REFRACTION SEISMICS

Refraction seismics is based on direct arrivals and waves refracted

with critical angle at the interfaces between layers with different
velocities (“headwaves”).

V1
V2
V3

Source
V1  V2  V3
Receiver

Near Surface seismic movie

Equipment

hammer
seismic gun

geophone spread

(www.giscogeo.com)

mini vibroseis
geophone

(www.desy.de) (Bay Geophysical)

1
 REFRACTION SEISMICS
x
Source Detector
Surface
t
direct arrival
(surface wave)
p
ic reflected wave ic
i Low velocity V1

V1 xc (head wave) High velocity V2

sin ic  2 refracted arrival
V2
x 1 t
Direct arrival  line (m  )
t 
V1 V1 reflection
2 x2 2 p
Reflected arrival  t rfl   p2 
V1 4 V1 cos i
direct
dt 1 arrivals
hyperbola (m  lim rfl  )
x  dx V1 x

Critical distance  xc  2 p tan ic

x  xc
Refracted arrival  t rft  t rfl xc 
V2
2p 1 2 p sin ic x
  
V1 cos ic V2 cos ic V2
2p 1 x
 (1  sin 2 ic ) 
V1 cos ic V2
2 p cos ic x 1
   line (m  )
V1 V2 V2
N.B. We have head waves when x  xc
At the critical distance, the hyperbola of reflected arrivals is
tangential to the line representing refracted arrivals. Hence:
xc p sin ic
dtrfl 2 1 cos ic sin ic 1 dtrft
t rft x  t rfl x x 
2    
c c
dx V1 c
xc
2 V1 p V1 V2 dx
2 p 2
cos ic
4

2
 Arrival time
1
Slope
V1
Wide angle
reflection 1
Slope
V2
Critical Head wave or refracted wave
reflection
Reflection
Reflection arrival time
Refraction intercept time Direct wave

Extrapolated
Offset
Critical distance xc

Crossover distance xs

c c c LAYER 1 V1

LAYER 2 V2
Depth

1  V 
c  Critical angle = sin  1 V 
 2 

Cross-over distance  xs  ?
xs 2 p cos ic xs
 
V1 V1 V2
 1 1  2p
xs     1  sin 2 ic
 V1 V2  V1
2
2p V VV
xs  1 12 1 2
V1 V2 V2  V1
2p V2
xs  V2  V1
2 2

V2 V2  V1
V2  V1
xs  2 p 2 p  xs  
V2  V1
V1 p
xs  2 p when  0  ic  0  xc  0 V1
V2
xs is always larger than xc xs V2

3
Real data

Real data

4
 LAYER 1 V1

LAYER 2 V2
3 layer model

LAYER 3 V3

Depth

Arrival time [ms]

1 1
V3 V3
Time-distance graphs
Intercept time
1 1
V2 V2

Intercept time
1 1
V1 V1

Offset [m]

Picking

First arrival

Signal generated by an impulsive source

First arrival

Signal generated by a Vibroseis after cross-correlation

5
 Parallelism of travel time graphs
Time-distance graphs from headwaves generated from shots at
increasing offset are parallel
S1 S2

x
0 x1 x2 x3 x4 x5 x6 x7 x8 x9 x10

t ( S1 )

t (S2 )

x
0 x1 x2 x3 x4 x5 x6 x7 x8 x9 x10

t ( S1 )  t ( S 2 )  constant

First arrival quality control

mispick

mispick

6
 Intercept time method
Time (ms)
V1  500m / sec
Time-distance graph

V2  1600m / sec

2 p cos ic
ti 
V1

Offset (m)

Procedure:
V1  from direct arrivals line
V2  from refracted arrivals line
ic
ti  from linear regression of refracted arrivals
t V
p i 1
2 cos ic

S
Extension to many layers
x R
a i1
h1 V1
'
a
b i2
h2 V2
b'

in 1
hn 1 Vn 1
Vn
Vn 1 sin ik sin ik 1
sin in 1   critical angle for other angles  
Vn Vk Vk 1
1 sin in 1 sin in  2 sin i1
Thus:    ..... 
Vn Vn 1 Vn  2 V1

ik  critical angle for Vk

Vn

7
 2a 2b x 2a ' 2b'
tn    ....    ......
V1 V2 Vn Vn Vn
2h1 2h sin i1 2h1 2h sin 2 i1 2h1 2h cos i1
 1   1  (1  sin 2 i1 )  1
V1 cos i1 Vn cos i1 V1 cos i1 V1 cos i1 V1 cos i1 V1
2h2 2h2 sin i2 2h2 2h2 sin 2 i2 2h2 2h cos i2
    (1  sin 2 i2 )  2
V2 cos i2 Vn cos i2 V2 cos i2 V2 cos i2 V2 cos i2 V2
n 1
hk cos ik x
t n  2 k 
1 Vk Vn

x n 1 hk cos ik ,n Vk
t n  tin  where tin  2 k and sin ik ,n 
Vn 1 Vk Vn
t
1
Vn
t in

