HR: 1340h
AN: ED33A-0767    [Abstracts]
TI: Teaching Reflection Seismic Processing
AU: * Forel, D
EM: dforel@mtu.edu
AF: Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI 49931 United States
AU: Benz, T
EM: tbenz@mtu.edu
AF: Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI 49931 United States
AU: Pennington, W D
EM: wayne@mtu.edu
AF: Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI 49931 United States
AB: Without pictures, it is difficult to give students a feeling for wave propagation, transmission, and reflection. Even with pictures, wave propagation is still static to many. However, when students use and modify scripts that generate wavefronts and rays through a geologic model that they have modified themselves, we find that students gain a real feeling for wave propagation. To facilitate teaching 2-D seismic reflection data processing (from acquisition through migration) to our undergraduate and graduate Reflection Seismology students, we use Seismic Un*x (SU) software. SU is maintained and distributed by Colorado School of Mines, and it is freely available (at www.cwp.mines.edu/cwpcodes). Our approach includes use of synthetic and real seismic data, processing scripts, and detailed explanation of the scripts. Our real data were provided by Gregory F. Moore of the University of Hawaii. This approach can be used by any school at virtually no expense for either software or data, and can provide students with a sound introduction to techniques used in processing of reflection seismic data. The same software can be used for other purposes, such as research, with no additional expense. Students who have completed a course using SU are well equipped to begin using it for research, as well. Scripts for each processing step are supplied and explained to the students. Our detailed description of the scripts means students do not have to know anything about SU to start. Experience with the Unix operating system is preferable but not necessary -- our notes include Computer Hints to help the beginner work with the Unix operating system. We include several examples of synthetic model building, acquiring shot gathers through synthetic models, sorting shot gathers to CMP gathers, gain, 1-D frequency filtering, f-k filtering, deconvolution, semblance displays and velocity analysis, flattening data (NMO), stacking the CMPs, and migration. We use two real (marine) data sets. One of these is very easy to process, yet provides an extraordinary example of the importance of migration after stack. The other data set is a challenge to process, due to contamination by multiples. Students who complete the SU exercises learn the structure of reflection seismic data, the fundamentals of seismic data processing, and gain an introduction to signal processing, providing them with the tools required to make appropriate career choices and/or to continue their research.
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting