Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

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Geothermics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics

3D seismic survey explores geothermal targets for reservoir

characterization at Unterhaching, Munich, Germany
Ewald Lschen a, , Markus Wolfgramm b , Thomas Fritzer c , Michael Dussel a ,
Rdiger Thomas a , Rdiger Schulz a
a

Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover, Germany

Geothermie Neubrandenburg GmbH (GTN), Neubrandenburg, Germany
c
Bavarian Environment Agency (LfU), Augsburg, Germany
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 5 November 2012
Accepted 18 September 2013
Available online 2 November 2013
Keywords:
3D Seismics
Geothermal exploration
Hydrothermal reservoir
Upper Jurassic
Seismic attributes
Subseismic scale
Unterhaching

a b s t r a c t
A 3D seismic survey was undertaken as part of a research project to characterize the Upper Jurassic
(Malm) hydrothermal reservoir at the geothermal power plant at Unterhaching, Munich, and to simulate its potential for sustainable usage. A suite of promising geothermal targets could be identied on
this relatively small survey size of 27 km2 , where several geothermal projects are expected to potentially inuence each other. Among these targets are fault patterns of high complexity with en-echelon
elements, circular structures, dolomitized reefs and mounds, reduced seismic velocities which indicate
brittle disaggregation, and preferential orientations of joints and ssures.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Geothermal energy within the framework of a sustainable and
renewable energy supply is increasingly attracting public attention because of its potential to provide district heating and base
load electric power. The hydrogeothermal reservoir in the Bavarian
Molasse Basin (Fig. 1) consists of fractured, karstied and dolomitized carbonates of the Malm Formation (Upper Jurassic). The Malm
is present in most parts of the Southern German/Upper Austrian
Molasse Basin, and is a highly productive aquifer that dips from
north (River Danube) to south (Alps). The Upper Jurassic, up to
600650 m thick, crops out in the north (Swabian-Franconian Alb,
north of the River Danube) and dips gently to 5000 m depth at
the Alpine front (Fig. 2). Due to increasing depth, temperatures of
100150 C occur south of Munich enough to generate heat as
well as electricity. The uppermost 350400 m consists of sponge
and coral reef systems with intercalated lagoonal deposits. These
beds were deposited in a shallow and warm marine environment
on the Variscan European continental shelf in the Munich study
area (Lemcke, 1988). At the end of the Cretaceous, and with the
onset of Tertiary sedimentation, the area turned into a foredeep of

Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 511 6432320; fax: +49 511 6433665.
E-mail address: Ewald.Lueschen@liag-hannover.de (E. Lschen).
0375-6505/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2013.09.007

the Alpine orogen. Diagenesis has led to the formation of dolomites

that are now zones with high secondary porosity and karstication,
and has led to the formation of heterogeneous water pathways. Due
to down-exing of the European crust during the collision with
the African-Adriatic microplate, exure-related synthetic and antithetic normal faults developed with Alpine strike directions, which
in the Tertiary Molasse were targets for oil and gas exploration in
the past (e.g. Bachmann et al., 1987; Lemcke, 1988).
The application of 3D seismic measurements for geothermal
exploration has a quite short history, in sharp contrast to oil and
gas exploration, where this technique is adopted. The rst extensive 3D surveys have been performed in the Larderello-Travale area
in Tuscany (Italy) in a high-enthalpy, superheated steam environment since 2003 (Casini et al., 2010). High reection amplitudes
could be correlated with fractured contact-metamorphic rocks at
approximately 20003000 m depth where a dense network of wells
showed high productivity. Other seismic measurements (2D, smallscale 3D) are known from New Zealand (Lamarche, 1992), Japan
(Matsushima et al., 2003) and the USA (summarized by Majer,
2003), all aimed at exploring fractured reservoirs.
An increasing number of low-enthalpy geothermal plants
are already implemented or being developed in the Munich
area with wells drilled into the Malm. Starting with geothermal doublets (production and reinjection wells) at Straubing,
Simbach-Braunau, Unterschleiheim and at Munich-Riem before

