3.

Acquisition for resolution

L4 Seismic Resolution
Acquisition Impact on Resolution

Ignoring attenuation effects and wave propagation of the

earth, Resolution is then dependent on:
Acquisition wavelet
Describes the frequencies available to image the earth
Geometry
Determines spatial sampling of the wavefield
Aperture
Limits the dips which can be correctly migrated
Fold
Influences the signal-to-noise of the image.

These are all controlled by survey design

2
 Outline of this section

Seismic acquisition design is both a science and a art.

There is an entire 3-day course, much of which is directly relevant to resolution.
Unfortunately, we only have an hour...

The seismic source

The recording system
Spatial sampling
Angola Hi-res example
Ocean Bottom systems

3
 From source to receiver...

A mbient and weather

Cultural N oise

Recording
Reco rd ing Instruments

Receivers
Ground Receiver C oupling
Receiver Frequen cy R esponse
A rray Effects

Upcoming
Shot Wavelet
H ole Free Low
Su rf ace Velocity
Gho st? Layer R efractions
Source Effects Scatt erers

Spherical
Do wng oin g Spreading Refraction s
Wavelet Short Period
Interface Losses M ult iples

Long Period
Q-Factor M ultiples

Reflection
Coeff icien t

4
Source Requirements

Energy
Strong enough to overcome geometric spreading, absorption, or
transmission loss and still provide a reflection amplitude above
ambient noise.

Resolving power
Bandwidth as wide as the earth will pass.
Minimal source generated noise.
Repeatable.
Known, or recorded, pulse shape (signature).
Synchronisation/timing control.

All this AND zero environmental impact

5
UK Wytch Farm
Sources used

1998
85km2

6
 Land: Dynamite

Smooth frequency distribution, biased to low

frequencies.
Larger charges produce more high frequency,
and a lot more low frequency (bigger and
deeper is better)
Complex phase spectrum.
Cambey: 2.5kg at 5m below weathering
(21-35m)
69291kg dynamite in total

7
Land: Vibroseis

Controls:
Sweep length, Frequency range,
Linear or non-linear, Tapering, Drive
level
8
Typical non-linear Vibroseis sweep

Amplitude vs. time

Frequency vs. time

More complex shapes can extend the frequency range further

9
Marine: Airgun
3000 ci Array Signature
DFSV 0-128 Hz ; 6m Depth

70
60 0-P = 44.5 Bar-m
50 P-Tr = 91.5 Bar-m
40

Amplitude (bar-m)
PBR = 13.9
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Time (ms)

3000 ci Array Spectrum

DFSV 0-128 Hz ; 6m Depth

220

Whats this?
Amplitude (dB re 1 Pa / Hz)

210

200

190

180

Movie 170

160
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200

Frequency (Hz)

10
 Ghost Effect & Engineering to compensate
Ghost polarities
are reversed Interference sum of ghost
& direct wave for 6m depth
200

Source Receiver
ghost - ghost %
- + Constructive
+
Direct
100
+ Direct

Destructive
Sea surface is near-perfect mirror
for sound

Surface reflections (ghosts) from 0

both source & receiver sides follow 0 62.5 125Hz
direct arrivals
 Ghost Effect & Engineering to compensate
Ghost polarities
are reversed Interference sum of ghost
& direct wave
200

Source Receiver
ghost - ghost %
- +
+
Direct
100
+ Direct Shallow
Using vector sensors
Sea surface is near-perfect mirror
for sound Deep (Broadband)*

Surface reflections (ghosts) from Pre Broadband

0
both source & receiver sides follow 0 62.5 125Hz
direct arrivals
Effective signal at typical deep
target after processing

* Also software solutions

The source ghost and spectral notches

Valhall LoFS source

Shallower source: notch at higher

frequency, reduced bubble effects.
Deeper source: stronger low
frequencies, less noise.
5-6m usually optimum.
13
 Elements of a recording system

Hydrophone, Geophone, Accelerometer

sensors

Anti-alias filter, DC blocking, pre-amplification

Signal conditioning

24-bit, > 120 dB dynamic range

A/D conversion

Local storage or telemetry

Buffering/collection
Sensor requirements:
Header information, x,y,z,t
Linearity Formatting
Dynamic Range
Signal and noise attributes
Quality control
Vector Fidelity
Known, repeatable response Tapes or disk
File storage
Coupling to the ground
Ruggedness
...But beware low-cut instrument
filters! 14
 What does a sensor measure?

Possibilities: strain, pressure, displacement, velocity,

acceleration.
Hydrophone: Pressure. Scalar measurement, i.e. no directionality.
Geophone: Velocity. Vector measurement.
MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems): Acceleration. Integrated to
provide velocity.
Amplitude Response Phase Response
5 0

0
-45
-5

(degrees)
(dB)

-10 -90

-15
-135
-20

-25 1 10 100 1
-180 10 100
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

Typical sensor responses. Geophone and MEMS

15
 Receiver arrays
Conventional surveys use arrays of sensors
which are summed in the field.
Arrays:
Attenuate short wavelength noise.
Reduce the data volume in the field.
But
They may cause attenuation of high
frequencies.
Consider reliability of coupling/noise for
elements of an array.

