Education Days Buenos Aires 2015

Seismic Attributes and their Applications in Seismic

Interpretation
Behzad Alaei

2015 EAGE Education B.V.

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2015 EAGE Education B.V.

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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction and historical review ............................................................................. 4
Chapter 2 Input Data Cleaning ................................................................................................. 10
Chapter 3 Trace-based seismic attributes ................................................................................. 16
Chapter 4 Dip and Azimuth volumes ....................................................................................... 26
Chapter 5 Coherence volumes.................................................................................................. 35
Chapter 6 Fault attribute volumes ............................................................................................ 45
Chapter 7 Curvature attribute volumes .................................................................................... 55
Chapter 8 Spectral decomposition............................................................................................ 58
Chapter 9 Multi-attributes ........................................................................................................ 69
Chapter 10 Seismic attribute analysis workflow planning ....................................................... 71
Acknowledgment ..................................................................................................................... 72
References ................................................................................................................................ 72
Presentation slides .................................................................................................................... 75

Chapter 1 Introduction and historical review

Seismic attributes have been increasingly used in both exploration and reservoir characterization and
has been integrated in the seismic interpretation process. Seismic attribute analysis can extract
information from seismic data that is otherwise hidden in the data and have been used to identify
prospects, ascertain depositional environments (e.g. fluvial or deep water channels, carbonate
buildups), detect and enhance faults and fracture sets to unravel structural history, and even provide
direct hydrocarbon indicators. They have proven to be useful in different geological settings such as
clastic, carbonate, and salt related basins as well as different tectonic regimes including extensional,
strike-slip, and compressional. Developments in digital recording and modern visualization techniques
had great impact on the growth of seismic attributes in the past decades. The purpose of this course is
to introduce seismic attributes with their applications in seismic interpretation using examples from
different sedimentary basins and also through certain attribute workflows. It is aimed to provide
geoscientists with the minimum required theory of how each attribute is generated, with a greater
emphasis on the application in the exploration and reservoir characterization.
The course is divided into two main parts: attributes review/applications, and workflows. The first part
starts with an introduction including a historical review of seismic attributes, and goes through the
noise (random and coherent) reduction as one essential step of all attribute studies. The degree of noise
reduction depends on data quality and subsequent workflow. Workflow-dependent noise reduction
will be discussed. The number of seismic attributes dramatically increased recently causing more
confusion for geoscientists to select appropriate ones. A series of trace-based attributes, volumetric
Dip and Azimuth, fault detection and enhancement attributes, volumetric curvature, and frequency
decomposition will be presented. For every attribute the theory will be given and then the applications
will be provided using examples from different sedimentary basins. Frequency decomposition will be
briefly presented with different decomposition methods such as wavelet transform, Fourier transform,
and matching pursuit analysis. Examples will be given to illustrate the interpretation challenges
associated with frequency decomposition data interpretation. At the end of the first stage of the course
the concept of multiattributes will be introduced with examples illustrating combination of amplitude,
phase, discontinuity, and frequency attributes to visualize different geological objects.
In the second part of the course stratigraphic and structural workflows will be presented using
attributes illustrated in the first part of the course. The workflows aimed to show the integration of
several attributes for specific interpretation purposes. The basic elements for planning a workflow will
be discussed together with a few examples of stratigraphic (fluvial/shallow marine clastic systems,
attribute expressions of deep water turbidities, and carbonate settings), and structural imaging
workflows.
The integration of seismic attribute analysis process with the other seismic interpretation (qualitative
or quantitative) workflows has received less attention over the past decades. The importance of such
integration will be discussed.
There are a large number of attributes and there is no intention to describe all of them in this course.
Instead the focus is to present the main attributes and put more emphasis on when and how we can use
them.
A seismic attribute is any quantitative measure obtained from seismic data that helps us detect and
quantify geological features of interest. Taner (2001) gave the following definition for seismic
attributes: Seismic Attributes are all the information obtained from seismic data, either by direct
measurements or by logical or experience based reasoning.
A good review of seismic attributes is given in Chopra and Marfurt (2005). A wide range of seismic
attributes are available today. One or more geological model or hypothesis is usually derived after the
first stage of data screening. This model or hypothesis and uncertainties associated with it decide to a
large degree the type of seismic attributes to be generated.
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Until the early 1960s which was the analog seismic recording time period, structural interpretation
was the dominant interpretation approach. This means that only travel time information form seismic
reflection data were used to carry out structural interpretation. Using paper seismic profiles it was hard
to interpret seismic amplitude quantitatively. Exploration seismologists were aware of the information
that can be achieved from waveform but data display and visualization techniques were not good
enough to make this possible.
The advances in color display in early 1970s (Anstey 2005; Balch 1971) created the opportunity to
show more variables in one display. The first major development in seismic attributes was the concept
of complex trace analysis which led to the generation of trace based attributes (e.g. Taner et al., 1979).
3D seismic technology has started in 1970s but the interpretation was still based on the picking of
geological horizons and faults on 2D slices of the 3D volumes. Advances in computer-based
interpretation in 1980s and increasing number of 3D surveys created the second wave of attribute
developments in late 1980s and early 1990s. Horizon-based amplitude and dip/azimuth attributes (e.g.
Dalley et al., 1989) are one example of that period. The next major progress was made by the
introduction of edge attributes by Bahorich and Farmer in 1995. This is followed by advances in
spectral decomposition technique (e.g. Partyka et al., 1999), 3D curvature attribute (e.g. Roberts 2001)
and different multiattributes. The advances in data visualizations also helped to a large extent the
additional integration of seismic attribute analysis in the seismic interpretation process (e.g. Henderson
et al., 2008).
In the following the developments in seismic attribute analysis have been illustrated using examples
from as early as the 1970s to modern advanced cases.
Figure 1 illustrates a conventional 2D seismic display (black and white) used before the color
illustration of seismic data from onshore southwest Iran from 1970s (Alaei, 2006).

Figure 1 2D migrated seismic line. Data has been recorded and processed in 1976, 1977. The profile
includes several faulted anticlines with poor image quality (Alaei, 2006).
Figure 2 shows the first generation of color displays of a marine seismic section from Balch (1971).
The color display is generated using a computer-graphic-photographic system which allows displaying
frequency content of seismic data with time-varying waveforms. Low frequencies were represented by
red color and high frequencies by violet.

Figure 2 Early color seismograms (Balch, 1971).