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E. Lschen et al. / Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

(http://www.geothermie-unterhaching.de) has been producing

approx. 40 MW heat (upgradable to approx. 70 MW) since 2007,
and up to 3.4 MW electrical power since 2009 using the Kalina
technique. The Gt 1 production well and the Gt 2 reinjection well
penetrate the top Malm at approx. 3000 m depth and reach temperatures of up to 133 C (Wolfgramm et al., 2007). Additionally,
thirteen other plants are set up in the Munich area or are in the
planning phase.
The prospect evaluation of the Unterhaching geothermal project
was based mainly on temperatures (Schulz et al., 2004), whereas
well locations and the drill paths of Unterhaching Gt 1 and Gt 2
were originally dened by reprocessing older 2D seismic proles
obtained from hydrocarbon exploration (Thomas et al., 2010). A
normal fault with a throw of about 250 m has been deduced from
two reprocessed parallel 2D seismic lines which were up to 4 km
apart. The Gt 2 well is located just over 1 km away from one of these
lines at the interpolated position of the normal fault between the
two seismic lines. Such interpolation is an inherent drawback of 2D
seismic data, and it was questionable whether the borehole really
intersected the fault zone. The problem of mutual interference
between doublets is gaining signicance because more geothermal
projects in the immediate vicinity are in the development phase.
The 3D seismic survey is part of the research project: Geothermal characterization of karstic-fractured aquifers in Greater
Munich, undertaken by LIAG and LfU (Bavarian Environment
Agency, Augsburg). Its aim is to investigate the potential hydraulic
and thermal interaction of several adjacent doublets. The main
motivation is the stipulation that the operation of power plants
for heat and electricity production must be sustainable. In order to
explore the total geothermal capacity of the Malm in the Munich
area, the following subprojects were scheduled within the integrated program (Schulz and Thomas, 2012):
Fig. 1. Overview of areas for possible hydrothermal use (http://www.geotis.de,
Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics). Red color marks areas where temperatures
above 100 C can be expected. The frame corresponds to Fig. 3. (For interpretation of
the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of the article.)

2003, the commissioning of a geothermal power plant for

heat and electrical power at Unterhaching in 2009 generated
a real boom (Fig. 3) (Schellschmidt et al., 2010). Production
rates of up to 150 l/s can be achieved. The Unterhaching plant

(1) A small 4 km 5 km 3D seismic reection survey to explore

facies and geological structures around the Unterhaching Gt 2
injection well,
(2) regional geological 3D modeling of structures aided by additional existing 2D seismic proles,
(3) hydrogeological modeling, and
(4) numerical simulation of groundwater ow and heat transfer
and corresponding forecasting.

Fig. 2. North-South section (left to right) of the Bavarian Molasse basin extracted from the web-based interactive geothermal information system GeotIS
(http://www.geotis.de). Blue line marks top of the 600650 m thick Upper Jurassic (Malm) above the crystalline basement. The Malm is capped and sealed by 50150 m thick
Cretaceous sediments below the Tertiary foredeep sediments. The location of the section is shown in the upper map together with the geothermal well locations. Vertical
exaggeration is 5:1. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

E. Lschen et al. / Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

Table 1
Acquisition parameters.
Source

Recording

Layout

Field statics

3 crab vibrators of 13.3 kN maximum force each

Linear upsweep 1296 Hz
Length 10 s
Stacking 8-fold
Fixed spread of 2798 channels
Diversity stack for noise attenuation (total length 14 s)
Recording length 4 s after stacking and correlation
Sampling rate 2 ms
Non-orthogonal (nominal, pre-planned)
Source line interval 300 m (nominal)
Source point interval 30 m
2829 vibrator points
Receiver line interval 300 m (nominal)
Receiver point interval 30 m
2798 receiver stations with groups of 12 10-Hz geophones
3 short refraction surveys per km2
250 m length with 3 shot points (hammer impulse source)
25 m receiver spacing

