Characterization of Sabkha Jayb Uwayyid, eastern Saudi Arabia using seismic refraction profiling

Abstract

Sabkhas are dominant geomorphic features in eastern Saudi Arabia and are of geologic and economic significance. Seismic refraction method was used in the inland sabkha of Jayb Uwayyid to depict its general stratigraphy and determine velocities and thicknesses of the sabkha’s uppermost layers and the water table depth. Data were acquired using a reversed-refraction profile consisting of 48 receivers spaced at 5 m. Data processing included amplitude gain, band-pass filtering, and manual picking of first and second arrivals. Interpretation of the data shows three main layers. The first layer is a sandy layer having an average velocity and thickness of 600 m/s and 15 m, respectively. The second layer has an average velocity and thickness of 2,300 m/s and 113 m, respectively. The third layer has an average velocity of 3,850 m/s. The topmost part of the first layer is composed of a dry to partially saturated clean sand underlain by fully saturated clean sand. However, arrivals from the interface between the partially saturated and fully saturated sands were not recognizable in any shot record, which might be due to the gradual increase of saturation with depth. Arrivals from the second layer were always recognizable on all shot records as first arrivals. On the other hand, arrivals from the third layer were not recognizable on any shot record as first arrivals probably due to the limited extent of the profile relative to the depth of the third layer. Therefore, the velocity of the third layer was calculated by manually picking the second head wave arrival.