SEISMIC METHODS

1. General Background
The origin of seismic methods dates back to the early 1900s when instrumentation
was designed to detect wave signals propagating through the earth arising from
earthquakes. These waves propagated outwards from the focus (source) of the
earthquakes and were detected and recorded by instrments on the surface of the
earth. The study and analysis of the recorded signals resulted in the resolution of
the source/focus and the magnitude of the earthquake. More importantly the nature
of the internal structure of the earth’s subsurface was well known from more
detailed analysis of the form of the recorded waves and their travelled ray
trajectories. These records showed waves that had propagated deep into the earth
and had been reflected and/or refracted back to the surface from seismic/acoustic
interfaces of the subsurface.
By the extension of these earthquake studies, the techniques of refraction and
reflection seismology using artificial seismic sources were carried out about 1915
by Minthrop.
Seismic surveying has since been and still is the single most utilised geophysical
surveying method in the search for oil and gas and also in hydroeological and
geotechnical problems. As discussed earlier, seismic waves are generated and they
propagate through the earth and get detected and recorded usually on the surface of
the earth, We shall then discuss the types of seismic waves, their mode of
propagation and the various seismic sources used for their generation.

1.1. Types of seismic waves and their mode of propagation

Seismic waves are elastic waves that travel within the Earth; i.e. they spread out
from a source by elastic deformation of the rocks through which they travel. This
propagation depends on elastic properties that are described by the relationships
between stress and strain. The linear relationship between stress and strain in the
elastic range is specified for any material by its various elastic moduli (Young’s,
bulk, shear and axial), each of which expresses the ratio of a particular type of
stress to the resultant strain, Seismic wave velocities are determined by the type of
seismic wave and by elastic modulus and the density of the rocks they travel
through. There are two groups of seismic waves: surface waves and body waves.
Surface waves travel along the boundary between different materials, most
noticeably at the surface of the Earth (the boundary between the solid Earth and the
atmosphere) and the outermost parts of the crust because they require a free surface
to ripple in order to exist. Their speed is slightly less than that of shear waves and
hence they are the last seismic waves to arrive at a recording station. The surface
disturbance produced by surface waves is termed ground roll. Two types of surface
waves are recognised:
 In Rayleigh waves, the ground vibrates in a rolling, elliptical motion that
dies down with depth beneath the surface (fig.3.1a).
 In Love waves, the ground shakes sideways with no vertical motion
(fig.3.1b).
Although experimental surveys of shallow structures have been carried out using
surface waves, surface waves are of limited signficance in seismic prospecting

Fig.3.1 elastic deformation and ground particle motion associated with the
passage of body waves. (a) Compressional or P-waves. (b) Shear or S-waves.
 Oscillation back and forth about a fixed point in the direction of wave
propagation

Body waves as their name implies, propagate through the Body of the Earth and
move radialy away from the energy source. There are two main types:
Compressional waves (also known as longitudinal, primary, or P-waves) propagate
by compressional and dilatational unaxial strains in the direction of wave travel.
Particle motion associated with the passage of a compressional wave involves
oscillation about a fixed point in the same direction of wave propagation(fig.3.2a).
Shear waves (also known as transverse, secondary, or S-waves) propagate in a
direction perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. Particle motions involve
oscillation about a fixed-point at right angles to the direction of wave
propagation(fig.3.2b). Unlike compressional waves, shear waves cannot travel
through liquids or gases (fluids).

Fig.3.2. Elastic deformation and ground particle motions associated with the
passage of surface waves.(a) Rayleigh waves.(b) Love waves
Body waves are non-dispersive; i.e. all frequency components in a wave train or
pulse travel through any material at the same velocity, determined only by the
elastic moduli and density of the material.
The vast majority of seismic surveying utilises compressional P-waves. However,
shear waves have been used for shallow structural surveying and for the detailed
study of earthquake wave path (to determine the source and magnitude). Shear
waves are not usually detected/recorded in seismic exploration work as they
require horizontally oriented geophones for detection. The velocity of propagation
of a body wave in any material is given by the equation:

Theoretically, the velocity of a P-wave in a rock, vp, can be calculated from the
equation:

Where
 = axial modulus
k = bulk modulus
µ= shear modulus
= density of the rock

Compressional waves always travel faster than shear waves in the same medium
and are therefore the first seismic waves (primary) to arrive at any point away from
the source of the waves.
As rocks differ in their elastic moduli and densities due to composition, porosity,
depth of burial, pressure, compaction, age and pore fluids, so do they also differ in
their seismic velocities depending on the above parameters.
The following general findings of velocity studies are significant and should be
noted. Firstly, compressional wave velocity increases with confining pressure. In a
sedimentary rock the main factors controlling seismic velocity are:
 Lithology: the mineral of the grains is the primary control. In general
sandstone and shale will have lower velocities than limestone, dolomite and
anhydrite. However, the physical state of the rock resulting from its burial
history and diagenesis is just as important. For example, shale and sandstone
velocities show a systematic increase with depth of burial and with age. This
is due to a combination of progressive compaction and cementation.
 Porosity is the single most important petrophysical property that determines
seismic velocity. The relationship for clean sandstones or limestones is
given by an empirical relationship linking the velocity of the pore fluid and
matrix known as Wyllie’s equation.

where φ is the fractional porosity, v f is the velocity of the whole rock, v fl is

the velocity of the pore fluid and vm is the velocity of the matrix.
  Pore fluid. Gas in the pores reduces the elastic moduli. This means that the
rock is more compressible than if a liquid such as water or oil is present.
Consequently the velocity of the rock drops by as much as 19% and hence
the presence of gas is directly detectable in seismic surveys. Generally the
presence of oil cannot be distinguished from that of water unless the oil is
light and gassy.
 Pore fluid pressure. Overpressuring tends to “blow up” the rock and so
weakens it. This will reduce the seismic velocity.
For many sedimentary rocks, the compressional wave velocity is related to density
and well established velocity-density curves are available. This means that the
densities of inaccessible subsurface layers can be predicted if their velocity is
known from seismic surveys.

1.2. Seismic Wave Velocity and Propagation

The propagation velocity of a seismic wave is the velocity with which the seismic
energy travels through a medium. This is not the same as the velocity of a particle
of the medium, which is disturbed by the passage of a seismic wave. In the case
ofcompressional waves, their propagation velocity through rocks is of the order of
a few thousand metres per second. The associated oscillatory ground motions
involve particle velocities that depend on the amplitude of the seismic wave. In the
case of the weak seismic vents routinely used in seismic surveying, particle
velocities may be as small as 10 -6 msec-1 and involve ground displacements of as
little as 10-10 m. The detection of seismic waves in geophysical exploration
involves measuring these very small particle velocities.
A wave travelling away from a seismic source in a rock of constant velocity will
have a wavefront, which is a sphere and the original energy in the wave is
distributed over the surface area of the sphere, whose size increases with time, as
the wave travels. The wave energy at any point therefore decreases with distance
from the source due to the effect of geometrical spreading of the energy. Wave
amplitude, within a homogeneous material, is proportional to the square root of the
wave energy, so the wave amplitude also decreases with distance. This reduction
in amplitude with increasing distance from the source is called geometrical
spreading (or divergence) and is one of the main reasons why seismic reflection
surveys are not generally used to look at rocks below the crust, since not enough
energy reaches these depths. Earthquakes, which generate waves that do reach
these depths, are far more powerful than seismic surveying sources.
Wave Energy at a point r metres from the source is given by :
E(r) = E(o) K / r2 ---(3.4)
While the amplitude becomes:
A® = Ao K/r ---(3.5)
where
Eo, Ao = Energy and Amplitude values at the source
K = Constant
Another major cause of energy loss from seismic waves is absorption. This occurs
because the subsurface is imperfectly elastic in its response to the passage
ofseismic waves. Elastic energy is gradually absorbed into the rock by internal
frictional losses, leading eventually to the total disappearance of the seismic
disturbance. The attenuation of a seismic wave by absorption is dependent upon
the frequency of the signal. High frequencies are attenuated more rapidly than are
lower frequencies.
Seismic data is often shown as a wiggle trace. But what’s the relationship between
that wiggle trace, samples, SEGY values and the pretty colors on my workstation?
The top/left image (1) shows a red curve wiggle trace, a representation of one
seismic trace. The wiggle oscillates back-and-forth, similar to a coil inside a
geophone going up/down relative to a magnet. The middle of the trace is zero
amplitude and amplitude values increase positively/negatively to the left/right as
the wiggle goes back/forth. Image 2 shows the wiggle trace as digitized,
represented by the black dashes. The black dashes might be from digitizing
(sampling) every 1ms or 2ms or 4ms or some other value. So sample 1 might be
amplitude +11; sample 2 might be amplitude +126; sample 3 might be amplitude
+31 and so on. We can retain more of the high frequency wiggles with a smaller
sample interval (i.e. 1ms samples retain higher frequencies compared to 4ms
samples). Image 3 shows the individual samples without the wiggle and the
top/right image (4) shows the individual amplitude numbers that are delivered in
SEGY format. Digitization of the raw data occurs in the field. Processing starts
with these raw numbers. Then processing changes and rearranges all these raw
numbers into finished products. After seismic processing, the segy deliverables
contain new values – like image 5 at bottom/left. These traces could be in time or
depth. The individual samples for one trace are shown at 6. Color fill for one trace
is shown in 7. Then several traces along a section, with interpretation, is shown in
8 (Bianco, Agile Scientific for Figures 6-8). If these traces were in depth, then the
sample intervals would also be in depth; for instance every 10ft or 5m or some
other value. Again, the smaller the sampling interval, the finer the vertical detail
potentially retained.

1.3. Generation of Seismic Waves

Apart from the natural uncontrollable earthquake sources, seismic waves are
generated by artificial sources at or near the Earth’s surface. A seismic source is
an instrumentation designed to achieve a sudden release of energy within a
localised region which leads to a rapid stressing of the surrounding medium. This
rapid stress generates strain in form of seismic waves. There are a wide variety of
seismic sources characterised by varying degree of energy levels and frequency
spectrum. The various seismic sources in common use can be classified into 2
categories: Explosives, and Non-explosives.
Basic Seismic Data Acquisition Systems
• The fundamental purpose of seismic surveys is to accurately record ground
motion caused by known sources in a known location.
• The record of ground motion with time constitutes a seismogram.
• The essential instrumental requirements are to
i) generate a seismic pulse with a suitable source
ii) detect the seismic waves in the ground with a suitable transducer and
iii) record and display seismic wave forms on a suitable seismograph.

