ThinBedInterpretation

DesignObjective
Thethicknessofmanyreservoirsisonlyafractionoftheverticaldimensionspannedbythe
dominantwavelengthoftheseismicwaveletthatilluminatesandimagesthosereservoirs.Such
reservoirsarereferredtoasseismicthinbeds.
Theseismicreflectionprocessthatoccurswhentwoormoreinterfacesareseparated
verticallybylessthanonefourthofawavelength(thinbeds)differsfromthereflectionprocess
associatedwithisolatedinterfaces(thickbeds).Thepurposeofthismoduleistodemonstrate
howseismicreflectionamplitudecanbeusedtointerpretreservoirsthathavethicknessesless
thanonefourthofthedominantwavelengthoftheilluminatingwavefield.

BasicConcepts
Thedominantwavelengthassociatedwithaseismicwaveletisdefinedasthedistance
betweentwoidenticalphasepointsofanoscillatingfunction.
InsertFigure1here.
Typicallywavelengthismeasuredbetweenadjacentpeaksortroughsbythesymbol.This
seismicwaveletcontainsawidespectrumofwavelengths,butthewavelengththatismost
apparentistheoneshownby,thusitiscalledthedominantwavelength.
Athinbedisastratigraphicunitthathasathicknessmuchlessthanthedominant
wavelengthoftheseismicwaveletthatilluminatesthebed.Itisgenerallyacceptedthatifisthe
dominantwavelengthoftheilluminatingseismicwavelet,thenabedwithathicknessthatisone
fourthoforlesscanbeconsideredathinbed.
Itisimportanttonotethatthedefinitionofathinbeddependsonthelengthofthe
investigativewavelength.Abedthatisthinrelativetoalowfrequency(longwavelength)
waveletmaynotbethinwhenahigherfrequency(shorterwavelength)waveletisconsidered,as
isillustratedinFigure2.
InsertFigure2here.

AsktheExpert
Thereissomeconfusionintheliteratureandamongseismicinterpreterswhenreferringto
thethicknessofareservoirintimeunits.Thisconfusionresultsbecausemanypeopleconvert
bedthicknessfromdistanceunits(feetormeters)directlytoonewaytraveltimeacrossthebed
(Fig.3),whichisalogicalandcorrectwaytodefinebedthicknessintermsofseismictime.
InsertFigure3here.
However,alltimemeasurementsmadefromseismicreflectiondataaretwowaytraveltime
measurements,notonewaytraveltime.Thusabedthatis1.0msthickinonewaytraveltimehas
tobeexpressedasa2msbedwhenitisimagedwithaseismicwaveletbecausethereflection
fromthebaseofthebedinvolvesadownwardtransmissionthroughthebed(onewaytraveltime)
andthenanupgoingreflectionreturnthroughthebed(twowaytraveltime).Bedthicknesscan
bedefinedintermsofeitheronewayortwowaytraveltimeaslongas
1. Thetimescaleisdefinedsothatthereisnoconfusionand
2. Twowaytimeisalwaysusedwhenbedthicknessisbeinginterpretedfromseismic
reflectiondata.

WedgeModel
Calculatingseismicreflectionresponsesacrossabedthatthinscontinuouslyisauseful
modelingtechniquefordevelopingtheprinciplesofthinbedinterpretationthatwillbe
emphasizedinthismodule.SuchawedgemodelisdisplayedinFigure4.
InsertFigure4here.
Inthismodel,themediaaboveandbelowthethinbedhavethesameacousticimpedance,
whichcausesthereflectioncoefficientsatthetopandbottomofthebedtohavethesame
magnitudesbutoppositealgebraicsigns.Thebasicfeaturesofthecompositereflectiongenerated
bythissimplemodelcanbeusedtoillustratehowbedthicknessaffectsseismicreflection
characterformostthinbeddepositionalsystems.Thephysicsofthereflectionprocessisshown
bytheanimationassociatedwiththedisplay.
ReinsertFigure4herewithanimation.
Whentheonewaytimethicknessofthewedgeisonehalformorethedominant
wavelength,theamplitudeofthereflectioneventdoesnotchangeinmagnitude.Forsuchthick
beds,theembeddedanimationshowsthattheonlyindicationthatbedthicknessdecreases
(increases)asthemodelingprocessmovesacrossthewedgeisthatthetimingdifferencebetween
thereflectionsfromthetopandbaseofthebeddecreases(increases).
WedgeModelExerciseHere

