1hls ls a shorL Lalk l gave ln AugusL 2012 aL Lhe SLC lC LarLh lorum ln Avon Colorado.

l Lalked abouL
selsmlc Lechnlques for sLudylng geoLhermal reservolrs.
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l don'L llke Lhe word lnLerpreLauon because l don'L lL's speclc enough Lo descrlbe all Lhe work LhaL we
have Lo do now on Lhe componenLs of our myLhlcal lnLerpreLauon machlne. uoes lnLerpreLauon mean
pre-sLack work? WhaL abouL mlgrauon? ls LhaL lnLerpreLauon? lL depends on who you ask. 1he acL of
lnLerpreung as a Lhlng we do, ls acLually sub[ecL Lo lnLerpreLauon. WhaL's LhaL abouL?

Some people say LhaL Lhere ls an arL Lo lnLerpreLauon. l would llke Lo make a correcuon Lo LhaL. l say,
Selsmlc lnLerpreLauon lS A81. When l mean arL, l don'L mean palnung. ArL ls anyLhlng LhaL ls dlmculL or
lmposslble for someone else Lo reproduce. l Lhlnk we musL mlnlmlze our dependence on Lhlngs LhaL
are hard Lo reproduce. 1he opposlLe of arL mlghL be Lhe black box algorlLhm, cold and llfeless, whlch
mlghL sound LhreaLenlng, buL l wlsh Lo show you LhaL Lhere ls enough arL, creauvlLy and lngenulLy LhaL
goes lnLo maklng an algorlLhm, and lL ls Lo LhaL approach where we should shl our auenuon.
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Pere are some sallenL feaLures of Lhe reglonal semng. 1he pro[ecL lles ln Lhe SalLon 1rough, whlch ls
Lhe norLhern exLenslon of Lhe Culf of Callfornla rl shown here ln Lhe Lop rlghL. 1he pro[ecL ls ln a
small pull-aparL basln above an acuve rl. lL's a ma[or sLrlke-sllp zone, obvlously, Lhere ls acuve
sedlmenLauon from Lhe ChocolaLe MounLalns Lo Lhe norLh.

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!"#$%&#$'()* *,-./01 2$')3-4 5.65)3)0&7 $*%89 '.-- $'$#"1 :89#$-- "(9#9 )5 $ /$#)09 ", $--.8)$-
#9&#955),01

1he operaLor ln Lhls area sLarLed drllllng for hoL waLer based on a LemperaLure anomaly (no selsmlc
daLa was used ln drllllng producuon wells). 1hey drlll 17 lnch boreholes (whlch ls masslve compared Lo
oll and gas operauons Lo allow as much hoL waLer lnLo Lhe borehole as posslble. 1here ls a sLeam Lo
elecLrlclLy power planL rlghL aL surface. Aer havlng some curloslues abouL lnconslsLenL producuon
raLes, Lhey lnvesLed ln a 3u selsmlc survey, obLalnlng Lhelr rsL lmages of Lhe reservolr.
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1hls schemauc ls Lhe rsL sLep ln bulldlng a eld-speclc model for Lhe low-grade meLamorphlsm,
whlch wlll evenLually help predlcL reservolr quallLy. 1he baslc ldea ls LhaL Lhere are parageneuc zones,
drlven by LemperaLure, and Lhese zones have dlerenL geomechanlcal properues. 1he propylluc zone
ls Lhe mosL favourable for hydroLhermal energy sysLems. When hoL hypersallne clrculaung ulds cool,
Lhey preclplLaLe ouL cemenLs lnLo Lhe hosL rock especlally ln Lhe mosL porous formauons. We call Lhls
Lhe cap rock, shown here ln blue, and has Lhls paLchy, here and Lhere look Lo lL.
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And you can see how sLrucLurally complex lL ls. 1he faulL and fracLure neLwork governs, Lo some exLenL
Lhe dlsLrlbuuon and rlse of heaL, and Lhe preclplLauon of cemenLs as hyper sallne brlne are clrculaLed
and cooled (shown ln blue).

