Inversion for refraction statics is a key part of three-dimensional (3D) reflection seismic processing. The present thesis has two primary goals directed toward improvement of refraction statics inversion. First, I attempt to improve the quality of the travel-time data right at the beginning of the processing sequence and before any inversion. Any error in the travel times or geometry caused during acquisition or processing would propagate into the resulting model and may harm the resulting image. To implement rigorous, model-independent data quality control, I view the first-arrival travel times as surfaces in 3D, which allows utilization of the travel-time reciprocity condition to check for errors in geometry and in first-arrival picking.<p> The second goal of this study is in development of a new inversion approach for refraction statics specifically for 3D seismic datasets. The first-break travel-times are decomposed by using a ô-p parameterization, which allows an automatic derivation of a high-quality initial subsurface model. This model is further improved by using accurate, multi-layer ray-tracing and inversion techniques to obtain accurate refraction statics. An iterative inversion scheme based on the Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique is utilized, and its performance is measured and discussed. To assess the quality of the inverse and establish the optimal grid sizes, I use several types of resolution tests. Finally, the surface consistent statics is calculated and applied to a real dataset from southern Saskatchewan. A comparison of the resulting statics model with statics calculated by using standard industry software is made, and the statics correction is incorporated in seismic processing.<p> An overall result of this study is in demonstration that the fully 3D, ô-p based travel-time inversion method works, is applicable to large seismic datasets, and results in detailed shallow subsurface models and reliable statics solutions. Several recommendations for extending and improving the proposed approaches are also made.

This research focuses on the application of guided waves techniques to nondestructively characterize the structural integrity of bonded engineering components. Computational methods are used to examine the properties of multi-layered, adhesive bonded plates. This study quantifies the effect of the adhesive bond parameters (Young's modulus, Poisson's ration and bond thickness) on the dispersion curves. A commercial finite element (FE) code (ABAQUS/Explicit) is used for the numerical model while the global matrix method and the waveguide FE method are used to benchmark the resulting dispersion relationships in the form of a frequency-wavenumber or slowness-frequency relation. The postprocessing of FE data includes the two-dimensional Fourier transform (2D-FFT) and the short-time Fourier transform (STFT). Note that the 2D-FFT and STFT operate on multiple or just one transient output signals of the FE results respectively, while the waveguide FE method uses mass-, damping- and stiffness-matrices to generate the dispersion relations. In the dispersion relations, a set of bond parameter sensitive and FE-visible points is selected. The frequency locations of these points represent the solution criteria for the inversion procedure based on the global matrix method. The capabilities of the inversion process depend on the number of transient output signals from an FE simulation for the forward problem.

The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the properties of acoustic sound field in the Sizihwan Bay Marine Test Field (SBMTF), and to conduct geoacoustic inversion using the measured data. Two experiments were carried out during February, 2009, and March, 2010. The source was UW350, and the receivers were ITC 6050 hydrophones. The transmitted frequencies lie between 350 Hz and 1250 Hz. On the analysis of acoustic propagation, the study calls for the application of OASES for the analysis of transmission loss and effects of range dependency. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis due to environmental factors was carried out based upon probabilistic approach. For the inversion analysis, the sensitivity of each environmental parameter was first analyzed, and those parameters with high sensitivity were chosen for inversion. Inversion was conducted by the application of SAGA. The results have shown that, due to the fact that the SBMTF is an very shallow water environment with water depth less than 30 m, the acoustic sound field is strongly affected by the boundaries. From the uncertainty analysis, it shows that the transmission loss has high degree of uncertainty resulting from seabed property due to its lack of accurate measurement. The inversion results for water depth and seabed sound speed were obtained, and compared with the measured data. This research calls for experimental design, data processing, software application, and result analysis, offering an overall understanding of the properties of SBMTF that is valuable for future study.

Streamline-based models have shown great potential in reconciling high resolution geologic models to production data. In this work we extend the streamline-based production data integration technique to naturally fractured reservoirs. We use a dualporosity streamline model for fracture flow simulation by treating the fracture and matrix as separate continua that are connected through a transfer function. Next, we analytically compute the sensitivities that define the relationship between the reservoir properties and the production response in fractured reservoirs. Finally, production data integration is carried out via the Generalized Travel Time inversion (GTT). We also apply the streamline-derived sensitivities in conjunction with a dual porosity finite difference simulator to combine the efficiency of the streamline approach with the versatility of the finite difference approach. This significantly broadens the applicability of the streamlinebased approach in terms of incorporating compressibility effects and complex physics. The number of reservoir parameters to be estimated is commonly orders of magnitude larger than the observation data, leading to non-uniqueness and uncertainty in reservoir parameter estimate. Such uncertainty is passed to reservoir response forecast which needs to be quantified in economic and operational risk analysis. In this work we sample parameter uncertainty using a new two-stage Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) that is very fast and overcomes much of its current limitations. The computational efficiency comes through a substantial increase in the acceptance rate during MCMC by using a fast linearized approximation to the flow simulation and the likelihood function, the critical link between the reservoir model and production data. The Gradual Deformation Method (GDM) provides a useful framework to preserve geologic structure. Current dynamic data integration methods using GDM are inefficient due to the use of numerical sensitivity calculations which limits the method to deforming two or three models at a time. In this work, we derived streamline-based analytical sensitivities for the GDM that can be obtained from a single simulation run for any number of basis models. The new Generalized Travel Time GDM (GTT-GDM) is highly efficient and achieved a performance close to regular GTT inversion while preserving the geologic structure.

