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The past decade witnessed rapid development of the theory of passive seismic interferometry followed by numerous applications of interferometric approaches in seismic exploration and exploitation. Developments conclusively demonstrates that a stack of cross-correlations of traces recorded by two receivers over sources appropriately distributed in three-dimensional heterogeneous earth can retrieve a signal that would be observed at one receiver if another acted as a source of seismic waves. The main objective of this dissertation was to review the mathematical proof of passive seismic interferometry, and to develop innovative applications using microseismicity induced by hydraulic fracturing and near-surface void characterization. We began this dissertation with the definitions and mathematical proof of Green's function representation, together with the description of the physical mechanisms of passive seismic interferometry. Selected computational methods of passive seismic interferometry are also included. The first application was to extract body waves and perform anisotropy analysis from passive downhole microseismic noise acquired in hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs. We demonstrate the ability to retrieve various cross-well and VSP-type data from noise for a number of acquisition geometries, providing crucial information for constructing velocity models and estimating local stress/strain and anisotropic parameters. An important advantage compared to traditional studies of microseismicity induced by hydraulic fracturing appear to possess wide spatial apertures, allowing the successful reconstruction of waves that travel directly between the downhole receivers. The second application is to image subsurface voids by measuring variations in the amplitude of seismic surface waves generated by motor vehicles. Our key innovation is based on the cross-correlation of surface wavefields and studying the resulting power spectra, looking for shadows caused by the scattering effects of a void. We are able to conclude that measuring scattered surface waves generated by motor vehicles is a better tool for finding underground voids comparing to conventional techniques based on phase/amplitude distortion using active sources. We expect the number of applications of passive interferometry in microseismic/near surface characterization to grow once practitioners recognize its value and begin using the method.
Including more than 70 papers, this invaluable source for researchers and students contains an editors' introduction with extensive references and chapters on seismic interferometry without equations, highlights of the history of seismic interferometry from 1968 until 2003, and offers a detailed overview of the rapid developments since 2004.
Source characterization is a fundamental task of passive seismic monitoring. Spatial-temporal evolution of both, point sources and finite-fault source, provides essential information for timely seismic hazard management and advanced analysis of the seismicity in the monitored areas. In the last few decades, the rise of dense seismic arrays, increase of high-performance computing resources, and development of advanced array-based techniques lead to studies using recorded wavefields in great detail. Full waveform inversion can invert passive seismic source parameters with an iterative framework, which connects the delay-and-sum imaging technique and kernel-based inversion strategy. Moreover, emerging technologies like distributed acoustic sensing and machine learning also have great potential in advancing passive seismic imaging and source characterization. Besides, non-earthquake sources and ambient noise, as unconventional and passive sources, are also undergoing rapid development in infrastructure monitoring and subsurface imaging, due to the emergence of sensitive sensors and modern techniques like seismic interferometry.
