Enhanced imaging of multi-layer CO2 plumes using full-waveform inversion: Insights from the Sleipner storage site

作者：Ricardo Martinez, Vetle Vinje, J. Mispel, Philip Ringrose, Alexey Stovas, Martin Landrø · 发表于：International journal of greenhouse gas control · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ijggc.2025.104517 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions、Seismic Imaging and Inversion Techniques、Seismic Waves and Analysis

• We apply full-waveform inversion (FWI) up to 42 Hz, using the 2010 towed-streamer data from the Sleipner storage site offshore Norway. • The inversion offers a significant imaging improvement in the lower half of the plume compared with the legacy seismic data. • Reflection-based migration methods present limitations for imaging CO₂ migration pathways. • By using the entire wavefield, the inversion captures all pathways previously interpreted with time-lapse analyses and reveals new migration pathways, providing a better understanding of vertical CO₂ migration at the site. In this study, we demonstrate the benefits of applying full-waveform inversion (FWI), for the imaging of multi-layer CO 2 plumes. We apply 3D FWI, up to 42 Hz, using the 2010 towed-streamer data from the Sleipner storage site offshore Norway. While the 3D FWI method does not aim to replace 4D FWI for CO 2 migration monitoring, the properties of the Utsira aquifer at Sleipner, with low stiffness and shallow burial depth, enable effective mapping of the CO 2 without the need of a repeated FWI application. Our FWI model and associated images offer a significant imaging improvement in the lower half of the plume compared with the legacy seismic data, revealing vertical CO 2 migration routes that have not been observed previously at the site. We show the limitations of reflection-based migration methods for imaging CO 2 migration pathways and demonstrate that FWI can improve their detection. The FWI model can ...