• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.6 s.181
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• pp.711-717
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• 2006

In order to study gas hydrate, potential future energy resources, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources has conducted seismic reflection survey in the East Sea since 1997. one of evidence for presence of gas hydrate in seismic reflection data is a bottom simulating reflector (BSR). The BSR occurs at the interface between overlaying higher velocity, hydrate-bearing sediment and underlying lower velocity, free gas-bearing sediment. That is often characterized by large reflection coefficient and reflection polarity reverse to that of seafloor reflection. In order to apply depth migration to seismic reflection data. we need high performance computers and a parallelizing technique because of huge data volume and computation. Phase shift plus interpolation (PSPI) is a useful method for migration due to less computing time and computational efficiency. PSPI is intrinsically parallelizing characteristic in the frequency domain. We conducted conventional data processing for the gas hydrate data of the Ease Sea and then applied prestack depth migration using message-passing-interface PSPI (MPI_PSPI) that was parallelized by MPI local-area-multi-computer (MPI_LAM). Velocity model was made using the stack velocities after we had picked horizons on the stack image with in-house processing tool, Geobit. We could find the BSRs on the migrated stack section were about at SP 3555-4162 and two way travel time around 2,950 ms in time domain. In depth domain such BSRs appear at 6-17 km distance and 2.1 km depth from the seafloor. Since energy concentrated subsurface was well imaged we have to choose acquisition parameters suited for transmitting seismic energy to target area.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.115-123
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• 2001

The bright spot is an indicator for natural gas on seismic stack sections, but it is also shown on layers where the acoustic impedance contrast is large. In order to distinguish sharply between gas and impedance contrast we need additional detailed data processing such as velocity analysis, AVO analysis and seismic complex analysis including measures of seismic amplitude, frequency, and phase. In this study, we performed detailed velocity analysis, complex analysis and DHI (Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator) analysis which is the result of amplitude variation according to the incident angles. The seismic complex analysis gives us the geological information which depends on geophysical properties at the interest layer. For the complex analysis, we computed several seismic attributes such as the instantaneous amplitude, the first and the second derivatives of the instantaneous amplitude, the instantaneous phase, the instantaneous frequency and weighted average instantaneous frequency. Then we applied these analysis techniques to a seismic data of Korea offshore which had been logged. From the result of this data analysis, it could be said that high possibility area for gas layer detection has amplitude anomalies in the instantaneous amplitude, the instantaneous frequency and the DHI section resulting from the AVO analysis. If there are not any other anomalies in detailed data processing, it will have low possibility for gas layer detection.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 1999

A high-resolution seismic profile acquired across the northeastern boundary of the Pungam Basin, one of the Cretaceous sedimentary basins in Korea, has been interpreted to delineate subsurface geological structures across the basin boundary. We identified boundary faults and unconformity surfaces of the basin and divided sediment body into three seismic depositional units (Units I, II, and III from youngest to oldest). Inferred from fault geometry and type, northeastern part of the Pungam Basin has been formed by a strike-slip fault whereas the normal faults near the boundary were formed by transtensional movement along a fault zone. A 350-400 m thick sediment layer is overlying the Precambrian gneiss. Bedding planes of Unit III are dipping westward and are closely related to an anticline in the acoustic basement. Unit II is also tilted westward, suggesting that the eastern part of the fault zone was uplifted after deposition of lower part of the sedimentary body. Afterward, the uplifted sediment layers were eroded and transported to the western part of the basin. Chaotic reflection pattern of sedimentary Units II and III may suggest that strike-slip movement along the fault zone deformed basin-filled sediments.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.57-63
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• 2003

For the dectection of small cavity in the hard rock, we investigated the feasibility of crosswell travel-time tomography and Kirchhoff migration technique. In travel-time tomography, first arrival anomaly caused by small cavity was investigated by numerical modeling based on the knowledge of actual field information. First arrival delay was very small (<0.125 msec) and detectable receiver offset range was limited to 4m with respect to $1\%$ normalized first arrival anomaly. As a consequence, it was turned out that carefully designed survey array with both sufficient narrow spatial spacing and temporal (<0.03125 msec) sampling were required for small cavity detection. Also, crosswell Kirchhoff migration technique was investigated with both numerical and real data. Stack section obtained by numerical data shows the good cavity image. In crosswell seismic data, various unwanted seismic events such as direct wave and various mode converted waves were alto recorded. To remove these noises und to enhance the diffraction signal, combination of median and bandpass filtering was applied and prestack and stacked migration images were created. From this, we viewed the crosswell migration technique as one of the adoptable method for small cavity detection.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.225-238
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• 2019

Migration velocity analysis (MVA) for creating optimum depth-domain velocities in seismic imaging was applied to marine long-offset multi-channel data, and the effectiveness of the MVA approach was demonstrated by the combinations of conventional data processing procedures. The time-domain images generated by conventional time-processing scheme has been considered to be sufficient so far for the seismic stratigraphic interpretation. However, when the purpose of the seismic imaging moves to the hydrocarbon exploration, especially in the geologic modeling of the oil and gas play or lead area, drilling prognosis, in-place hydrocarbon volume estimation, the seismic images should be converted into depth domain or depth processing should be applied in the processing phase. CMP-based velocity analysis, which is mainly based on several approximations in the data domain, inherently contains errors and thus has high uncertainties. On the other hand, the MVA provides efficient and somewhat real-scale (in depth) images even if there are no logging data available. In this study, marine long-offset multi-channel seismic data were optimally processed in time domain to establish the most qualified dataset for the usage of the iterative MVA. Then, the depth-domain velocity profile was updated several times and the final velocity-in-depth was used for generating depth images (CRP gather and stack) and compared with the images obtained from the velocity-in-time. From the results, we were able to confirm the depth-domain results are more reasonable than the time-domain results. The spurious local minima, which can be occurred during the implementation of full waveform inversion, can be reduced when the result of MVA is used as an initial velocity model.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.289-298
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• 2009

