A case study on pseudo 3-D Chirp sub-bottom profiler (SBP) survey for the detection of a fault trace in shallow sedimentary layers at gas hydrate site in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea

Abstract

A pseudo 3-D Chirp sub-bottom profiler (SBP) survey was conducted to define the extension of a fault that was previously identified on low-resolution 2-D seismic data with an emphasis on the shallow sedimentary layers and to determine if the fault extends to the seafloor. The geophysical survey was conducted as part of an environmental impact assessment for a proposed gas hydrate production test in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea. The Chirp SBP raw data were acquired over an area of 1km×1km with an average line spacing of 20m. To produce a 3-D Chirp SBP volume, we developed an optimal processing sequence that was divided into two steps. The first phase of 2-D data processing included a sweep signature estimation, correlation, deconvolution, swell effect correction, and migration. The second phase of 3-D data processing was composed of a bin design, bin gathering of the final processed 2-D data set, amplitude normalization, and residual statics correction. The 3-D Chirp SBP volume provides enhanced imaging especially due to the residual static processing using a moving average method and shows better continuity of the sedimentary layers and consistency of the reflection events than the individual 2-D lines. Deformation of the seafloor as a result of the fault was detected, and the fault offset increases in the deeper sedimentary layers. We also determined that the fault strikes northwest-southeast. However, the shallow sub-seafloor sediments have high porosities and therefore do not exhibit brittle fault-behavior but rather deform continuously due to fault movement.