35 QUAL I TÉ GÉOPHYSIQUEAPPLIQUÉE 2 Refraction surveying 4 J.-L. Mari Seismic refraction was the first technique used in oil exploration. During the 19201960s, the refraction method allowed the detection of salt domes in the United States, the mapping of large extend structures in Iran, and oil field discoveries in the Algerian Sahara. However, from the 1930s seismic reflection became the predominant seismic method and the refraction method was used for the computation of static corrections. Today, the refraction method provides a quick reconnaissance-mapping tool for delineating near-surface velocity structures and/or their associated static corrections. It requires only the measurement of the arrival times of first arrival waves (direct and refracted waves) to provide a geological model, whereas the reflection method requires a complete processing of the recorded wavefield. The picking of first arrivals is much easier than the identification and picking of other events. This chapter of Seismic Imaging: a practical approach is published under Open Source Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC-ND allowing non-commercial use, distribution, reproduction of the text, via any medium, provided the source is cited. © EDP Sciences, 2019 DOI: 10.1051/978-2-7598-2351-2.c004
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