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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
Seismic
simulations of experimental
strata
Seismic simulations of experimental
strataLincoln Pratson,1
Wences Gouveia2
1Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708; email: [email protected]
2ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, 3319 Mercer
Street, Houston, Texas, 77027-6019; email: [email protected]
AUTHORS
Lincoln F. Pratson is an assistant professor
at Duke University. He holds a B.S. degree in geology from Trinity
University, an M.S. degree in oceanography from the University
of Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in geology from Columbia University.
He was a research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
of Columbia University and at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine
Research of the University of Colorado before joining the Division
of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University in 1998. He researches
seascape evolution and strata formation along continental margins
through numerical and experimental modeling and the analysis of
sedimentologic, stratigraphic, and geophysical data.
Wences P. Gouveia received his B.S. (1986)
and M.S. (1990) degrees in electrical engineering from the Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and his Ph.D. (1996) in
geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines. He joined Mobil
Technology Company in 1996 where he conducted research in the
fields of seismic waveform and pressure data inversion, optimization-based
geological modeling, and stratigraphic numerical and experimental
simulations. He is currently a member of the ExxonMobil Time-Lapse
Seismic research team, where his activities have special emphasis
on the development of algorithms for quantitative four-dimensional
seismic interpretation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our study was partially supported by grants to
Lincoln F. Pratson from the National Science Foundation (NSF EAR
Grant No. 98-96392), the Office of Naval Research (ONR Grant No.
N00014-99-1-0044, part of the STRATAFORM program), and a consortium
of oil companies, including Amoco, Conoco, Exxon, JAPEX, Mobil,
and Texaco. Wences Gouveia thanks Mobil Oil Co. for supporting
his involvement in the study. We gratefully acknowledge the help
and input of several colleagues. C. Paola provided the stratigraphic
simulation used in the seismic modeling. R. Courtney, J. Syvitski,
D. O'Grady, and, particularly, E. Hutton helped at various stages
with the normal-incidence modeling. R. Sarg and S. Cullick provided
constructive criticism during preparation of the article.
ABSTRACT
Experimental strata formed in the new
Experimental Earthscape (XES) basin at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
of the University of Minnesota offer a realistic model for simulating
the seismic response of natural strata and thus for advancing
understanding of the geologic information that can be extracted
from seismic data. A new method is presented here for using digital
photos of the experimental strata to generate synthetic seismic
data at the length scales and frequencies relevant to oil and
gas exploration. In the method, the digital photos are transformed
into models of acoustic velocity and bulk density, which are then
input into algorithms that generate synthetic seismic data. Three
such algorithms are used to demonstrate the approach: a convolutional
algorithm, which produces the equivalent of ideal, poststack,
time-migrated seismic data; an exploding-reflector algorithm,
which produces unmigrated, poststack seismic data; and a full-wave
equation algorithm, which we use to produce a synthetic version
of prestack, unmigrated, multichannel seismic data. Data generated
by the latter two algorithms are processed to compare their information
content against both the experimental strata and the ideal seismic
data derived from the convolutional algorithm. The qualitative
comparison nicely illustrates the filtering of geologic information
in seismic
data and its further degradation by wave-propagation
phenomena, such as diffractions, multiples, and interbed reverberations.
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