1. Vertical Resolution
Gamma Ray
What is the minimum vertical distance between two subsurface features such that we can tell them apart seismically?
Shale
Baseline
Shale
SLIDE 5
As an example of vertical resolution, consider the geology indicated by the gamma ray log
At a gross scale, there is a thick shale unit on top of a thick sand unit
But the sand unit has a thin shale layer interfingered with it near the top
Low resolution seismic data would detect a shaley unit sitting on top of a sandy unit - one interface
Seismic data with high resolution would resolve 3 interfaces, identifying the thin shale unit within the predominantly sandy unit Sd
For Example:
Based on seismic data, could you determine that there is a thin shale layer between the two sands?
Sand
Courtesy of ExxonMobil
L 9 – Seismic Resolution