Julián L. Gómez

Seismic Reflectivity in Carbon Dioxide Accumulations: A Review

It is widely recognized that the continuous increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere is a major cause of global climate change [1]. Consequently, in accordance with the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol, many carbon dioxide capture and storage projects are being developed worldwide to reduce and stabilize the emission of this greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. The geological storage of CO2 in many cases becomes a feasible option to accomplish this goal, giving rise to the science of carbon sequestration, a challenging task for governments, scientists and engineers [2].

Generalized Reflectivity of CO2 Partially Saturated Layers

SUMMARY In this work we compute the generalized seismic amplitude reflection coefficients for the topmost carbon dioxide (CO2 ) accumulation in Utsira sandstone at Sleipner field (North Sea). Using a simplified stratified model calibrated with real data and a fluid substitution procedure, for a given Fourier component we analyze the sensitivity of compressional and shear wave reflectivity versus incidence angle for different number of layers, variable thicknesses, saturation degree and fluid type distribution (from homogeneous to patchy limits).