In this paper we focus on the interpretation of the 3D seismic

survey (subproject 1) and its potential for geothermal exploration.
Details on acquisition, data processing and the rst results have
also been described by Lschen et al. (2011). Subsequent thermal
and hydrological modeling according to the project structure is
scheduled for a forthcoming paper.
2. 3D seismic survey
The data acquisition of the 3D seismic survey was done using
the Vibroseis technique (Table 1) in JuneJuly 2009 by DMT GmbH
& Co. KG, Essen, and commissioned by LIAG. The distribution of
urban residential and industrial districts, agricultural elds, forests,
a large number of main roads and crossings (Fig. 4) as well as poor
weather conditions, with corresponding difcult noise conditions,
were highly challenging. However, the Vibroseis technique turned
out to be quite robust, mainly due to the effective role of Vibroseis correlation, vertical stacking and noise rejection algorithms

169

(diversity stacking) which were applied before data storing. Therefore, seismic surveys, particularly using Vibroseis, can be regarded
as highly suitable for geothermal exploration even in urban areas.
Area size and target depth denition (maximum 4 km) and the
corresponding maximum source-receiver offsets were reasons to
register all 2829 vibrator points with all 2798 receiver channels, instead of using a roll-along technique. This resulted in
a maximum common midpoint (CMP) coverage of 300 in the
center, decreasing toward the edges (Fig. 5). The xed recording spread led to a wide source-receiver offset range (07600 m)
and to an evenly covered azimuth range (Fig. 6). The deviations from the pre-planned uniform layout (non-orthogonal due
to access conditions) resulted in randomly, evenly distributed
source-receiver midpoints, which allowed a CMP binning not only
into nominal 15 m 15 m squares, but also into arbitrarily chosen 7.5 m 7.5 m squares for better horizontal resolution (Lschen
et al., 2011).
The original survey area of 20 km2 surrounding the Gt 2 well was
extended in the southeast and in the southwest (Fig. 4) to about
27 km2 during eld operations, owing to expressions of interest
by owners of overlapping commercial license areas. The additional
fractions of the 3D seismic data volume were immediately analyzed by third parties in order to determine new drill paths. In
this way, scientic research interests could benet from short-term
commercial interests and vice versa.
The data processing was carried out by LIAG and consisted
mainly in increasing the signal/noise ratio by stacking and in accurate structural imaging by depth migration (Table 2). Field and
elevation statics were of marginal importance only. In contrast,
the automatic residual statics were highly successful. The vibratorgenerated frequency range could be fully preserved. Conventional
common midpoint (CMP) stacking turned out to be quite robust
since structure and stratication of the overburden of the Malm are
relatively uniform. Only very slight improvements were obtained
with subsequent dip move out (DMO) processing. Stacking velocities were analyzed at 150 m intervals in all directions. Interval

Fig. 3. Distribution of geothermal wells in the Molasse basin (in red), mostly used for power generation (from Wolfgramm et al., 2012). Frame marks Greater Munich study
area. 3D seismic survey is centered at Unterhaching south of Munich (compare Fig. 4). (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred
to the web version of the article.)

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Table 2
Main processing sequence.
SEG-D eld data input
Geometry assignment
Air blast attenuation
Automatic spike and noise burst edit
Elevation statics
Field statics
Residual statics
Spherical divergence amplitude recovery
Bandpass lter (1296 Hz)
Surface-consistent amplitude compensation
Minimum-phase transformation
Surface-consistent predictive deconvolution
Muting of refracted arrivals
Normal move out (NMO) correction, dip move out correction (DMO) after
interactive semblance-based stacking velocity analysis, several
iterations with subsequent residual statics analysis
3D CMP stack and 3D DMO stack
Bandpass lter
Zero-phase transformation
3D nite-difference (FD) depth migration (alternatively time migration)

velocities for time and depth migration (all gures show depth
migrations) were then calculated from these stacking velocities.
The velocity model for depth migration turned out to be highly
precise, since the main lithological markers (e.g. Lithothamnion
limestone) matched to an accuracy of better than 20 m (compare