KnowledgeBase
Thethinbedregimestartswhentheonewaytraveltimethicknessofthewedgeisone
fourththedominantwavelengthoftheilluminatingwavelet(orwhenthetwowaytraveltimeis
onehalfthedominantwavelength)andthenextendsacrossthethinnerportionofthewedge.The
wedgemodelanimationshowsthatthemagnitudeofthereflectionamplitudedecreasesandthat
thetimedifferencebetweenthereflectionsfromthetopandbaseofthebedstaysconstantasthe
bedthicknesscontinuestodecreasetosmallervalues.
Thekeydistinctionsbetweentheseismicreflectionprocessforthickbedsandthinbedsare
summarizedinthefollowingtable.

Reflectionamplitude
Timethickness

Thickbed
Constant

Thinbed
Decreasesasbedthickness
decreases
Decreasesasbedthickness Constant
decreases

Insertxplotfigurehere.

Threeessentialpointsabouttheseismicreflectionprocesscanbeconcludedfromthewedge
modelresults.
1. Thetimingdifferencebetweenthefirstandlasttroughsofthecompositereflectionis
directlyproportionaltobedthicknesswhentheonewaytraveltimebedthickness
exceedsonefourththedominantwavelength(thatis,whenthetwowaytraveltime
thicknessexceedsonehalfthedominantwavelength).Twowaytraveltimebed
thicknessesgreaterthanonehalfthedominantwavelengthcanbedeterminedby
measuringthetimedifferencesbetweentheonsetoftheR1(topinterface)andR2
(bottominterface)reflectioneventsthatcombinetomakethecompositewaveform.

2. Theshapeofthereflectedwaveformchangesverylittlewhentheonewaytraveltime
bedthicknessislessthanonefourththedominantwavelength(orwhenthetwoway
traveltimeislessthanonehalfthedominantwavelength).Inthisthicknessrange,itis
theamplitudeofthecompositereflection,notaphasechangeoratimingdifference
betweenphasepointsofthatwaveform,thatisproportionaltobedthickness.
3. Aconstructiveinterferenceoccurswhentheonewaytraveltimebedthicknessisone
fourththedominantwavelength(whichisatwowaytraveltimebedthicknessofone
halfthedominantwavelength).Thecompositereflectionacquiresitslargestamplitude
forthisvalueofbedthickness.Thisphenomenoniscalledthinbedtuning.
Insertxplotfigureherethatidentifysthinbedtuning(resonance).
Becausetimingdifferencesbetweenphasepoints(peakextrema,troughextrema,orzero
crossing)ofthereflectedwaveformdonotindicatebedthicknesswhentheverticaldimensionof
thebedislessthanonefourththedominantwavelengthinonewaytime,interpretersdefinethis
onewaytraveltimebedthicknessvalue(i.e.,onefourththedominantseismicwavelength)asthe
onsetofthethinbedregime.ThecalculatedwaveshapesinFigure4arenoisefree.Inrealdata,
whennoiseisaddedandwaveletinterpretationismoredifficult,thethinbedregimeismore
difficulttodefinebecausenoisealtersreflectionwaveshapesandamplitudesinaddtiontobed
thicknesseffects.

