is a function of the height of the oil column. If the properties of the sandstone do not vary across the oil/water contact, the SS, PS and SP reflection coefficients from the oil/water contact are small in comparison to the PP reflection coefficient. This allows analytic expressions for the effective PP and PS reflection coefficients from the reservoir to be derived that include all P‐wave multiples within the oil column. For a given source/receiver offset, the component of the wavevector inside the oil column normal to the interface is larger for the PPPP reflection than for the PPPS reflection, due to the asymmetry in the raypath for the PPPS reflection. The PPPS reflection is therefore useful for determining oil‐column heights larger than that discriminated by the PPPP reflection, especially when used at wider offsets. A convenient classification of the AVO response of hydrocarbon‐bearing sandstone reservoirs overlain by shale is the scheme of Rutherford and Williams. Class 1 sands have higher acoustic impedance for normal incidence than the overlying shale, Class 2 sands have nearly the same acoustic impedance as the shale and Class 3 sands have lower acoustic impedance. Synthetic shot gathers calculated for these three classes as a function of oil‐column height show that a combination of the PPPP and the PPPS amplitudes can be plotted as a tuning trajectory, which can be used to determine the oil‐column height. This method is most sensitive for reservoirs that belong to AVO classes 1 and 2, and therefore may be useful in AVO analysis of Class 1 and 2 reservoirs where the traditional AVO indicators (developed for Class 3 reservoirs) do not work very well. These results demonstrate the usefulness of shear waves recorded in the marine environment at wide offsets.     

Input data resolution‐induced uncertainty in watershed modelling

The temporal‐spatial resolution of input data‐induced uncertainty in a watershed‐based water quality model, Hydrologic Simulation Program‐FORTRAN (HSPF), is investigated in this study. The temporal resolution‐induced uncertainty is described using the coefficient of variation (CV). The CV is found to decrease with decreasing temporal resolution and follow a log‐normal relation with time interval for temperature data while it exhibits a power‐law relation for rainfall data. The temporal‐scale uncertainties in the temperature and rainfall data follow a general extreme value distribution and a Weibull distribution, respectively. The Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficient (NSC) is employed to represent the spatial resolution induced uncertainty. The spatial resolution uncertainty in the dissolved oxygen and nitrate‐nitrogen concentrations simulated using HSPF is observed to follow a general extreme value distribution and a log‐normal distribution, respectively. The probability density functions (PDF) provide new insights into the effect of temporal‐scale and spatial resolution of input data on uncertainties involved in watershed modelling and total maximum daily load calculations. This study exhibits non‐symmetric distributions of uncertainty in water quality modelling, which simplify weather and water quality monitoring and reducing the cost involved in flow and water quality monitoring. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using pseudo-entropy of seismic reflection data to predict sedimentary facies

The concept of entropy originates from thermodynamic theory where entropy represents the turbidness of molecular movement. If the status of the molecular movement in a thermodynamic system is more disordered, the entropy of the system is larger. Wiggins[1…     

影响松潘地区深反射地震数据品质的几种因素

深反射地震剖面技术是揭示岩石圈精细结构的有效手段,获得高质量的原始资料是揭示岩石圈精细结构探讨地球动力学过程的前提和基础.松潘地块地表条件和地下地质构造复杂,资料信噪比低.本文针对松潘地区地表地质条件、激发接收条件及环境等因素,通过实例数据对比分析影响该工区原始单炮记录品质的主要原因,为反射地震勘探数据采集工作提供几点参考和建议.     

浅层地震反射资料的多阶振型面波反演

浅层地震反射波法和面波方法是两种相互独立发展的地震勘探方法,在各自的数据采集和处理中,对方都是作为干扰信号而存在. 本文利用浅层地震反射资料中被视为干扰的面波信号,通过成熟的多道面波勘探技术处理浅层地震反射资料,在频率-波数域中提取多阶振型面波的频散曲线,并基于该曲线反演浅地表S波速度结构. 这种方法充分开发利用了已有数据,无需单独的面波数据采集系统,同时为解释浅层地震反射资料提供了额外的信息约束. 结果表明:浅层地震反射资料中可提取出可靠的多阶振型面波频散曲线,并能给出稳定的反演结果,同时,面波反演的多解性可以通过高阶振型反演得以进一步约束;低速层的存在是观测频散曲线出现振型跳跃或呈“之”字形回折的必要条件而非充分条件.      

Suppressing random noise to broaden the useful bandwidth of seismic reflection data

The signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） of seismic reflection data in many areas is rather poor and conventional two-dimensional filters designed to suppress noise with different moveout from the signal tend to generate artifacts. We have extended a method of multichannel filtering, based on the hypothesis that signals on adjacent channels are similar, for enhancing the SNR on stacked sections. Using only the mid-range frequencies where the SNR is highest, the event trend is found for overlapping windows on the section and the average signal vector is calculated. Then the data from the full bandwidth section are projected onto the spatially varying unit similarity vectors and the results are merged for the overlapping windows. Application of the method to synthetic data containing steeply dipping events and to a stacked section for a marine 2D line has produced good results. The modifications we have introduced carry a small overhead in computing time but they should enable the method to be used effectively even on sections containing steep dips.     