Figure 3 shows the instantaneous frequency section from North Sea from Taner et al., (1979). The
section illustrates reflection geometries corresponding to Danian chalk (E) and faulting associated with
Rotliegendes (H) are displayed on the attribute image.

Figure 3 Instantaneous frequency section from North Sea (Taner et al., 1979). The section illustrates
reflection geometries corresponding to Danian chalk (E) and faulting associated with Rotliegendes
(H).
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Figure 4a shows surface amplitude attribute map of a reflector corresponding to the top of a channel
system from the Balingian Province, Malaysia (Rijks and Jauffred, 1991). The attribute map shows the
outline of the channel feature. Figure 4b (Rijks and Jauffred, 1991) illustrates Dip surface attribute
map of top reservoir from Annerveen field. Structural detail including small scale faulting is imaged in
the dip surface attribute.

Figure 4 a) Surface amplitude attribute map of a top channel system from the Balingian Province,
Malaysia b) Dip surface attribute map of top reservoir from Annerveen field (Rijks and Jaufrred,
1991).
Figure 5 from Bahorich and Farmer (1995) shows a time slice and coherence image at the same time
level. The coherence image shows faults, fractures, and edges of sedimentary features such as
channels.

Figure 5 Early coherence attributes (Bahorich and Farmer, 1995). a) Seismic time slice at 1250 ms
(Data courtesy of Geco-Prakla). b) Coherence slice at 1250 ms shows clear relationship between
faults and stratigraphic features.

Figure 6 exhibits an example of frequency decomposition study over a dataset from Gulf of Mexico
(Partyka et al., 1999). The attribute is 26Hz frequency magnitude map which imaged various
depositional features that otherwise are not visible in conventional amplitude mapping.

Figure 6 26Hz frequency magnitude map from Gulf of Mexico exhibits various depositional features
(Partyka et al., 1999).
Figure 7 shows a curvature horizon attribute map (both most positive and most negative) from northeast British Columbia (Chopra and Marfurt, 2007). The stratigraphic slice is from 30ms below top
reservoir. Data is extracted along the shifted horizon from the 3D curvature attribute volume and
shows fault network at this level.

Figure 7 Curvature surface attributes maps extracted at 30ms below of a picked horizon (Chopra and
Marfurt, 2007). a) Most positive curvature and (b) most-negative (Data courtesy: Arcis Corporation,
Calgary).
Figure 8 (Henderson et al., 2008) illustrates the benefits of advanced visualization techniques
integrated with frequency decomposition technique to identify different seismic facies and extracted
the representative geobodies from 3D attribute volumes. Volume rendered RGB image used as input
to identify the value ranges of the features of interest. Then segmentation and connectivity process
based on opacity settings used to extract set of geobodies. The process is based on co-rendering of
multiple datasets.

Figure 8 Example of advanced visualization technique (Henderson et al., 2008). a) RGB blend of the
response at three different frequencies. b) Bodies detected using the RGB region of interest opacity
technique.

Chapter 2 Input Data Cleaning

Reducing or removing noise content and improving signal to noise ratio is one of the main goals of
seismic survey design, and processing. There are several noise reduction applications that are routinely
applied during seismic processing which are carried out on both prestack and poststack domain.
Stacking process itself is aimed to increase the S/N. However there is always some noise left in the
seismic data that is input for interpretation and attribute analysis. Noise types also vary from marine to
land seismic data. Noise is either coherent or random. It is hard to reduce coherent noise since it can
also affect signal.
Several noise cancellation methods have been developed that targeted both random and coherent noise
types. Some of them include structure oriented mean or median filtering, the -trimmed-mean filter,
principal-component filtering (Chopra and Marfurt, 2008), the multiwindow (Kuwahara) filter (Luo et
al., 2002), and multistage noise filtering (e.g. Al-Dossary and Marfurt, 2007). Best noise filtering
methods are those which remove noise while leave subtle geologic features such as small channel or
fault untouched. Filtered seismic data have better spatial continuity compared to unfiltered data which
makes the seismic interpretation easier and also provides cleaner data for attribute generation
processes. Structurally oriented filtering approaches are one of the most used methods that remove
noise while preserving small scale features in the data. The main goal is to distinguish geometric
elements (dip and azimuth) of reflectors representing signals from noise. Therefore the noise reduction
process in the structurally oriented filtering methods divides into two steps: Estimation of dip/azimuth
and application of some filters such as mean or median to remove noise.
The noise reduction process is applied in a small window that is called analysis window and mean
filtering takes the average of the samples within the analysis window. It is more a smoothing filter and
as a result enhances the continuity of the seismic data. Median filtering substitutes each value in the
analysis window by the central value within the window. Median filters remove outliers from the data
and enhance the data sharpness.
It is recommended to review the data in different directions (inlines, cross lines, and time or depth
slices) before planning noise removal applications. This review will help us to identify type of noise
(random or coherent or dipping noise) and also areas that are more contaminated by noise. Sometimes
there is more noise in cross line direction than inline direction or data at certain time or depth interval
contained more noise. Noise cancellation approach and parameters depends on the information that
can be achieved through the data review. For example if data is contaminated by dipping noise
structurally oriented edge preserving methods are best in cleaning data. If there is more noise in
certain direction (inline or cross line) then filter parameters can be selected to suppress noise in the
noise dominated direction. In cases where certain time or depth interval of data is noisy, noise filters
can be applied to only target those intervals. Filtering process can be performed in stages depending
on the noise content.

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Figure 1 Seismic data example before noise cancellation. a) Inline shows geological features such as
clinoform packages and high frequency noise b) time slice at 1672ms. Part of a channel system is
imaged in the upper right side of the time slice and some faulting to the left.

