| Title | Imaging Steeply-Dipping Fault Zones Using a Novel Least-Squares Reverse-Time Migration Method |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sirui TAN, Lianjie HUANG |
| Year | 2014 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | fault zones, geothermal exploration, imaging condition, least-squares reverse-time migration, reverse-time migration, site characterization, steeply dipping |
| Abstract | Imaging fault zones plays an important role in exploration for geothermal energy. It is very challenging for conventional seismic migration imaging using primary reflection data to obtain high-resolution images of steeply-dipping fault zones. We develop a new least-squares reverse-time migration for high-resolution imaging of steeply-dipping fault zones. Our method uses a wavefield-separation imaging condition and updated source wavefields during each iteration step of least-squares reverse-time migration. We validate the improved imaging capability of our new method using synthetic surface reflection data for a 2D geophysical model constructed using geologic features found at the Soda Lake geothermal field. The model contains several steeply-dipping fault zones. Our least-squares reverse-time migration method significantly improves the images of steeply-dipping fault zones compared with those obtained using conventional reverse-time migration or conventional least-squares reveres-time migration. Our method provides a promising tool for site characterization of geothermal fields. |