High-resolution velocity modeling by seismic-airborne TEM joint inversion: A new perspective for near-surface characterization

We discuss the use of helicopter-borne transient electromagnetic (HTEM) for a high-resolution spatial and vertical characterization of the near surface in a structure-controlled Wadi in central Saudi Arabia. In this area, seismic data quality is poor, and seismic imaging suffers from a combination of scattering effects-due to swarms of faults reaching the surface-and large velocity variations occurring along subvertical boundaries between the Wadi sediment infill and the surrounding carbonate plateaus. HTEM was selected from a suite of nonseismic methods for multiparameter velocity-model building to enhance the velocity estimation for the Wadi and surrounding areas. HTEM data were modeled by performing spatially constrained 1D resistivity inversion to obtain a high-resolution image of the near surface with sensitivity to a depth of 400-500 m from the surface. Sharp boundaries of the Wadi and fine vertical layering, obtained from the HTEM inversion, provide detailed information about the parameter variations in the near surface. A seismic-HTEM joint-inversion approach is developed using a cross-gradient structural operator to constrain the velocity inversion with the higher resolution HTEM data. Joint-inversion results provide sharp velocity reconstruction across the Wadi boundaries and increase the dynamic range of the velocity variations when compared to a single-domain tomographic approach in which the HTEM contribution is ignored. Superior imaging results in both time and depth are derived from velocities estimated by the seismic-TEM joint-inversion approach. © 2016 by The Society of Exploration Geophysicists.