The impact of crustal scattering on body-wave reflection interferometry by cross-correlation and multidimensional deconvolution

Previous studies indicate that scattering may pose a trade-off for the performance of seismic interferometry (SI) applications for retrieving body-wave reflections of a target reflector. While it has been demonstrated that a higher scattering strength of the overburden improves the Green's function estimated by cross-correlation SI, other...

Characterization of drilling-related noise and curvelet-based evaluation of seismic-interferometric reflections for imaging of iron-bearing formations in Pilbara, Western Australia

Here we analyse ambient noise (AN) data generated during drilling of exploration boreholes and recorded using a dense array deployed over one of the numerous shallow iron-ore mineralization targets in the Pilbara region (Western Australia). Drilling and drilling-related operations were reoccurring in a sequence as described by the drillers’...

Body-wave passive seismic interferometry revisited: mining exploration using the body waves of local microearthquakes

As the global need for mineral resources is constantly rising and the exploitable concentrations of these resources tend to become increasingly complex to explore and exploit, the mining industry is in a constant quest for innovative and cost‐effective exploration solutions. In this context, and in the framework of the Smart Exploration action,...

Locating scatterers while drilling using seismic noise due to tunnel boring machine

Unexpected geological structures can cause safety and economic risks during underground excavation. Therefore, predicting possible geological threats while drilling a tunnel is important for operational safety and for preventing expensive standstills. Subsurface information for tunneling is provided by exploratory wells and by surface...

Passive body-wave interferometric imaging with directionally constrained migration

Passive seismic interferometry enables the estimation of the reflection response of the subsurface using passive receiver recordings at the surface from sources located deep in the Earth. Interferometric imaging makes use of this retrieved reflection response in order to study the subsurface. Successful interferometric imaging relies on the...

Hypocentre estimation of induced earthquakes in Groningen

Induced earthquakes due to gas production have taken place in the province of Groningen in the northeast of The Netherlands since 1986. In the first years of seismicity, a sparse seismological network with large station distances from the seismogenic area in Groningen was used. The location of induced earthquakes was limited by the few and...

Full-field multidimensional deconvolution to retrieve body-wave reflections from sparse passive sources

Our objective is to complement lithospheric seismic tomography with an interferometric method to retrieve high-resolution reflectivity images from local earthquake recordings. The disadvantage of using local earthquakes for the retrieval of reflected body-waves is their usual sparse distribution. We propose an alternative formulation of passive...

AVO inversion for a non-welded interface: Estimating compliances of a fluid-filled fracture

Though well known for layer boundaries, the use of amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) variations for non-welded boundaries like fractures is not yet investigated. Depending on the seismic wavelength used, fractures can be regarded as thin, compliant zones in rocks, in different scales. We explore the potential of multiangle AVO inversion of P-P and P...

A correlation-based misfit criterion for wave-equation traveltime tomography

Wave-equation traveltime tomography tries to obtain a subsurface velocity model from seismic data, either passive or active, that explains their traveltimes. A key step is the extraction of traveltime differences, or relative phase shifts, between observed and modelled finite-frequency waveforms. A standard approach involves a correlation of the...