Geophysics 629

Course Goals
Geophysics , Seismic Interpretation, is designed to
teach you the basics behind reflection seismology
and how it is applied to image the subsurface
We will cover:

The basic physics behind the seismic method

The basics of seismic acquisition
The basics of seismic processing
Building a geologic framework from seismic data
Analyzing the seismic to answer relevant questions

Some emphasis will be placed on how seismic data

is used in the energy industry
Geophysics 629

Course Goals
Seismic Data is used by many earth scientists to study
many aspects of the subsurface
To discover & recover natural resources (oil, gas, coal,
minerals, etc.)
To understand subsurface fluid flow (water, contaminants)
To aid in construction (tunnels, skyscrapers, etc.)
Etc.

This course will focus on using seismic in academic

research and to explore for oil and gas

Geophysics 629

Contact Information

Instructor: Diego Palacios

diegogabrielpalacios81@gmail.co
m
Office Hours: ????
Class time: Saturdays 7:00 11:
AM

Geophysics 629

Textbooks
Sheriff, R, and Geldart LI, 1995, Exploration Sismology, Second edition,
Cambridge, UK
Liner, Christopher L, 2004, Elements of 3D Seismology, Second edition,
PennWell, Tulsa, OK.
Del Valle, E, 1986 , Apuntes de Introduccin a los Mtodos Geofsicos de
Exploracin, UNAM
Herron, D, 2013, First Steps in Seismic Interpretation, Society of Exploration
Geophysicist, Tulsa Oklahoma.
Brown, A, Interpretation of Three Dimensional Seismic Data, AAPG Memoir
62, Tulsa OK.
Baby, P, Rivadeneira, M, 2014, La Cuenca Oriente: Geologia y Petroleo, IRDIEFA , Quito Ecuador
Yilmaz, z, 2001, Seismic Data Analysis, Processing, Inversion, and
Interpretation of Seismic Data, Volumes I and II, Society of Exploration
Geophysics,
Geophysics
629 Tulsa, OK.

Calificacion

Habr dos exmenes uno a medio nivel y otro al final (posible

proyecto)
.
1er Examen
Trabajos, laboratorios,
participacin en clase
2do examen (Posible proyecto)

Geophysics 629

30%
40%
30%

Laboratory Assignments

Las calificaciones se basan en la participacin de los

estudiantes en los proyectos de grupo, informes de
laboratorio por escrito, los materiales que se entregarn
despus de algunos de los ejercicios, y un proyecto final
escrito y presentacin oral.

Geophysics 629

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So, What is Reflection Seismology?

Can you
hear me
now?

You can hear me because

Energy in my body causes my vocal cords to vibrate
Acoustic waves are transmitted through the air
Your ears capture the acoustic waves
Your ear drum converts the waves into signals
Your brain recognizes these signals as speech
Geophysics 629

What If . There Were Some Walls

Wall

Wall

Me

You

The sound waves would bounce off the wall

and reflect into your ears
Geophysics 629

Reflection Seismology Is:

The science of using mechanical waves to examine
the earths interior
Involves wave generation, wave detection, signal
processing to generate images, and image
interpretation
An echo-location technique similar to radar, sonar
and medical ultrasound
Used extensively in natural resource industries (oil &
gas, coal, mining, etc.)
Also applicable for structural and stratigraphic
studies, ground water environmental studies
A technology that started in earnest in the 1940s and
has been advancing rapidly up to the present
Geophysics 629

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At the very basic

Seismic energy travels down and is reflected
off acoustic boundaries within the earth
Shot

Seismic
Record

Receiver

Rarefaction Compression

0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5

Increase in
impedance

Boundary 1

0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2

Decrease in
impedance

Boundary 2

Geophysics 629

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1.3
1.4

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At the very basic:

Acoustic impedence is a physical property

based on density and seismic velocity of a
material
Z=p*V
(acoustic impedence (Z) = density (p) * velocity (V))

Geophysics 629

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Relevance to Energy Companies

Lets look at what drives todays oil companies, big

and small, and how reflection seismology fits in

Geophysics 629

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Seismic acquisition

Geophones
(receivers)

Vibrator
(source)

Estrato Subhorizontal
Discontinuidad
Estratos
inclinados
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Geophysics 629

