Application of high resolution seismic reflection techniques for fracture mapping in crystalline rocks

Abstract

Surface reflection seismic techniques have the capability of mapping subsurface geological features without disturbing the rock mass. They also have an added capability of penetrating to a much deeper depth than any other geophysical technique, including the ground probing radar. However, the successful application of reflection seismic techniques in crystalline rocks has in general been more difficult than in sedimentary basins, because of the irregular geometry and low acoustic impedance contrasts across geological boundaries. In this paper, we describe the imaging of fracture zones in crystalline rocks. Effective data processing, carefully modified from the conventional approaches, was applied on two high-resolution field data previously collected by different contractors. The strategy included enhancement of the signal hidden under the large-amplitude scattering noise, through pre- and post-stack processing such as shot f-k filtering, residual statics and careful muting after NMO correction. Two sets of low S/N test data from Canada and Sweden are analyzed in this research. The reflected energy in these data sets appeared to be more closely related to fracturing than to lithologic boundaries. The major fracture zones at shallow depth have been mapped with the desired resolution and can be correlated to the available well-log and seismic crosshole tomographic data. Once the surface waves were removed, shallow reflectors in the fracture zones could be identified and analyzed on the field records. Focusing analysis of the seismic image was performed in the constant-offset section to investigate the trends of major fracture zones. The complex attributes were also analyzed to determine whether they could be applied to the shallow fracture zones. Instantaneous frequency plots outline the intense fracturing zone and instantaneous phase plots identify the major and minor fractures, and other coherent events with different dip attitudes which interfere with each other.