Reprocessing of Shallow Seismic Reflection Data to Image Faults Near a Hazardous Waste Site on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee

Shallow seismic reflection data were recorded along two long (>1.6 km) intersecting profiles in the glaciated Suhre Valley of northern Switzerland. Appropriate choice of source and receiver parameters resulted in a high‐fold (36–48) data set with common midpoints every 1.25 m. As for many shallow seismic reflection data sets, upper portions of the shot gathers were contaminated with high‐amplitude, source‐generated noise (e.g., direct, refracted, guided, surface, and airwaves). Spectral balancing was effective in significantly increasing the strength of the reflected signals relative to the source‐generated noise, and application of carefully selected top mutes ensured guided phases were not misprocessed and misinterpreted as reflections. Resultant processed sections were characterized by distributions of distinct seismic reflection patterns or facies that were bounded by quasi‐continuous reflection zones. The uppermost reflection zone at 20 to 50 ms (∼15 to ∼40 m depth) originated from a boundary between glaciolacustrine clays/silts and underlying glacial sands/gravels (till) deposits. Of particular importance was the discovery that the deepest part of the valley floor appeared on the seismic section at traveltimes >180 ms (∼200 m), approximately twice as deep as expected. Constrained by information from boreholes adjacent to the profiles, the various seismic units were interpreted in terms of unconsolidated glacial, glaciofluvial, and glaciolacustrine sediments deposited during two principal phases of glaciation (Riss at >100 000 and Würm at ∼18 000 years before present).

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Combining elevation and NMO corrections to shallow seismic reflection data on rugged topography

10.1190/1.1817512 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Jiangping Liu ◽

Jianghai Xia ◽

Chao Chen

Keyword(s):

Seismic Reflection ◽

Seismic Reflection Data ◽

Reflection Data ◽

Shallow Seismic ◽

Rugged Topography

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Shallow Seismic Reflection Survey of the Bootheel Lineament Area, Southeastern Missouri

Seismological Research Letters ◽

10.1785/gssrl.63.3.285 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 285-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Eugene S. Schweig ◽

Fan Shen ◽

Lisa R. Kanter ◽

Eugene A. Luzietti ◽

Roy B. VanArsdale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seismic Reflection ◽

Strike Slip ◽

Seismic Reflection Data ◽

Reflection Data ◽

Shallow Seismic ◽

Slip Deformation ◽

Flower Structures

Abstract During 1990 we collected eight lines (11.5 km) of shallow seismic reflection data across the Bootheel lineament, a discontinuous feature that extends about 135 km in a north-northeast direction through northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. The profiles image reflectors at depths between about 55 m to 800 m. Gentle folding with wavelengths of about 800 m and amplitudes of 10 m to 25 m is evident on nearly every profile, generally coinciding with the surface traces of the lineament. We interpret our lines to show a complex zone of strike-slip deformation consisting of multiple flower structures, with deformation at least as young as the Eocene/Quaternary unconformity.

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An example of extreme near-surface variability in shallow seismic reflection data

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2015-0215.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. SH1-SH9

Author(s):

Steven D. Sloan ◽

J. Tyler Schwenk ◽

Robert H. Stevens

Keyword(s):

Seismic Reflection ◽

Field Data ◽

Low Velocity ◽

Seismic Reflection Data ◽

Near Surface ◽

Shallow Subsurface ◽

Reflection Data ◽

Shallow Seismic ◽

Low Velocity Layer ◽

Velocity Layer

Variability of material properties in the shallow subsurface presents challenges for near-surface geophysical methods and exploration-scale applications. As the depth of investigation decreases, denser sampling is required, especially of the near offsets, to accurately characterize the shallow subsurface. We have developed a field data example using high-resolution shallow seismic reflection data to demonstrate how quickly near-surface properties can change over short distances and the effects on field data and processed sections. The addition of a relatively thin, 20 cm thick, low-velocity layer can lead to masked reflections and an inability to map shallow reflectors. Short receiver intervals, on the order of 10 cm, were necessary to identify the cause of the diminished data quality and would have gone unknown using larger, more conventional station spacing. Combined analysis of first arrivals, surface waves, and reflections aided in determining the effects and extent of a low-velocity layer that inhibited the identification and constructive stacking of the reflection from a shallow water table using normal-moveout-based processing methods. Our results also highlight the benefits of using unprocessed gathers to pragmatically guide processing and interpretation of seismic data.

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