Abstract: Imaging Analogue Sandbox Models
SHERLOCK, DONALD H., JOHN A. MCDONALD, and BRIAN J. EVANS, Department of Exploration Geophysics, Curtin University of Technology.
Summary
Analogue sandbox models provide cheap, concise data and allow
the evolution of geological structures to be observed under
controlled conditions in a laboratory. Seismic physical modelling
is used
to study the effects of seismic
wave
propagation in
isotropic and anisotropic media, and to improve methods of data
acquisition, processing and interpretation. By combining these two
independent modelling techniques, the
potential
exists to expand
the benefits of each method. For seismic modelling, the main
advantages are that the seismic data collected from these models
contain natural variation that cannot be built into conventional
solid models that are machined with predetermined structures, which
results in a more realistic image. In addition, the cost and
construction time of these models is dramatically reduced. For
sandbox modelling, the ability to record seismic images before the
model is manually sectioned for conventional interpretation allows
far more detailed study of subtle structures than previously
possible. It also provides the missing link when comparing
structures generated within the models with interpretations from
field seismic data.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah