Use of integrated energy spectra for thin‐layer recognition

Abstract

The detection and resolution of thin beds are important problems in reflection seismology. A thin bed is defined as one for which the two‐way traveltime thickness is less than the tuning thickness for the incident wavelet. Reservoir thickness and shape are of critical importance in estimating hydrocarbon reserves. Previous studies of thin‐bed resolution have focused attention on the time domain, i.e., on the properties of the seismic trace and wavelet Widess (1973) defined a thin bed as one whose thickness is less than λ/8, where λ is the dominant wavelength of the seismic wavelet in the thin bed. He based this criterion on the observation that for thin beds of thickness less than or equal to λ/8, the reflected wavelet is essentially the shape of the derivative of the incident wavelet.