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The importance of seismic anisotropy has been recognized by the oil industry since its first observation in hydrocarbon reservoirs in 1986, and the application of seismic anisotropy to solve geophysical problems has been keenly pursued since then. However, a lot of problems remain, which have limited the applications of the technology. Nowadays, more and more 3D multi-component seismic data with wide-azimuth are becoming available. These have provided more opportunities for the study of seismic anisotropy. My thesis has focused on the study of using seismic anisotropy in 3D multi-component seismic data to characterize subsurface fractures, improve converted wave imaging and detect fluid content in fractured reservoirs, all of which are important for fractured reservoir exploration and monitoring. For the use of seismic anisotropy to characterize subsurface fracture systems, equivalent medium theories have established the link between seismic anisotropy and fracture properties. The numerical modelling in the thesis reveals that the amplitudes and interval travel-time of the radial component of PS converted waves can be used to derive fracture properties through elliptical fitting similar to P-waves. However, sufficient offset coverage is required for either the P- or PS-wave to reveal the features of elliptical variation with azimuth. Compared with numerical modelling, seismic physical modelling provides additional insights into the azimuthal variation of P and PS-wave attributes and their links with fracture properties. Analysis of the seismic physical model data in the thesis shows that the ratio of the offset to the depth of a target layer (offset-depth ratio), is a key parameter controlling the choice of suitable attributes and methods for fracture analysis. Data with a small offset-depth ratio from 0.7 to 1.0 may be more suitable for amplitude analysis; whilst the use of travel time or velocity analysis requires a large offset-depth ratio above 1.0, which can help in reducing the effect of the acquisition footprint and structural imprint on the results. Multi-component seismic data is often heavily contaminated with noise, which will limit its application potential in seismic anisotropy analysis. A new method to reduce noise in 3D multi-component seismic data has been developed and has proved to be very helpful in improving data quality. The method can automatically recognize and eliminate strong noise in 3D converted wave seismic data with little interference to useful reflection signals. Component rotation is normally a routine procedure in 3D multi-component seismic analysis. However, this study shows that incorrect rotations may occur for certain acquisition geometry and can lead to errors in shear-wave splitting analysis. A quality control method has been developed to ensure this procedure is correctly carried out. The presence of seismic anisotropy can affect the quality of seismic imaging, but the study has shown that the magnitude of the effects depends on the data type and target depth. The effects of VTI anisotropy (transverse isotropy with a vertical symmetry axis) on P-wave images are much weaker than those on PS-wave images. Anisotropic effects decrease with depth for the P- and PS-waves. The real data example shows that the overall image quality of PS-waves processed by pre-stack time migration has been improved when VTI anisotropy has been taken into account. The improvements are mainly in the upper part of the section. Monitoring fluid distribution is an important task in producing reservoirs. A synthetic study based on a multi-scale rock-physics model shows that it is possible to use seismic anisotropy to derive viscosity information in a HTI medium (transverse isotropy with a horizontal symmetry axis). The numerical modelling demonstrates the effects of fluid viscosity on medium elastic properties and seismic reflectivity, as well as the possibility of using them to discriminate between oil and water saturation. Analysis of real data reveals that it is hard to use the P-wave to discriminate oil-water saturation. However, characteristic shear-wave splitting behaviour due to pore pressure changes demonstrates the potential for discriminating between oil and water saturation in fractured reservoirs.

