Permeability and porosity images based on P‐wave surface seismic data: Application to a south Florida aquifer

Abstract

P‐wave surface seismic reflection data, acquired from a carbonate aquifer in southeastern Florida, are used to delineate flow units in a proposed aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) horizon. The impedance image determined by inversion from P‐wave reflection data captures most of the boundaries between hydraulic facies. The hydraulic facies properties are based on integration of the well logs and the lithology, which consists of vuggy carbonate units and sandstones. Within the proposed ASR horizon, located in the upper Floridan aquifer, low‐permeability zones consist of sandstones and highly permeable zones are carbonates with interconnected vuggy porosity. High‐resolution porosity, permeability, and impedance images based on cross‐well reflection and well logs help us evaluate the P‐wave seismic reflection results. We use well logs and cross‐well seismic data to support whether two‐dimensional seismic reflection measurements detect important flow units delineated by cross‐well high‐resolution seismic data. The data analysis demonstrates that major flow units are resolved and imaged with two‐dimensional seismic reflection techniques, although not as clearly as in the high‐resolution cross‐well data. The results suggest that the surface seismic reflection method, integrated with well logs and geology, provides the tools to assess water resources in this south Florida carbonate aquifer. However, we recommend conducting a cross‐well survey in areas where an understanding of the petrophysics is imperative to relating the seismic attributes to rock and fluid properties. This can be a critical step for planning purposes when considering a large surface‐oriented seismic survey.