1.3.1. Explosives
 i. Chemical explosives
The traditional way of generating seismic waves is to use chemical explosives.
This was the only source of artificial seismic energy up to early 1950s and,
although other sources are increasingly being used, explosives are still dominantly
used in land surveys but rarely now at sea. The explosives are placed in a drilled
shallow shot hole, which is then filled with water, soil or rock to ensure that most
of the energy is transmitted into the subsurface and not dissipated into the air. The
depth of the drilled hole depends on the thickness of the weathered zone or depth
to the water table as it is advisable to go just below the water table or the
weathered zone. Chemical explosives produce very high-energy seismic waves but
have some disadvantages that often limit their use:
 Their use normally requires special permission
 There are logistical difficulties concerning their storage and transport
 They may damage buildings and roads
 They are potentially dangerous to use
 They do not provide repeatable source signature as detonations cannot be
repeated at same position.
For these reasons, other seismic sources have been developed. These newer
sources have less energy output than explosives, but fewer disadvantages.
ii. Geoflex
This is an explosive detonating cord with blasting caps exploding at regular
intervals of the cord. It can be used for both land and marine surveys.
iii. Dinoseis
This is a gas exploder which activates the mixture of propane and oxygen within
an expandable chamber for explosion. The explosion chamber is mounted under a
heavy truck and lowered to the ground when ready for explosion. The chamber’s
contact with the ground vibrates the ground. However, this is no longer in use as it
involves the use of massive equipment without comparable data quality.

1.3.2. Non-explosive sources

The most importanat non-explosive sources are mechanical wave generators, air
guns and sparkers, boomers and pingers.
i. Vibroseis
The most commonly used non-explosive seismic source on land is a mechanical
wave generator called vibroseis. This is a lorry/tractor-mounted vibrator that
vibrates a heavy plate on the ground surface, producing an extended vibration of
low amplitude and continuously varying frequency, known as a sweep signal. A
typical sweep signal lasts from several seconds up to tens of seconds and the
frequency varies between about 10 Hz to around 80 Hz.
Wave generators are quick and easy to use and cause no damage and little
disturbance. Hence they can be used in urban areas. They also produce precisely
known and repeatable signals. The vibrator needs firm ground, such as a road and
several vibrators are usually used simultaneously to increase the amount of seismic
energy generated. This also has the advantage of increasing the seismic signal
without increasing the seismic noise.
ii. Air-Gun
The most widely used seismic source in marine surveys is the air gun. This is a
pneumatic source consisting of a chamber, which is charged with high-pressure air
through side vents into the surrounding water. The release of the high pressure air
bubble provides the first seismic wave. A wide range of chamber sizes is
available, producing different energy inputs and frequency characteristics. Air guns
are used in arrays mounted on a frame towed behind the survey vessel.
Water guns are pneumatic sources in which compressed air is used to drive a
piston that ejects a water jet into the surrounding water. A vacuum cavity is created
behind the advancing water jet and this implodes under the influence of the
ambient hydrostatic pressure generating a strong acoustic pulse. Like air guns,
water guns are towed behind the survey vessel.

iii. Weight Dropping

Sources here comprise of weights, which are dropped from heights (some metres)
above the surface on to a steel plate, which is well-coupled to the ground. The
mechanical impact on the steel plate vibrates the ground stressfully and the
resultant strain is propagated as seismic waves. In this category, we have:
 The thumper
3000kg dropped from about 3-5m (rarely used now)
 Sledge Hammer
 10-12kg sledge hammer is manually lifted and forcefully hit on a steel plate
well coupled to the ground.
The above generates minimal energy and have limited penetration and hence used
ONLY for shallow surveys.
There are other seismic sources that convert electrical energy into acoustic energy.
These are called Sparkers, Boomers or Pingers depending on the method by which
the acoustic pulse is generated. These offer better resolution but have very limited
penetration. The Hammer type is however very frequently used for engineering
and groundwater studies.
Some of the seismic sources discussed above which are usually used for land
surveys can be used (after design modification) for marine and well surveys such
as:
 Explosives
 Air-Gun
 Geoflex
 Sparkers/Boomers

1.4. Seismic Wave Detectors (Seismometres)

Two types of detectors are used in seismic surveying: Geophones on land and
Hydrophones at sea. They record the returning seismic waves and convert the
movements into an electrical signal. The electrical output from the detector is a
measure of the vertical ground motion (on land) or pressure variation (at sea) in the
vicinity of the detector a short interval of time after the triggering of the seismic
source.
At each layer boundary in the subsurface, a proportion of the incident energy of the
seismic pulse is reflected and/or refracted back towards the detector. The detector
therefore receives a series of reflected and refracted pulses, scaled in amplitude
according to the distance travelled and the reflection coefficients/headwave
production capability of the various layer boundaries. The pulse arrives at times
determined by the depths to the boundaries and the velocities of propagation
between them.
Geophones
Geophones measure motion (velocity) of a seismic wave in the ground and convert
it into an electric current. The most commonly used geophone measures only
vertically or near vertically travelling seismic waves. This has the advantage that
only P-wave reflections from depth are recorded, but not horizontally travelling
surface wave or reflected shear waves. There are however horizontal geophones
designed to detect shear waves in earthquake studies and engineering applications.
The individual detector outputs may be fed along a multicore cable to a recording
system and may even be multiplexed at detector locations before transmitting to
recording systems.
Most modern geophones for land surveys are of the moving-coil electromagnetic
(EM) type. The moving coil EM geophone consists of a permanent magnet
attached to the main frame of the geophone casing. The coil is centrally suspended
with an inertial mass using leaf springs. The main frame of the geophone which
has the permanent magnet attached to it moves in harmony with the ground motion
while the coil will be relatively steady. The relative motion between the coil and
the magnetic field of the magnet generates a voltage between the terminals of the
coil. This is transmitted to the recordingsystems. The analog types are called
Seismographs. The output for horizontal motion in the above situation is
essentially zero. Geophone response characteristics are very important in the
design considerations. It is necessary that the response be above its natural period
or resonant frequency in order to avoid ringing.
Hydrophones
Hydrophones otherwise called water-pressure phones are used for marsh and
marine surveys and sometimes for velocity surveys in boreholes. They are of the
piezoelectric types. Synthetic piezoelectric materials such as barium zirconate and
titanate are used as detectors which are sensitive to variations in pressure and are
usually placed below several cms. of water in marine or marsh work or below
water level in well surveys. Piezoelectric hydrophones which include Benders,
Disc and Cylindrical hydrophones, are high-impedance devices and their output
signals may have to be amplified before transmission through the streamer (Fig
3.6). Electrical connections are made so that if the two circular plates of a disc
hydrophone are made to bend inward under pressure, the induced voltages will add
up. For cylindrical types, closed at both ends by brass caps, a change in pressure
outside the cylinder induces stresses and hence voltage difference between the
inside and the outside and these signals are transmitted after adequate amplification
to the recording systems through the streamer.
Streamers are constructions of neoprene tubing containing hydrophones and
othernsensors in groups and sections and towed behind a seismic ship. A section is
a channel which many comprise groups of about 35 uniformly spaced
hydrophones.

1.5. Seismic Recording Instruments

A seismic recording instrument is designed to record a long range of signal
amplitudes. It is necessary to be able to record both weak and strong signals
sometimes ranging from a lower limit of about 2 µv to as high as about 400 mV.
This implies that the recording instrument must then have a dynamic range of
about 126dB. Modern seismic recorders have dynamic range of up to 140 dB as
stacking of geophone outputs increases the signals upper limit.
There are 2 categories of recording instruments:
 Analog
 Digital
All seismic recording instruments make use of amplifiers (to enhance the signals)
and filters (to cut-off or reduce unwanted signals (noise)) before recording data.
With very low dynamic ranges of 20 to 26 dB. Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
units were used to compress the signal range. These were Analog units. The advent
of reproducible recording expanded dynamic range up to 100 dB. 100dB implies
that an input of 10 mV amplitude will appear as 1.0 V output (i.e a gain ratio of
105. Magnetic tape recording began in early 1950s and has remained useful till
date due to the ability to reproduce (playback) the data after field acquisition.
Recording instruments are usually carried in a recording truck or other vehicle but
they are now very compact, rugged and light enoug to be hand-carried when
necessary.
These recorders are usually called seismographs. Today, most recording
instruments output the data in digital fotmat. Whereas Analog devices represent the
signal by a voltage (or other quantity) that varies continously with time, digital
recording represents the signal by a series of numbers that denote values at regular
intervals usually 2 or 4 ms. Digital recoding is capable of higher fidelity than
analog recording and permits numerical processing of the data without distortion.
It also has a larger dynamic range. However, the start (geophoe output) and end
(display) of recorded data continue to be analog. The data recorded on magnetic
tape (magnetic disk is used these days) must be presented in visual form (which is
analog) for monitoring and interpretations. While Analog magnetic tape records
have recording heads for up to 48 channels in parallel, digital recording systems
have up to 120 channels and more.

1.6. Seismic Field Methods

Field methods for the acquisition of seismic reflection data vary considerably
depending on:
 Whether the area is land, marsh or marine
 The nature of the geologic problem to be investigated
 The accessibility of the area
High-quality field work is essential because nothing done subsequently can remedy
defects in basic data. Seismic crews range from 2 or 3 people for shallow land
surveys used for engineering and hydrogeological purposes to almost 100 people
or more for deep large scale surveys requiring cutting of trails and handling lots of
cables, geophones and other supplies. A field seismic crew (mainly land crew)
consists of 3 main units
 Source unit responsible for positioning and activating energy sources
 Jug hustlers who lay out cables, place the geophones in their proper
locations and connect them properly to the cables
 Recording unit that does the data recording.
Marine crews usually use fairly big boats(ship) with have a full complement of the
seismic technical crew and the usual ship’s crew with all their needs
andrequirements that can last for weeks on board. Conventional marine operations
involve one ship that tows both the sources and hydrophone streamer (fig. 3.6).
The ship is usually large to tow so much equipment and accommodate a helipad,
and so takes a long time to change direction (sometimes up to an hour to turn from
one seismic line to the other) during surveys. With long tows, forward motion is
continuously maintained to avoid tangling of the towed elements.
Virtually all seismic acquisition today is performed by geophysical contractors
either for oil or gas company clients or on a speculative basis for subsequent sale.
Permission to enter lands to carry out a survey is advisable and most times
mandatory and may sometimes involve payment. All stakeholders in the land must
be involved (i.e Government representative and the immediate community
representatives) in the request for permit.

1.7. Field Layouts

In a simple 2-layer geological section with velocities V2 > V1 and separated by a
horizontal interface at a depth Z, there are 3 types of ray paths by which seismic
waves from a near-surface source S can reach a surface detector D at a distance X
from S (fig. 3.9)

In almost all cases the direct wave arrives first at the nearest offset detector while
the headwave (from the critically refracted wave) arrives next and the reflected
signals usually come in last. As shown in the figure above, the direct ray travels
along a straight line through the top layer from source to detector with velocity V1.
The refracted ray travels at velocity V1 and is critically incident on the interface
and then along a segment of the interface (due to critical refraction) at higher
velocity V2 and then back up as headwave (generated at the higher velocity
interface) through the upper layer to the detector D. The reflected ray is obliquely
incident on the interface and is reflected back through the top layer to the detector,
travelling its entire entire path in the top layer at velocity V1. By suitable analysis
of the travel times for refracted and/or the reflected paths, it is possible to compute
the depth to subsurface layers.
1.8. Reflection surveys
There are various types of reflection survey lines available and in use usually
referred to as spreads which establishes the relative set up of the source and the
geophone groups. Several source – geophone spread types are shown in fig. 3.10.
 Straight-line/End-on spread ( fig 3.10d / 3.11)
This is the most commonly used spread where the source is at one end of a
regularly spaced geophone groups which involves in-line offset of the
source.
 Broadside spreads
are when the source is offset some distance perpendicular to the geophone
group set-up (fig 3.10a). This increases the recording of reflected signals
before the arrival of groundrolls.
 Split-spread
This is where the source is at the centre of a line of regularly spaced
geophone gropus (fig 3.10c / fig.3.11)
When the energy source is explosive, shot-holes are drilled down to below the
determined weathered layer or water table and the explosives are buried before
detonation. This is to assist in:
 Getting greater percentage of the energy into the subsurface
 Reducing the problem of the slowness of the near surface weathered layer
 Reducing damage to the environment.
 Reducing the chances of recording surface waves.
Note that crews have an obligation to minimise the environmental impact of their
operations and are held responsible for damages resulting from their actions
whether or not permission was granted for the survey

1.9. 2 – D and 3 – D Surveys

Reflection profiling is normally carried out along defined lines with the shot point
and/or its associated spread of detectors being moved progressively along the line
to build up lateral coverage of the subsurface rock layers. This progression is
carried out in a stepwise fashion on land but done continuously at sea by towing a
streamer behind the ship. The straight-line, single-ended spread and the split-
spread are most commonly used for two-dimensional surveys. Common Depth
Point (CDP) coverage is very widely used. In this method, the shot points are
gradually moved along a line of geophones (fig 3.12). This assures that a set of
traces recorded at different offsets contains reflections from a common depth point
(CDP) on the reflector. The shot points and detector locations for such a set of
traces known as a CDP gather have a common midpoint (CMP) below which the
common depth point is assumed to lie. The number of CDP fold coverage (i. E
number of times reflection events come from the same point of reflector (CMP) is
given by N/2n. N is the number of geophone arrays (channels) and n is the number
of inter-array spacings skipped before next shot (fig. 3.13).
In three-dimensional surveying, the common depth point principle applies
similarly but each CDP gather involves an areal rather than a linear vertical
section. On land, 3-D data are normally collected using the crossed spread array
and therefore samples a volume of the subsurface rather than an area contained in a
vertical plane. The positions of all the shots (source) and detectors (geophones)
must be accurately surveyed so that eventually corrections have to be made for
elevation and weathering variations to prevent them from influencing the reflection
data on which interpretation is based. This is because it is theoretically assumed
that the source and detectors are all horizontally aligned. When this is not the case,
corrections as above have to be employed.
1.10. Reflection Raypath Geometry
Consider fig. 3.14. The total time it takes a wave (signal) to travel down to a
reflector and back to the detector (offset distance X from source) at the surface
with velocity V1 is given by:
2. Seismic Reflection Data Processing
The objective of most data processing is enhancing the signal with respect to the
noise. In small scale surveys, the minimal processing (enhancement of S/N ratio)
carried out by recording systems is usually sufficient for further data management.
In this case, times of arrival of reflected events are picked and T 2 – X2 plots are
done such that velocities and depths of reflectors are calculated