ResolvedversusDetectedThinBeds
Twotermsusedtodescribethequalityofathinbedimagesaythatthebediseither
resolvedordetected.Ifabedisresolvedinzerophaseseismicdata,thenboththetopandbottom
boundariesofthebedcanbeidentifiedasapeakand/ortroughintheseismicresponse,andthe
bedthicknesscanbemeasuredintermsofthetwowayseismictraveltimeacrossthebed.Ifthe
bedcreatesaseismicreflectionevent,butthetopandbottomboundariesofthebedaresoclose
togetherthattheycannotbothbepositionedatapeakand/oratroughinzerophasedata,thenthe
bedissaidtobedetected,notresolved.Thethicknessofadetectedbedmustbeinferredfromthe
amplitudebehaviorofitsreflectionwaveshapebecauseitsthicknesscannotbemeasureddirectly
intermsofatwowaytraveltimedifferencebetweenapeakandatrough.
ResolvedVs.DetectedExerciseHere.

AmplitudeandTimeThicknessCrossplots
Acommonprocedureusedtointerpretandcalibratethethicknessofthinbedsfromseismic
dataistoconstructanamplitudeversustimethicknesscrossplotfromsyntheticreflection
waveformsthatareconstructedinthemannershowninthewedgemodelexercise.Insuch
crossplots,theamplitudeaxisissomearbitrarymeasurementoftheamplitudeofthereflection
waveformassociatedwiththethinbed(suchasapeakamplitude,atroughamplitude,orapeak
totroughamplitude),andthetimethicknessaxisreferstothetimedifferencebetweenthe
extremaofthepeakandtroughthatmarkthetopandbottomreflectionsofthethinbed.
AnexampleoftheconstructionofsuchacalibrationgraphisshowninFigure5.
InsertFigure5here.Note:Asyoureadthroughthissection,theitemsinredshouldbe
highlightedonthefigureasyouplaceyourcursorontheredwords.
Themodelresponses(top)arethesamedatacreatedinthewedgemodelexercise.
Insertfigure5andthexplotthatgoesunderithere.

KnowledgeBase
Thebedthicknessatwhichtheamplitudeofthereflectedcompositewaveformisa
maximuminanamplitudeversustimethicknesscrossplotisreferredtoasthetuningthickness.
Theactualtimethicknessofthelayerthatwasusedwhencalculatingeachsyntheticreflection
waveformisplottedonthehorizontalaxisofthisplotandislabeledtwowaytruethickness.
Theprincipalfeaturesofsuchcalibrationchartsare
1. Thereisalinearrelationshipbetweentheapparent(measured)twowaytimethickness
ofabedanditsactualtwowaytimethicknesswhenthebedthicknessismorethan
tuningthickness,whichinthismodelis16ms.Thisrelationshipisshownbythequasi
linear,heavierdashedlinethatslopesuptotherightfromathicknessvalueof16ms.In
thisthicknessrangeaboveonehalfthedominantwavelength(intwowaytime),abedis
saidtobetimeresolved,anditsactualthicknesscanbedeterminedfromitsapparent
(measured)twowaytimethickness.
2. Thereisaquasilinearrelationshipbetweenthepeaktotroughamplitudecurveandthe
actualbedthicknesswhenthetwowaybedthicknessislessthantuningthickness.Beds
inthisthicknessrangeexhibitthesameapparent(measured)timethickness,regardless
oftheiractualthickness.Thiseffectisshownbytheflat,horizontalportionofthe
measuredtimethicknesscurve.Ifreflectioneventsfromsuchbedscanbeseenin
seismicdata,thebedsaresaidtobedetectednotresolved,andtheiractualthicknesses
mustbeestimatedfromthelinearrelationshipbetweentheactualbedthicknessandthe
peaktotroughamplitudeofthereflectioncomposite.
TheparticularcalibrationchartshowninFigure5iscorrectonlyifthebasicwaveletthatis
containedintheseismicdatathatarebeinginterpretedcanberepresentedbya20HzRicker
wavelet.Adifferentcalibrationchartmustbeconstructedforanyothertypeofwavelet.

