arXiv subjects

F. Bouchaala

Publications and source records attributed to F. Bouchaala.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Seismic Properties of Coastal and Inland Sabkhas: Implications for Static Corrections

Sabkha environments are a prevalent topographic feature in arid coastal areas. Along the Arabian Gulf, sabkhas overlie substantial hydrocarbon reservoirs and exhibit intricate lithological characteristics and an extremely shallow water table. These factors contribute to elevated seismic velocities and signal distortion. Static correction, a crucial initial step in seismic reflection processing, is employed to mitigate the impact of shallow surface layers. In this study, we investigate the variations in seismic properties along the uppermost part of mature and developing sabkhas. We employed high resolution seismic experiments with geophone spacing of 10 cm to explore the upper tens of centimeters. Conventional surveys with a 2m spacing complement this approach to investigate deeper layers. Both sabkhas exhibit a unique characteristic of a partially saturated zone, which affects the seismic velocity, leading to lower velocities and consequently influencing the accuracy of the static correction. The high resolution surveys demonstrated superior accuracy to conventional approaches in determining the top of the partial saturation zone and hardground layer, hence resulting in a more reliable velocity delineation. Moreover, velocities derived from conventional, replacement, and tomogram approaches resulted in unreliable static corrections in mature coastal sabkha compared with developing inland sabkha, attributed to the considerable geological complexity that is characteristic of mature coastal sabkha environments. Carrying out a high resolution seismic survey in sabkha environments is therefore necessary to mitigate near surface velocity effects.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2026

Joint measurement of cosmic-ray muons and seismic w av es at laboratory scale

Current geophysical exploration methods face challenges in accurately determining gas saturation levels and elastic constants with adequate spatial resolution. Seismic wave velocity is a critical physical property in these techniques, but it introduces uncertainties because of its composite nature involving density and two elastic constants (e.g. bulk and shear modulus), which exhibit a trade off relationship. We propose a novel approach that integrates cosmic ray muon detection with seismic exploration to independently resolve P and S wave velocities into their constituent elastic constants and densities. First, we utilized a fluid substitution approach based on Gassmann s model to illustrate the benefits of incorporating density information in predicting gas saturation levels in pores. This supports the advantage of decomposing seismic wave velocity into density and two elastic constants. Second, to validate the applicability and performance of the proposed method, which involves separating seismic wave velocity into density and two types of elastic constants, muon and ultrasonic data were collected in laboratory experiments on two different targets: an acrylic block and an aluminium block. Upon muon observation, a relationship is established to convert muon flux into density length, considering the characteristics of the building housing the laboratory and the direction of muon arrival at specific positions within the building. Although there is potential for enhancing the accuracy of the derived physical properties such as density, bulk modulus, and shear modulus, the feasibility of this method has been successfully demonstrated at the laboratory scale.

physics.geo-ph↗