Near-surface real-time seismic imaging using parsimonious interferometry.

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Seismology
• Fluid Dynamics

Background:

• Subsurface fluid flow monitoring is crucial for environmental and resource management.
• Conventional seismic imaging lacks the temporal resolution for real-time analysis of dynamic subsurface processes.
• Time-lapse seismic methods are often limited by lengthy data acquisition and processing times.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a real-time seismic imaging technique for subsurface fluid flow.
• To assess the efficacy of parsimonious refraction and surface-wave interferometry for high-temporal-resolution imaging.
• To validate seismic imaging results against computational fluid flow simulations and laboratory experiments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized parsimonious refraction and surface-wave interferometry for seismic data acquisition.
• Inverted P-velocity tomograms from first-arrival times and S-velocity tomograms from dispersion curves.
• Recorded 90 sparse seismic datasets over 4.5 hours during a 12-ton water injection into a sand dune.

Main Results:

• Achieved real-time subsurface velocity imaging with recording times of minutes per dataset.
• Demonstrated an order-of-magnitude increase in temporal resolution compared to conventional seismic imaging.
• Observed water percolation primarily along layered boundaries to a depth of a few meters.

Conclusions:

• Parsimonious interferometry enables real-time seismic imaging of subsurface fluid dynamics.
• The technique offers significant improvements in temporal resolution for time-lapse seismic studies.
• Real-time seismic imaging holds potential for non-destructive characterization in environmental, biomedical, and subsurface applications.