Thesis advisor: Michael J. Naughton / Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Determining accurate source parameters of small magnitude earthquakes is important to understand the source physics and tectonic processes that activate a seismic source as well as to make more accurate estimates of the probabilities of the recurrences of large earthquakes based on the statistics of smaller earthquakes. The accurate determination of the focal depths and focal mechanisms of small earthquakes is required to constrain the potential seismic source zones of future large earthquakes, whereas the accurate determination of seismic moment is required to calculate the sizes (best represented by moment magnitudes) of earthquakes. The precise determination of focal depths, moment magnitudes and focal mechanisms of small earthquakes can help greatly advance our knowledge of the potentially active faults in an area and thus help to produce accurate seismic hazard and risk maps for that area. Focal depths, moment magnitudes and focal mechanisms of earthquakes with magnitudes Mw 4.0 and less recorded by a sparse seismic network are usually poorly constrained due to the lack of an appropriate method applicable to find these parameters with a sparse set of observations. This dissertation presents a new method that can accurately determine focal depths, moment magnitudes and focal mechanisms of earthquakes with magnitudes between Mw 4.0 and Mw 2.5 using the broadband seismic waveforms recorded by the local and regional seismic stations. For the determination of the focal depths and the moment magnitudes, the observed seismograms as well as synthetic seismograms are filtered through a bandpass filter of 1-3 Hz, whereas for the determination of the focal mechanisms, they are filtered through a bandpass filter of 1.5-2.5 Hz. Both of these frequency passbands have a good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the small earthquakes of the magnitudes that are analyzed in this dissertation. The waveforms are processed to their envelopes in order to make the waveforms relatively simple for the modeling. A grid search is performed over all possible dip, rake and strike angles and as well as over possible depths and scalar moments to find the optimal value of the focal depth and the optimal value of the scalar moment. To find the optimal focal mechanism, a non-linear moment-tensor inversion is performed in addition to the coarse grid search over the possible dip, rake and strike angles at a fixed value of focal depth and a fixed value of scalar moment. The method of this dissertation is tested on 18 aftershocks of Mw between 3.70 and 2.60 of the 2011 Mineral, Virginia Mw 5.7 earthquake. The method is also tested on 5 aftershocks of Mw between 3.62 and 2.63 of the 2013 Ladysmith, Quebec Mw 4.5 earthquake. Reliable focal depths and moment magnitudes are obtained for all of these events using waveforms from as few as 1 seismic station within the epicentral distance of 68-424 km with SNR greater or equal to 5. Similarly, reliable focal mechanisms are obtained for all of the events with Mw 3.70-3.04 using waveforms from at least 3 seismic stations within the epicentral distance of 60-350 km each with SNR greater or equal to 10. Tests show that the moment magnitudes and focal depths are not very sensitive to the crustal model used, although systematic variations in the focal depths are observed with the total crustal thickness. Tests also show that the focal mechanisms obtained with the different crustal structures vary with the Kagan angle of 30o on average for the events and the crustal structures tested. This means that the event moment magnitudes and event focal mechanism determinations are only somewhat sensitive to the uncertainties in the crustal models tested. The method is applied to some aftershocks of the Mw 7.8, 2015 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake which shows that the method developed in this dissertation, by analyzing data from eastern North America, appears to give good results when applied in a very different tectonic environment in a different part of the world. This study confirms that the method of modeling envelopes of seismic waveforms developed in this dissertation can be used to extract accurate focal depths and moment magnitudes of earthquakes with Mw 3.70-2.60 using broadband seismic data recorded by local and regional seismic stations at epicentral distances of 68-424 km and accurate focal mechanisms of earthquakes with Mw 3.70-3.04 using broadband seismic data recorded by local and regional seismic stations at epicentral distances of 60-350 km. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Analogue sandbox models are important in the study of reservoir geology because they can offer insight into geological processes that we are rarely able to observe in nature. Seismic physical modelling is used to study the effects of seismic wave propagation in isotropic and anisotropic media and is particularly suited to isolating the effects of a single parameter independently from all others in an infinitely complex geological system. Seismic physical modelling has also been used for the testing of numerical processing algorithms, aid to evaluate interpretations of field seismic sections with scaled representations of geological formations. For this project, I set about developing methods to combine these two independent modelling techniques for the first time. However, previous attempts to use sand as a seismic modelling material failed due mainly to problems with understanding and controlling the distribution of the grain packing.This research has addressed a number of these problems through systematic laboratory experimentation that has provided new insight into the factors that affect unconsolidated sediment acoustics. An innovative technique of recording seismic physical modelling surveys has been developed so that it is now possible to successfully record ultrasonic reflections within analogue sandbox models in three-dimensions (3-D), providing benefits for both analogue sandbox and seismic modelling disciplines. For sandbox modelling, the recording of seismic images allows more detailed analyses of the structures than previously possible. For seismic modelling, more geologically realistic settings can be modelled at a fraction of the cost and construction time of conventional models. However, the greatest benefit of this new technology is that it is now possible to build seismic physical models from porous media, rather than solid, non-porous materials that ++ / are conventionally used. This scientific advance allows different fluids to be incorporated into physical models for the first time.Time-lapse 3-D seismic is becoming increasingly important in the management of hydrocarbon production, yet there is a lack of model data to support some of the conclusions being deduced. The controlled physical modelling laboratory environment combined with the ability to consistently repeat the 3-D seismic survey process now allows time-lapse seismic experiments to be performed without the need for the costly and time consuming data processing that is necessary to match legacy 3-D field data. This subsequently avoids any pitfalls that may be associated with the process, such as the masking of true fluid flow anomalies or the generation of false anomalies from data acquisition footprints.A series of time-lapse models are presented where the three-dimensional movement of fluids through the models is remotely monitored using time-lapse 3-D seismic data. These models demonstrate the true seismic response that comes from recording real data from models that undergo real changes representative of reservoir environments. Such models are inexpensive and allow rapid data turn around in a matter of days. The techniques developed here provide a new research tool that can be used to improve our understanding of the dynamics of fluid flow within porous sediments, or to study the seismic response of reservoirs as they change with time.

