Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden

Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden PDF Author: Mi-Kyung Yoon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : de
Pages : 122

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Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden

Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden PDF Author: Mi-Kyung Yoon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : de
Pages : 122

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Book Description


Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden

Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : de
Pages : 0

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Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden

Deep seismic imaging in the presence of a heterogeneous overburden PDF Author: Mi-Kyung Yoon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : de
Pages :

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Seismic Imaging of Deep Mantle Plumes and Inner-outer Core Boundary Heterogeneity Using Core Waves

Seismic Imaging of Deep Mantle Plumes and Inner-outer Core Boundary Heterogeneity Using Core Waves PDF Author: Peter Nelson (Ph. D.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The large contrast of physical properties across the core-mantle boundary (CMB) results in complicated seismic raypaths that can be used to study the deep earth. In this dissertation, I use core waves to address two controversial topics in earth science: the existence of deep thermal mantle plumes and lateral heterogeneity at the base of the outer core. First, I test the plume hypothesis by using SKS and SKKS travel times to construct a shear wave tomography model for the mantle beneath the Yellowstone Hotspot in western North America. The model is optimized to find short wavelength, subvertical structures in the lower mantle. I chose the Yellowstone Hotspot over other more prominent hotspots because it is the only hotspot with a purported deep origin that is located in a continental interior with seismic networks dense enough to image a thin mantle plume in the lower mantle. The shear wave tomography model for the deep mantle beneath the western United States that I present is constructed using the travel times of SKS and SKKS recorded by the dense USArray seismic network. SKS and SKKS are more sensitive to lower mantle plumes than other phases traditionally used for mantle tomography because of their subvertical raypaths in the lower mantle. The model has a single narrow, cylindrically shaped slow anomaly, approximately 350 km in diameter that I interpret as a whole-mantle plume. The anomaly is tilted to the northeast and extends from the CMB to the surficial position of the Yellowstone Hotspot. The structure gradually decreases in strength from the deepest mantle towards the surface. If it is a purely thermal anomaly the peak velocity anomaly at the base implies an initial excess temperature between 650 to 850 °C. These results strongly support a deep origin for the Yellowstone hotspot and provide evidence for the existence of thin thermal mantle plumes that are currently beyond the resolution of global tomography models. I next use PKP to investigate the seismic structure around the inner-outer core boundary (ICB). A zone with reduced P-velocity gradient at the bottom of the outer core, known as the F-layer, has been reported by seismological studies and incorporated into some global 1-D Earth models. However, not all studies have found such a feature, particularly beneath the eastern hemisphere. Most seismic studies have used differential travel time measurements between single pairs of PKP waves to study the ICB, but such studies result in tradeoffs between outer and inner core structure leading to ambiguous conclusions about the F-layer. Here I minimize that tradeoff by simultaneously waveform modelling all branches of PKP for two different datasets, one sampling the eastern hemisphere and another sampling the western hemisphere. The datasets clearly show all PKP waves and were made by stacking seismograms from events with high signal to noise ratios recorded at dense networks in China and Japan. I use a stochastic waveform inversion method to determine a 1D seismic model for each hemisphere that fits the data. For the eastern hemisphere, my best fitting model has a thin 60-100 km thick high velocity lid at the top of the inner core and no anomalous gradient in the F-layer. The origin of the high velocity lid is unclear, but likely causes are abrupt change in anisotropy, an enrichment in light elements, or a thermal boundary layer if the inner core has a low thermal conductivity. Further tests also show that a reduced velocity gradient in the F-layer cannot simultaneously fit all the PKP arrivals. In contrast, my best fitting model for the western hemisphere has a reduced velocity gradient in the F-layer and a thick low velocity zone beneath the ICB that is most likely caused by seismic anisotropy. These two results suggest that the F-layer is laterally The large contrast of physical properties across the core-mantle boundary (CMB) results in complicated seismic raypaths that can be used to study the deep earth. In this dissertation, I use core waves to address two controversial topics in earth science: the existence of deep thermal mantle plumes and lateral heterogeneity at the base of the outer core. First, I test the plume hypothesis by using SKS and SKKS travel times to construct a shear wave tomography model for the mantle beneath the Yellowstone Hotspot in western North America. The model is optimized to find short wavelength, subvertical structures in the lower mantle. I chose the Yellowstone Hotspot over other more prominent hotspots because it is the only hotspot with a purported deep origin that is located in a continental interior with seismic networks dense enough to image a thin mantle plume in the lower mantle. The shear wave tomography model for the deep mantle beneath the western United States that I present is constructed using the travel times of SKS and SKKS recorded by the dense USArray seismic network. SKS and SKKS are more sensitive to lower mantle plumes than other phases traditionally used for mantle tomography because of their subvertical raypaths in the lower mantle. The model has a single narrow, cylindrically shaped slow anomaly, approximately 350 km in diameter that I interpret as a whole-mantle plume. The anomaly is tilted to the northeast and extends from the CMB to the surficial position of the Yellowstone Hotspot. The structure gradually decreases in strength from the deepest mantle towards the surface. If it is a purely thermal anomaly the peak velocity anomaly at the base implies an initial excess temperature between 650 to 850 °C. These results strongly support a deep origin for the Yellowstone hotspot and provide evidence for the existence of thin thermal mantle plumes that are currently beyond the resolution of global tomography models. I next use PKP to investigate the seismic structure around the inner-outer core boundary (ICB). A zone with reduced P-velocity gradient at the bottom of the outer core, known as the F-layer, has been reported by seismological studies and incorporated into some global 1-D Earth models. However, not all studies have found such a feature, particularly beneath the eastern hemisphere. Most seismic studies have used differential travel time measurements between single pairs of PKP waves to study the ICB, but such studies result in tradeoffs between outer and inner core structure leading to ambiguous conclusions about the F-layer. Here I minimize that tradeoff by simultaneously waveform modelling all branches of PKP for two different datasets, one sampling the eastern hemisphere and another sampling the western hemisphere. The datasets clearly show all PKP waves and were made by stacking seismograms from events with high signal to noise ratios recorded at dense networks in China and Japan. I use a stochastic waveform inversion method to determine a 1D seismic model for each hemisphere that fits the data. For the eastern hemisphere, my best fitting model has a thin 60-100 km thick high velocity lid at the top of the inner core and no anomalous gradient in the F-layer. The origin of the high velocity lid is unclear, but likely causes are abrupt change in anisotropy, an enrichment in light elements, or a thermal boundary layer if the inner core has a low thermal conductivity. Further tests also show that a reduced velocity gradient in the F-layer cannot simultaneously fit all the PKP arrivals. In contrast, my best fitting model for the western hemisphere has a reduced velocity gradient in the F-layer and a thick low velocity zone beneath the ICB that is most likely caused by seismic anisotropy. These two results suggest that the F-layer is laterally heterogeneous which has important implications for core dynamics such as the possibility of an increase in viscosity with depth in the outer core