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ConcepLually speaklng Lhls geoLhermal sysLem can be separaLed lnLo Lwo parLs. 1he anLecedenL
geology, Lhe sLrucLural and sLraugraphlc framework, whlch we could LargeL wlLh a sLandard selsmlc
lnLerpreLauon approach, and Lhe subsequenL geology from Lhe hydroLhermal presenL day slllclclasuc
meLamorphlsm and dlagenesls. A convenuonal selsmlc lnLerpreLauon (plcklng reecLors and faulLs)
would noL only be qulLe challenglng n Lhls semng, buL lL may ln facL us Lell us very llule abouL Lhe
sysLem componenLs llke LemperaLure, brluleness, cemenLauon, graln framework, and greenschlsL
meLamorphlsm. now, Lry maklng a ume sLrucLure map ouL of Lhe sLu on Lhe rlghL, and you'll fall.
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Pere ls whaL one well looks llke ln Lhe sLandard vp/vs Acousuc lmpedance cross ploL. 1he overall
deposluonal or llLhlcauon Lrend ls oseL or perLurbed wlLh Lhere ls dlagenesls. 1he cemenLauon
eecL ls a slgnlcanL deecuon away from Lhe Lrend.
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ln our early vlewlng of Lhe daLa, we recognlzed aL leasL 4 seLs of selsmlc reecuon pauerns. And we
wholehearLed hereby call Lhem "#$%&'. lor all %()&*+*&)&*' lL's aL leasL a llule blL novel Lo say, whaL are
my selsmlc facles?" before you even Lry Lo plck reecuons. Agaln, Lhls ls whaL l would call essenual ln
any selsmlc workow, seldom pracuced, we form an lmpresslon of an earLh model before we even
Louch lL wlLh a dlgluzer, palnLbrush, or pencll crayon.

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1radluonal horlzon plcklng means, plcklng evenLs or reecuons, whereas Lhls ls plcklng a facles
boundary. lL's a akln Lo plcklng Lop of dlrLy salL, say ln Lhe Culf of Mexlco. noL easy Lo do on a
worksLauon. 1here ls noLhlng auLomauc abouL lL, and lL's far Loo sub[ecuve. neverLheless, ln our lnlual
work, Lhe Lop of Lhe low semblance zone (whlch we colloqulally call Lhe Lop of Lhe dead zone), was
mapped and examlned for addluonal aurlbuLe anomalles.

1he aurlbuLes ampllLude, slmllarlLy, and energy, all, ln Lhelr own graphlcal way, dellneaLe Lhls dead
zone. Lach one, shows a unlque elemenL ln Lhe geoLhermal sysLem. AmpllLude shows Lhe
sLraugraphy / layerlng, slmllarlLy shows dlsconunulues (faulLs), and a low semblance zone (whlch we
lnfer as Lhe moderaLely meLamorphosed zone), and Lhe energy aurlbuLe glves Lhese paLchy blobs of
hlgh energy aL Lhe perlphery of Lhe deadzone. We belleve Lhls represenLs Lhe suened sandsLones,
where hoL brlnes have cooled and preclplLaLed salLs, cemenung up Lhe graln-Lo-graln conLacLs, maklng
Lhe llLhology more acousucally heLerogeneous, and hence more reecuve.


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When we add everyLhlng LogeLher we have a basls for comparlson wlLh Lhe dlageneuc model. We may
choose Lo lnvesugaLe some of Lhese posslble pauerns furLher: how do oLher wells perform ln a slmllar
framework? Cood producuon daLa are key for maklng Lhls comparlson.

We sLack Lhe layers Lo help us undersLand where Lhe mosL favorable zones mlghL be
- 8elow cap rock (blue)
- Close Lo ma[or faulLs
- ln reservolr zone (red)
- ln hanglng wall of growLh faulL

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Addlng lsoLherms (from well daLa) does noL undermlne our lnLerpreLauon. ln facL, you mlghL even say
LhaL Lhe sparse LemperaLure measuremenL ls llke smooLhed sampllng of Lhe geoLhermal sysLem. l
wouldn'L go so far Lo say LhaL we can lmage LemperaLure uslng selsmlc, because Lhe LemperaLure" ls
coupled wlLh a whole whack of oLher physlcal and chemlcal process LhaL eecL Lhe rock properues and
deLermlne Lhe selsmlc response. 1emperaLure ls an allbl.

1hls exerclse of explorlng Lhe posL-sLack selsmlc aurlbuLe space (of whlch Lhere are many oLher
aurlbuLes LhaL l elLher dlscarded or dldn'L Lry) ls one LhaL allows us Lo geL aL deLalled slgnals LhaL
corroboraLe wlLh Lhe dlageneuc model. 1he problem however, ls LhaL l drew Lhese lmage layers
palnsLaklngly ln a graphlc edlLor, lnkscape.

8uL we can do more wlLh Lhese use Lhese Lhree aurlbuLes. We can be more sysLemauc wlLh Lhem, less
arusuc

l seL Lhls aslde, Lhls lmage and Lry Lo move beyond lL, buL remember Lhls nouon LhaL we have arrlved
aL ;,.# /$)0 ;$*)95 uslng "(#99 $<#)6."951



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Any ensemble of aurlbuLes, wheLher lL ls Lhe Lhree LhaL l [usL showed you, or 7 of your favorlLe
comblnauons of aurlbuLes, presLack (llke lnLercepL and gradlenL), or posL sLack llke an anL-Lracker or
specLral decomposluon volumes, all are co-locaLed for each polnL ln space, aL each plxel. As such, any
number of aurlbuLe dlmenslons can be used Lo unlque classlfy each polnL ln space. Pow many
aurlbuLes should you use? Pow many classes are Lhere? l don'L Lhlnk Lhere ls a general answer of even
a rule of Lhumb. lL depends on how Lhe daLa are clusLered.

1he concenLrlc elllpses around each clusLer denoLe Lhls nouon LhaL each polnL can be asslgned a
probablllLy of belonglng Lo each clusLer. 1he polnLs on Lhe perlphery of Lhe clusLer are asslgned lower
probablllLy, Lhe polnLs near Lhe cenLer of mass of Lhe clusLer are hlgh probablllLy.



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1hls ls an example uslng Lhe Lhree aurlbuLes we used Lo bulld our carLoon: AmpllLude, SlmllarlLy, and
Lnergy. ClusLerlng Lhem lnLo one of four clusLers, and we geL Lhe colored classes on Lhe rlghL.

now lf l slmply asslgn a new color Lo each class so LhaL lL maLches how l have drawn my carLoon. We
can make a dlrecL comparlson.
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1o help, l have made Lhe ampllLude daLa appear behlnd Lhe classlcauon on Lhe rlghL, whlch l have
made seml LransparenL. Also, l have overlaln Lhe drawn faulL zones for easler comparlson. llrsL shoL aL
lL, lL seems Lo be a decenL represenLauon of Lhe sysLem, buL noL perfecL. lL seems llke we are over
esumaung Lhe blue cap rock facles, Lhe near surface ls falllng, and Lhe low fold reglons on Lhe edges ls
sLruggllng as well.
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1o auack Lhe complexlLy of Lhe ob[ecLs and shapes suggesLed by Lhe dlageneuc model and we wanLed
Lo do more Lo quanufy and classlfy Lhem.

We used an algorlLhm LhaL measures local sLausucal properues of pauerned lmages, called Parallck
LexLures. Whlch l blogged abouL recenLly:
hup://www.agllegeosclence.com/[ournal/2012/6/29/fabrlc-LexLures.hLml

Parallck LexLures are compuLed sLausucs of grey level co-occurrence maLrlces (CLCM), vecLorlzed
plxel-by-plxel comparlsons of Lhe ampllLude values ln an lmage.

