Subsurface Imaging by a Post-Stimulation Walkaway Vertical Seismic Profile Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing at the Utah FORGE Enhanced Geothermal System Site

Yin-Kai Wang () and Robert R. Stewart
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Yin-Kai Wang: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, 4300 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houston, TX 77204, USA
Robert R. Stewart: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, 4300 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houston, TX 77204, USA

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: A 2D walkway vertical seismic profile (VSP) survey was conducted using a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system in southwest Utah, which is part of an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) project. The VSP was undertaken to obtain detailed structural information for a better understanding of the area’s subsurface geology and associated fracture development. By combining a 3D composite velocity model from previous studies and considering the complex geological structure beneath this region, we processed the data to create P-P depth image. We also modified the interval Q calculation using a moving window over the gauge-length corrected DAS record to generate the velocity profile and the comparable interval attenuation curve. The correlated P-P images from two DAS records successfully indicate not only the main contact between shallow unconsolidated sediments and the metamorphic basement rocks at 2650 ft (807.72 m) but also several distinct reflections related to the geological contacts. The refined velocity profiles and the depth images can provide baseline results for further seismic modeling and time-lapse imaging.

Keywords: enhanced geothermal system; distributed acoustic sensing; vertical seismic profile; seismic imaging; FORGE (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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