可展宽地震资料有效频宽的随机噪声衰减方法

很多地区地震资料的信噪比较低,而用于压制与信号具有不同方向的随机噪声的常规二维滤波方法常常产生假信息。基于相邻信号具有相干性这一假设,本文提出了一种叠后衰减随机噪声的多道滤波方法。该方法利用信噪比最高的中频段信息(含有主频的这一频率区间)分时窗计算信号单位矢量,并将该时窗内全频段数据向信号单位矢量方向投影,对各时窗(包括时间方向和空间方向)重叠部分按比例进行加权。我们利用这种方法对含有陡倾角的合成地震数据和海上二维实际地震资料进行了处理,处理效果很好。这种方法较为费时,但不受倾角限制,应用范围广。     

Study on the physical meaning of seismic inhomogeneous degree by rock fracture experiments

Introduction The study of acoustic emission evidenced by rock fracture experiments is the most important field of seismology. By means of the rock fracture technique system, many researchers tried to prove the possible relationship between some parameters such as b value and the stress variation prior to rock fracture using the acoustic emission results from different types of rock fracture ex-periments (MA et al, 2004a, b; Lockner, 1993; JIANG and ZHANG, 1998). In order to investigate th…     

Behaviour and modelling of partial‐strength beam‐to‐column composite joints for seismic applications

A refined component model is proposed to predict the inelastic monotonic response of exterior and interior beam‐to‐column joints for partial‐strength composite steel–concrete moment‐resisting frames. The joint typology is designed to exhibit ductile seismic response through plastic deformation developing simultaneously in the column web panel in shear, the bolted end‐plate connection, the column flanges in bending and the steel reinforcing bars in tension. The model can handle the large inelastic deformations consistent with high ductility moment‐resisting frames. Slip response between the concrete slab and the beams was taken into account. A fibre representation was adopted for the concrete slab to accurately capture the non‐uniform stress distribution and progressive crushing of the concrete at the interface between the concrete slab and the column flange. The model is validated against results from full‐scale subassemblages monotonic physical tests performed at the University of Pisa, Italy. A parametric study is presented to illustrate the capabilities of the model and the behaviour of the joints examined. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical modelling of near‐source pulse‐like seismic demand for multi‐linear backbone oscillators

Nonlinear static procedures, which relate the seismic demand of a structure to that of an equivalent single‐degree‐of‐freedom oscillator, are well‐established tools in the performance‐based earthquake engineering paradigm. Initially, such procedures made recourse to inelastic spectra derived for simple elastic–plastic bilinear oscillators, but the request for demand estimates that delve deeper into the inelastic range, motivated investigating the seismic demand of oscillators with more complex backbone curves. Meanwhile, near‐source (NS) pulse‐like ground motions have been receiving increased attention, because they can induce a distinctive type of inelastic demand. Pulse‐like NS ground motions are usually the result of rupture directivity, where seismic waves generated at different points along the rupture front arrive at a site at the same time, leading to a double‐sided velocity pulse, which delivers most of the seismic energy. Recent research has led to a methodology for incorporating this NS effect in the implementation of nonlinear static procedures. Both of the previously mentioned lines of research motivate the present study on the ductility demands imposed by pulse‐like NS ground motions on oscillators that feature pinching hysteretic behaviour with trilinear backbone curves. Incremental dynamic analysis is used considering 130 pulse‐like‐identified ground motions. Median, 16% and 84% fractile incremental dynamic analysis curves are calculated and fitted by an analytical model. Least‐squares estimates are obtained for the model parameters, which importantly include pulse period T_p. The resulting equations effectively constitute an R ? μ ? T ? T_p relation for pulse‐like NS motions. Potential applications of this result towards estimation of NS seismic demand are also briefly discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New data on the structure of the Eastern Mediterranean basin from seismic reflection

The Avanavero Dolerite intruding the Guiana Shield in western Suriname is a quartz gabbroic mass yielding a Rb-Sr isochron age of 1603 ± 27 Ma, while the mass has invaded basement with a Rb-Sr isochron age of 1810 ± 40 Ma (λ = 1.47 × 10^?11/a; errors with 95% confidence level). From 61 K-Ar measurements on whole-rocks, sieve fractions of whole-rocks, density fractions and separated minerals it is evident that nearly all investigated samples, fractions and minerals (except microcline which suffered some argon loss) contain excess⁴⁰Ar. This excess⁴⁰Ar is very inhomogeneously distributed through the gabbroic mass. The bulk is stored in the plagioclase, in which mineral the excess⁴⁰Ar attains unusually high values ranging from about 14 × 10^?6 to around 150 × 10^?6cm³ NTP/g. The excess⁴⁰Ar contents of biotite, hornblende and the pyroxenes are comparable to published data.Two samples from a core drilling were studied in some detail. In graphs of radiogenic⁴⁰Ar versus K, four mineral separates from one sample display a fairly good, but geochronologically meaningless linear arrangement roughly passing through the origin. Most density fractions from the other sample show a tendency towards an array parallel to the 1603 Ma reference isochron.It is assumed that the excess⁴⁰Ar was acquired by the Avanavero Dolerite during a moderate tectonothermal event 1200 ± 100 Ma ago, when the⁴⁰Ar partial pressure was much higher in the environmental basement complexes than in the basic mass.