There is currently renewed interest in

recording single-sensor data for improved
spatial resolution, using processing to
attenuate noise.

17
Spatial sampling

Criteria for sampling interval.

Need at least three traces sampling any geologic feature (eg a
narrow channel)
Need to sample the steepest structural dips without aliasing
at the maximum frequency.
Need to obtain the best lateral resolution of the target within
the constraints of the maximum frequency in the target
reflections.
Remember: smaller bins will provide no additional
information at the target level, once the maximum
frequency is fully sampled.
The last is usually the toughest criterion.

18
Example: choosing bin size for anti-aliasing target
Barakan-1

Evaluate Require Vrms & Vint models, dips

sampling
requirements
here at the
updip limit of als
r v
the strat trap
st inte
Mi40 Lm s t o ne
Mud
Mi0

Pc0

J66

19
 General properties of Area of Interest (AOI)

Aru

WA1
3D
Pulau

m
Larat

0k
55

18
km

Tanimbar

WA2
20
0m

Depth > ~200m, no fixed structures, lots of fishing in shallow water

Propose to strike shoot (NE) for efficiency, entirely 3D
Can we tolerate coarse 100m cross line spacing in dip direction?
Bin size vs frequency to de-alias Diffractor required
eg fault
to image
terminatio
termination
n
sharply
Anti-alias bin size requirements 00
theta 300
dx < V/4fmax*sin(theta)
ol dip 600
Ge

Where 750 etc

V = interval velocity just above the target (often approximated as Vrms

to target)

theta can be interpreted either as geological dip or as maximum

diffractor dip required to image terminations sharply: the latter is much
more conservative.

Clearly this is guideline territory, and if our choice of bin size is

pushing this criterion at all hard, it is best to check by decimating
existing data and processing the results
21
 Bin size vs frequency results

Strike shooting with 100m cable 60Hz

spacing (25m downdip bin dimension)
is acceptable
Strike shooting with 80m cable
spacing (20m downdip bin dimension)
is acceptable
Critical zone for further discussion
Barakan-1 wavelet extraction

22
Proposed 2D reprocessing optimise bin size,
maximum offset & onboard processing
sequence
WA10 vintage was acquired with
12.5m group interval ie bin size
6.25m. Migrations for any integer
multiple of 6.25m bin size can be
generated.

Simulate various bin sizes for dip and strike 3D acquisition by

reprocessing 4 X100km segments of Lines WA 109/111/207/208
respectively choosing a closed loop of dip & strike lines through
Barakan 1

Generate apples for apples stacks for 6.25m, 12.5m, 18.75m and
25m
Migrate and compare acceptability of fault terminations and J66
updip edge definition what is maximum crossline bin size for strike
acquisition?
etc
23
Fold

Fold is critical for improving the signal to noise ratio, and

thus, the useable bandwidth.
As the fold increase by a factor of F, S/N improvesF by
The next slides illustrate the impact of fold, and the
interaction between fold and bin size.

24
 Decimation, stratigraphic
target
inline

crossline

First, a simple decimation test

S/N deteriorates as fold drops

25
Time slices on four decimations

26
 Small bins or high fold?
Now, the number of traces is kept the same, but the bin size is changed.
High fold (left) gives improved S/N
Smaller bins (right) give better spatial resolution

Both images use exactly

the same input data

27
 Small bins or high fold?

A final comparison of the binning test with data that has both higher
fold and smaller bins, giving S/N and resolution.

Shot interval = 120m

Natural bin size = 35x60m
Stack bin size = 35x60m

28
High resolution acquisition: Angola
example
Site survey data showed that high resolution was possible at
the target level.
A new 3D was designed to achieve this.

Parameter Old 3D survey Hi-res 3D

survey Today would
Source depth 5m 4m acquire
Cable depth 7m 4m
broadband
CDP bin size 12.5 x 25 (IL x 6.25 x 12.5
XL) 29
Angola Block 17: Dalia Comparison

DAL-2 3D

3D HR

30
 Comparison of amplitude maps

Orig Hi-Res

Shale-
filled
channel

31
Broadband Marine Acquisition

Can we get the benefits of hi-res acquisition

without losing the low frequencies?

Ocean Bottom Seismic

Link to 3.1_ OBS

Broadband Towed Streamer

Link to 3.2_Broadband_2012.ppt

32
Key points to remember

You cant get out more than you put in.

The acquisition parameters determine the source wavelet,
the position of spectral notches, and the spatial resolution.
Key parameters are:
Source array, (and depth, for marine or dynamite on
land)
Receiver spread
Number and type of cable, and tow depth (marine)
Geophone array
Noise levels
OBC data can offer improved low-frequency content, and
better S/N, and new cable acquisition systems promise
greater bandwidth.
33
Back-up

34