Fig. 8). The relatively small size of the survey area and considerations of the corresponding limited aperture of the migration
operator give rise to migration noise at the edges of the area (compare Fig. 12).
For interpretation, the observer or interpreter may examine rst
the three-dimensional data cube presented by vertical sections,
inlines and crosslines (at intervals of 15 m each), as well as horizontal slices of the recording time or depth (Fig. 7). One seismogram
trace is generated for each 15 m 15 m bin, according to the survey
layout.
The Lithothamnion limestone (Top Eocene, age approx. 34 My)
forms the most prominent reector due to the strong contrast in
rock density and seismic velocity. It is situated underneath the
Tertiary sandstones and mudstones/marlstones of the Bavarian
Molasse. These beds of the Molasse were the targets of oil and
gas exploration in recent decades. Beneath this dominant reector, which is often used as a reference marker, there are 50150 m
thick sandstones and marlstones of the Tertiary Eocene und the
Cretaceous (age up to approx. 144 My), decreasing in thickness to
the northwest. The hot water reservoir of the Malm (limestone and
dolomite) is sealed against these upper beds. Therefore, the seismic target for geothermal exploration and corresponding drilling
is more than one kilometer deeper than that of the previous hydrocarbon exploration. This is another reason why older seismic data is
often used for reprocessing with focus on these new target depths.

Fig. 4. Location map of the 3D seismic survey with vibrator points in red and receiver points in blue color. The area is centered on the re-injection well Unterhaching Gt 2. Well
surface locations are shown in red, and well targets in blue color. Also shown are well heads at Kirchstockach (lower right) and Taufkirchen (lower left). (For interpretation
of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

E. Lschen et al. / Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

171

Fig. 5. Location map of the 3D seismic survey (same as in Fig. 4) with bin fold (maximum 301) und processing lines (inlines, crosslines).

3. Interpretation
Several examples of the data analysis with regard to the geothermal exploration of the Malm layer are presented in the following.
Fig. 8 shows the interactively picked horizon of the Lithothamnion limestone. A fault pattern of much higher complexity is
discernible, compared to the previously available interpretation
of four 2D seismic lines. Similarly, the immediately underlying
horizon of the Top Malm, as well as of the Base Malm, are also
discernible (Fig. 9). Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that tectonic deformation associated with the fault pattern was active from
Cretaceous times until the Early Tertiary. Furthermore, the faults
must have originated within the deeper lying crystalline basement.
The relatively undisturbed bedding above the Lithothamnion horizon is indicative of a deformation age of not younger than Early
Tertiary.
3.1. Tectonics
Three main fault patterns are discernible with general strike
directions of 25, 45 and 70 , respectively (Figs. 8 and 9). They
merge in the southwest. The 45 lineament is a steep normal
fault with a vertical throw of 200250 m, penetrated by the
Gt 2 reinjection well. The 70 lineament is a combined strike
slip/extension fault system consisting of en-echelon elements

with interbedded transfer zones (relay ramps; Eisbacher, 1996;

Peacock and Sanderson, 1994). These transfer zones are particularly interesting, since strong local tension with corresponding
aligned joints and ssures can create water pathways. The 25
lineament is well pronounced at the Lithothamnion limestone
horizon, including an en-echelon pattern with down-throws of
the northwestern block. Between the 25 and the 45 striking
fault patterns, there is a slight updoming discernible which dies
out within the Oligocene. Generally, the aforementioned structures are related to extensional stress induced by exural bending
of the crust during the Alpine orogeny in the Cretaceous and
Early Tertiary, which produced synthetic and antithetic normal
faults (Bachmann et al., 1987). Compression and transverse (lateral) movements must also be included, as known from inversion
structures at the Landshut-Neuoetting basement high further east
(Bachmann et al., 1987). However, the present 3D study area is
too small to interpret the deformation sense uniquely. The focal
mechanisms of microseismicity aligned at the 45 main fault system tend to indicate left-lateral strike slip motion with fault planes
attributable to the 25 or 45 striking fault systems with subvertical dips (Megies and Wassermann, submitted for publication).
Assuming the stress regime was predominantly oriented northsouth in the Cretaceous and Early Tertiary as well, as it is today
(Reinecker et al., 2010), left-lateral movements would also be reasonable.