Deterministic source signature deconvolution is applied to the processing of marine wide angle and vertical profiler data with air-gun sources. Optimum results are obtained with a source signature measured by stacking the signal reflected from a relatively homogeneous abyssal plain sedimentary environment. This eliminates the need for the unstable inverse source-receiver ghost filter. Improved resolution of reflection event timing allows the computation of more reliable interval velocities by the T² - X² method, provided the layer thickness limitation of the method is not exceeded. Accurate timing of primary reflection events in the deconvolved vertical profiler data permits computation of frequency dependent attenuation by univariate least-squares regression in the Fourier transform domain. The technique successfully extracts input amplitude attenuation functions from model reflection coefficient sequences with additive random noise. This success is attributed to the stability of singular value analysis in solving the least-squares regression model. Statistical tests on the solution vectors for model and field data give criteria for evaluating their reliability. The model data studies suggest that multiple and primary events not included in the regression may be considered part of the noise term without seriously affecting the accuracy of the computed spectral ratios. The method is tested on field data from the following sedimentary environments off the coast of Oregon and northern California: a continental shelf basin, an abyssal plain environment, the base of the continental slope and two locations on the Astoria sea fan, one near the Cascadia sea channel and one north of DSDP site 174. Velocity versus depth and frequency dependent spectral ratio plots are determined for each environment. The computed surface layer interval velocity of 1.77 km/sec over a thickness of 455 m for the station north of DSDP site 174 is in good agreement with the average material type found in the drill core (sandy-silt with greater than 60% sand). Maximum attenuation coefficients are estimated from the spectral ratios for the upper sediment intervals of the study areas using typical acoustic impedance values of surface sediment types determined from nearby piston cores. Some maximum attenuation coefficients are too high suggesting the possibility of a stratigraphic component. The maximum attenuation in the upper interval for SB 46 over the Tufts abyssal plain where fine-grained material (silts and clays) is expected is 0.025 dB/m at 127 Hz compared with 0.004 dB/m at 80 Hz for the upper interval of the turbidite environment north of DSDP site 174. / Graduation date: 1979 / Best scan available for figures.

In July 1964 three seismic refraction profiles were recorded over Stonewall Bank (44°32'N, 124°24'W) to determine gross sub-bottom geological structure to depths of thousands of feet. In August 1964 a continuous seismic reflection profiler was used to document shallow geological structure within the rocks forming the Bank. Stonewall Bank is composed of eastward dipping Pliocene siltstones which emerge westward from beneath unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. These siltstones form gentle dip slopes on the Bank's ea-stern flank but rougher topography is found on the top and western flank where the bedding planes intersect the sea floor at greater angles. Refraction data from this study indicate the siltstones thicken southward by 5000 feet over a six mile distance which accounts for almost all of the thickness change in the measured section. A deeper layer, 5000 feet thick, which appears to be Miocene may be exposed west of the Bank beneath the sediments. The base of this deeper layer has a southerly dip component of about six degrees and lies 12, 000 feet below the southern end of the Bank. Although this was the deepest interface encountered, the underlying material is not believed to be basement. / Graduation date: 1967

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1982. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [270]-277.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-88).

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