Today high-resolution 3-D seismic data are used to delineate petroleum reservoirs
before drilling commences, determine optimum locations for initial drilling, select
sites for development wells, and to monitor reservoirs throughout their various
production cycles. There are two paths between source and receiver of particular
interest – reflection and refraction. In Fig. 1 layers 1 and 2 differ in rock type, in
the rate at which seismic waves travel (acoustic or seismic velocity), and density
(mass per unit volume). When the seismic waves encounter the boundary between
layers 1 and 2 some of the energy is reflected back to the surface in layer 1 and
some is transmitted into layer 2. If the seismic velocity of layer 2 is faster than in
layer 1, there will be an angle at which the transmitted seismic wave is bent or
refracted to travel along the boundary between layers, as shown in Fig. 1. These
two path types are the bases of seismic reflection and refraction surveys. Figure 1B
illustrates seismic reflection operations. Instead of a single detector as in Fig. 1, 24
detectors are laid out on the surface. Seismic energy travels downward with some
being reflected at the boundary between layers 1 and 2 back to the detectors. (Note:
actual operations involve recording many reflections from many subsurface
reflectors from many more detectors than are shown here.) Reflection seismic data
are displayed as seismic records consisting of several seismic traces. A seismic
trace, often presented as a “wiggly line”, represents the response of a single
seismic detector (or connected group of detectors) to the earth’s movement caused
by the arrival of seismic energy. Figure 1C illustrates a simulated seismic
reflection record that was developed from Fig. 1B. (This is called a shot record
because all traces represent energy from a single source or shot.) Traces are
ordered by offset or distance from the source. Similar “wiggles” can be followed
from trace-to-trace starting at about 0.165 s on trace 1 and ending at about 0.78 s
on trace 24. This event is the first break refraction. It is refraction from the base of
the shallow near surface layer that is too thin to adequately show in Fig. 1B. Note
that a straight line can be drawn through this event. A second event is shown in
Fig. 1C. This event, the reflection from the boundary between layers 1 and 2, starts
at about 1.90 s on trace 1 and ends at about 1.99 s on trace 24. Note that it is not
straight but curved. A seismic reflection survey generates a large number of shot
records that cover the area under study. Modern methods call for recording
reflections such that there is a common midpoint between sources and detectors on
many different shot records.
In seismic data processing the traces that share these common midpoints are
collected together as common midpoint or CMP records. The assumption is that
these traces record from the same subsurface reflection points and are combined, or
stacked, into a single trace, called a CMP trace. Other processes are applied to the
data to enhance the signal, minimize noise, and improve interpretability.
 Fig 1(A) Reflection and refraction, (B) Seismic reflection method, (C) A
simulated seismic reflection record, based on Fig. 1B, (D) A seismic section

When processing is complete, all the CMP traces are displayed side by side
comprising a seismic section. The section is an image of the subsurface, that can be
used to plan drilling and development programs. The section in Fig. 1D shows
many rock beds and a potentially hydrocarbon-bearing structure. The reflection
method has been the most successful seismic method for identifying subsurface
geologic conditions favorable to the accumulation of oil and gas. The greater part
of this book discusses and explains this method. Figure 2A illustrates the seismic
refraction method. Here, seismic waves travel faster in layer 2 than in layer 1, i.e. –
seismic velocity is higher in layer 2 than in layer 1. The seismic waves that arrive
at the layer boundary at the critical angle are bent or refracted along the boundary.
At the receiver end, seismic waves are refracted upward at the same angle.
Additional refractions may occur at deeper boundaries, if the seismic velocities
below the boundaries are faster than those above the boundaries. Figure 2B is a
simulated seismic refraction record based on Fig. 2A. Again two events are
apparent. The first is the refraction from the boundary between layer 1 and 2. The
second is the direct arrival from the source. Less processing is applied to refraction
data than reflection data. The main interest is in being able to pick the arrival time
of refraction events. These times are plotted against offsets (distances between
source and receivers) in what are called T-X plots. Analysis and interpretation of
these plots may allow determination of subsurface layer thicknesses and velocities.
The refraction method can supply data that allow interpreters to identify rock units,
if the acoustic velocities are known. The refraction method can also be used to
detail structure of certain deep, high-velocity sediments, where reflection data are
not of sufficient quality.

Fig 2(A) Seismic refraction method, (B) A simulated seismic refraction

record, based on Fig. 2A

Fundamentals of seismic interpretation, seismic velocity, vertical seismic profiling

(VSP), synthetic seismogram, well-to-seismic ties, seismic stratigraphy, 2D versus
3D interpretation, thin bed, problem associated with gridded maps, problem
associated with static correction for land data, AVO analysis, 3C seismic surveys
and interpretation, 4D seismic for time-lapse reservoir monitoring and other related
topics.
High resolution refraction surveys for near surface applications such as the
generalized reciprocal method (GRM), refraction tomography, spectral analysis of
surface waves (SASW), seismic data integration and interpretation, pitfalls and
case histories

Seismic Data Processing Flow

Seismic Interpretation

In interpretation we understand that the target is the underlying geology and that
we must work with geophysical data which is determined and constrained by the
principle of geophysics. Or simply, the interpreters should extract and present the
facts and information as much as possible which are beneficial for exploration and
development of oil and gas.

The interpretation results involve:

A project requiring a very large financial investment and should be prepared to be
so as to be easily understood by many personnel with the various background.
Quite often the immediate effort in the process will not be apparent at the final
stage of the work.
The result is just like a “painted art” for some people (management) and the
geophysical procedure of data acquisition, processing and interpretation may not
be paid much attention in final presentation.
Reliability of interpretation (quality of data).
Basic Flow of Seismic Interpretation

• Understanding general content of the data for interpretation

• Determination of the actual interpreter who works on data.
• Selection of workstation for work
• Collection of data for interpretation
• Discussion/agreement of the content of interpretation work
• General interpretation work
• Accomplishment of the detailed structural interpretation
• Additional interpretation <1-2>
• Detailed correlation with well data
• Seismic studies e.g. AVO and seismic modeling
• Evaluation of the interpreted results

Seismic velocity
• Rock properties that affect seismic velocity
Porosity
Lithification
Pressure
Fluid saturation
• Velocity in unconsolidated near surface soils (the weathered layer)
• Attenuation

Factors Affecting Velocity

 Velocity and Density

Velocity and Density

Rock Velocity

Rock Properties that Affect Seismic Velocity

P51
Velocity in unconsolidated near surface soils

Attenuation

Picking Horizons and Faults

Once a horizon is defined the next step of seismic interpretation is to trace horizons
on the seismic section. Continuous horizons can be traced easily, other hand if the
continuity of horizons are not that good, then few factors are to be considered as:
i) The quality of data
ii) The quality of data processing
iii) The difference to physical properties.
And then reasons for discontinuity
e.g. existence of geologic fault, facies changes etc.

Fault Detection
 ,555
Example: Mark the Faults by Pencil

Pick Horizons
• Usually, an amplitude peak that corresponds to a change in acoustic
impedance (i.e. lithology)
• Can be a trough or even zero-crossing.
• The ideal horizon is a zero-phase wavelet centered on the change.
• Seismic sources cannot produce a zero-phase wavelet but are often
minimum phase.
• The earth filters out high frequencies also
• Can adjust with processing.
T=0

Automated Picking
Snapping
Max, min or 0 amplitude within a set distance of the pick
Zero-phase Minimum
Automatically jumps to the nearest high amplitude phase
Must be close (otherwise jumps to wrong peak)
Autopick
Pick one spot on horizon
Snaps to peak then picks nearest peak on next trac\
/’
Works great in good data with no faults
3D version selects all ‘voxels’ with a certain amplitude – a cloud

Resolution

The minimum separation between two features such that we can tell that there are
two features rather than one.
Horizontal resolution – how far apart two features on single interface must be to
show as separate features
Vertical resolution – how far apart two interfaces must be to show as separate
interfaces
Depends on the size of seismic wavelets which have a limited frequency range and
therefore width
(the limit is the Dirac delta function which contains all frequencies)

Horizontal resolution
Reflections occurs over a area and not just at point due to the wave nature.
Fresnel zone is the area from which the phase of the reflection from a point source
(curved wavefront) differs by less than a half-cycle
First Fresnel zone is where V is average velocity, l wavelength, and t is the time.
V
2 √ t
λ
Strictly speaking, this is only true for unmigrated data.
Migration collapses diffractions, so migrated data should have better resolution.

Vertical resolution
Depends on wavelength – the usual criteria is ¼ l (wavelength)
• How thick is a thin bed?
• Less than ¼ l top and bottom appear as a single reflection
• A very thin bed with a high reflection coefficient will still be visible
• Decreases with depth

Resolution of fault throw

Tuning – how thin is a thin bed?

 • As a bed gets thinner and approaches l/4, the amplitude will very due to
destructive and constructive interference from the top and bottom reflections
• The reflections will also be shifted in time giving an inaccurate thickness
• Critical for stratigraphy
• Another reason why synthetic seismograms can fail

Phase and polarity

Zero-phase – a reflection produces a wavelet that is symmetric on each side of the

reflecting surface. Ideally, modern seismic reflection data is processed so that this
is true (but doesn’t always work).
Minimum-phase – An alternate representation.
Wavelets can be positive or negative.
One way to check with marine data is to look at the water bottom reflection, as it
always represents an increase in acoustic impedance. Reflections which have the
same polarity as the water bottom reflection represent positive changes in acoustic
impedance.
a)Minimum phase
b)Zero phase
Structural Interpretation: 2D mapping
Structure Map
Once horizons and faults are picked on 2Dvertical seismic sections next
work is to generate a structure map of each horizon. Structure map can be obatined
from the following steps:
1. Post the interpreted time picks of a horizon on a base map (Fig. a)
2. Post the faults on the base map (Fig. b)
3. Connects the faults (Fig. c)
4. Draw contour lines (Fig. d)

Structural Interpretation
Isochron Map
Once structure maps of several horizons are drawn, one can calculate the time
difference between two horizons. This time thickness map is called isochron map.`

Depth Structure Map

To have depth structure map rather than time to depth conversion must be applied.
The principle of depth conversion is quite simple as:
Depth=Time x Velocity.

Limitation: 2D interpretation
Structural interpretation using 2D data shown above is highly simplified. However,
in actual interpretation and to make a structural map, there might be several
problems as:
1. Lack of data: 2D seismic line are not dense enough to interpret
complex structure
 2. Mis-tie: The same horizon has different two way time at the crossing
point of two seismic lines.
3. Side-swipe: Reflections coming from outside of the vertical plane
which contains the seismic line exist on the seismic section.
4. Line location change: To compensate for the side swipe effect,
location of seismic lines on a base map needs to be modified based on
the structural dips information.

Limitation: 2D interpretation, 2D/3D Analogy

The main reasons for these problems are:
1. We try to interpret three (3D) subsurface structure using a set of two
dimensional (2D) vertical seismic sections.
2. A 2D vertical seismic section is not a true vertical section but a pseudo
vertical section which contains lots of information from outside of the
vertical plane.
Note: 3D seismic can solve all of above listed problems and this is the merit of 3D
seismic in structural interpretation.

Stratigraphic Interpretation
The seismic stratigrpahy utilizes seismic reflection patterns to predict the lithology
of seismic facies through the interpretation of depositional process and
environmental settings, in relation to the relative sea level change, tectonic history
and tectonic settings of the basin. The procedures of interpreting stratigrpahy from
seismic data as:
i) Seismic sequence analysis
ii) Seismic facies analysis
iii) Interpretation of depositional environments and lithofacies.