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Fig. 6. Azimuth pies from the center of the area. Each 15 m 15 m bin shows the source-receiver azimuth fold (color-coded) and the corresponding source-receiver offsets as
vector endpoints (normalized at maximum offset of 7600 m) for 30 intervals. The background color is the total bin coverage (CMP fold). (For interpretation of the references
to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

Fig. 7. Panoramic view of the 3D data cube (3D-FD depth migration) with inlines, crosslines and depth slice, and showing the drill path of Unterhaching Gt 2. Main
lithological markers from the well are shown on the right. The 45 fault, intersected by the Gt 2 well, is marked by a dashed line on the depth slice.

E. Lschen et al. / Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

173

Fig. 8. Horizon of the Lithothamnion limestone at around the 3000 m depth line. Difference in depth approx. 500 m from red to dark blue. View is from the south. En-echelon
elements with relay ramps of the 70 fault system are marked by red dashed lines. Unterhaching Gt 2 well with Lithothamnion marker is marked close to the 45 fault. (For
interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

Fig. 9. Four horizons with isopachs at 20 m intervals. View is from the south. Same color code for depth variation is applied for all horizons (red: high, dark blue: low),
maximum variation in color code is 500 m. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

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3.3. Seismic attributes

A large number of geometrical and dynamic attributes can
be derived from the seismograms. In Fig. 11, an example of the
coherence is shown, which is a measure of the similarity between
adjacent seismogram traces. This allows faults to be displayed.
These faults are predominant and are formed linearly over longer
distances at the top of the target layer as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
However, within the Malm layer, they tend to be circular and of very
chaotic character. This might be due to the brittle character of the
Malm carbonates creating widespread penetrative and chaotically
orientated mechanical disaggregation, enabling internal karstication or chemical dissolution. Again, as mentioned above, the main
fault systems generally strike 25, 45 and 70 , and seem to merge
in the southwest. The similarity attribute is the most appropriate
attribute to delineate the faults and fractures. On the contrary, the
semi-automatically picked horizons (Figs. 8 and 9) are less suitable in this respect, because they tend to smear out and interpolate
the horizons close to the faults. Obviously, the fault systems are
not characterized by simple fault planes, but by complex brittle
mechanical disaggregation in zones several hundred meters wide.
Therefore, a dominant role for water pathways is ascribed to these
fault systems.
A combination and superposition of several different attributes
is particularly benecial (e.g. Chopra and Marfurt, 2007). Fig. 12
shows seismogram traces superposed by the coherence attribute
and the dip directions (dip) of the reecting elements. In this
way, larger (reef) and smaller sponge-algal mounds can be portrayed. These attributes may not be regarded as entirely conclusive,
however, because several characteristics are required to favor an
interpretation as reefs and mounds. Among them are a slight
updoming at the top of the structure, relative transparency within
the structure, and an abrupt termination or downlap of reections
at the edge of the structure. Another method is spectral decomposition, which shows that the reefs are characterized by higher
signal frequencies at their top (Fig. 12, lower left). This is due to
a tuning effect of the thinning of the strata above the reef. Reefs
attract our attention for geothermal exploration since they alter
the massive carbonates by increasing the porosity to approx. 10%
due to dolomitisation (magnesium addition). Therefore, the pores
may incorporate a corresponding amount of water. The lagoonal
facies in between is often characterized by stronger and continuous reectivity, probably due to intercalations of marls within the
carbonates. Their compact bedding seems to be less prospective, as
shown by drilling.
3.4. Seismic interval velocities
Fig. 10. Collapse sinkhole (doline) at the top Malm or impact structure, circular at its
top in depth slice (top) and shown as a small syncline in a vertical section (bottom).