Optimal data processing parameters were designed to attenuate multiples in seismic data acquired in the south-eastern area of the East Sea, in 2008. Bunch of multiples caused by shallow sea water depth were perceived periodically up to two way travel time of 1,750 ms at every 250 ms over seismic traces. We abbreviated sea bottom multiple as SBM, Peg-leg multiple as PLM, and free-surface multiple as FSM. To attenuate these multiples, seismic data processing flow was constructed including NMO, stack, minimum phase predictive deconvolution filter and wave equation multiple rejections (WEMR). Prevalent multiples were suppressed by predictive deconvolution and remaining multiples were attenuated by WEMR. We concluded that combining deconvolution with WEMR was effective to a seismic data of study area. Derived parameter can be applied to the seismic data processing on adjacent survey area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.625-633
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• 2014

The Aquistore project is the world's first commercial capture, transportation, utilization and storage project of post-combustion $CO_2$ from a coal-fired thermo electric power plant, and the proposed storage is a saline aquifer at a depth of about 3,500 m. Deep saline aquifer, compared to hydrocarbon reservoir, provides the great volumetric potential for storage of $CO_2$ anywhere in the world, therefore the research results from the project may be exported globally to other sites. Geological $CO_2$ storage characterization for saline aquifer instead of hydrocarbon reservoir needs to estimate the geophysical properties of subsurface geology. This study calculated the geophysical property of water-saturated formation by applying amplitude variation analysis developed from oil and gas exploration. We correlated horizon tops at the well logs to seismic traveltime of 1,815 and 1,857 ms as Winnipeg and Deadwood formations. Gradient analysis from seismic traces showed correlation coefficient of 45 - 81 % on amplitude variation with respect to incident angle. Crossplot of intercept and gradient shows the inverse proportional trend which represents typical water saturated sediments. Product attribute of intercept and gradient described the base of wet sediment. Poisson's ratio change attribute increased at the top of target area satisfying with wet sediment and decreased at the top of basement in a dry rock bed.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.40-52
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• 2003

Despite the various opening models of the southwestern part of the East Sea (Japan Sea) between the Korean Peninsula and the Japan Arc, the continental margin of the Korean Peninsula remains unknown in crustal structure. As a result, continental rifting and subsequent seafloor spreading processes to explain the opening of the East Sea have not been adequately addressed. We investigated crustal and sedimentary velocity structures across the Korean margin into the adjacent Ulleung Basin from multichannel seismic reflection and ocean bottom seismometer data. The Ulleung Basin shows crustal velocity structure typical of oceanic although its crustal thickness of about 10 km is greater than normal. The continental margin documents rapid transition from continental to oceanic crust, exhibiting a remarkable decrease in crustal thickness accompanied by shallowing of Moho over a distance of about 50 km. The crustal model of the margin is characterized by a high-velocity (up to 7.4 km/s) lower crustal (HVLC) layer that is thicker than 10 km under the slope base and pinches out seawards. The HVLC layer is interpreted as magmatic underplating emplaced during continental rifting In response to high upper mantle temperature. The acoustic basement of the slope base shows an igneous stratigraphy developed by massive volcanic eruption. These features suggest that the evolution of the Korean margin can be explained by the processes occurring at volcanic rifted margins. Global earthquake tomography supports our interpretation by defining the abnormally hot upper mantle across the Korean margin and in the Ulleung Basin.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.10 no.1_2 s.11
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• pp.18-22
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• 2004

To identify and interpret the distribution and the characteristics of the gas hydrate layers in the Ulleung Basin, we have surveyed and gathered the multi-channel seismic data, Chirp sub-bottom profiler, SeaBeam and 12 m piston core samples since 1996. In previous works, high-resolution seismic profiles showed acoustic anomalies such as acoustic void, acoustic turbidity and pock mark which indicate the presence of gas-charged sediments. The patterns of horizontal degassing cracks originated from free methane expansion is the strong indicator of shallow gas-charged sediments in the core samples. The observation of submarine slides and slumps from destabilizing the sediments in the southern part of the Ulleung Basin may also point out that the gas had been released from gas hydrate dissociation during lowstand of sea level. The multi-channel seismic data show BSR, blanking and phase reversal. The gas hydrate layers above which large-scale shallow gases are distributed exist at the depth of about 200 m from the sea-floor with water depth of 2,100 m. From the interpretation of seismic sections in the southern Ulleung Basin, gas hydrate layers occur in the Pleistocene-Holocene sediments. These gas-charged sediments, acoustic anomalies and BSR may be all related to the existence of gas hydrate layers in the study area.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.153-162
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• 2019

Rapid variations in the geometry (i.e., thickness) of the refractor and low velocities affect greatly the imaging of the reflectors of land seismic data. Conventional solutions to obtain the weathering models utilizes first break picking method, which requires time consuming steps and causes the human error in picking the first arrivals. A new interferometric approach (interferometric refraction statics, IRS) which utilizes the first arrival signal (S/N enhanced by refraction convolution stack) instead of first break picking, is tested in this study to the synthetic data from the velocity structure provided by surface geophysics (refraction, MASW) and borehole geophysics (tomography, SPS logging) for the Cheongju granitic bodies. The results of IRS approach are found to be better than the ones from conventional first break picking in terms of continuities and horizontal resolution of the reflectors. The unresolved long-wavelength statics in brute stack are much removed by IRS weathering correction and the overlying refractors (the base of shallow weathering zone) are incidentally delineated in the refraction convolution stack.