Estimating lithologic and transport properties in three dimensions using seismic and tracer data: The Kesterson aquifer

The identification of aquifer heterogeneities, particularly flow paths and barriers, has become a critical research topic in hydrology. Cross-well seismic tomography may provide the needed resolution when used in conjunction with hydraulic head and tracer concentration measurements. We demonstrate a field application and sensitivity analysis of the split inversion method (SIM), which combines seismic, hydraulic, and tracer data to estimate the three-dimensional zonation of aquifer properties along with the hydraulic properties for these zones. For the Kesterson aquifer in the San Joaquin Valley, California, we first invert seismic travel times measured between six well pairs to obtain seismic slowness (1/seismic velocity) cross sections, or tomograms. We then use conditional simulation to provide three-dimensional seismic slowness realizations. Next, the SIM is used to split several realizations into three lithologic zones and assign hydraulic properties to the zones to best match six tracer concentration histories.