Figure 2 Seismic data example after first pass noise cancellation. a) Inline shows some improvements
in the data quality compared to original input shown in figure 1a. b) time slice at 1672ms. Channel
shown in figure 1b has better clarity and also the fault traces on the left side.
The first example of noise cancellation is from a 3D survey from the Norwegian Barents Sea.
Figure 1a and b illustrates an inline and time slice from the data before noise cancellation. There is
random noise in several parts of the data which influenced the continuity and coherency of seismic
events. Clinoforms that are observed in the upper part of the inline (figure 1a) are noisy and in
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particular the tips of the dipping parts of the clinoforms are not clear enough. There is a channel in the
time slice shown in figure 1b which is partly imaged and some parts have noisy and ambiguous image
quality. Modern 3D surveys are large and despite the advances in computing techniques it is still time
consuming to derive noise filter parameters using the whole 3D survey. It is therefore recommended to
select a representative volume that includes the main geological features and also noisy part of the
data. This small volume can be used to test several noise filter parameters to get the optimum filter
sizes to apply on whole dataset. Dip and Azimuth volumes have been generated using analysis
window of 9 samples spatially (inline and cross line directions) and 11 samples in time (11 times 4
ms). Figure 2a and b shows the same inline and time slice (figure 1) after application of structurally
oriented mean filter using the dip/azimuth volumes to steer the noise cancellation process. The mean
filter size is 5 which means that 5 sample around each calculation point is included in the analysis. The
process enhances the image quality by removing random and coherent noise while preserving subtle
features in the data. The clinoform packages (figure 2a) are clearer in the denoised image and the
channel (figure 2b) is imaged with more clarity. The greater the filter size the smoother is the result.
The goal with structure oriented filtering is to identify edges in the data and smooth along the edges
and not across the locally identified edges.
A useful QC measure for evaluating noise reduction process is to calculate the difference volume of
pre and post noise filter to investigate what has been taken out of the original data. The aim is to
assure that no or little geological information is removed from data. If the difference volume shows
coherent data, there is high chance that some of the signal (geological information) is lost and if the
difference volume shows random data it means that the geological information is preserved and only
noise is removed from the input seismic data. Figure 3 illustrates the difference volume between
original (Figure 1) and noise cancelled (Figure 2) volumes. It is clear that almost all of the data
removed from input seismic volume is random noise. There is only some patches of the reflective
package in the deeper part of the inline (figure 3a) is removed together with very small part of the
seismic data representing the channel (figure 3b). Noise cancellation process is not always perfect and
therefore losing some part of the signal is inevitable.

Figure 3 Difference volume of original (figure 1) and noise cancelled data (figure 2). a) Inline section
b) time slice at 1672ms. Some patches of coherent events (shown by black arrows) that corresponds to
signal have been taken from seismic data.

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To illustrate the effect of stronger noise cancellation filters another stage of noise removal has been
applied using structurally oriented median noise filter. The input seismic data at this stage is the noise
cancelled data (Figure 2). This is a multistage noise removal where the noise cancellation process is
carried out in more than one step. The dip/azimuth steering volumes have been calculated using 21
samples at the three directions and the median noise removal filter aligned along the structure using
the dip/azimuth volumes. The median filter size used in the process has 5 sample dimensions in inline
and cross line direction. The greater the filter size the smoother the result will be. One of the
objectives of running the second noise cancellation process is to show that obtaining the very clean
smooth data is at the cost of losing some geological information. Figure 4 illustrate the same time slice
and inline shown in figure 2 after the application of the second structurally oriented median noise
cancellation process. The image continuity has remarkably improved and geological features are
clearly visible. The clinoform packages geometry is very clear (Figure 4a) and reflector terminations
are sharper. The seismic image of the channel is improved and the faults are better identified (Figure
4b). Figure 5 shows the difference volume of the two noise cancellation steps (volumes shown in
Figures 2 and 4). The second noise filtering stage has affected the signal and part of the channel and
some other coherent seismic data has been removed together with the noise. Figure 5a shows more
coherent reflectors at the deeper part of the inline and also some patches in the shallow section. In the
time slice residual section (Figure 5b) signals from channel and also some signal related to the faults
are visible. This illustrates the effect of intense noise removal on the seismic response from different
scale geological features. The main task is to derive the trade-off between cleaning the data and also
preserving signal.

Figure 4 Seismic data example after second pass noise cancellation. a) Inline shows even more
improvement compared to figure 2a. Clinoform packages are clearly mappable. b) time slice at
1672ms. Larger extent of the channel shown in figure 2b has been imaged and fault images have been
improved.

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Figure 5 Difference volume of first (figure 2) and second (figure 4) pass noise removal applications.
a) Inline section b) time slice at 1672ms. More coherent events representing signal has been removed
from data. Arrows shows coherent reflectors that correspond to geological features. This illustrates
that more smooth data is achieved at the cost of losing some part of seismic signal.
There is always some signal lost during denoising applications and it is suggested to plan the data
cleaning process aligned with the subsequent attribute analysis. This is called workflow oriented noise
removal. It means that both noise content of the input data and type of attributes that is going to be
calculated have an impact on the filtering parameters. An example is given in figure 6. There are some
very small faults with limited lateral extent and short offset (Figure 5a). Attribute analysis can be
planned to either reveal high resolution small scale or regional structural framework of the studied
area. Noise removal filter parameters can be different in each case. For a high resolution fault study
the noise filtering parameters should be not strong in order to preserve subtle discontinuities
representing small faults (Figure 5b) while for a regional structural study stronger filter parameters can
be applied to derive large scale picture easier at the cost of losing small scale detail (Figure 5c).

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Figure 6 Workflow oriented noise removal example. a) original input seismic data before noise
cancellation. The small fault inside the ellipse is monitored through several passes of noise removal.
b) Structurally oriented noise removal with small filter size to preserve subtle features such as the
fault shown inside the ellipse. c) Same noise removal application with stronger filter size which
removed most of the offset of the small fault.

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Chapter 3 Trace-based seismic attributes

Trace-based attributes are calculated at each data sample and the calculation is independent of adjacent
traces. Therefore there is no need to define an analysis window. In mathematics a complex number is a
number that includes a real and an imaginary part and can be written in the form a+ib where a is the
real part, b is the imaginary part and i is the imaginary unit. A seismic trace which is a time series can
be considered as the real part of a complex number or analytical signal (Taner et al., 1979). A seismic
trace f(t) is considered as the real part of a complex trace F(t), where F(t)=f(t)+if*(t). f*(t) is the
imaginary part of the complex trace and can be estimated from the real part. By using the concept of
analytical or complex seismic trace instantaneous phase, amplitude, and frequency attributes can be
estimated. These attributes will be presented in the following using some examples and their
interpretation applications will be briefly discussed.
Envelope
Envelope (E) or reflection strength is the absolute value of the amplitude;

E (t )

f 2 (t ) f *2 (t )

(1)

There is no information about phase in this attribute and its maximum is not necessarily the amplitude
of the largest peak or trough in the data. Different color scales can be used to display this attribute and
it only has positive values. This attribute can be used to identify lithology variations and also can
indicate hydrocarbon accumulations. It has poor vertical resolution but better lateral resolution. High
values of envelope attribute can represent lithologic variations across rock units. Any changes in the
acoustic properties of two adjacent rock units are reflected in the amplitude and will be imaged as
variations in the envelope attribute. The interpretation of the envelope attribute is more reliable if it is
linked to local stratigraphy through seismic-to-well tie analysis. There is often more than one possible
interpretation for any observed envelope anomaly which indicates the non-unique nature of the
attribute interpretation. This is the case in the interpretation of almost all seismic attributes. This nonuniqueness in the interpretation of the attributes can be addressed either by calibrating the
interpretation derived geological model with well results or integrating the attributes with some other
attributes to increase the reliability of the interpretation.
The first example (Figure 1) is a time slice from the North Sea that illustrates envelope amplitude
variation at shallow depth of around 700m. Fans that are developed from the mainland Norwegian
coast are observed in the image.

