Time-lapse Tomography Research Articles

Advanced Time-Stepping Interpretation of Fly-Scan Continuous Rotation Synchrotron Tomography of Dental Enamel Demineralization.

High-resolution spatial and temporal analysis and 3D visualization of time-dependent processes, such as human dental enamel acid demineralization, often present a challenging task. Overcoming this challenge often requires the development of special methods. Dental caries remains one of the most important oral diseases that involves the demineralization of hard dental tissues as a consequence of acid production by oral bacteria. Enamel has a hierarchically organized architecture that extends down to the nanostructural level and requires high resolution to study its evolution in detail. Enamel demineralization is a dynamic process that is best investigated with the help of in situ experiments. In previous studies, synchrotron tomography was applied to study the 3D enamel structure at certain time points (time-lapse tomography). Here, another distinct approach to time-evolving tomography studies is presented, whereby the sample image is reconstructed as it undergoes continuous rotation over a virtually unlimited angular range. The resulting (single) data set contains the data for multiple (potentially overlapping) intermediate tomograms that can be extracted and analyzed as desired using time-stepping selection of data subsets from the continuous fly-scan recording. One of the advantages of this approach is that it reduces the amount of time required to collect an equivalent number of single tomograms. Another advantage is that the nominal time step between successive reconstructions can be significantly reduced. We applied this approach to the study of acidic enamel demineralization and observed the progression of demineralization over time steps significantly smaller than the total acquisition time of a single tomogram, with a voxel size smaller than 0.5 μm. It is expected that the approach presented in this paper can be useful for high-resolution studies of other dynamic processes and for assessing small structural modifications in evolving hierarchical materials.

4D time lapse tomography for monitoring cave propagation and stress distribution in Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) PT Freeport Indonesia

Caving activity results in an increased induced seismicity which should be monitored to avoid massive and uncontrolled rock damage. This research was conducted at the Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) underground mine, the deepest underground mine in Indonesia operated by PT Freeport Indonesia. This research aims to monitor cave propagation by using 4D tomography with a catalogue of microseismic for 57 days with a total of 14,821 events recorded by 84 stations consisting of 176,265 P phases and 133,472 S phases. The data is divided into four subsets to see the velocity evolution related to cave progress. Checkerboard Resolution Test (CRT) and Derivative Weight Sum (DWS) are used to assess the resolution of the inversion. 3D initial velocity model is constructed based on geological information and coring data. We have succeeded in identifying the interpreted cave propagation of a 60 m extension to the NW at around 100 m above undercut level based on 4D changes in velocity tomogram validate by Time Domain Reflectometry data. The decrease of Vp and Vs in subset 3 is interpreted due to the fracturing processes as the cave progresses. Furthermore, we observe a stress redistribution along with the progress of the cave, which is characterized by high velocities (Vp and Vs) due to compensation for changes in low velocity values ​​in the area in front of the cave, which is starting to collapse. We suggest that a considerable change in the velocity tomogram as an indicator of impending caving.

4D Travel-Time Tomography as a Tool for Tracking Fluid-Driven Medium Changes in Offshore Oil–Gas Exploitation Areas

The monitoring of rock volume where offshore exploitation activities take place is crucial to assess the corresponding seismic hazard. Fluid injection/extraction operations generate a pore fluid pressure perturbation into the volume hosting the reservoir which, in turn, may trigger new failures and induce changes in the elastic properties of rocks. Our purpose is to evaluate the feasibility of reconstructing pore pressure perturbation diffusion in the host medium by imaging the 4D velocity changes using active seismic. We simulated repeated active offshore surveys and imaged the target volume. We constructed the velocity model perturbed by the fluid injection using physical modeling and evaluated under which conditions the repeated surveys could image the velocity changes. We found that the induced pressure perturbation causes seismic velocity variations ranging between 2–5% and 15–20%, depending on the different injection conditions and medium properties. So, in most cases, time-lapse tomography is very efficient in tracking the perturbation. The noise level characterizing the recording station sites is a crucial parameter. Since we evaluated the feasibility of the proposed 4D imaging strategy under different realistic environmental and operational conditions, our results can be directly applied to set up and configure the acquisition layout of surveys aimed at retrieving fluid-induced medium changes in the hosting medium. Moreover, our results can be considered as a useful starting point to design the guidelines to monitor exploitation areas.

The preparatory phase of the Mw 6.1 2009 L’Aquila (Italy) normal faulting earthquake traced by foreshock time-lapse tomography

AbstractThe Mw 6.1 (6 April 2009) L’Aquila (Italy) earthquake occurred in one of the most seismically active areas of central Italy and was preceded by a three-month-long foreshock period. Thanks to recordings by a regional permanent network, we derive for the first time P- and S-wave velocity tomographic models of a major fault prone to an imminent main shock. Close to the Mw 6.1 hypocenter, we observe high Vp (>6.8 km/s) and high Vp/Vs (>1.9) consistent with thick dolomitic volumes filled with fluids sealed by impermeable anhydritic layers. Significant changes in velocities defined by time-lapse imaging during the foreshock period suggest rapid fluid migration through the locked fault zone. The complex positive feedback between fluid pressure buildup and hydrofracturing of the dolomitic reservoir, testified by foreshock production, eventually provoked the catastrophic coseismic breaching of the fault seal. Our results show that foreshock time-lapse tomography provides clues on the preparatory phase of a large normal-faulting earthquake.

