Open AccessImaging of a fluid injection process using geophysical data — A didactic example
Author(s) -
Michael Commer,
Steven R. Pride,
D. W. Vasco,
Stefan Finsterle,
Michael B. Kowalsky
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.178
H-Index - 172
eISSN - 1942-2156
pISSN - 0016-8033
DOI - 10.1190/geo2018-0787.1
Subject(s) - geophysics , multiphysics , geophysical imaging , fluid dynamics , geology , geophysical fluid dynamics , process (computing) , inverse problem , exploration geophysics , flow (mathematics) , fluid mechanics , subsurface flow , electrical resistivity tomography , computer science , mechanics , geotechnical engineering , electrical resistivity and conductivity , groundwater , physics , mathematical analysis , mathematics , climatology , quantum mechanics , finite element method , thermodynamics , operating system
In many subsurface industrial applications, fluids are injected into or withdrawn from a geologic formation. It is of practical interest to quantify precisely where, when, and by how much the injected fluid alters the state of the subsurface. Routine geophysical monitoring of such processes attempts to image the way that geophysical properties, such as seismic velocities or electrical conductivity, change through time and space and to then make qualitative inferences as to where the injected fluid has migrated. The more rigorous formulation of the time-lapse geophysical inverse problem forecasts how the subsurface evolves during the course of a fluid-injection application. Using time-lapse geophysical signals as the data to be matched, the model unknowns to be estimated are the multiphysics forward-modeling parameters controlling the fluid-injection process. Properly reproducing the geophysical signature of the flow process, subsequent simulations can predict the fluid migration and alteration in the subsurface. The dynamic nature of fluid-injection processes renders imaging problems more complex than conventional geophysical imaging for static targets. This work intents to clarify the related hydrogeophysical parameter estimation concepts.