NetPayEstimatesinHeterogeneousThinBeds
Theprecedingmodelsassumethatthethinbedisahomogeneousunitcomposedofasingle,
uniformrocktype.Inmanysituations,athinsandmaycontainoneormoreshalestringersthat
subdividethegrossthinsandunitintoseveralthinnernetsands.Aquestionthatneedstobe
consideredisWhateffectdoshalestringerswithinathinbedhaveonthethinbedreflection
response?AmodelthatprovidesinsightintothisproblemisshowninFigure6.
InsertFigure6here.
Thespatialdistributionofsandandshalewithinthethinbed(redarrowinfigure)isshown
atthetopofthemodel,andthecalculatedreflectionresponsesareplottedbelowthislithological
crosssection(redarrowinfigure).Theapparent(measured)timethickness(redarrowinfigure)
andthepeaktotroughamplitudeofthecalculatedreflectionwaveforms(redarrowinfigure)are
showningraphicalformatthebottomoftheillustration.Theapparenttimethicknessis
essentiallyconstant,(redarrowinfigure)whichitshouldbeinathinbedregime.However,the
peaktotroughamplitudeincreasesanddecreasesinphasewiththenetsandcurve(redarrowin
figure).Themodelshowsthatreflectionamplitudeisareliableindicatorofnetpaywithina
thinbedwhenthethinbedisheterogeneous.
ThemodelinFigure7carriestheinvestigationalittlefartherinthatitkeepsthetotal
amountofcontaminatingshaleconstantbutdistributestheshalethroughthethinsandasone,
two,orfourstringers.
InsertFigure7here.
Thepeaktotroughamplitudeoftheresponsesatpositions2,3,and4arethesame,(red
arrowinfigure)whichleadsagaintotheconclusionthatreflectionamplitudeisameasureof
thenetpaywithinathinbedregardlessofhowthatpayisdistributedwithinthebed.One
mustbecautiousandnotapplythisinterpretationalguideline(i.e.,thatreflectionamplitudeis

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directlyproportionaltonetsand),whenthegrosssandintervalthatisbeingstudiedisthicker
thanonefourththedominantwavelengthoftheseismicwavelet.
NetPay/AmplitudeExerciseHere.

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AsktheExpert
WaveletConsiderations
Thinbedcalibrationchartsmustbeconstructedwithawaveletthataccuratelyrepresents
therealwaveletcontainedintheseismicdatathatarebeinginterpreted.Otherwise,the
calibrationcurveswillnotcontainthecorrectnumberofresonancepeaksandoscillations.An
interpretershouldbecautiouswhenusingmanypublishedthinbedcalibrationchartsbecausethe
waveletthatwasusedtoconstructthesechartsmaynotberepresentativeofthewavelet
containedintherealdatathatneedtobeanalyzed.
Dependingonthespecificprocessingstepsthatarefollowed,mostseismicimagesare
constructedofeitheranonsymmetricalbasicwaveletoralongsymmetricalwaveletthathas
severalsidelobes.ThecompactRickerwaveletusedinthewedgemodelexerciseisthetypeof
waveletthatisusuallyusedtoconstructmanypublishedthinbedcalibrationcharts.Ithasonly
onesidelobe,andthecalibrationchartmadewiththiswaveletexhibitsonlyoneresonancepeak
intheamplitudecurveandonlyoneoscillationintheapparenttimethicknesscurve.Onthe
otherhand,thetwosidelobewaveletinFigure8ismorerepresentativeofthetypeofzerophase
waveletthatiscreatedwhenprocessingrealseismicdata.
InsertFigure8here.
Thecalibrationchartmadewiththiswaveletexhibitstworesonancepeaksintheamplitude
curveandtwooscillationsintheapparenttimethicknesscurve.Aconclusionthatcanbedrawn
isthatthenumberofresonancepeaksintheamplitudecalibrationcurveandthenumberof
oscillationsintheapparenttimethicknesscalibrationcurveisthesameasthenumberofside
lobesinthewaveletthatisusedtoconstructthesecurves.
Links,Glossaryterms,revisions

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