Abstract
For angles of incidence (θ) less than 30°, the compressional wave reflection coefficient is approximately a linear function of sin2 (θ). It is defined by its slope and intercept at normal incidence. These slope and intercept parameters contain useful information about the elastic properties of the subsurface. In particular, they can be used to detect the presence of hydrocarbons, because of the distinct effects that hydrocarbons have on the elastic properties of the subsurface.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Achenbach, J. D., 1973, Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam.
Aki, K., and P. G. Richards, 1980, Quantitative Seismology: Theory and Methods, Volume I, W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco.
Castagna, J.P., M. L. Batzle, R. L. Eastwood, 1985, Relationships between compressional-wave and shear-wave velocities in clastic silicate rocks, Geophysics, v. 50, no. 4, pp. 571–581.
Foster, D. J., S. W. Smith, S. Dey-Sarkar, and H. W. Swan, 1993, A closer look at hydrocarbon indicators, Sixty-third Annual Meeting of The Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
Krief, M., J. Garat, J. Steffingwerff, and J. Ventre, 1990, A petrophysical interpretation using the velocities of P and S waves (full-waveform sonic), Log Analyst, Nov.-Dec, pp. 355–369.
Ostrander, W. J., 1984, Plane-wave reflection coefficients for gas sands at non-normal angles of incidence, Geophysics, v. 49, no. 10, pp. 1637–1648.
Shuey, R. T., 1985, A simplification of the Zoeppritz equations, Geophysics, v. 50, no. 4, pp. 609–614.
Smith, G. C, and P. M. Gidlow, 1987, Weighted stacking for rock property estimation and detection of gas, Geophysical Prospecting, v. 35, pp. 993–1014.
Tatham, R. H., 1982, Vp/Vs and lithology, Geophysics, v. 47, no. 3, pp. 336–344.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this paper
Cite this paper
Foster, D.J., Keys, R.G., Schmitt, D.P. (1997). Detecting Subsurface Hydrocarbons with Elastic Wavefields. In: Chavent, G., Sacks, P., Papanicolaou, G., Symes, W.W. (eds) Inverse Problems in Wave Propagation. The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications, vol 90. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1878-4_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1878-4_9
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7322-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1878-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive