Wide angle reflections in OBC seismic physical model experiment

Wide angle acquisition has been taken as a significant measure to obtain high quality seismic data and is getting greater attention. In this paper, we discuss ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic wide angle reflections on the basis of a layered model experiment. Some experiment results don’t support theoretical conclusions. The main experimental conclusions are: 1. Wide angle reflection energies are stronger than non-wide-angle reflections (up to twice as strong) but there is a big difference between observations and theoretical calculations that suggest the wide angle reflection energies are 15 times the nonwide-angle reflection energy. The reflection energy increases gradually rather than sharply as the theoretical calculations suggest. 2. The reflection events remain hyperbolic when the offset increases. 3. Wide angle reflection dominant frequency is about 20–30% less than nonwide-angle reflections and decreases as the offset increases. The non-wide-angle reflection dominant frequency shows no obvious variation for small offsets. 4. There is no wave shape mutation or polarity reversal near the critical angle. 5. The reflection event group features are the same for both cases of incidence angle greater and less than the critical angle. 6. Direct arrivals, multiples, and water bottom refractions influence the wide angle reflections of the sea floor.