Figure 1 a) Seismic time slice and b) corresponding envelope attribute from North Sea. Arrows show
the location of fans.

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Lithological variations associated with different sedimentary textures can be identified and mapped
using envelope attribute. For example channels filled with different lithology compared to overbank
sediments can be mapped with envelope attribute. The lithology change along and across channels can
also be mapped using envelope attribute. It can be used to extract part of data representing certain
geological objects (Geobody extraction). Figure 2 shows an example of a channel system in the
Norwegian Barents Sea. The comparison of input seismic data and the envelope attribute indicates that
channel images are improved in the envelope attribute volume. Figure 3 shows envelope attribute from
different levels of a big channel system from the Tertiary of North Sea. The interpreted channel fill
lithology shown in the figure is derived using different envelope response. Another example can be the
rock type variations along clinoforms. The geometry of such sedimentary structures can be imaged
using attributes that are sensitive to phase variations such as instantaneous phase or cosine of phase
while the lithology variations along clinoform packages can be imaged using envelope attribute.
Figure 4 shows an example from a clinoform package with variation of rock type along the clinoform
imaged on the envelope attribute. Figure 5 illustrates two slices of envelope volume from different
depths of Triassic sequence in the Barents Sea and three seismic lines. Channels systems are clearly
visible on the envelope attribute slices.

Figure 2 Envelope example from Norwegian Barents Sea. a) Seismic time slice and b) corresponding
envelope attribute. Larger extent of the channels are imaged in the envelope attribute.

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Figure 3 Envelope attribute slices from two different depths of a channel system. Schematic section of
a channel with different sediments filling the channel is shown (from Sprague et al., 2002). Slice A
shows envelope time slice from shallow part that has weaker amplitude at the channel which can be
indicative of mud and slice B shows higher amplitudes within the channel that can be associated with
sandier interval.

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Figure 4 Envelope response from clinoform packages. a) Seismic section from Barents Sea with
several clinoform packages. b) Envelope response of the same line. The amplitude response along
reflectors representing clinoform packages varies. The dashed black line shows one example. In the
seismic section (a) the blue color observed along the dashed line while in the envelope response there
is different response along the line indicating variation of lithology along the line.

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Figure 5 Envelope attribute volume from two different time and three seismic lines. The channels at
different depths are shown on the envelope slices. The very strong amplitude to the right corresponds
to the major fault system that can be traced on the seismic sections as well.
The envelope attribute can also be applied to differentiate between reflections of individual layers
(thick layers) and reflectors representing a composite of reflections (thinner beds).
Instantaneous Phase
Instantaneous Phase P(t) attribute is the phase of the complex seismic trace

f * (t )
P (t ) tan 1

f (t )

( 2)

This attribute is sensitive to the continuity of reflectors and is independent of amplitude or

reflection strength. The values of the phase attribute vary from -180 to +180 degrees and it is
recommended not to change the color scale used to display this attribute. If a reflector is weak but
coherent, it will be imaged as continuous event on the phase attribute. Identification of the geometrical
relationships between beds within sedimentary sequences is crucial for the interpretation of
depositional settings and eventually building the paleogeographic history of any area. This relationship
has been defined as onlap, offlap, truncation, and downlap settings. The geometry of reflector
packages imaged by phase attributes can be used to interpret sedimentary sequences and the clarity of
reflector packages is much better than conventional seismic data. Faults also correspond to phase
changes and phase attribute can be used to image faults. Faults are better imaged in horizontal
direction (time or depth slice). Figure 6 illustrates a time slice from Barents Sea and corresponding
phase attribute. Faults are clearer in the phase attribute and outline of different phase responses are
associated with stratigraphic variations along the beds.

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Figure 6 a) Seismic time slice from Barents Sea. b) Phase attribute of the time slice. Faults are better
imaged in the phase attribute. The area shown with dashed line represents a certain seismic facies
which is not easily identifiable on the seismic time slice.
Figure 7 shows a time slice of a phase attribute volume that enhanced small and large scale fault
traces. The phase attribute can be used to enhance images of not only the fault traces but also the fault
blocks. The last phase example is from a gas filled zone (Figure 8). The sensitivity of the gas filled
zone to phase changes is reflected in the phase attribute.

Figure 7 Time slice phase attribute from Barents Sea showing detailed faulting. The arrows show the
location of some of the imaged faults. Fault blocks are also clearer.

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Figure 8 a) Seismic time slice from top of a gas filled reservoir and, b) corresponding Phase attribute.
The arrow shows the gas filled zone in the phase attribute.
Instantaneous Frequency
Instantaneous frequency attribute is the time derivative of the instantaneous phase attribute (equation
2),

(t )

dP(t )
d (t )

(3)

This attribute can be used to characterise composite reflections (Taner et al., 1979). Composite
reflections represent seismic response of a series of thinner beds interfered with each other. Individual
reflections correspond to seismic response of thick enough layers.
Amplitude response of seismic data cannot be alone used to distinguish responses of individual
reflectors from composite reflectors. Instantaneous frequency attribute can be used either alone or in
combination with attributes imaging amplitude (for example envelop) to identify such characters.
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Variation of thickness and acoustic properties of individual thin beds from composite reflections is
imaged on instantaneous frequency attribute.
Below gas saturated reservoir sands lower frequencies have been observed and it can be considered as
a direct hydrocarbon indicator if calibrated to other seismic attributes. Instantaneous frequency
attribute can be used to map such low frequency anomalies.
High and low frequencies can also correspond to different depositional characters. However; such
interpretations require multi-attribute analysis that will be explained in chapter 9.
Figure 9 illustrates an example from a low frequency anomaly that is associated with gas sands above.

