Unconventional low-impact methods to obtain near surface S-wave velocities

A poor characterization of the near surface in most land seismic surveys is a major limitation for imaging deeper reservoirs, especially in areas of complex overburden. This classical topic has been a research subject for decades, and several methods have been proposed to solve this problem in a cost-effective way. There are many different techniques we conventionally use to explore these velocities such as LVL and Uphole surveys. However such methodologies can be costly, time consuming and may have a significant environmental footprint. In this work, we show results from two different unconventional methods to provide near surface S wave velocity information while reducing the costs and the environmental impact more conventional methods might incur. We tested both the use of i) Vibroseis Attribute data (VAPS data) and ii) passive recording of ambient noise, to retrieve shallow S-wave velocities. Results were benchmarked against the traditional methods with great success.