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Seismic wave propagation around subsurface igneous sill complexes

Sanford, O.G.; Schofield, N.; Hobbs, R.W.; Brown, R.J.

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Authors

O.G. Sanford

N. Schofield

R.W. Hobbs



Abstract

Imaging both within and beneath subsurface igneous sill complexes is a seismic exploration challenge. A significant aspect of this challenge is due to a lack of understanding of the interaction between the heterogeneous geological structures and the seismic wavefield, which includes the seismic response to sub-resolution ‘thin’ sills. This study aims to provide some insight into the effect subsurface sills have on the observed seismic wavefield. This is achieved through high-resolution full-waveform elastic seismic modelling, using a realistic geological model developed from interpreted seismic data and statistics of sills from wireline logs and conceptual understanding from sill complexes in outcrop. We find that little energy penetrates through the sill complex to a target reflector below the sill complex, which is consistent with real-world observations. This is due to a number of factors, including energy lost to strong internal multiples (stratigraphic filtering), converted modes and leaky guided waves within the sills. These processes remove energy from the primary transmitted wavefront, contributing to degraded seismic imaging. Whilst these are all fundamental physical limitations that cannot be overcome, further work should focus on the processing of seismic data to ensure that these aspects of the seismic wave-field around sill complexes are optimally treated within processing workflows.

Citation

Sanford, O., Schofield, N., Hobbs, R., & Brown, R. (2023). Seismic wave propagation around subsurface igneous sill complexes. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 152, Article 106232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2023.106232

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 17, 2023
Online Publication Date Mar 22, 2023
Publication Date 2023-06
Deposit Date Jun 23, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 23, 2024
Journal Marine and Petroleum Geology
Print ISSN 0264-8172
Electronic ISSN 1873-4073
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 152
Article Number 106232
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2023.106232
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1170981

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