Abstract
Seismic reflection method is the most powerful and successful tool to understand the structure and the physical properties in the shallow crust, especially in sedimentary layers. Since it plays major role to explore hydrocarbon resources, the oil industry has been taking the initiative in developing new technologies for both data acquisition and processing. In 1990s, 3D survey became a routine technology. It provides the detailed geological model of complicated subsurface structures with high resolution. This paper reviews the recent technical trends on seismic reflection method mainly developed and utilized in the oil industry. The topics include high-density and high-resolution data acquisition and processing of 3D seismic data, direct estimation of physical properties of subsurface layers from seismic data, and time-lapse survey for monitoring subsurface fluid flow. Their concepts and techniques have been and will continue to be introduced to earth science and earthquake studies. New promising analysis method such as the waveform inversion and the virtual source method are also reviewed.
