Our primary objective, in establishing this research program, is to attract brilliant students to geophysical studies, to train them in modern technologies, and to expose them to new approaches to geophysical petroleum challenges. Our research program focuses on one of the last frontiers in oil and gas exploration and production: Automatization of seismic data processing. We believe that a clever integration and application of high-order statistics, scattering theory, and optimization theory, will help the oil and gas industry cross this last frontier.

This research program is open to postdocs and graduate students with majors in Geophysics, Physics, Signal Processing, Applied Mathematics, or Geology.

The Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University  offers courses to prepare you for this research. Please contact Dr. Luc T. Ikelle (sidebar), coordinator of the CASP project for more details.

Fall Courses

• GEOP 421 - Petroleum Seismology I
• GEOP 681 - Seminars on Seismic Acquisition and Processing (606)

Spring Courses

• GEOP 622 - Petroleum Seismology II
• GEOP 623 - Project Class on Seismic Wave Propigation and Inversion

GEOP 421 - Petroleum Seismology I (Fall)

Seismic data acquisition (Homogeneous, heterogeneous, media; water and solid; Acoustic and elastic media; Sources & receivers in the water or in the solid; pressure, displ acement and particle velocity; onshore, offshore & trasition zones; OBC, Streamer, VSP, ..)

What is seismic reflection? (plane wave reflection, converted waves, Fermat's principle, Huyghen's principle, Snell law, Zoeppritz equations, AVO)

Wave types (P-wave, SV-wave, SH-wave; reflected and transmitted waves; pre- and post-critical reflections; ghost, multiples and primaries; Air wave, ground-roll, statics; tube waves, Stonley waves)

Fourier analysis (Delta functions, linear systems, cosine wave, Fourier series, zero-phse functions, delay, convolution, cross-correlation, autocorrelation, smoothness, basic theorems relating time and frequency domains)

Least squares optimization (forward and inverse problems; model parameters; fitting a straight line; Fitting a Fourier series; deconvolution);

NMO correction & velocity estimation
Prerequisite: Engineering Mathematics (151, 152 & 161) or equivalent.

Grading

5 points	5 points	5 points
Homework and Lab	Mid-term Exam	Final Exam

Letter Grade

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
D							C			B		A

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GEOP 681 - Seminars on Seismic Acquisition and Processing (606) (Fall)

An opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art in seismic acquisition and processing. Seminars in acquisition system, seismic data processing, anisotropy, and information technology.

Grading

4 points	3 points	3 points
Attendance	Contribution to the Seminar	Student Presentation

Letter Grade

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Unsatisfactory (U)							Satisfactory (S)

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GEOP 622 - Petroleum Seismology II (Spring)

Sampling, Deconvolution (deterministic and predictive)

F-K analysis (applications to dip filtering and migration)

Wavefield Sampling

Velocity estimation & tomography (travel time inversion)

Imaging in time & depth (migration)

Zoeppritz equations & AVO analysis
Prerequisite: GEOP 421, Engineering Mathematics (151, 152 & 161) or equivalent.

Grading

5 points	5 points	5 points
Homework and Lab	Mid-term Exam	Final Exam

Letter Grade

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
D							C			B		A

back to courses

GEOP 623 - Project Class on Seismic Wave Propigation and Inversion (Spring)

Background on wave equation in acoustic and elastic media (stress, strain, constitutive equations)

Inverse problems, Tarantola's approach (with application to migration and tomography).

Scattering Theory (Born, Kirchoff approximations with applications to migration and multiple attenuation)

Seismic anisotropy, TI & Orthorhombic media (Christoffel equations, AVO & AVAZ)
Prerequisite: GEOP 420, GEOP 622, Engineering Mathematics (151, 152 & 161) or equivalent.

Grading

5 points	5 points	5 points
Homework and Lab	Mid-term Exam	Final Exam

Letter Grade

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
D							C			B		A

back to courses