Multi-Component VSP Analysis for Applied Seismic Anisotropy (Handbook of Geophysical Exploration: Seismic Exploration)

The vertical seismic profile, acquired with an array of 3C receivers and either a single source or several arranged in a multi-component configuration, provides an ideal high fidelity calibration tool for seismic projects involved in the application of seismic anisotropy. This book catalogues the majority of specialized tools necessary to work with P-P, P-S and S-S data from such VSP surveys at the acquisition design, processing and interpretation stages. In particular, it discusses 3C, 4C, 6C and 9C VSP, marine and land surveys with near and multiple offsets (walkways), azimuths (walkarounds) or a combination of both. These are considered for TIH or TIV flavours of seismic anisotropy arising from cracks, fractures, sedimentary layering, and shales. The anisotropic adaptation of familiar seismic methods for velocity analysis and inversion, reflected amplitude interpretation, are given together with more multi-component specific algorithms based upon the principles dictated by the vector convolutional model. Thus, multi-component methods are described that provide tests and compensation for source or receiver vector fidelity, tool rotation correction, layer stripping, near-surface correction, wavefield separation, and the Alford rotation with its variants. The work will be of interest to geophysicists involved in research or the application of seismic anisotropy using multi-component seismic.