3.2. Circular structures

There are some circular structures in the vicinity of the faults
(Fig. 10) which can only be identied as such by 3D seismic data on
depth slices together with associated vertical sections. Own analog studies in quarries in the Franconian Alb, which is the outcrop
of the Malm, indicate that these structures are sinkholes (dolines).
These sinkholes collapsed due to karstication and chemical dissolution of the Upper Jurassic limestone during the Cretaceous, and
were then partly lled with detritus and sealed by the Lithothamnion limestone. Therefore, they might be relevant for geothermal
exploration, since they are often aligned with the main faults.
Alternatively, this structure might be interpreted as an impact
structure.

Analysis of the seismic propagation speed, which is needed

for converting the travel time (two-way travel time) to depth
or depth migration during data processing, provides further
indication of higher fracture porosity. Fig. 13 (upper part) shows
a vertical section with seismic interval velocities in the area
surrounding the Unterhaching Gt 2 well. Decreased velocities
(approx. 45005000 m/s) are discernible along the main faultsthe
45 fault is drilled through by the Gt 2 well. The lower velocities
can be explained by generally increased brittle disaggregation and
higher fracture porosity. On the other hand, the lagoonal facies
shows the high velocities typical of massive carbonates. The higher
productivity of the Gt 2 well may be attributed to this effect as
opposed to the less prospective well in the southeast (right side
of Fig. 13, upper part, Kirchstockach well). The evaluation of the
seismic velocity benets from the high common midpoint coverage (approx. 300 fold in the center), from the high source-receiver
distance range (offset, 07600 m) and the complete azimuth range
of the source-receiver conguration. Since the structure of the

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175

Fig. 11. Coherence of seismogram traces shows pattern of geological faults. Coherence cube with depth slice close to Top Malm (top), coherence depth slice at Top Malm
with colored amplitudes (lower left) and depth slice within the Malm (lower right). (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred
to the web version of the article.)

Fig. 12. Small and large sponge reefs between lagoons. Seismic amplitudes superposed by the coherence attribute and by the dip attribute (red: dipping toward the NW,
blue toward the SE). Note that the edges of the section show a bias to false dips because of the limited size of the survey area and the corresponding limited aperture of the
depth migration (blue in the NW and red in the SE). Lower left: time slice at the Top Malm with amplitudes at 75 Hz. Dark color corresponds to higher amplitudes. Possible
reef is highlighted in green color (high amplitudes) according to a crossplot analysis of spectral decompositions (75 Hz amplitudes versus full spectral range amplitudes) and
corresponds to the big oval in the top gure. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

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Fig. 13. The low seismic interval velocities (yellow, brown and blue) of the Malm layer close to the fault pattern as opposed to the bedded zones of the lagoonal facies (red
and dark colors) point to increased fracture porosity with water pathways. Velocity scale from lower than/equal 4500 m/s (yellow) to 6000 m/s (dark). Upper gure: Inline
section 240 through drill path of Unterhaching Gt 2 from NW (left) to SE (right) with 150 m analyzing interval. Kirchstockach well in the SE. Velocity model terminates at
the base of the Malm (yellow at the base without meaning). Lower gure: Velocity cube after analyzing the 75 m interval, and attening the Top Malm horizon, together
with coherence depth slice at Top Malm. Red point marks piercing point in Top Malm. Note that low velocities are mainly concentrated along the main fault zones and in the
southwest where the fault zones merge. Blue and green lines mark top and base of the Malm, respectively. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend,
the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

