Type
Conference PaperKAUST Department
Center for Subsurface Imaging and Fluid ModelingEarth Science and Engineering Program
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Date
2012-10-25Online Publication Date
2012-10-25Print Publication Date
2012-09Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/564594
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We propose a seismic scanning tunneling macroscope (SSTM) that can detect the presence of sub-wavelength scatterers in the near-field of either the source or the receivers. Analytic formulas for the time reverse mirror (TRM) profile associated with a single scatterer model show that the spatial resolution limit to be, unlike the Abbe limit of λ/2, independent of wavelength and linearly proportional to the source-scatterer separation as long as the point scatterer is in the near-field region; if the sub-wavelength scatterer is a spherical impedance discontinuity then the resolution will also be limited by the radius of the sphere. Therefore, superresolution imaging can be achieved as the scatterer approaches the source. This is analogous to an optical scanning tunneling microscope that has sub-wavelength resolution. Scaled to seismic frequencies, it is theoretically possible to extract 100 Hz information from 20 Hz data by imaging of near-field seismic energy.Citation
Schuster, G. T., Hanafy, S. M., & Huang, Y. (2012). Seismic Scanning Tunneling Macroscope: Theory. SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2012. doi:10.1190/segam2012-0434.1Publisher
Society of Exploration GeophysicistsConference/Event name
74th European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Conference and Exhibition 2012 Incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2012: Responsibly Securing Natural ResourcesISBN
9781629937908ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1190/segam2012-0434.1