The use of VSP techniques for fault zone characterization: An example from the San Andreas Fault

Vertical seismic profiling (VSP) technology is increasingly being used in the fields of earthquake seismology and tectonics. This is motivated in part by the growing number of oil field microseismic monitoring surveys, but more so by projects that involve drilling deep wells for monitoring crustal activity at depth. Examples of these projects are the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment, the Gulf of Corinth Rift Laboratory, and the Taiwan Chelungpu Fault Drilling Project, and other projects by the International Continental and Ocean Drilling Programs (ICDP and IODP). These projects require instrumentation and surveying in deep and possibly hot borehole environments. With higher resolution than surface seismic data, images from 2D and 3D VSP data contribute to better characterization and interpretation of complex reservoirs at smaller scales. The location of receivers in the low-noise borehole environment yields higher signal-to-noise ratios, higher ...