overburden of the Malm is relatively simple and uniform, standard

semblance-based analysis of the stacking velocity and subsequent
transformation to interval velocities can be advantageously used
for geological interpretation. In order to test the reliability of this
approach, the analyzing interval was decreased from originally
150 m (Fig. 13, upper part) to 75 m (Fig. 13, lower part) in all directions. After conversion to interval velocities, a slight smoothing was
applied. In Fig. 13 (lower part) the pattern of decreased velocities is
aligned again to the main fault zones. Particularly in the southwest
where these fault zones merge, a larger cluster of low velocities is
discernible. Decreased velocities are also found below the base of
the Malm within the crystalline Variscan basement. These lower
velocities indicate rock fracturing deeper in the crust. Monitoring
of microseismicity during 20102011 showed a NE-SW oriented
clustering of focal depths at 11.5 km in crystalline basement
below the Gt 2 well target (Megies and Wassermann, submitted
for publication). Rupture and friction processes at that depth,
obviously related to the reinjection activity, are presently under
research.
Since the inherent uncertainty in converting stacking velocities
to interval velocities increases with travel time or depth, the absolute values should not be accepted as entirely accurate. Instead,

the resulting patterns should be taken as qualitative. However,

sonic velocities measured within the Malm corroborate the interval velocities at least qualitatively, and furthermore, as outlined
above, the depth-migrated seismic volume matches lithological
markers from the Gt 2 well. Therefore, we are condent in using
the velocities for interpretation. The seismic interval velocities,
as extracted along the drill path of Unterhaching Gt 2, are generally lower than the sonic velocities (Fig. 14). We attribute this
to the scaling effect of high-resolution sonic logs versus seismic interval velocities derived from surface measurements which
take much larger rock volumes into account. The seismic velocities are particularly inuenced by the larger volume of the fault
zone. However, both logs show the same tendency of reduced
velocities at 3300 m depth where a pronounced water producing fracture zone is discernible. The log section in Fig. 14 is not
appropriate for a precise seismic-to-well tie, since the most pronounced and at reection of the Lithothamnion limestone is not
included. Such calibration, which is necessarily an one-dimensional
approach, is also hindered by the drill path through a sub-vertical
fault zone. Furthermore, frequent fractures in this fault zone (e.g.
at 3100, 3300 and 3500 m) show unrealistic anomalies in the sonic
log.

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177

Fig. 14. Lithology of the Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic with gamma-ray log (left), velocities from sonic velocity log (middle, green) with seismic interval velocities (middle,
red) and dip and azimuth of fractures (right). Red lines within the Litholog mark pronounced water producing fracture zones. Major water inow is attributed to fracture
zones and to dolomitized zones. Dip (black) and azimuth (green) of fractures are derived from a Schlumberger FMI log (Angers & Soehne, 2006). MD is measured depth, TVD
is true vertical depth. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

3.5. Subseismic scale

Azimuth-selective processing was chosen to obtain possible
information of preferential orientations of (vertical) fractures,
joints and ssures on the subseismic resolution scale. The underlying model corresponds to transversely isotropic media with
a horizontal axis of symmetry (HTI). Their approximate P-wave
reection coefcient has been described theoretically by Rger
(1998). Lynn et al. (1996) used selected source-receiver azimuths
for identical processing to demonstrate azimuth-dependent reectivity. This requires preservation of the relative amplitudes.
Amplitudes according to this model are maximum when the

source-receiver azimuth is parallel to the preferential orientation of fractures (Fig. 15). Here we try to follow this approach
by scanning the data volume for all azimuths in 30 intervals.
The procedure benets from the high CMP-coverage and from
the observation of the full azimuth range by the xed receiver
spread recorded from all vibrator points (compare Fig. 6). Obviously, this is valid for the center region of the survey only, where
the CMP-coverage is above 200. This approach may be regarded
as a test only. A more complete study should involve the amplitude variation with offset (AVO) and the variation with offset
and azimuth (AVOA) in CMP gathers (e.g. Rger, 1998). Models
are always simplied and we cannot fully exclude that factors

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to be maximum within the Malm when an ENE azimuth is chosen.