Seismic Sequence Analysis

1. Unconformity
2. Lap Terms
i) Truncation
ii) Toplap
iii) Onlap
iv) Downlap
3. Eustatic, Relative Sea Level Change and Sediment Supply
i) Eustatic Sea Level change
ii) Relative sea level change
ii) Sediment supply
 iv) Depositional geometries

Unconformity

Termination Pattern of Reflections

Definition of Sequence
Sequence is a stratigraphic unit composed of a relatively conformable succession
of genetically related strata and bounded at its top and base by unconformities or
their correlative conformities.
Sequence boundaries
System Tract

Procedures in Sequence Stratigrahy Analysis

1) Pick up four basic termination patterns ( onlap, downlap, toplap and
truncation)
2) Trace the onlap surface, downlap surface and truncation surface respectively
by using a sharpened color pencil and extend or extrapolate these surfaces
over the complete section in order to identify unconformities.
3) Interpret system tracts and determine the sequence boundaries considering
the characteristics of upper and lower boundaries, reflection configuration
and stratigraphic relationship of each systems trace.
4) Repeat the process of delineating sequence boundaries on seismic records
for other parts of region and correlation the sequences throughout the
seismic grid.
5) Map sequence units on the basis of thickness, geometry, orientation or other
features to see how sequence related to neighboring sequence.

Seismic Facis Analysis

 1. Seismic facies units
2. Parameters for seismic facies recognition
i) Reflection configuration
ii) External form
iii) Reflection continuity
iv) Reflection amplitude and frequency
3. Seismic facies interpretation.

AVO Analysis: Introduction

Introduction

Reflection Coefficient R()

AVO Processing
Some Factors Affecting the Amplitude

Factors that Affects Amplitudes

Amplitude Vs Offset Analysis

Application of AVO Analysis

Multicomponent Seismic Survey

• Among the many acronyms in the oil industry, we now have "3C" and "4C"
and even "9C" seismic data. The "C" stands for "component." Onshore,
three-component data have one vertical and two horizontal geophones and
are used to record the entire seismic waveform, both compressional (P) wave
particle motion and the less familiar shear (S) wave particle motion.

• Offshore, a hydrophone is added to the three-component geophone to create

a "4C" receiver. Here the hydrophone records accelerations while the
geophones record velocity; the difference in response is used to stack out
surface multiples.
 • The least common of the acronyms is "9C" seismic, which is available only
onshore. Here a controlled polarization shear and compressional source and
three-component geophones yield a three-by-three matrix of source-receiver
orientation combinations.

Example: 4C Seismic Data

Figure: Imaging through gas clouds. Normal 3-D streamer data (top) from a
deepwater field in Indonesia is badly distorted by shallow gas. The converted
wave section (bottom) from the 4C survey successfully imaged the shallow gas
reservoir and the underlying structure. (Image from Battie et al., 2000.)

3C Seismic Surveys
3C digital single sensors allowed for a step change in the way seismic data is
acquired. Single sensors replace geophone arrays that cannot capture the richness
of the full seismic wavefield, which includes both the signal and the noise. Multi-
component data, previously only collected for those wanting to collect shear wave
data, is now being routinely collected in order to image the complete and complex
seismic picture - using P and S-waves together.
Recently, most of the land seismic surveys are being acquired using 3C
digital sensors. Industry acceptance continues to grow, as evidenced by the
increase in demand for 3C acquisition crews and technology, as well as processing
and interpretation services.

3C Seismics Applications
i) Dealing with abrupt, near-surface velocity changes in the Arctic or in deserts
ii) Imaging thin, stratified, highly-faulted, or steeply-dipping reservoirs
iii) Delineating lithology (rock type) changes
iv) Determining fluid types and fluid movements, especially in 4D programs
 v) Acquiring 4C seismic data from the seabed
vi) Minimizing ambient noise in data acquired near existing oil & gas fields
vii) Accounting for anisotropy in the subsurface
viii) Mapping fracture networks in reservoirs
ix) Delivering low frequency data (down to 1-2 HZ) for AVO and inversion

4D Seismic Analysis
Seismic 4D data analysis has been shown to be an important tool for mapping and
monitoring of fluid movements and pressure changes in petroleum reservoirs
during production, thus contributing to improved recovery rates and better
management of the fields.
Three-dimensional (3D) seismic data acquired at different times over the
same area to assess changes in a producing hydrocarbon reservoir with time.
Changes may be observed in fluid location and saturation, pressure and
temperature. 4D seismic data is one of several forms of time-lapse seismic data.
Such data can be acquired on the surface or in a borehole.

The figure shows how 4D seismic data can be used to monitor changes in the gas
cap during production.
Source: http://www.norsar.no/c-82-4D-Seismic-Analysis.aspx
Time-lapse seismic data
Seismic data from the surface or a borehole acquired at different times over
the same area to assess changes in the subsurface with time, such as fluid
movement or effects of secondary recovery. The data are examined for changes in
attributes related to expressions of fluid content. Time-lapse seismic data can
repeat 2D, 3D (which is known as 4D seismic data), crosswell and VSP data.

Few more Terminologies

Production, Reservoir, Recovery, Attribute, Slice etc.