Figure 9 a) Seismic line over a gas discovery. b) Instantaneous frequency volume. There is a low
frequency zone that is located below the hydrocarbon filled reservoir rocks.
Cosine of Phase
Instantaneous phase attribute that has been explained earlier in this chapter is discontinuous at 180
degrees. Cosine of phase attribute is continuous phase attribute and is a monotonic function. The phase
attribute emphasizes the continuity of the events and is a function of time and not frequency. Cosine of
phase attribute is independent of reflection strength. It often makes weak coherent events (very small
changes in the shape of seismic waveform) clearer. These small changes in seismic waveform may
correspond to small faults, truncations associated with unconformities, or pinch outs and become
easier to identify and interpret on cosine of phase attribute volumes.
Cosine of phase attribute ((t)) is calculated by dividing seismic trace to its reflection strength or
envelope (Gelchinsky et al., 1985),

(t )

f (t )
E(t )

(4)

It has application in both structural (fault identification) and stratigraphic (sedimentary sequence
patterns identification) studies. It can be included in workflows to image both clastic and carbonate
sedimentary rocks. Carbonate build-ups can be visualized using the cosine of phase attribute.
Ogiesoba and Hart (2009) used cosine of phase attribute to image faults on seismic data. They have
used the cosine of phase attribute volume as input to estimate coherence volumes and achieved better
fault images and clearer fault terminations compared to usual coherency estimation using seismic data
as input.
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Prograding sedimentary layer pattern and regions of on-lap and off-lap layering often show with better
clarity on cosine of phase attribute than usual seismic (amplitude) data. The Cosine of phase seismic
attribute shows better continuity at pinch outs and reflectors can be picked with higher confidence
compared to seismic amplitude data. This attribute is better viewed in vertical slices (inlines or cross
lines). Figures 10 exhibits a vertical seismic section and its cosine of phase attribute. This is the same
line shown in figure 3a. The cosine of phase attribute is best viewed in vertical slices and since it is not
sensitive to amplitude variations it can illustrate weak coherent events better than conventional
seismic. The termination points of reflectors representing clinoform geometries are shown in figure 10
by arrows.

Figure 10 a) Seismic section with reflection packages corresponding to clinoform geometries, and b)
Cosine of phase attribute. The attribute shows the termination points beds forming the clinoform
geometries better than conventional seismic data. The arrows indicates the location of some of the
termination points.
Figure 11 shows another example of cosine of phase attribute from the Barents Sea. The cosine-ofphase volume illustrating the presence of clinoforms (red arrows) within the Early Triassic Havert
Formation. Variable clinoform trajectories (e.g. downstepping or falling and aggradational or rising)
are observed.

Figure 11 Cosine of phase attribute from southern part of the Barents Sea. Clinoform geometries are
clearly imaged in the Havert Formation. The progradation direction of clinoform can be mapped
using cosine of phase attribute.

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The last example is from Gulf of Mexico. The geometry of deep water turbidite channels can be
mapped using cosine of phase attribute volume. Figure 12 shows a series of stacked channels with
different vertical and lateral extent.

Figure 12 Stacked channels mapped using cosine of phase attribute. Data is from Gulf of Mexico. The
arial and vertical extent of the channels varies.

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Chapter 4 Dip and Azimuth volumes

Orientation of any planar geological element in space is described by its strike and dip. Strike is the
orientation of the intersection of geological object with horizontal plane and dip is the angle that
planar surface makes with the horizontal surface. In seismic volumes azimuth angle can be estimated
instead of strike angle and it is perpendicular to the strike and is the orientation of the maximum dip
direction. It is measured either from north or seismic survey inline direction. Dip and azimuth seismic
attribute provides insight into the orientation of local structure.
Early methods of dip and azimuth estimation from seismic data carried out along interpreted horizon
surfaces (Dalley et al., 1989; Rijks and Jauffred, 1991). Dip values at each point on interpreted
horizons represents its inclination and azimuth corresponds to the direction of the inclination that is
estimated from either a local reference such as 3D survey inline direction or the north. The equations
to estimate dip and azimuth from interpreted horizons are (Dalley et al., 1989)

dt
dt
Dip ( ) 2 ( ) 2
dy
dx

1/ 2

(1)
and

dt
Azimuth arctan(

dt

dy

(2)

dx

The two terms in the dip and azimuth equations corresponds to the estimated values in two directions.
Dip values at each point on the map is calculated by taking average gradient of each sample and one or
a few adjacent data points. This calculation is done in both inline and cross line directions.
The quality of horizon attributes partly depend on the accuracy of picked horizons. An alternative
method is to calculate dip and azimuth from seismic data without including horizons in the process.
Several algorithms have been developed to calculate volumetric dip and azimuth (e.g. Barnes, 2000a;
Marfurt et al., 1998; Marfurt, 2006; Hoecker and Fehmers, 2002). Development of volumetric dip
attribute is closely linked to the advances in data filtering methods since dip and azimuth attributes
have been used to guide noise cancellation processes.
Marfurt et al., (1998) calculated dip and azimuth by applying semblance scanning method to 3D data
to estimate reflector dip. Figure 1 shows how the dip estimation using discrete scan method works
(Marfurt et al., 1998). A series of discrete dips are tested within the analysis volume. This is done by
measuring seismic waveform similarity between the adjacent traces within the analysis window using
different algorithms such as semblance or variance methods. Next an interpolation line is fitted to the
estimated coherence values by the peak value (highest coherency) and some neighboring dips.
Instantaneous dip estimate is derived from the dip of this peak values.

26

Figure 1 The dip estimation using discrete scan method (Marfurt et al., 1998). a) 2D Schematic
diagram search window. b) 3D search-based diagram.
Complex seismic trace analysis concept (Taner et al., 1979) explained in chapter 3 has been extended
to 2D and 3D to determine dip and azimuth from seismic data (e.g. Barnes, 1996; Lue et al., 1996).
Barnes (1996) estimated dip and azimuth by first calculating the instantaneous frequency, (equation
chapter 3 in chapter 2) which is time derivative of instantaneous phase. Different approaches can be
applied to take the derivatives including Fourier transform. In the next step the spatial derivatives of
phase which are instantaneous wavenumbers (Kx and Ky) in inline/crossline directions are taken. Dip
can be calculated by

ky
k
Dip ( x ) 2 ( ) 2

0.5

(3)

Figure 2 shows an example of a time slice from the Barents Sea. That has been generated using the
phase method. This method use phase data as input to calculate dip and azimuth and therefore is not
influenced by changes in the amplitude. The darker colors correspond to dip changes that can be
caused either by structural features such as faults and fractures or stratigraphic features such as
channels. Fault patterns can be identified on the time slice. Figure 3 shows the azimuth attribute of the
same time slice.

