Abstract
We use seismic ambient noise recorded by dense ocean bottom nodes (OBNs)
in the Gorgon gas field, Western Australia, to compute time-lapse
seafloor models of shear-wave velocity. The extracted hourly
cross-correlation (CC) functions in the frequency band 0.1 – 1 Hz
contain mainly Scholte waves with very high signal to noise ratio. We
observe temporal velocity variations (dv/v) at the order of 0.1% with a
peak velocity change of 0.8% averaged from all station pairs, from the
conventional time-lapse analysis with the assumption of a spatially
homogeneous dv/v. With a high-resolution reference (baseline) model from
full waveform inversion of Scholte waves, we present an elastic wave
equation based double-difference inversion (EW-DD) method, using arrival
time differences between the reference and time-lapsed Scholte waves,
for mapping temporally varying dv/v in the heterogeneous subsurface. The
time-lapse velocity models reveal increasing/decreasing patterns of
shear-wave velocity in agreement with those from the conventional
analysis. The velocity variation exhibits a ~24-hour
cycling pattern, which appears to be inversely correlated with sea level
height, possibly associated with dilatant effects for porous,
low-velocity shallow seafloor and rising pore pressure with higher sea
level. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using dense passive
seismic surveys for quantitative monitoring of subsurface property
changes in the horizontal and depth domain.