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Davis Hall 506B/(815) 753-1523:
Office Hours: TTh 1:30-3:30 p.m.:
Required/recommended text: Sheriff, R.E. and L.P. Geldart, 1995, Exploration Seismology, Cambridge, New York, 592 p.
GRADING: 50% for 3 exams (these may be in-class or take-home)
25% for 2 short research papers (possibly including oral presentations)
25% for lab exercises, data analysis projects, graded problems
Research papers, exercises, problems and projects must be handed in by the due date. Scores on late papers, exercises and projects will be reduced 10%/day to a minimum of 30% of your original score.
Some problems may not be scored. You will be responsible for
working out these problems and checking your answers or procedures with
the key. Exam problems will be very similar to assigned problems, data
analysis projects and labs.
SYLLABUS (revised)
Class Week Subject
Jan. 12
Elastic wave propagation review
Jan. 19
Elastic wave propagation review
Jan. 26
Review of Snell's Law, seismic refraction
Feb. 2
Intro. to reflection; refl. coefficients,
Feb. 9
Simple horizontal layer, dipping layers: split and end-to end spreads
Feb. 16
Common-offset reflection and applications
Feb. 23* Multiple
layers -- RMS velocity, interval velocity, Dix eqn.
Mar. 2
CDP method overview, NMO, DMO
Mar. 9
SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS
Mar. 16
Cosmetic vs. attribute sections; hydrocarbon indicators
Mar. 23
Detailed attribute section analysis
Mar. 30* Statics,
instrumentation
Apr. 6
Instrumentation, cosmetic vs. attribute sections
Apr. 13
Analysis of structural data, migration, seismic facies
Apr. 20
Attribute section analysis, hydrocarbon indicators
Apr. 27
Amplitude vs. offset (AVO), VSP
May 4*
3D seismic, Exam 3
*Denote probable exam weeks. Exams may be in-class or take-home.
Changes may be required in this syllabus due to international travel and conference duties by the instructor.
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Term Paper Instructions
Two short term papers on some aspect of seismic reflection methods will be due during the semester. The first will be due on March 6, 1998 by 6:00 p.m. and the second will be due May 1, 1998 by 6:00 p.m. These papers should be double-spaced typed, and the text portion should be between 5 and 8 pages in length, excluding figures, tables, references, and equations. The topic of the papers should differ somewhat from your main thesis topic, although you may look at some topic related to your thesis.
You should review at least 2 journal or book articles on a particular topic before writing your papers. Summarize the methodologies and viewpoints of the articles, and then critically evaluate the ideas or methods presented with regard to your topic. Are the ideas original? Are they presented clearly? What applications do you see for the new methods presented in the papers? Are they practical and cost-effective? Are they based on sound scientific principles? Were field surveys conducted in a phased and sequential manner? Was the target clearly defined? Try to weave together the concepts presented in the papers and distill the ideas so that your paper does not sound like a book report. I am looking for your evaluation of these articles in relation to the problem you have chosen, not a simply a summary of what the authors say.
Your papers will be graded according to 3 basic criteria: (a) your summary of the articles, (b) your critical analysis of the articles and the ideas they present with reference to your topic, and (c) the grammar and style of your paper. You should write at least two drafts of your paper and carefully proofread it to insure a good score on (c). I am not impressed with long, wordy papers. Short, concise papers are much harder to write.
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to top of page| Lab 5 | April 28 |
| Prob. Set 4 | April 30 |
| Term Paper 2 | May 1 |
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Geotechnical Software Directory
Stanford online seismic software and database
Colorado School of Mines seismic project
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Electronic Citation Style Manuals
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