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Title: Non-invasive shallow seismic source comparison for hazardous waste site investigations

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/52752· OSTI ID:52752
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Div.
  2. Kansas Geological survey, Lawrence, KS (United States)

Many commonly used shallow seismic sources are unacceptable for hazardous waste site investigations because they risk exhumation of contaminants in the soil, they add contaminants (e.g. lead) which are not allowed by regulations, or they add new migration paths for contaminants. Furthermore, recently developed high frequency vibrators for shallow investigations could be more effective at some sites than non-invasive impulsive sources because of their ability to tailor the source spectrum and reduce interference. The authors show preliminary results of a comparison test of eight non-invasive impulsive and swept sources in preparation for seismic reflection profiling on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee. Well log data are used to determine geologic contacts and to generate synthetic seismograms for the site. Common midpoint (CMP) seismic data for each source were collected at 95 geophone groups from 125 shot points along a 400m test line. Hydrophone data were obtained at 1.5m spacing between 61m and 133m depth in a hole near the center of the CMP line. As of March, 1994, brute stacks have been completed for three of the eight sources. Depth penetration is demonstrated in brute stacks and shot gathers, which show a 200ms reflector for all of the sources tested along portions of the line. Source effectiveness will also be evaluated by comparing images of several shallower reflectors (40--150ms) which are apparent in many of the records. Imaging of these reflectors appears to depend upon the ability of the source to generate sufficient high frequency energy (>100 Hz).

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
52752
Report Number(s):
CONF-941015-2; ON: DE95010299; TRN: 95:011872
Resource Relation:
Conference: 64. annual meeting of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and international exposition, Los Angeles, CA (United States), 23-27 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English