For the upper layers:

n  2 h cos i Vk
tin 1  2 k k k , n 1
with sin ik ,n 1 
1 Vk Vn 1

2h1 cos i1,3 2h2 cos i2,3 Vk

ti 3   with sin ik ,3 
V1 V2 V3

2h1 cos i1, 2 V1

ti 2  with sin i1, 2 
V1 V2

t
Procedure
1 dx
From V1 , V2 ......Vn
ti 3 1 V3 dt
V2
ti 2 1 from Vk  ik ,n ; ik ,n 1 ; ...; ik ,3 ; i1, 2
V1 x
from tij  h j 1 2  j  n

8
Dip interface
0 x V1
 sin ic 
h'1 i l ic V2
c
h'2
V1 l  x cos 
V2
h'1 h' ( x ) l h' tan ic h'2 ( x) tan ic
t  2   1 
V1 cos ic V1 cos ic V2 V2 V2
h' h' ( x ) l l
 1 cos ic  2 cos ic  since: x  and h'2  h'1  x sin 
V1 V1 V2 cos 
2h'1 x x cos 
t cos ic  sin  cos ic 
V1 V1 V2
cos ic  sin  cos ic  cos  sin ic 
2h'1 x

V1 V1
2 h' sin ic   
t  1 cos ic  x
V1 V1
1
tid 
V2

1 1


V2 V1
tid 1 sin(ic   )
V1 x

We obtain an apparent velocity V2 which is lower than V2 .
 V1 V1
V2  <  V2
sin(ic   ) sin ic

As a result, ic is also wrong and the error

propagates to the calculation of h1 ' :
~ t V1
h1 '  id ~
2 cos ic

Moreover, h'1 is not the thickness h1 anymore, because:

h'1  h1 cos 

9
 By flipping the source and receiver positions:
h'1 ( x) h'2 l h' ( x) tan ic h'2 tan ic
t    1 
V1 cos ic V1 cos ic V2 V2 V2

with h'1  h'2  x sin 

2h'2 cos ic sin(ic   ) V1
t x Apparent velocity  V2    V2
V
1   1
V sin(ic   )
tir 1

V2
t 1
1
t

T V2 
T
V2

tir
tid
x

Time-distance graph for reciprocal shots

Forward and reverse shooting are required to detect a dipping interface

Horizontal interface Dipping interface

0 x 0 x

ic h'1 i ic
h ic V1 h c

V1 h'2

V2 V2

t 1 t t 1
1
t
1 
T V2 T T V2 
T
V2 V2

tir
tid tir tid
x x

Time-distance graph for Time-distance graph for

forward and reverse shooting forward and reverse shooting

10
 Reciprocal methods
PLUS – MINUS 0 x l
method A B

p V1
tA tB
t AB V2
PLUS time  t A  t B  t AB Reciprocal time
+ +
+ + 2p 2 p tan ic 2 p cos ic
+ ic + PLUS =  
+ p + V1 cos ic V2 V1
+ +
x
MINUS time  t A  t B  t AB t A  ti 
V2 -
lx
t B  ti 
V2 -
l
2l 2 x 2 t AB  ti 
MINUS = i  t    m  V2
V2 V2 V2

time

tAB = 300 tA
tB

PLUS

SP A distance SP B

MINUS

PROCEDURE
V1  from direct arrivals line or other measures
V2  from MINUS curve
cos ic  through V1 and V2
 PLUS V1 
P  from PLUS curve  P  
 2 cos ic 

11
 Benefit of the MINUS curve
We appreciate the benefit of the Minus curve when the interface
is not horizontal. If  is the dip angle, we can write:
x
t A  tid   - 
V2 
V1
V2 sin(ic   )
where
lx
t B  tir   - 
V2 
V1
V2 sin(ic   )
l
t AB  tid   =
V2  
~ 2V2 V2
l l  1 1  2x V 
MINUS =  tir      x      const + ~
 
V2  V2
2

V2 V2  V2 V2  V2
~ 2V1 V1 V
V2    2
sin(ic   )  sin(ic   ) cos  sin ic cos 
Example
with V1  500m / s; V2  2000m / s;   10 we have
  ~
ic  14,5 ; V2  1205m / s; V2  6410m / s; V2  2030m / s

Example

(Palmer, 1986)

12
Example

MINUS
+ const.
2

PLUS
2

(Palmer, 1986)

Plus-Minus for multilayer model

A2 A1 B1 B2
h1 V1

h2 V2

V3
V1
2h1cos(i13) 2h2cos(i23)
Plus= V2 =
V1
+
V2
( t) i

------
V3
Minus line with m = 2
V3
PROCEDURE V1, V2 and h1 as before, then V3 from Minus and h2 from Plus.