Cambios en la
litologa
Discordancias
angulares
Cambios en la
litologa

15
Geophysics 629

Petroleum Plays

Geophysics 629

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Growing Demand for Energy

Chart produced in 2005

1980

2005

2030

Worldwide demand for energy will

increase steadily out to 2030 and
beyond
Projected demand for oil and gas in
2030 is 45% more than it was back in
2005 (1% per year)
Geophysics 629

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Meeting Energy Demands

Hydroelectric

Projected Demands
100
100

Solar, Wind
Geothermal

World Energy Demand

Coal
Natural
Gas
Crude Oil

2020
after Edwards,
AAPG 8/97

1900 1920

Nuclear Electric

Decreasing
Fossil Fuels

8080
Billion
Billion
Barrels
Barrels
of Oil
6060
of Oil
Equivalent
Equivalent
Perper
year
Y
ear
(GBOE)
(GBOE) 4040

100 BILLION
BARRELS

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

2040

New Technologies

1993

2060

2080

3000

40 Year Career
Starting 2015

Geophysics 629

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A Fully-Integrated Oil Company

Getting Raw
Oil & Gas to
the Refinery

Geophysics 629

Refinery

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

Getting Refined
Products to
the Consumers

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Components of the Upstream

Find Oil & Gas Pools

which regions and basins?
which blocks?
where on the block?

How to Get It Out

where, in detail, are the reserves?
what to build (facilities)?
will it be profitable?

From the Ground, to the Refinery

how to manage the field?
how to deliver the crude?
Geophysics 629

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Drill Wells - Recover Oil & Gas

Drilling wells is a key activity in the Upstream
Exploration drills to discover new HC reserves
Development drills wells to delineate a new field and
determine how best to extract the HCs
Production drills wells to drain the field with the goal
of maximizing the produced HCs while minimizing
the costs
Industry uses technology, primarily reflection
seismology, to determine where to drill

Geophysics 629

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

21

We Need to Drill Wisely

Wells can be very expensive, some > $250 million, a lot
of money even for a major oil company
Well placement and well path can be critical to success
So ..

How can we determine where to drill and

predict what we will find BEFORE we start
drilling?
This leads to the need for geologists,
geophysicists, and other specialists
focused on imaging and interpreting the
subsurface
Geophysics 629

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Academic Applications

Can be used to image the earths

subsurface on a variety of scales for a
variety of applications
Gives important insight into Earth
structure, stratigraphy and lithology
Research Applications:
This semester we will look at multiple case
studies
Today: Sumatra, Chicxulub
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Case Study 1: Sumatra

S M Dean et al. Science 2010;329:207-210

Fig. 1 Multichannel seismic profiles (gray lines) and study area.

Published by AAAS

Fig. 2 Depth-migrated seismic profile A-A (DF: distance from deformation front; VE: vertical
exaggeration).

S M Dean et al. Science 2010;329:207-210

Published by AAAS

Fig. 4 Depth-migrated seismic profile C-C (DF: distance from deformation front; VE: vertical
exaggeration).

S M Dean et al. Science 2010;329:207-210

Published by AAAS

Fig. 3 Depth-migrated trench-parallel seismic profile B-B seaward of deformation front (VE:
vertical exaggeration).

S M Dean et al. Science 2010;329:207-210

Published by AAAS

Sumatra Block Model

Case Study 2: Chicxulub

Courtesy of NASA

Crater Morphology
Lunar examples

Tycho 85
km
complex
crater
Alfrancus C - 10 km
simple crater

Schrodinger 320 km peak

ring basin

Orientale 900 km
multi ring basin

21st Century Surveying and

Ground Truth
Best preserved large impact on
Earth
Only impact conclusively linked to
mass extinction
Natural laboratory for impacts as a
geologic process and impacts
effect on life

R/V Maurice Ewing Cruise EW0501

Jan 5, 2005 Feb 16, 2005

Surveys in prep for

Drilling
2005
MCS lines
1996 and Pemex
MCS lines

1996
land stations

2005
land stations
Yucatan coast line

Gulick et al., Nature

Geoscience, 2008

Gulick et al., Nature

Geoscience, 2008

Gulick et al., Nature

Geoscience, 2008

Gulick et al., Nature Geoscience, 2008

Geophysics 629

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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