27

Figure 2 Time slice of a dip attribute volume from southern part of the Bjarmeland platform in the
Norwegian Barents Sea. Major faults and also smaller scale faults are imaged in the dip attribute
volume. The darker color corresponds where the dip changes.

Figure 3 Time slice azimuth attribute volume of the dip attribute shown in figure 2.
Figure 4 shows the dip horizon attribute of shifted top Snadd Formation from Triassic of Norwegian
Barents Sea. The dip surface attribute shows larger extent of geological features that follow geological
horizons (for example channels). Different sets of fault and also channel sequences have been imaged
on the surface attribute map.

28

Figure 4 Dip horizon attribute of shifted top Snadd Formation in the Barents Sea. The dip surface
attribute shows larger extent of geological features that follow geological horizons (for example
channels). White arrows show some faults and the blue arrows illustrate channels.
The next method of volumetric dip and azimuth calculation is gradient structure tensor or simply
gradient method (Bakker et al., 1999). The main objective is to determine the direction that seismic
waveform has the maximum change. The analysis is done in a small window that contains few
samples in x,y, and t (or z) directions. The input to this method is the seismic data and therefore unlike
the phase method it may affected by variations in the seismic amplitude.
The method works in two steps. First image gradient is calculated along three different directions. This
can be done by taking derivatives of seismic trace in the three directions. This gives the changes in the
seismic waveform along the three different directions. In the next stage the derived gradient for each
point is cross correlated with samples within analysis window to determine trends (Chopra and
Marfurt, 2008). The size of the analysis window has an impact on the scale of the result, i.e. larger
analysis windows will provide dip and azimuth estimate of larger or regional structures. The filter size
or analysis window size can also vary between in inline/cross line or x and y directions. It is
recommended to define the filter size in x and y directions following the main structural direction or at
least test filter sizes that match with the dominant structural trends.
The common color scale to display dip attribute is grey scale with light color where darker color
corresponds to higher values of dip. Azimuth attribute can be displayed using a rotary color scale
consistent with variation of azimuth from the reference direction and it should not be compressed.
Dip and Azimuth applications in seismic interpretation:
Dip and azimuth attributes have a wide range of applications in seismic interpretation and are one of
the fundamental attributes for both structural and stratigraphic interpretations. The attributes can be
used alone or in combination with other attributes (multiattributes) and are one of the key attributes in
several attribute analysis workflows.
The first application of the dip and azimuth volumes is in the structurally oriented seismic data
filtering processes (e.g. Hoecker and Fehmers, 2002; Helmore, 2009; Hoeber et al., 2006). Dip and
azimuth volumes provide the local orientation of seismic reflectors and help us to apply noise filters
along seismic events. This is particularly effective to suppress coherent noise. The size of the analysis
window to calculate dip and azimuth volumes that is used to steer data filtering applications is usually
large. Dip and azimuth volume estimations using smaller analysis window image small scale detail
and will cause erroneous noise filtered results. Optimum size of analysis window varies between 9 to
21 data samples in three directions depending on type of noise in the seismic data. If noise cancellation
process is done in multistages, the result of every step should be used as input to generate steering
dip/azimuth volumes. Examples of structurally oriented noise cancellation processes have been given
in chapter 2.

29

Dip and azimuth volumes can be used as input to steer coherence attribute volumes which will be
discussed in chapter 5.
Some of the geological applications of Dip and azimuth volumes include structural studies (regional
and small scale structures), studies of sedimentary sequences (for example channels, fans, slumps,
progradational sequences), and identification of salt related structures. Figure 5 shows seismic time
slice and corresponding gradient based dip attribute volume. The channels geometry images have been
considerably improved in the dip attribute. The arrows show two channels which are not identifiable in
the seismic time slice while visible in dip attribute volume.

Figure 5 a) Seismic time slice from Barents Sea. b) Dip attribute volume. The red and blue arrows
show the location of two channels that are not visible on the seismic data and can be traced on the dip
attribute volume.
Figure 6 illustrates another example from the same dataset of figures 2 and 3 but deeper depths. The
dip attribute highlights subtle faults as well as stratigraphic features that manifest themselves through
differential compaction or through subtle changes in the seismic waveform. As stated earlier low dips
are represented by white and high dips are represented by black in a gray color scale. Figure 7 shows
dip attributes together with seismic data in a chair cut display. The comparison of dip attribute and
seismic data indicates that some of the faults are not identifiable on seismic data. Dip attribute is more
sensitive to the discontinuity caused by faulting and therefore provides a clear image of the fault
patterns in the data.

30

Figure 6 a) 3D seismic subvolume from Norwegian Barents Sea; b) Dip attribute volume. Fault
images improved in the dip attribute and it is easier to detect structural patterns in the dip attribute
volume.

31

Figure 7 Chair cut display of dip and seismic data. The dip attribute imaged both faults that are
visible on seismic data and those that are not traceable on seismic data. Structural pattern is better
identified in the dip attribute volume.
Next examples (Figures 8, 9, and 10) illustrate salt diapirs and associated faults around in the quad 9 in
the Norwegian sector of North Sea. The input seismic data has been cleaned using the structurally
oriented noise removal filters. Gradient based method used to calculate the dip attributes volumes with
5 inlines, 5 cross lines, and 28ms analysis window. Figure 8 shows an individual salt diaper with radial
faulting around the salt body. Figures 9 and 10 show time slices from two different levels with dip
attribute volumes. The geometrical development of salt bodies through the stratigraphic sequences can
be chased using dip attributes from different depths. Noise content of the data increases in deeper
levels which can be observed on dip attribute response shown in figure 10b.

32

Figure 8 a) Seismic time slice shows a salt body from North Sea, and b) corresponding dip attribute
volume that illustrates both the salt body and radial faulting pattern around the salt body.

Figure 9 a) seismic time slice from 1588ms of 3D dataset over quad 9 of the Norwegian sector of
North Sea. b) The dip attribute time slice. The extent of salt bodies is clearly imaged on the dip
attribute volume.
33

Figure 10 a) seismic time slice from 2073ms of 3D dataset over quad 9 of the Norwegian North Sea.
b) The dip attribute time slice. The extent of salt bodies is clearly imaged on the dip attribute volume.
Figure 11 shows dip attribute response of a slump from North Sea. The chaotic region indicated by the
dashed lines is the extent of the slump feature.

