Small-scale modeling of onshore seismic experiment: A tool to validate numerical modeling and seismic imaging methods

The seismic imaging methods currently in the development stage need to be tested for experimental validation under controlled conditions. Yet natural media are very complex, and moreover, the parameters along the measurement profile prove difficult to evaluate independently of the seismic method itself. To satisfy this need, the ultrasonic measurement laboratory (MUSC) presented in this research has been devised to experimentally model seismic field measurements by using reduced-scale models. This facility is composed of small-scale models of the underground, an optical table with two moving arms, a laser interferometer, and adapted piezoelectric transducers used as the seismic sources. The source system has been adapted to simulate the behavior of a point-surface seismic source. This is essential to reproduce the spatial energy distribution of a surface seismic source and supersedes the sources used in the past for other reduced-scale seismic experimental models. The comparisons of experimental data collected with MUSC and numerical data simulated by means of finite-element viscoelastic modeling indicate very good agreement of time arrivals and amplitudes for a range of propagation distances until the amplitude has decreased to the system noise level. These results demonstrate that the MUSC laboratory is a system with plenty of promise for validating seismic imaging methods through testing on a perfectly known propagation model prior to field application.