In this thesis I present an extensive study of the potential to use microseism noise for reservoir-scale passive seismic interferometry. Microseism noise is excited by interfering ocean swells exerting pressure variations on the sea floor. In marine recordings, this noise is composed primarily of interface waves travelling along the sea floor. Previously, the belief was that the low-frequency noise in marine seismic recordings carried no useful information for imaging the subsurface. The theory of passive seismic interferometry predicts that crosscorrelating recordings made at two stations retrieves the seismic response measured at one station as if the other station were a seismic source. This theory retrieves an estimate for the Green's function but holds only under certain constraints on the character of the seismic noise. Most important is the constraint of energy equipartition and illumination by uncorrelated noise sources surrounding the station pair. I test whether these conditions are fulfilled for microseism noise recorded by ocean-bottom cables at two locations in the North Sea: Valhall and Ekofisk. Then, I study which properties of the near-surface lithology below the sea floor can be imaged using virtual seismic sources retrieved from crosscorrelating microseism noise. Both recordings contain strong microseism noise below 2 Hz. The microseism noise grows stronger when weather conditions deteriorate. The waves composing the noise appear chaotic, and beam steering show that waves generally travel in all azimuths with equal strength. These characteristics match the constraints necessary for passive seismic interferometry to turn recording stations into virtual seismic sources. Bandpassing removes energy that does not fulfill the constraints, and isolates the microseism energy. Crosscorrelations of all combinations of recordings of participle velocity at Valhall retrieves an estimate for the Green's matrix for Scholte and Love waves between frequencies 0.175 and 1.75 Hz. Crosscorrelation of pressure recordings at Ekofisk retrieves an estimate for the Green's function for Scholte waves between frequencies 0.4 and 1.2 Hz. These Scholte and Love waves are dispersive, i.e. their velocity is frequency dependent. The frequency-variable wavelength of interface waves implies a frequency-variable sensitivity to medium parameters away from the interface of propagation. The medium parameters vary strongly as a function of depth in the near surface immediately below the sea-floor, causing dispersion of the interface waves traveling along the sea-floor. Two properties commonly extracted from surface waves are their frequency-dependent group and phase velocities. These properties vary as a function of space and maps of the group and phase velocities image the subsurface lithology. Measurements of group travel-time are inverted by straight-ray tomography into maps of group velocities. Scholte-waves at Valhall image buried paleochannels and other geology known (from controlled-source data) to be in the top 300 m below the sea floor. These images can be retrieved with high-repeatability from short recordings (six hours to a day), making continuous subsurface monitoring an achievable application. By comparing Scholte-wave velocities obtained from ambient-seismic recordings made in 2004 with Scholte-wave velocities from ambient-seismic recordings made in 2010, I find a time-lapse velocity change. The overall shape of the velocity change from ambient-seismic data compares very well with the overall shape of a velocity change obtained from controlled source data. The overall shape is interpreted to represent near-surface geomechanical effects of production-induced reservoir compaction. The Love-wave group-velocity images at Valhall are dominated by smoother shapes that may relate to the production-altered stress-state of the reservoir's overburden. Scholte-wave group-velocity maps at Ekofisk image a high-velocity anomaly in the center of the array surrounded by a lower-velocity region. The high-velocity anomaly coincides with the center of a production-induced sea-floor subsidence bowl. The ring of lower velocities corresponds with high magnitudes of the bathymetry gradient. I find higher velocities again under the southern end of the array. Phase velocity maps are found through a novel version of eikonal tomography. An eikonal equation is derived for an elliptically anisotropic wave-mode at a single frequency propagating in two dimensions. This eikonal equation relates the spatial derivatives of phase travel-time surfaces to the local elliptically anisotropic slowness. Measurements of the spatial derivatives of phase travel-time surfaces for virtual sources retrieved at all stations can be inverted into elliptical-anisotropic phase-velocity maps. The method is applied to Scholte and Love waves at Valhall and Scholte waves at Ekofisk. The isotropic component of phase velocities generally images the same features as the group velocities from straight-ray tomography. The fast direction of anisotropy of Scholte-wave phase velocities form a large circular pattern over the Valhall and Ekofisk fields. They are likely related to the production-induced sea floor subsidence bowl.
Describes the theory and practice of seismic interferometry for academic researchers, oil industry professionals and advanced students.
A comprehensive overview of seismic ambient noise, covering observations, physical origins, modelling, processing methods and applications in imaging and monitoring.
