Mapping bedrock topography with seismic refraction at an oil and gas field: A comparison of engineering and petroleum exploration methods at a site in the Wind River Basin of Wyoming
{open_quotes}Weathered-layer{close_quotes} corrections to seismic-reflection travel times for deep hydrocarbon exploration are often made using shallow refracted arrivals on the reflection records. There has been recent interest in using these {open_quotes}refraction-statics{close_quotes} solutions to provide depth-to-bedrock maps for environmental or engineering applications as a by-product of the deep seismic survey. We show that the depth to bedrock and bedrock velocities produced by automatic refraction-statics processing of a three-dimensional seismic survey of a gas field in Wyoming differ significantly from those determined from an engineering survey. Manual reprocessing of the refraction statics produced some improvement, but is still inferior to refraction data taken for the specific purpose of determining depth to bedrock. Automatic refraction statics provide adequate travel-time adjustments to reflection records due to a shallow low-velocity layer, but such solutions should not be taken to represent explicit depth to bedrock.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC21-94MC31224
- OSTI ID:
- 526118
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970344-; TRN: 97:003014-0016
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: SAGEEP `97: 10. annual symposium on the application of geophysics to environmental and engineering problems, Reno, NV (United States), 23-26 Mar 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the symposium on the application of geophysics to engineering and environmental problems. SAGEEP `97: Volume I and II; Bell, R.S. [comp.]; PB: 1096 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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