US5073876A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Geophysical exploration using near surface structure corrections developed from common endpoint gather stacked traces
Assignee: BP Corp North America Inc
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Filing: 1990-12-31
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Granted: 1991-12-17
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Expires: 2010-12-31
Abstract
Abstract Weathering corrections are determined from first arrival times of refraction stacked traces of common end point gathers. The refraction stacked traces are generated by selecting traces having receiver source offsets greater than the crossover distance and stacking such traces over at least an interval comprising first arrival times. Optionally, a predictor function is used to select first arrivals and the first arrivals are selected from a refraction stacked trace section.
Inventors
- 👤 Russell L. Propes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 19:54
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01V; G01V1/00; G01V1/28; G01V1/36; G01V1/362; G01V2210/00; G01V2210/50; G01V2210/53
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
221 words
A method of geophysical exploration comprising generating from seismic traces a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed by the steps of: (a) generating common end point (CEP) gathers of a set of seismic traces along a seismic line of exploration, the set of seismic traces having refraction first arrivals at source-receiver offsets greater than a crossover distance; (b) selecting a set of traces from each CEP gather having source-receiver offsets greater than the crossover distance, first arrivals in the selected traces thus representing refraction first arrivals; (c) generating for each selected set of traces a refraction stacked trace by linear moveout correcting each of the selected set of traces in each CEP gather so that each refraction first arrival occurs at a time it would have for a receiver at zero source-receiver offset; (d) stacking the resulting linear moveout corrected traces of each selected set of traces producing a refraction stacked trace for each selected set of traces; and (e) determining first break intercept times from the resulting refraction stacked traces and time shifting traces of the CEP gathers using thus determined first break intercept times effective for removing weathering effects therefrom and generating a near surface model of the earth along the seismic line of exploration from the sets of seismic traces having weathering effects removed.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
221 words
A method of geophysical exploration comprising generating from seismic traces a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed by the steps of: (a) generating common end point (CEP) gathers of a set of seismic traces along a seismic line of exploration, the set of seismic traces having refraction first arrivals at source-receiver offsets greater than a crossover distance; (b) selecting a set of traces from each CEP gather having source-receiver offsets greater than the crossover distance, first arrivals in the selected traces thus representing refraction first arrivals; (c) generating for each selected set of traces a refraction stacked trace by linear moveout correcting each of the selected set of traces in each CEP gather so that each refraction first arrival occurs at a time it would have for a receiver at zero source-receiver offset; (d) stacking the resulting linear moveout corrected traces of each selected set of traces producing a refraction stacked trace for each selected set of traces; and (e) determining first break intercept times from the resulting refraction stacked traces and time shifting traces of the CEP gathers using thus determined first break intercept times effective for removing weathering effects therefrom and generating a near surface model of the earth along the seismic line of exploration from the sets of seismic traces having weathering effects removed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the set of traces selected for each CEP gather comprises in the range of 5 to 150 traces.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the set of traces selected for each CEP gather comprises in the range of 5 to 50 traces.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the set of traces selected for each CEP gather comprises in the range of 5 to 15 traces.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the selected set of traces are stacked over only a near surface interval comprising first breaks of the traces.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the selected set of traces are stacked over an interval comprising refraction first arrival times.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein refraction stacked traces are used for generating a refraction stacked trace section and first arrivals are selected along the seismic line of exploration from the refraction stacked trace section.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the first arrivals are selected along the seismic line of exploration by an explorationist using a computer monitor and an interactive device for selecting the first arrivals.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the first arrivals are selected along the seismic line of exploration by a computer implemented first arrival picking function.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the fold of traces is at least 100 fold.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
192 words
Apparatus for generating from seismic traces a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed comprising: (a) means for generating common end point (CEP) gathers of a set of seismic traces along a seismic line of exploration, the set of seismic traces having refraction first arrivals at source-receiver offsets greater than a crossover distance; (b) means for selecting a set of traces from each CEP gather having source-receiver offsets greater than the crossover distance, first arrivals within the selected traces thus representing refraction first arrivals; (c) means for generating for each selected set of traces a refraction stacked trace by linear moveout correcting the selected set of traces in each CEP gather so that each refraction first arrival occurs at a time it would have for a receiver at zero source-receiver offset and stacking the linear movement corrected traces; and (d) means for determining first break intercept times from the resulting refraction stacked traces and for time shifting traces of the CEP gathers using thus determined first break intercept times effective for removing weathering effects therefrom and for generating a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
192 words
Apparatus for generating from seismic traces a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed comprising: (a) means for generating common end point (CEP) gathers of a set of seismic traces along a seismic line of exploration, the set of seismic traces having refraction first arrivals at source-receiver offsets greater than a crossover distance; (b) means for selecting a set of traces from each CEP gather having source-receiver offsets greater than the crossover distance, first arrivals within the selected traces thus representing refraction first arrivals; (c) means for generating for each selected set of traces a refraction stacked trace by linear moveout correcting the selected set of traces in each CEP gather so that each refraction first arrival occurs at a time it would have for a receiver at zero source-receiver offset and stacking the linear movement corrected traces; and (d) means for determining first break intercept times from the resulting refraction stacked traces and for time shifting traces of the CEP gathers using thus determined first break intercept times effective for removing weathering effects therefrom and for generating a near surface model of the earth having weathering effects removed.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 11 comprising means for selecting a set of traces for stacking over only a near surface interval comprising first arrival times of the traces.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 11 comprising means for selecting a set of traces for stacking over an interval comprising refraction first arrival times.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 11 comprising means for generating a refraction stacked trace section and means for selecting first arrivals along the seismic line of exploration from the refraction stacked trace section.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 14 wherein the means for selecting first arrivals are selected along the seismic line of exploration comprises a computer implemented picking function.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-12-16 | 1995-06-17 | 1995-12-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-12-16 | 1999-06-17 | 1999-12-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-12-16 | 2003-06-17 | 2003-12-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |