Three-dimensional finite-element time-domain modeling of the marine controlled-source electromagnetic method [electronic resource]
Keywords: Geophysics

The survey design and data interpretation of the marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method require modeling of complex and often subtle offshore geology with accuracy and efficiency. In this dissertation, I develop two efficient finite-element time-domain (FETD) algorithms for the simulation of three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic (EM) diffusion phenomena. The two FETD algorithms are used to investigate the time-domain CSEM (TDCSEM) method in realistic shallow offshore environments and the effects of seafloor topography and seabed anisotropy on the TDCSEM method. The first FETD algorithm directly solves electric fields by applying the Galerkin method to the electric-field diffusion equation. The time derivatives of the magnetic fields are interpolated at receiver positions via Faraday's law only when the EM fields are output. Therefore, this approach minimizes the total number of unknowns to solve. To ensure both numerical stability and an efficient time-step, the system of FETD equations is discretized using an implicit backward Euler scheme. A sparse direct solver is employed to solve the system of equations. In the implementation of the FETD algorithm, I effectively mitigate the computational cost of solving the system of equations at every time step by reusing previous factorization results. Since the high frequency contents of the transient electric fields attenuate more rapidly in time, the transient electric fields diffuse increasingly slowly over time. Therefore, the FETD algorithm adaptively doubles a time-step size, speeding up simulations. Although the first FETD algorithm has the minimum number of unknowns, it still requires a large amount of memory because of its use of a direct solver. To mitigate this problem, the second FETD algorithm is derived from a vector-and-scalar potential equation that can be solved with an iterative method. The time derivative of the Lorenz gauge condition is used to split the ungauged vector-and-scalar potential equation into a diffusion equation for the vector potential and Poisson's equation for the scalar potential. The diffusion equation for the time derivative of the magnetic vector potentials is the primary equation that is solved at every time step. Poisson's equation is considered a secondary equation and is evaluated only at the time steps where the electric fields are output. A major advantage of this formulation is that the system of equations resulting from the diffusion equation not only has the minimum number of unknowns but also can be solved stably with an iterative solver in the static limit. The developed FETD algorithms are used to simulate the TDCSEM method in shallow offshore models that are derived from SEG salt model. In the offshore models, horizontal and vertical electric-dipole-source configurations are investigated and compared with each other. FETD simulation and visualization play important roles in analyzing the EM diffusion of the TDCSEM configurations. The partially-'guided' diffusion of transient electric fields through a thin reservoir is identified on the cross-section of the seabed models. The modeling studies show that the TDCSEM method effectively senses the localized reservoir close to the large-scale salt structure in the shallow offshore environment. Since the reservoir is close to the salt, the non-linear interaction of the electric fields between the reservoir and the salt is observed. Regardless of whether a horizontal or vertical electric-dipole source is used in the shallow offshore models, inline vertical electric fields at intermediate-to-long offsets are approximately an order of magnitude smaller than horizontal counterparts due to the effect of the air-seawater interface. Consequently, the vertical electric-field measurements become vulnerable to the receiver tilt that results from the irregular seafloor topography. The 3D modeling studies also illustrate that the short-offset VED-Ex configuration is very sensitive to a subtle change of the seafloor topography around the VED source. Therefore, the VED-Ex configuration is vulnerable to measurements and modeling errors at short offsets. In contrast, the VED-Ez configuration is relatively robust to these problems and is considered a practical short-offset configuration. It is demonstrated that the short-offset configuration can be used to estimate the lateral extent and depth of the reservoir. Vertical anisotropy in background also significantly affects the pattern in electric field diffusion by elongating and strengthening the electric field in the horizontal direction. As the degree of vertical anisotropy increases, the vertical resistivity contrast across the reservoir interface decreases. As a result, the week reservoir response is increasingly masked by the elongated and strengthened background response. Consequently, the TDCSEM method loses its sensitivity to the reservoir.