Induced polarization tomography applied to the detection and the monitoring of leaks in embankments

During an induced polarization survey, both electrical conductivity and chargeability can be imaged. Recent petrophysical models have been developed to provide a consistent picture of these two parameters in terms of water and clay contents of soils. We test the ability of this method at a test site in which a controlled artificial leakage can be generated in an embankment surrounding an experimental basin. 3D tomography of the conductivity and normalized chargeability are performed during such a controlled leakage. Conductivity and induced polarization measurements were also performed on a core sample from the site. The sample was also characterized in terms of porosity and cation exchange capacity. Combining the 3D survey and these laboratory measurements, a 3D tomogram of the relative variation in water content (before leakage and during leakage) was estimated. It clearly exhibits the ground water flow path through the embankment from the outlet of the tube used to generate the leak to the bottom of the embankment. In addition, a self-potential survey was performed over the zone of leakage. This survey evidences also the projection of the ground water flow path over the ground surface. Both methods are found to provide a consistent picture. A 2.5D time lapse tomography of the electrical conductivity and normalized chargeability was also performed and evidences the position of the preferential flow paths below the profile. These results confirm the ability and efficiency of induced polarization to provide reliable information pertaining to the detection of leakages in dams and embankments.

Broadband Q-factor tomography for reservoir monitoring

Time-lapse analysis of seismic surveys to monitor hydrocarbon production has been based so far mainly on amplitude and traveltime changes of seismic signals. However, lab measurements of rock properties show that we can also expect observable changes in the anelastic absorption, when the originally saturating fluids are replaced by others, or even when compaction or fractures are induced. These changes can be detected by Q-factor reflection tomography and used for time-lapse analysis, as a complement to traveltime inversion. Indeed, the seismic signal change due to fluid substitution is observable both in P velocity and Q factor estimates, and from case to case one can be stronger than the other. Their coupled inversion reduces the uncertainties for interpreters involved in reservoir characterization, providing them more information for detecting different lithotypes. The time-lapse tomography we adopted limits the variations of P velocity and Q factor away from the reservoir, and imposes that the interfaces' structure is the same in those external areas. The mismatch between actual and estimated models decreases significantly when these mutual constraints are applied, with respect to an uncoupled inversion where both rock parameters and interfaces' structures are inverted in a totally independent way.The resolution needed for reservoir monitoring is high, so a macro-model analysis, as provided by traveltime inversion or the frequency shift method for the Q factor, is not sufficient. However, those estimates may be complemented with a high-frequency component obtained by the instantaneous frequency. The resulting broadband image in depth for the anelastic absorption may approximate results typical of full-waveform inversion, but at a much cheaper computational cost.

Temporal sparsity exploiting nonlocal regularization for 4D computed tomography reconstruction.

X-ray imaging applications in medical and material sciences are frequently limited by the number of tomographic projections collected. The inversion of the limited projection data is an ill-posed problem and needs regularization. Traditional spatial regularization is not well adapted to the dynamic nature of time-lapse tomography since it discards the redundancy of the temporal information. In this paper, we propose a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm with a nonlocal regularization term to account for time-evolving datasets. The aim of the proposed nonlocal penalty is to collect the maximum relevant information in the spatial and temporal domains. With the proposed sparsity seeking approach in the temporal space, the computational complexity of the classical nonlocal regularizer is substantially reduced (at least by one order of magnitude). The presented reconstruction method can be directly applied to various big data 4D (x, y, z+time) tomographic experiments in many fields. We apply the proposed technique to modelled data and to real dynamic X-ray microtomography (XMT) data of high resolution. Compared to the classical spatio-temporal nonlocal regularization approach, the proposed method delivers reconstructed images of improved resolution and higher contrast while remaining significantly less computationally demanding.

High-resolution time-lapse tomography of rat vertebrae during compressive loading: deformation response analysis

This paper is focused on investigation of mechanical properties of rat vertebrae during compressive loading in the longitudinal direction of rat's spine. High-resolution time-lapse micro-tomography was used as a tool to create models of the inner structure and deformed shape in pre-defined deformation steps. First, peripheral areas of vertebra specimen were embedded in polymethyl methacrylate to obtain proper boundary conditions of contact between specimen and loading plattens. Experimental loading device designed for application in X-ray setups was utilized to compress the vertebrae in several deformation steps. High-resolution micro-tomography scanning was carried out at each deformation step. Specimen was irradiated in tomography device equipped with microfocus X-ray tube with 5μm focal spot size and large area flat panel detector. Spatial resolution of reconstructed three-dimensional images was approximately 10μm. Digital volume correlation algorithm was utilized in order to assess displacements in the microstructure in every loading increment. Finite element model of vertebra was created from volumetric data reconstructed from tomography of the undeformed specimen. Simulated compressive test of the developed finite element model was performed in order to compare stiffness and displacements obtained by digital volume correlation and finite element simulation.