Note. Plus and Minus times must be calculated by combining

traveltimes that belong to rays refracted by the same interface ! ! !

13
 GRM (Generalized Reciprocal Method)
A X G Y B A X G Y B A X G Y B
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +

1 XY  p cos ic
t g   TAY  TBX  TAB   From figures  t g 
2 V2  V1
tV  TAY  TBX  TAB 
1
2
x
TAY  const1  -
V2
x
TBX  const2  +
V2
TAB  const3 =
2x x 1
2tV  const4  tV  const5 m
V2 V2 V2

For XY = 0 GRM and PLUS – MINUS are the same method.

The benefit of GRM is the possibility to optimize XY to reduce errors caused by

ambiguities between thickness and velocity variations.

PROCEDURE

V1  from direct arrivals

XYott  From t g ( XY ) and tV ( XY ) curves (by looking for the
XY that minimizes lateral variations of V2 and generates
the most detailed t g )
V2  from tV ( XYott ) ic  from V1 and V2 p  from t g ( XYott )

Note

1) 2) XYott + +
V1 XYott + + + +
V1
+ + + +
+ +
V2 V2

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1st EXAMPLE

Model

First arrivals

(Palmer, 1986)

tv(XY)

XYott

XYott

tg(XY)
(Palmer, 1986)

By inverting tg with XY=0 a perfect model

of the first layer will be obtained
(Palmer, 1986)

15
2nd EXAMPLE

Model

First arrivals

(Palmer, 1986)

tv(XY) XYott

XYott

tg(XY)

Model

(Palmer, 1986)

16
 Comparison of PLUS-MINUS and GRM
ELEVATION [m]

1500 m/s

4000 m/s 5000 m/s

PLUS - MINUS
ELEVATION [m]

1500 m/s

4000 m/s
5000 m/s

GRM
(Palmer, 1980)

VERTICAL GRADIENT of VELOCITY

1
T V4
1
1 V3
V2
1
V1

X
0 LAYER 1 V1
LAYER 2 V2

LAYER 3 V3

LAYER 4 V4

if we increase the number of layers n 

and we decrease the layer thickness  z  dz
and we decrease the velocity contrast  v  dv

17
 VERTICAL GRADIENT of VELOCITY
dT 1
slope   p
T dX Vh
1
slope
Vo

x
2 X
0
V(Z) h io
io
sin io  Vo p
i
sin i  pVz ih  90

Z sin ih  1  Vh p

From Snell law

1 sin iz sin io
 .......  p apparent slowness
Vh Vz Vo

Tomographic inversion
Equations:

 k
si , j , k . wk  ti
,
,j

.......... ..........
.......... ..........
t’i,j = synthetic traveltime from source i to receiver j
wk = slowness in cell k
si,j,k = length of the segment in cell k belonging to raypath i-j
1 21 2 3 4 35 6 7 8 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 15 16
17 18 19 32
33 34

Objective: determine w to minimize t-t’ where t are the observed times

18
 Tomographic inversion initial velocity model

picking initial
velocity
traveltimes model

ray tracing final velocity model

inversion
no

velocity convergence
model test
yes ray-tracing

final
model

N.B. The problem is non-linear.

The final solutions depends on the initial model

Tomographic inversion

19
Tomographic inversion

Tomographic inversion

20
Tomographic inversion

Tomographic inversion

21
Tomographic inversion

Ill-conditioned areas where the solution is less reliable

Tomographic inversion

Ill-conditioned areas where the solution is less reliable

22
Tomographic inversion

s k i , j ,k
.wk  ti,, j
.................... Assuming:
N slowness cells,
.................... M traveltimes,
size(w)=N
Sw=t’ where t’ = synthetic times size(t’)=M
size(S)=MxN
t=t-t’ where t = observed times

if we perturb the slowness field, t’ will change as follows:

t’
t’p=t’+ w
w
t’p=t’+Sw
the error vector will be:
e=t-t’p=t-t’-Sw=t-Sw

Objective: minimize the cumulative squared error E=eTe

Tomographic inversion

E=(t-Sw)T(t-Sw)

E=tTt-wTSTt-tTSw+wTSTSw

To minimize E we solve:
E
=0
w

-STt-STt+2STSw=0
STSw=STt
covariance matrix

w=(STS)-1STt least-squares solution

New slowness field = w+w new ray-tracing, i.e., new S and t’

next iteration

23
Tomographic inversion
But the problem is ill-conditioned, i.e., the solution is unstable.
A common method to stabilize the solution is to use the
Minimum Norm stabilizer:
New objective function to be minimized: F = eTe+ wTw

 is called damping factor.

To minimize F we solve:
F
=0
w

-STt-STt+2STSw+2Iw=0
(STS+I)w=STt

w=(STS+I)-1STt damped least-squares solution

24