Abstract
We investigated the effect of microscopic distribution modes of hydrates in porous sediments, and the saturation of hydrates and free gas on the elastic properties of saturated sediments. We simulated the propagation of seismic waves in gas hydrate-bearing sediments beneath the seafloor, and obtained the common receiver gathers of compressional waves (P-waves) and shear waves (S-waves). The numerical results suggest that the interface between sediments containing gas hydrates and free gas produces a large-amplitude bottom-simulating reflector. The analysis of multicomponent common receiver data suggests that ocean-bottom seismometers receive the converted waves of upgoing P- and S-waves, which increases the complexity of the wavefield record.
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This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41174087, 41204089) and the National Oil and Gas Major Project (No. 2011ZX05005-005).
Yang Jia-Jia is a PhD student in geophysical prospecting at Ocean University of China. Her research interests are seismic wave theory, multitechnology and multicomponent seismic wave reverse-time depth migration.
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Yang, JJ., He, BS. & Zhang, JZ. Multicomponent seismic forward modeling of gas hydrates beneath the seafloor. Appl. Geophys. 11, 418–428 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-014-0465-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-014-0465-x