X-ray and finite element analysis of deformation response of closed-cell metal foam subjected to compressive loading

Time-lapse X-ray computed microtomography was employed to quantify the deformation behaviour of closed-cell aluminium foam. The specimen was incrementally loaded and tomographically scanned using a custom X-ray tomographic device to capture the deforming microstructure. Because of the very small thickness of the cell walls and the high ratio between pore size and cell wall thickness cone-beam reconstruction procedure was applied. A finite element (FE) model was developed based on the reconstructed three-dimensional data. The FE model was used for two purposes: i) the nodal points were used for tracking the displacements of the deforming structure, ii) verification of the material model for description of the foam's deformational behaviour. Digital volumetric correlation (DVC) algorithm was used on data obtained from the time-lapse tomography to provide a detailed description of the evolution of deformation in the complex structure of aluminium foam. The results from DVC demonstrate the possibility to use the complex microstructure of the aluminium foam as a random pattern for the correlation algorithm. The underlying FE model enables easy comparison between experimental results and results obtained from numerical simulations used for evaluation of proposed constitutive models.

Application of crosswell seismic tomography using difference analysis with data normalization to monitor CO 2 flooding in an aquifer

A pilot-scale experiment for carbon dioxide (CO 2) sequestration was undertaken at the Nagaoka test field in Japan. Time-lapse crosswell seismic tomography was conducted to detect and monitor the movement of CO 2 injected into an aquifer. We applied difference analysis with data normalization (DADN) to the time-lapse data to eliminate false images that were apparent in a conventionally processed difference section. Conventional difference analysis calculates travel-time delays after inversion, whereas the DADN method calculates them from raw travel-time records before inversion. Thus, fewer errors are generated with the DADN method compared to a conventional inversion analysis. We applied the DADN method to time-lapse tomography data recorded before and after the injection of CO 2 and computed the velocity variation in a subsurface section, which clearly showed the distribution of CO 2 flooding within a high permeability zone in the aquifer and showed no CO 2 leakage into the caprock. Our results also show the maximum velocity decrease as a result of CO 2 injection was about 9%, which is close to the results obtained in laboratory experiments. Finally, numerical simulations were inverted to test the effectiveness of the conventional and DADN methods in dealing with noise. These tests showed that the DADN method effectively reduces unique coherent noise for particular receiver and source combinations. We concluded that the DADN method provides useful data for monitoring the flow of CO 2 sequestered in underground aquifers.

Monitoring overburden layer changes and fault movements from time-lapse seismic data on the Valhall Field

SUMMARY A method developed by Roste et al., which discriminates between layer thickness and velocity changes, is tested on pre-stack time-lapse seismic ocean bottom cable (OBC) data from the Valhall Field. A key parameter in this discrimination process is the dilation factor, α, which is the relative velocity change divided by the relative thickness change within a given layer. The high quality and good repeatability of the OBC data enables us to estimate α with a reasonable accuracy for α-values between 0 and −5. For α-values below −5, complementary information, like for instance geomechanics is required. For the top reservoir horizon we estimate a maximum subsidence of 0.50 m ± 0.29 m and a corresponding velocity decrease for the sequence from the seabed to the top reservoir of 2.0 m s−1± 0.40 m s−1. Time-lapse distortion patterns with characteristic time-shift versus offset signatures are observed. The positions and vertical extents of the distortion zones are determined from ray path considerations and modelling. The distortion zones correlate with buried faults, indicating that a (time-lapse) distortion zone might be produced by a localized slip in a fault zone. We present an extended method which allows for vertical (in addition to lateral) variations in the relative thickness and velocity changes. This method can be viewed as a simplified version of time-lapse tomography, but involving fewer unknown parameters, giving more stability to the estimated changes in thickness and velocity. Using this technique, we are able to estimate α for positions with localized time-lapse distortions.

Sneak Previews

The May-June issue of Geophysics contains four case histories. In “Repeatability of multimode Rayleigh-wave dispersion studies,” Beaty and Schmitt employ repeated surveys for measuring the near-surface shear-wave velocity profile over the summer and fall. Newman et al. (“3D inversion of a scalar radio magnetotelluric field data set”) analyze a data set acquired over a buried waste site. Sengupta et al. demonstrate the feasibility of using seismic and well log data to constrain subblock saturation scales in “Quantifying subresolution saturation scales from time-lapse seismic data: A reservoir monitoring case study.” Vesnaver et al. demonstrate that near-surface anomalies due to seasonal changes may produce time-lapse variations comparable to those due to hydrocarbon production in “Time-lapse tomography.”

Study of traveltime and amplitude time-lapse tomography using physical model data : Leggett, M; Goulty, N R; Kragh, J E Geophys ProspectV41, N5, July 1993, P599–619

Study of traveltime and amplitude time-lapse tomography using physical model data : Leggett, M; Goulty, N R; Kragh, J E Geophys ProspectV41, N5, July 1993, P599–619