An evaluation of deep thin coal seams and water-bearing/resisting layers in the quaternary system using seismic inversion

Abstract

Non-liner wave equation inversion, wavelet analysis and artificial neural networks were used to obtain stratum parameters and the distribution of thin coal seams. The lithology of the water-bearing/resisting layer in the Quaternary system was also predicted. The implementation process included calculating the well log parameters, stratum contrasting the seismic data and the well logs, and extracting, studying and predicting seismic attributes. Seismic inversion parameters, including the layer velocity and wave impedance, were calculated and effectively used for prediction and analysis. Prior knowledge and seismic interpretation were used to remedy a dearth of seismic data during the inversion procedure. This enhanced the stability of the inversion method. Non-linear seismic inversion and artificial neural networks were used to interpret coal seismic lithology and to study the water-bearing/resisting layer in the Quaternary system. Interpretation of the 1∼2 m thin coal seams, and also of the water-bearing/resisting layer in the Quaternary system, is provided. The upper mining limit can be lifted from 60 m to 45 m. The predictions show that this method can provide reliable data useful for thin coal seam exploitation and for lifting the upper mining limit, which is one of the principles of green mining.