The State-of-Art Techniques of Seismic Imaging for the Deep and Ultra-deep Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

The State-of-Art Techniques of Seismic Imaging for the Deep and Ultra-deep Hydrocarbon Reservoirs PDF Author: Jianping Huang
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832505015
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Seismic Imaging Methods and Applications for Oil and Gas Exploration

Seismic Imaging Methods and Applications for Oil and Gas Exploration PDF Author: Yasir Bashir
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0323918875
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Seismic Imaging Methods and Application for Oil and Gas Exploration connects the legacy of field data processing and imaging with new research methods using diffractions and anisotropy in the field of geophysics. Topics covered include seismic data acquisition, seismic data processing, seismic wave modeling, high-resolution imaging, and anisotropic modeling and imaging. This book is a necessary resource for geophysicist working in the oil and gas and mineral exploration industries, as well as for students and academics in exploration geophysics. Provides detailed methods that are used in the industry, including advice on which methods to use in specific situations Compares classical methods with the latest technologies to improve practice and application in the real world Includes case studies for further explanation of methods described in the book

Seismic Modeling and Imaging of Heterogeneous Media

Seismic Modeling and Imaging of Heterogeneous Media PDF Author: Genmeng Chen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Seismic waves
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Seismic Imaging and Scattering in Heterogeneous Media

Seismic Imaging and Scattering in Heterogeneous Media PDF Author: Lasse Rabenstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Seismic Imaging in Heterogeneous Anisotropic Media by Nonstationary Phase Shift

Seismic Imaging in Heterogeneous Anisotropic Media by Nonstationary Phase Shift PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Theory of Seismic Imaging

Theory of Seismic Imaging PDF Author: John A. Scales
Publisher: Springer
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Seismic imaging methods are currently used to produce images of the Earth's subsurface properties at diverse length scales, from high-resolution, near-surface environmental studies for oil and gas exploration to long-period images of the entire planet. This book presents the physical and mathematical basis of imaging algorithms in the context of controlled-source reflection seismology. The approach taken is motivated by physical optics and theoretical seismology. The theory is constantly put into practice via a graded sequence of computer exercises using the widely available SU (Seismic Unix) software package.