1he glsL ls LhaL we are saylng, glve me four numbers LhaL descrlbe Lhe LexLure ln Lhe small
nelghbourhood of every plxel. 1he resulL ls four addluonal aurlbuLes. lour addluonal dlmenslons Lo
release lnLo Lhe clusLerlng problem.

And Lhls ouLpuL shows us LhaL Lhere ls LexLures ln Lhese LexLures, LexLures aL a larger scale. 1here are
many lengLh scales LhaL Lhe selsmlc lmage mlghL be LexLurally sensluve Lo.

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1hese LexLures now become four more aurlbuLes (for each plxel) LhaL we can add back lnLo Lhe
clusLerlng algorlLhm

1here are plenLy of feaLures Lo compare here, and once agaln Lhe ampllLudes, faulLs and form llnes
have been overlaln Lo help your eye make comparlsons. 1he dlageneuc caps are very well represenLed
ln 3u verslon.

We could use a fold volume as yeL anoLher aurlbuLe Lo classlfy Lhls reglon o lnLo lLs own space.
Lssenually uslng anoLher aurlbuLe as a lLer.

1he nexL sllde shows a ume sllce aL 1000 ms, aL Lhe horlzonLal green llne.

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l Lhlnk Lhls a mlndseL we need Lo embrace. volume aurlbuLes are volumes. Lven spaually lrregular
dlageneuc cap rocks have a full expresslon ln a volumeLrlc sense. lL ls up Lo us Lo provlde LhaL Lo Lhe
resL of Lhe subsurface workforce. So englneers can drlll beuer wells, so geologlsLs can make
correlauons when you hand over your work.
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1hls ls a demonsLrauon of a comprehenslve classlcauon scheme sLemmlng from a slngle lnpuL
volume. lnLerpreLauon and lnslghL were essenual ln honlng Lhe algorlLhm Lo descrlbe Lhe geology.

Some of Lhe remalnlng work Lo be done lncludes a reprocesslng of Lhe volume (already underway),
and a explorauon of some of Lhe presLack aurlbuLes, lncludlng processlng veloclues, and lnLerval
veloclLy volumes as aurlbuLes Lo lnclude lnLo Lhls workow. Shear wave processlng ls an opuon LhaL
may dlscrlmlnaLe open vs closed fracLures. 1he ulumaLe goal ls Lo exLend Lo rock properues and
produce an algorlLhm LhaL can be easlly repeaLed lf and when Lhe lnpuLs are change. We feel LhaL Lhe
ablllLy Lo lLeraLe ls Lhe besL way for subsurface characLerlzauon Lo sLay relevanL.

SLop yourself from maklng surfaces from daLa-rlch 3u volumes. lf you are plcklng reecuon evenLs, use
Lhem as boundarles Lo probe Lhe plxels beLween Lhem. And lf you use Lhls word lnLerpreLauon",
please preface lL wlLh whaL you acLually mean. 8euer yeL, dlscard lL from your vocabulary alLogeLher.

1hlngs you can go and do:

1 Whenever posslble see Lo make your lnLerpreuve work lnLo an algorlLhm. CeL LhaL lnsuncL and guL
feel ouL of your head and lnLo an algorlLhm. l Lhlnk you wlll see LhaL Lhere ls a new creauve
challenge ln LhaL process. new arL.
2 Conslder quanuLauve clusLerlng and classlcauon schemes for your nexL pro[ecL and you can go Lo
ClLPub and Lry ouL my algorlLhm lf you wanL Lo glve lL a Lry.
3 l'd be happy Lo help you LesL lL ouL (lL would be lnLeresung Lo see lL operaung on more daLa seLs
Lhan Lhe collecuon of LexLures ln my llnen closesL).
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1hanks Lo Lhe operaLors, who wlsh Lo be anonymous, for glvlng me permlsslon Lo Lalk abouL Lhls
work, and Lo Mau aL Aglle for fruluul dlscusslon and problem solvlng. ?ou can reach me by emall,
on 1wluer, or vla our blog aL agllegeosclence.com.