This implies that fractures are preferably orientated in the same
direction and that permeability is maximum in this direction. Dip
and azimuth of fractures, derived from FMI-logs, seem to conrm
this in the lower part of the section (3300 m, Fig. 14). Other examples in Fig. 16 (upper left) show different amplitudes between the
45 und the 70 faults when an azimuth of WNW is chosen. We
speculate that this might be due to the complex interaction of the
45 and the 70 faults and of the relay ramps at the 70 fault.
4. Conclusions and outlook

Fig. 15. Principle of the amplitude-versus-azimuth analysis.

other than vertical fractures and joints contribute to the observations.

In the example shown in Fig. 16 (lower right), the amplitudes in
the center of the vertical section, close to Unterhaching Gt 2 appear

A suite of preferential geothermal targets could be identied on

a relatively small survey size of 27 km2 , where several geothermal
projects are expected to potentially inuence each other. The benet of 3D seismic reection surveys has thus been demonstrated. The
application of 3D seismic measurements started to be common for
exploration of geothermal reservoirs in the Bavarian Molasse (and
in the Upper Rhine Graben) since that time. 3D seismic surveys are
undertaken with the objective, as shown in our study, to nd presumably permeable structures, such as fracture zones (associated

Fig. 16. Vertical sections (NW-left, SE-right) close to the drill path of Unterhaching Gt 2. Source-receiver azimuths of the original dataset were scanned for 30 wide corridors.
Unterhaching Gt 2 well trajectory is shown by red line. The four sections correspond to the azimuths shown below. Amplitudes are plotted at the same scale. Dashed lines
mark position of the main fault zones (45 , 70 ). Inline 225 is closest to the drill path of Gt 2, inline 275 is 750 m further to the NE. White ovals mark reections which show
differences in their amplitudes depending on the selected azimuth. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of the article.)

E. Lschen et al. / Geothermics 50 (2014) 167179

with fault zones), karstic sinkholes, sponge or coral reefs (often

dolomitized) and, possibly, alignments of fractures and joints that
are controlling water ow in naturally fractured reservoirs.
The survey layout of small bins, high bin coverage, large sourcereceiver offset ranges and full source-receiver azimuth coverage,
enabled new and unconventional processing and interpretation.
The presence of a major sub-vertical normal fault zone, penetrated
by the Unterhaching Gt 2 well could be veried. A complex pattern
of horizons and fault/fracture patterns in the Upper Jurassic (Malm)
is discernible which was not known at this detail from 2D seismic
surveying alone. Examples of such 3-dimensional structures are
sinkholes which are often aligned with major fault zones. A suite of
dynamic and geometrical seismic attributes, derived from the seismic traces, and combinations of them, are helpful to discriminate
reef facies and lagoonal facies within the carbonate layer. Seismic
interval velocities as an independent seismic property obtained
during processing can be interpreted in terms of porosity. The subseismic resolution scale is feasible by scanning the source-receiver
azimuths during processing, and may be used for mapping the preferential orientation of fractures and joints.
The geometry of faults, horizons and reef and lagoonal facies,
derived from the 3D seismic survey, are integrated into a larger
geological model of the Greater Munich study area, which is constructed from additionally existing 2D seismic proles and drilling
information. Hydraulic conductivities, derived from pump tests and
ow logs at available wells, are assigned to the structural elements
of the Malm aquifer. Finally, a thermo-hydraulic modeling, calibrated by the interaction of adjacent wells, is the main step of
the project (Dussel et al., 2013). Its purpose is to nd implications for the sustainability of the geothermal energy usage in the
future.
Acknowledgements
The Geothermal characterization of karstic-fractured aquifers
in Greater Munich project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
(BMU) under funding nos. 0325013A and 0325013B. The FMI log
was nanced by BMU under funding no. 0327573. We acknowledge
thorough and helpful reviews by Chris Juhlin and Alfredo Mazzotti.
We thank dGB Earth Sciences, Enschede, for free use of their seismic
interpretation system OpendTect. Data processing was done with
Landmarks ProMAX system.
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