This thesis introduces a workflow to accomplish invasion-consistent Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurement interpretations. Magnetic resonance measurements are affected by mud-filtrate invasion because the radial depth of investigation (DOI) of NMR logging tools is very shallow (approximately 1 to 4 inches). This characteristic indicates that identification of in-situ fluid saturations from NMR measurements is uncertain. Calculation of fluid saturations from apparent electrical resistivities and nuclear logs does not guarantee a precise estimation of the fluid distributions. Free water in the reservoir displaced by oil based mud (OBM) poses more challenges in the estimation of in-situ fluid saturations. To mitigate this ambiguity, I construct layer-by-layer static and dynamic reservoir models. The common stratigraphic framework (CSF) proposed by Voss et al. (2009) was used to construct the earth model. Appraisal of static petrophysical properties is based on the iterative adjustments to minimize the discrepancy between available well logs and their numerical simulations. Evaluation of dynamic petrophysical properties can be achieved with the simulation of mud-filtrate invasion. This simulation can assess accurate fluid saturations at specific radial distances. In addition, numerically simulated apparent resistivity and nuclear logs are in agreement with measured logs. Algorithms are also developed to cross-validate NMR measurements based on the assumption of spherically shaped water-wet pores. The algorithms need all petrophysical parameters and fluid saturations yielded from the dynamic model as inputs. Various NMR parameter changes were tested to validate this algorithm. Examples of NMR responses include wettability change and kerogen contained in nano-scale pores. For the field case examples, two 15 meter-thick depth intervals in oil- and gas-bearing siliciclastic formations were selected. Two-dimensional (2D) NMR simulations were performed with petrophysical parameters provided from the numerical simulation of mud-filtrate invasion. The 2D NMR maps are more favorable in fluid typing than conventional NMR T₂ distributions because they contrast fluid diffusion coefficient. Comparisons of simulation results to inversion results confirm the validity of the workflow introduced in this thesis for the quantification of virgin reservoir fluids and mud-filtrate saturations. Finally, forward modeling and inversion processes are applied to 2D NMR data. The reconstructed echo decay sequences are more advantageous than raw measurements because of their higher signal to noise ratio (SNR). Linear inversion using these echo decay sequences provides proton density distribution functions of D-T₂ and T₁-T₂ maps. Application of inversion to the two field cases measured from two different radial depths verifies the validity of the NMR interpretations. / text

The Lena West property near Lac des Bois, NT, held by Diamondex Resources Ltd., is an area of interest for exploration for kimberlitic features. In 2005, Frontier Geosciences Inc. was contracted to carry out seismic reflection and time-domain transient electromagnetic (TEM) surveys to investigate the possibility of kimberlite pipes being the cause of total magnetic intensity (TMI) anomalies previously identified on the property. One small part of the property, Area 1915, was surveyed with two perpendicular seismic reflection lines 1550 m and 1790 m long and three TEM lines consisting of six or seven individual soundings each with a 200 m transmitter loop. The results generated by Frontier Geosciences did not indicate any obvious vertical features that correlated with the TMI anomaly. The purpose of this study is to reprocess the seismic reflection data using different approaches than those of Frontier Geosciences and to invert the TEM data using a 1-D inversion code, EM1DTM recently developed by the UBC Geophysical Inversion Facility, to improve upon previous results and enhance the interpretation. A secondary objective is to test the robustness of EM1DTM when applied to observed TEM data, since prior to this study it had only been applied to synthetic data. Selective bandpass filtering, refraction and residual statics and f-x deconvolution procedures contributed to improved seismic images to the recorded two-way traveltime of 511.5 ms (approximately 1100 m depth). The TEM data were successfully inverted and converted to pseudo 2-D recovered resistivity sections that showed similar results to those from Frontier Geosciences. On the final seismic reflection sections, several strong reflectors are identified and the base of the overlying sedimentary layers is interpreted at a depth of ~600 m. The TEM results show consistent vertical structure with minimum horizontal variation across all lines to a valid depth of ~150 m. However, neither TEM nor seismic reflection results provide any information that correlates well with the observed TMI anomaly.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [133]-153).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1941. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 30-31. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1941. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: p. 30-31.