Book Review

Problems in Exploration Seismology and their Solutions

by Lloyd P. Geldart and Robert E. Sheriff
ISBN Number: 1560801158, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 2004, 524 pp
List:$99.00(US); Member:$69.00(US); Student:$55.20(US)

I have had the opportunity to use this book for many months now and am finally prepared to submit this review. I have referred to it many times and have been both pleased and disappointed. Thrilled because it concisely addressed the topic I was researching with a question that was followed by a brief theoretical analysis and numerical example. Disappointed because the figures are black and white, and the symbols used for parameters are different from what I would like to see. (Get a life!!!)

This relatively new book Problems has a unique niche between Sheriff’s classic Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Geophysics and Sheriff and Geldart’s timeless text Exploration Seismology. The authors’ initial objective for Problems was to “furnish solutions for the problems in the first edition of Exploration Seismology”, but the project grew to “provide a stand-alone volume … which can be used with whatever textbooks professors and students are using”. To me, it is much more than that; it is a stand-alone reference book as well.

As an educator and researcher, I have continuously referred to the Dictionary and to Exploration Seismology to clarify my understanding of a given topic or to search for an alternate explanation. The expression “another arrow in the quiver” would be trite to describe Problems as it is a valuable reference book that I am now continually marking and using. The description, explanation, and solution of the topic are about a page in length and it is now the book I grab after the “Dictionary”. Most of the topics I am searching for are there, and if I am not careful, I become distracted by the descriptions of other topics on the neighbouring pages.

Exploration Seismology was first published in 1982 with a second edition in 1995, spawning Problems in 2004. Consequently there are descriptions, examples, and parameters that are dated. The information is timeless, but there may be better descriptions elsewhere. However, I consider these older insights to be valuable as they often describe the meaning of terms that are in common use today, but whose original meaning has been lost. Take for example the terms “normal moveout” (NMO) and “dip moveout” (DMO). Originally these terms were used to describe the curvature of moveout on shot records; NMO the moveout for flat reflectors and DMO the moveout for dipping reflectors.

The parameters and equations that describe the travel time t for a horizontal and dipping reflector in Problems use V for velocity, ζ for geological dip, x for source receiver offset, and h for depth giving

I prefer to use for geological dip, h for the half source-receiver offset, and t0 for the two-way zero-offset time giving equations

Of course some readers will prefer the Problems description and that is just my point. There will always be these types of differences between books and educational philosophies and knowing all approaches provides a greater understanding.

Problems in Exploration Seismology and their Solutions is a well-used addition to my library and I am grateful for the experience and knowledge it provides. This book will be useful to all readers of this review as it provides a wealth of concise and accessible material with simple pertinent examples.

John C. Bancroft
University of Calgary, Calgary

Seismic Expressions and Interpretation of Carbonate Sequences: The Maldives Platform, Equatorial Indian Ocean

by Andrei V. Belopolsky and Andre W. Droxler
ISBN Number: 0-89181-056-0, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1984, 52 pp with accompanying CD.
List: $69.00(US); Members: $49.00(US)

AAPG Studies in Geology #49 is an example of a detailed geological interpretation of a complete carbonate platform from 2D seismic data, designed to serve as a teaching tool for the method of seismic sequence-stratigraphic interpretation in carbonates. This book concentrates on interpretation, with very little discussion of acquisition and processing. Colored illustrations of interpreted seismic lines, accompanied by uninterrupted versions of those same lines, are provided, and make excellent examples that can be used for training in seismic interpretation. These are provided both as large, glossy, color prints and as files on the accompanying CD. All aspects of the platform’s evolution, from basement creation and structuring to the present surface setting, are described and placed in a structural and large-scale process-sedimentological context, with accompanying illustrations.

A concise section on the current geological models for carbonate platform evolution is provided at the beginning, as well as a brief but important discussion of how seismic acquisition parameters affect interpretation, specifically in terms of resolution. The majority of the book concentrates on discussing the specific data for the Maldives platform. Great emphasis is placed on defining the detailed ages of the sediments and sequences, through integration of seismic interpretation with biostratigraphy from the small amount of well data available. The book is laid out in chronological order of the depositional sequences of the platform, beginning with basement and platform creation, then proceeding through each sequence up to the present. Each sequence is interpreted using seismic facies interpretation and seismic stratigraphy, which are tied to well control where possible. As such, it provides a good case history of the development of a carbonate platform, including the many depositional features that may occur in such settings, with emphasis on their seismic expressions (e.g., stratal terminations, seismic facies, and sequence geometries).

This book is an excellent compilation of the styles of seismic expressions in carbonate sequences, and should be a useful atlas for seismic interpreters involved in the study of carbonate platforms.

Ned Etris
PetroCanada, Calgary

Best Practices in Sequence Stratigraphy for Explorationists and Reservoir Engineers

by Peter .W. Homewood, Pierre Mauriaud and Francois Lafont
Memoir 25; ISBN Number: 2-901026- 52-4, TotalFinaElf; 1999, 81 pages
List: $31.00(US)

This publication was written by three French geoscientists working for TotalFinaElf. Each page is split into two sections, one in English and one in French. The many colorful and informative figures and illustrations are only in English.

The purpose of the book is to show the practical application of sequence stratigraphy. It describes in simple terms the key arguments, concepts and terminology of sequence stratigraphy. The illustrations give a good visual perspective on how this application may be used.

It is organized into three chapters. The introduction shows the historical evolution leading to the concept of sequence stratigraphy and includes a very useful glossary to lead you thought the jungle of sequence stratigraphy jargon invented by enthusiasts with different schools of thought as well as the later academic slant given to this development of classical stratigraphy.

The second chapter of the book defines the methodology to follow when using sequence stratigraphy. It sets up the concepts to use, the definitions, rules, tools and basic principles as understood by the French company TotalFinaElf.

The last chapter outlines the application of sequence stratigraphy, how to integrate data types, correlate and predict deposition of reservoirs.

There is no new research presented in this book and no new concepts or ideas for how to apply sequence stratigraphic analysis in petroleum exploration. It is however a nice short historical review and good glossary students may find handy.

Nanna Eliuk
Compton Petroleum, Calgary