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Time‐lapse gravity: A versatile method for monitoring dynamic processes
Author(s) -
Li Yaoguo,
Krahenbuhl Richard,
Capriotti Joseph
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/1755-6724.14037
Subject(s) - citation , center of gravity , center (category theory) , library science , geophysics , physics , computer science , chemistry , management , economics , crystallography
Monitoring dynamic processes such as fluid migration in reservoirs using time-lapse gravity has long been a dream of many potential-field geophysicists. It is only in the last decade or so that significant advances have been made in instrumentation, data interpretation, and integration of multidisciplinary information that the method is not only feasible but has also demonstrated the practicality for a broad range of applications. Compared to other geophysical methods for monitoring subsurface dynamic systems, time-lapse gravity has one important advantage in that the measurements are directly sensitive to the variations in density, which is solely related to the amount of mass changes per volume. In oil and gas reservoirs, for example, such changes are primarily due to fluid movement and substitutions. Thus, while the seismic method may provide unparalleled structural resolution, the time-lapse gravity method has the potential for characterizing the “content”, that is the fluid saturation or mass transport within “containers” delineated by seismic images.