The added value of joint PP–PS inversion for reservoir characterization: A case study using Jubarte PRM seismic data (offshore Brazil)

The added value of the joint pre-stack inversion of PP (incident P-wave and reflected P-wave) and PS (incident P-wave and reflected S-wave) seismic data for the time-lapse application is shown. We focus on the application of this technique to the time-lapse (four-dimensional) multicomponent Jubarte field permanent reservoir monitoring seismic data. The joint inversion results are less sensitive to noise in the input data and show a better match with the rock physics models calibrated for the field. Further, joint inversion improves S-impedance estimates and provides a more robust quantitative interpretation, allowing enhanced differentiation between pore pressure and fluid saturation changes, which will be extremely useful for reservoir management. Small changes in reservoir properties are expected in the short time between the time-lapse seismic acquisitions used in the Jubarte project (only 1 year apart). The attempt to recover subtle fourth-dimensional effects via elastic inversion is recurrent in reservoir characterization projects, either due to the small sensitivity of the reservoirs to fluid and pressure changes or the short interval between the acquisitions. Therefore, looking for methodologies that minimize the uncertainty of fourth-dimensional inversion outputs is of fundamental importance. Here, we also show the differences between PP only and joint PP–PS inversion workflows and parameterizations that can be applied in other projects. We show the impact of using multicomponent data as input for elastic seismic inversions in the analysis of the time-lapse differences of the elastic properties. The larger investment in the acquisition and processing of multicomponent seismic data is shown to be justified by the improved results from the fourth-dimensional joint inversion.     

Continual long-term monitoring of methane in wells above the Utica Shale using total dissolved gas pressure probes

Hydrogeology Journal - Monitoring of dissolved methane concentrations in groundwater is required to identify impacts from oil and gas development and to understand temporal variability under...     

A proposed probabilistic seismic tsunami hazard analysis methodology

Natural Hazards - We expand on existing probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA) approaches by presenting a methodology wherein the epistemic uncertainties associated with tsunami timing,...     

Decadal‐Scale Changes of the Ödenwinkelkees,Central Austria,Suggest Increasing Control of Topography and Evolution Towards Steady State

Small mountain glaciers have short mass balance response times to climate change and are consequently very important for short‐term contributions to sea level. However, a distinct research and knowledge gap exists between (1) wider regional studies that produce overview patterns and trends in glacier changes, and (2) in situ local scale studies that emphasise spatial heterogeneity and complexity in glacier responses to climate. This study of a small glacier in central Austria presents a spatiotemporally detailed analysis of changes in glacier geometry and changes in glaciological behaviour. It integrates geomorphological surveys, historical maps, aerial photographs, airborne LiDAR data, ground‐based differential global positioning surveys and Ground Penetrating Radar surveys to produce three‐dimensional glacier geometry at 13 time increments spanning from 1850 to 2013. Glacier length, area and volume parameters all generally showed reductions with time. The glacier equilibrium line altitude increased by 90 m between 1850 and 2008. Calculations of the mean bed shear stress rapidly approaching less than 100 kPA, of the volume–area ratio fast approaching 1.458, and comparison of the geometric reconstructions with a 1D theoretical model could together be interpreted to suggest evolution of the glacier geometry towards steady state. If the present linear trend in declining ice volume continues, then the Ödenwinkelkees will disappear by the year 2040, but we conceptualise that non‐linear effects of bed overdeepenings on ice dynamics, of supraglacial debris cover on the surface energy balance, and of local topographically driven controls, namely wind‐redistributed snow deposition, avalanching and solar shading, will become proportionally more important factors in the glacier net balance.     

A complementary depiction of the interannual variation of atmospheric circulation associated with ENSO events: Research note

Abstract

A simple diagnostic scheme, which combines a low‐pass temporal filter (with an 18‐month cutoff time) with a regular empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, is used to delineate the synchronous evolution of El Nino‐Southern Oscillation‐related (ENSO‐related) modes in various variables of the ocean‐atmosphere system. Based on the causal relation chain of diabatic heating, divergent circulation and rotational flow, the diagnostic scheme extracts ENSO modes from the following data sources: the Pacific sea surface temperature (SST), the past 14‐years (1979–1992) of data generated by the Global Data Assimilation System of the National Meteorological Center, and a 10‐year (1979–1988) general circulation model climate simulation made at the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres. The analysis reveals the following: (a) the eigencoefficient time series of the first eigenmodes of selected filtered variables, which explain about 40–50% of their total variance, synchronize with the filtered SST averaged over Area NINO‐3; (b) the spatial structures of the first eigenmodes resemble the ensemble departures associated with ENSO events of these variables from their long term means; and (c) the results show that the proposed scheme can be easily applied to isolate and illustrate the time evolution of ENSO modes which exist in the long term observational database as well as in climate simulations.     

Winter‐time near‐surface currents in the strait of Juan de Fuca

Abstract

During November 1976 to February 1977 near‐surface wind, current and temperature measurements were made at three sites along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Strong tidal currents and major intrusions of warmer, fresher offshore coastal water were superimposed upon the estuarine circulation of near‐surface seaward flow. The r.m.s. amplitudes of the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal currents were ～30 cms^‐1 and 30–47 cm s^‐1, respectively. The vector‐mean flow at 4 m‐depth was seaward and decreased in speed from 28 cm s^‐1 at 74 km from the entrance to 9 cm s^‐1 at 11 km from the entrance. On five occasions intrusions of 1–3 C warmer northeast Pacific coastal water occurred for durations of 1–10 days. The 25 cm s^‐1 up‐strait speed of the intrusive lens agreed to within 20% of the gravity current speed computed from Benjamin's (1968) hydraulic model. The near‐surface currents associated with the intrusions and the southerly coastal winds were significantly correlated, indicating that the intrusions were initiated when shoreward Ekman currents advected Pacific coastal water into the Strait. The reversals were not significantly coherent with the along‐strait sea surface slope measured along the north side of the Strait nor were they strongly related to local wind forcing.