Companies may no longer have to choose between efficient mining and environmental damage thanks to recent advances in three-dimensional seismic mapping technology.

Dengliang Gao, Ph.D., an associate professor for West Virginia University’s Department of Geology and Geography, was recently awarded a grant from the South American company MPX to investigate the subsurface resource potential in El Molino, Colombia. Using seismic attributes may enable the company to more precisely map subsurface geology, locate valuable resources such as oil and natural gas and extract them with minimal cost and environmental damage.

In the past few years, Gao’s research has been focused on developing and applying new 3D seismic attribute technologies to help investigate geology in the subsurface in general, and in particular to help energy companies to increase exploration success rate and to reduce economic risk while mitigating the environmental footprint.

Rocks and fluids—such as oil, gas, water and carbon dioxide—in the subsurface are not directly visible, so geophysicists use sound waves to detect them. By “listening” to and analyzing echoed sound waves from the substances under the ground, they can identify each one because typically echoed waves sound differently when coming from different elements.

“It is like listening to people’s voices without seeing their faces. One can identify them based on the difference in their voice characters, this technology works under the same principle,” Gao said.

Seismic attribute technology can help companies to save time and money by avoiding wasteful drilling on sites with poor resource yields.

“Countries like Colombia, Angola and Brazil are very rich in resources but it is challenging to find and produce the resources without proper geophysical technologies,” Gao said. “My research is to develop and apply new geophysical techniques to detect rocks, faults and associated fluids with higher efficiency and resolution while significantly reducing the analysis time,” he added.

Emily Roberts, a graduate student in geology, has already been putting the new seismic attributes to use in the Marcellus Shale. The attributes have enabled enhanced visualization as she identifies natural fractures in the Central Appalachian Basin.

“The seismic imaging is similar to playing with a picture in Photoshop; you’re not changing the actual image but enhancing it,” Roberts said. “Although quality checking is still required by the researchers, the new innovations are making geological exploration much faster and more efficient. The technology today is just incredible and it’s going to keep getting better and better.”

Recently Roberts returned from the American Association of Geologists career expo in Wyoming where she received the honorable mention award for her industry project. She is the second of Gao’s graduate students to receive this honor.

“I attribute that to the fact that we have some awesome faculty, great resources, and the projects this year in particular are so interesting,” Roberts said.

Gao’s work has led to international collaboration with China and allowing more international students to study in the department and contribute to the University’s strategic mission.

For more information, contact Dengliang Gao at Dengliang.Gao@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

cg/10/05/12

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