Figure 11 Dip attribute volume of a slump feature from North Sea. The chaotic dip attribute response
represents the slump extent.

34

Chapter 5 Coherence volumes

Coherence is one of the important attributes in the field of signal processing and has been known long
before (e.g. Gardner, 1992) its application in seismic exploration. Bahorich and Farmer, (1995)
introduced the coherency seismic attribute. The attribute gives a measure of similarity of seismic
waveform between neighboring traces using coherence coefficient estimation. The coherence
coefficient decreases in case of discontinuity or changes in waveform from trace to trace. Coherence
volumes image discontinuities within the seismic data. Any changes in the seismic waveform caused
by geological reasons such as structural (for example faulting and fracturing) or stratigraphic (for
example channels and reef edges) will be imaged on coherence attribute volumes. They show
geological features with much more clarity than using vertical or horizontal sections of original
seismic data. Figure 1 illustrates time slice of seismic data and corresponding coherence attribute from
Mid Norwegian Sea. The fault pattern is easy to follow on the coherence attribute. The light color
shows where the waveform doesnt change and gray color illustrates areas where the seismic
waveform varies and can represent faults and stratigraphic features such as fans, channels, or
carbonate build ups. Figure 2 shows another example from carbonate buildups from the Norwegian
Barents Sea. The surface coherence attribute map shows the carbonate buildup. Horizon slices are the
preferred display to identify stratigraphic features such as carbonate buildups that follow geological
horizons. The boundary of the carbonate buildup is where the seismic waveform changes and therefore
imaged clearly on the coherence attribute.

Figure 1 Coherence example from Mid Norwegian Sea. a) Seismic time slice, and b) coherence
attribute. Several fault sets are imaged in the coherence attribute volume.

35

Figure 2 Coherence horizon attribute from Barents Sea. Outline of carbonate buildups are shown by
arrows.
There are several methods to calculate coherence attribute that some will be discussed here. The first
coherence method is based on cross correlation estimation (e.g. Bahorich and farmer, 1995) of
adjacent seismic traces. This is also called C1 algorithm (Marfurt et al., 1999). An analysis window of
three, five or more traces can be selected. In 3D the calculation includes first cross correlation
(maximum) in inline direction followed by cross correlation in cross line direction and then combining
the results from two directions to derive 3D coherence. A simple three trace case has been illustrated
in figure 3. Cross correlation of target trace shown with trace in the inline direction is carried out by
running time-lagged (within the time interval that is defined for the analysis window) multiplication of
the trace in inline direction and the same is repeated for the trace in the cross line direction. The cross
correlation equation is (e.g. Marfurt et al., 1998; Elsayed, 1999);
k t N / 2

T I

k k l
k t N / 2
k t ? N / 2

k t N / 2

2
k

k t N / 2

(1)

2
k l
k t N / 2

where C is the cross correlation of the trace in inline direction with the target trace, N is the number of
samples in the correlation time window (Figure 3 ), T is the target trace, and I is the inline trace.

36

Figure 3 Schematic diagram showing three traces and the coherence estimation analysis time
window.
Figure 4 from Bahorich and Farmer (1995) shows one cross correlation result. It shows series of
structural and stratigraphic features such as two major channels, point bar, en-echelon growth faults,
radial faults, and a salt dome. The coherence attribute (Figure 4b) exhibits the distinct relationship
between the stratigraphic and structural features. It is important to note that the maximum cross
correlation is where we have highest degree of similarity which provides a measure of trace to trace
local dip within the analysis window.

37

Figure 4 Cross correlation based coherence attribute from Bahorich and Farmer (1995). a) Time
slice at 1250 ms illustrates two channels, point bar, en-echelon growth faults, radial faults, a salt
dome and bright spots (b) Coherence slice at 1250 ms shows clear relationship between faults and
stratigraphic features.
Figure 5 shows seismic time slice and corresponding coherence attribute that is generated using crosscorrelation algorithm (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1999). Shades of gray have been used to map
coherence values. Lower coherence which can indicate discontinuities such as faults are displayed
with darker shade. There are both structural and stratigraphic features in the data. Large features such
as major faults may be visible on seismic time slice (Figure 5a) but coherence attribute (Figure 5b)
illustrates more structural and stratigraphic detail that is not visible on seismic time slices. The length
of the time window used for the coherence attribute calculation was 64ms and three traces in the crosscorrelation calculation.

38

Figure 5 a) Time slice (1072ms) from the South Marsh Island area of the Gulf of Mexico. b) Cross
correlation coherence attribute (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1999).
The second method of coherence calculation is based on semblance calculation. Semblance analysis as
a measure of coherency has been used in other disciplines of seismic data analysis like velocity
estimation (Neidell and Taner, 1971) which is the normalized output/input energy ratio used as a
measure of coherency (Marfurt et al., 1998; Schultz, 1996). The normalized semblance coefficient can
be estimated by (e.g. Neidell and Taner, 1971);

f i , j (i )

S j k Nk/2N/ 2i1 M
2
M f i, j (i )
j k N / 2

(2)

j k N / 2 i 1

where M is the number of traces included in the analysis, k is the reference time index, i and j are the
trace and time indices. In practice (Marfurt et al., 1998) semblance based coherence attribute can be
estimated by selecting an appropriate 3D analysis window with certain spatial and temporal extent.
The size of this window has an impact on the resolution of the derived coherence attribute and on the
scale of discontinuities to be imaged. Then a local planar event is defined or provided as dip/azimuth
input within the analysis window. The planar event at time has apparent dip values in both inline and
cross line or x and y directions. Semblance is then calculated along the dip of planar events at each
point in time using Hilbert transform of the seismic traces within the analysis window. The
dip/azimuth steering volumes can be generated using different algorithms that presented in previous
chapter. To maintain the stability of the semblance estimation process for subtle coherent events
Marfurt et al., (1998) suggested taking average if the semblance over a vertical time window.
An example of semblance based coherence attribute is given in figure 6 (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt,
1996). It corresponds to the same seismic image shown in figure 5a. In this example a five trace
semblance algorithm was used with 80ms vertical window length. Since the method uses dip/azimuth
volume to steer the calculation it is also called structurally oriented semblance algorithm.