The Special Issue is focused on recent and upcoming advances in the combined application of remote sensing and applied geophysics. Applied geophysics analyzes the distribution of physical properties in the subsurface for a wide range of geological, engineering, and environmental applications at different scales. Seismic, electrical, magnetic, and electromagnetic methods are among the most applied and well-established geophysical techniques. These methods share the advantages of being non-invasive and exploring wide areas of investigation with respect to conventional methods (e.g., drilling). Geophysical surveys are usually carried out deploying or moving the appropriate instrumentation directly on the ground surface. However, recent technological advances have resulting in the development of innovative acquisition systems becoming more typical of the remote sensing community (e.g., airborne surveys). While applied geophysics mainly focuses on the subsurface, typical remote sensing techniques have the ability to accurately image the Earth’s surface with high-resolution investigations carried out by means of terrestrial, airborne, or satellite-based platforms. The integration of surface and subsurface information is often crucial for several purposes, including the processing of geophysical data, the characterization and time-lapse monitoring of surface and near-surface targets, and the reconstruction of highly detailed and comprehensive 3D models of the investigated areas. Recent contributions showing the added value of surface reconstruction and/or monitoring in the processing, interpretation, and cross-comparison of geophysical techniques for archaeological, environmental, and engineering studies are collected in this book. Pioneering geophysical acquisitions by means of innovative remote systems are also presented.
Whether due to naturally occurring or human-generated vibrations, the ground is never truly at rest. Though individual recordings of these vibrations appear to be noisy, there are actually spatially coherent seismic signals hidden in them. By having two receivers record this ambient seismic noise continuously and simultaneously, it is possible to extract these hidden signals with a method called passive seismic interferometry, which effectively transforms one of the receivers into a seismic source. Thus, when performed on an array of receivers, passive seismic interferometry can produce an entire virtual seismic survey at a fraction of the cost of a traditional seismic survey with active sources. These virtual responses between receivers can then be used to image the subsurface. A number of studies have successfully implemented passive seismic interferometry. However, the vast majority of them focus on extracting low-frequency microseism surface waves, which are generated by the interaction of ocean waves and the subsequent pressure variations along the sea-bottom. Though the resulting high-resolution subsurface velocity maps from these studies are impressive, they do not demonstrate the full potential of passive seismic interferometry. Hence, the goal of this thesis is to demonstrate the ability of passive seismic interferometry to extract more than just microseism surface waves. To do so, I apply the technique to three industry-scale seismic arrays located in three different environments. I first focus on urban ambient seismic noise recorded by a dense seismic array in Long Beach, California. In this environment, passive seismic interferometry using continuous recordings between 3 4 Hz extracts Rayleigh waves originating from these local roads. After tailoring my Rayleigh-wave traveltime selection criteria to account for the presence of noise sources within the array, I invert the traveltimes to produce near-surface group velocity maps that reveal structures that coincide well with those in geologic maps, including the Newport-Inglewood fault. I then switch to a shallow-water ocean-bottom node array in the North Sea to show that passive seismic interferometry can extract P-waves propagating through the water column in the ambient seismic noise field between 40 200 Hz. Examination of the virtual responses between receivers over time reveals that the major sources of seismic energy at these high frequencies are distant shipping noise and the operating platform in the center of the array. Based on the successful extraction of P-waves, I aim to extract 1D reflection profiles from the continuous data by effectively performing seismic interferometry using ambient seismic noise after up- and down-going wavefield separation. Finally, I work with ambient seismic noise recorded by a deep-water, long-offset ocean-bottom node array offshore Norway. Because of the length of the array, I focus on continuous recordings below 2 Hz, which is the microseism band. Though passive seismic interferometry in this environment extracts the commonly observed Scholte waves, it also extracts two other wave modes that have rarely been observed in ambient seismic noise. One is acoustic guided waves, which can be used to produce 1D P-wave velocity profiles. The other is critical refractions, which have never been observed in ambient seismic noise before and can potentially be used for tomography. Because of the novelty of this observation, I model one hypothesis for the natural generation of critical refractions.
Develop a Greater Understanding of How and Why Surface Wave Testing WorksUsing examples and case studies directly drawn from the authors' experience, Surface Wave Methods for Near-Surface Site Characterization addresses both the experimental and theoretical aspects of surface wave propagation in both forward and inverse modeling. This book accents