Geologist and Postdoc Hemin Yuan receives great recognition from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists for his work on mapping the physical properties of rocks
Postdoc Hemin Yuan has developed a new method for mapping the physical properties of rocks on the basis of different types of geophysical data. He represented his data at a conference held by Society of Exploration Geophysicists, where 5126 scientists from 68 countries participated. His paper was rated as top paper by the conference judges.
New method for mapping the physical properties of rocks
Hemin Tuan receives great recognition from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists for his work on mapping the physical properties of rocks.
Hemin Yuan is geophysicist and postdoc at Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen. His research primarily focuses on rock physics, GPR, time-lapse inversion, and joint inversion. He had his PhD from University of Houston, and has various research experiences in China, US, and Denmark.
Hemin Yuan participated with a paper at the conference held by Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and it was rated among the best 25 papers out of 1077. The judges found it very interesting because few other research projects have combined acoustic and electromagnetic properties to characterize chalk.
The research project not only evaluates the consolidation status, but also estimate the porosity and saturation. It can also be extended to work with surface reflection, seismic and GPR to map porosity and water content distribution, which may save the time-consuming laboratory measurements.
Combining acoustic and electromagnetic properties for chalk characterization
Hemin Yuan’s research is about combining acoustic and electromagnetic (EM) properties for chalk characterization. Specifically, he measures the acoustic P-wave velocity and crosshole GPR data of the near-surface chalk. Then uses the acoustic and EM rock physics models to jointly characterize the consolidation status of the chalk, and finally developed two rock physics templates that can be combined to determine the porosity and saturation simultaneously.
Hemin Yuan´s research integrates two basic physical properties - acoustic and electromagnetic - of the rock. He explains;
“These physical properties are quite familiar to everyone. Our voice can be heard by others because it travels through acoustic (sound) waves, and our mobile phone can make/receive calls because it can send/receive electromagnetic waves. These acoustic and electromagnetic waves in rocks are controlled by the same factors, thus they can complement and provide constraints for each other. This method can be used to estimate the porosity and water content underground. Moreover, it can also be extended to include other factors, e.g. clay content”.
The method Hemin Yuan uses makes it possible to predict the underground water content and even clay content distribution by applying it on surface reflection seismic and GPR data. This way he can save the time on laboratory measurements.
About Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Society of Exploration Geophysicists is a global not-for-profit organization with a mission of connecting the world of applied geophysics.
It was founded in 1930 and provides information, tools, and resources vital to advancing the science of exploration geophysics, fostering common scientific interests, supporting humanitarian efforts and accelerating geophysical innovation.