39

Figure 6 Semblance based coherence attribute. The attribute corresponds to the same seismic image
shown in figure 5a. (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1999).
Figure 7 shows an example of coherence attribute from North Sea Jurassic interval using semblance
algorithm. The analysis window size was five in horizontal direction and 15 samples (60ms) in vertical
(time) direction. The fault patterns and how different faults reach each other can be investigated using
the attribute.

Figure 7 Semblance based coherence time slice from North Sea. Faults are imaged as gray areas.
There are large areas with no faulting or discontinuity.
The third generation of coherence algorithms is the variance algorithm. Variance of seismic data can
be used as an attribute showing seismic signal similarity. It is like the semblance calculation of
coherence that was explained earlier in this chapter. What is measured by either semblance or
coherence is fitness of each seismic trace within analysis window to the average trace within the
analysis window. The variance at time t with apparent dips p and q in inline and cross line directions is
calculated by (Chopra and Marfurt, 2008)
2

1 J
1 J
Var (t ) u (t px j qy j , x j , y j ) u (t px j qy j , x j , y j )
J j 1

J j 1

40

(3)

Variance is one minus the semblance value of coherence and the calculation is carried out along the
locally dipping reflector. The variance values range from zero for traces with similar waveform and
one (maximum) for discontinuity in the waveform similarity.
The difference between cross correlation and variance/semblance methods is that variations of seismic
amplitude influence coherence calculations of semblance or variance while cross correlation based
coherence estimation is not affected by amplitude variations.
The next coherence calculation method is based on eigendecomposition technique (Eigenstructurebased coherence algorithm) (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1996). The coherence is calculated using the
ratio of the energy of scaled version of each trace along dipping reflector within analysis window to
the original input trace energy. The scaled version of each trace is the coherent component of the data
and is calculated by scaling a wavelet that describes best the waveform variability of traces within the
analysis window. Eigenstructure-based coherence estimation is more developed cross-correlation
based coherence estimation algorithm. In practice the coherence is calculated by (Chopra and Marfurt,
2008):
Step 1: Sorting data vectors within analysis window;
Step 2: Auto and cross correlation of data columns (along dipping reflectors which is like shifted
seismic);
Step 3: Covariance matrix;
Step 4: Calculate first eigenvalue;
Step 5: Estimate trace energy;
Step 6: Take ration of steps 4 and 5.
Like the cross correlation coherence estimation method this algorithm is not sensitive to the amplitude
variations within the analysis window.
Figure 8 shows one of the early examples of a five-trace eigenstructure coherence attribute
Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1996) from a Gulf of Mexico dataset. The coherence attribute can be
compared with the coherence image given in figure 6.The eigenstructure coherence is less noisy and
the quality of fault and discontinuity images enhanced considerably.

Figure 8 An early example of five trace eigenstructure coherence attribute. The image extent is the
same as figure 7. The eigenstructure coherence is less noisy and the quality of fault and discontinuity
images enhanced (Gersztenkorn and Marfurt, 1996).
Gradient-structure Tensor-based (GST) coherence is the last method of coherence estimation that will
be presented here. It is based on analysis of a local structure tensor. This method incorporates both
41

lateral waveform variability and changes in seismic amplitude in the calculation. Since it uses both
waveform variability and seismic amplitude it is a good method to identify faults with different
seismic expressions either side. Local derivatives in three dimensions (spatial and temporal) are used
to create covariance matrix. Bakker (2003) presented three eigenvectors and eigenvalues of 3x3 GST
covariance matrix. Coherence measure is the planarity of the events within the analysis window.
Figure 9 illustrates an example of coherence attribute using semblance, statistical measurements of
waveform similarity using dip and azimuth steering volumes, and coherence attribute estimation using
local structural tensor. The large scale fault patterns are almost the same on all three coherence
volumes. However there are some differences in picking smaller faults and fracture sets. Tensor based
coherence estimation (Figure 9b) imaged several smaller scale faults between major fault traces. The
arrow indicates the location of smaller scale faults.

Figure 9 a) Semblance coherence attribute with 3 samples in horizontal direction and 15 samples in
vertical directions b) Coherence attribute estimation using local structural tensor c) Structurally
oriented coherence attribute using dip and azimuth volumes with 11 inlines and crosslines and 13 time
samples analysis window size.
Role of dip and azimuth steering volumes on coherence calculation:
Some of the coherence estimation methods such as cross-correlation method take into account the
local dip. This is done by choosing the maximum cross-correlation value as a function of time delay
used in the calculation. However other algorithms such as semblance method (using several traces
within analysis window) do require predefined dip/azimuth volume to estimate the coherence along
reflector dip. If such predefined dip/azimuth is not used in the calculation, it will cause some artifacts
in the final estimated coherence attribute. In such cases we assume flat dip in both inline and cross line
42

directions (for example p and q of equation 3 will be equal to zero). Figure 10a and b of Chopra
(2002) shows coherence attribute volume (time slice view) without and with steering dip and azimuth
volumes (non-zero estimate of dip/azimuth) used in the coherence attribute calculation. The time slice
in figure 10b does not show the structural artifacts and provides a cleaner image of discontinuities.
The contourlike features shown in figure 10a are artifacts caused by not running the coherence
attribute estimation along reflector dips.

Figure 10 Effect of steering dip and azimuth volume on coherence estimation. Eigenstructure
coherence attribute a) without and b) with steering dip and azimuth volumes. The artifacts in figure a
is called structural leakage and is caused by coherence estimation that is not along reflector dip (after
Chopra, 2002).
There are three steps that have to be taken while using coherence attributes in any seismic attribute
analysis studies. These steps are:
Coherence algorithm selection
Analysis window selection
Best data review orientations
The first important step prior to any coherence algorithm estimation is to clean input seismic data.
Noise reduction using advanced structurally-oriented filtering approaches remove noise while preserve
subtle changes in phase and amplitude that can be detected using coherence estimation methods. Time
is always an issue in attribute studies. Some of the coherence estimation methods are fast such as
cross-correlation or semblance methods are fast while methods such as GST approaches are more time
consuming. It is recommended to review cleaned seismic data in vertical and horizontal directions to
identify amplitude and waveform variations across major faults. All coherence estimation methods
should be carried out using predefined dip and azimuth steering volumes to avoid structural artifacts in
the coherence volumes. The main criterion for coherence method selection is if only waveform varies
across fault blocks or seismic amplitude also varies in addition to phase. Cross-correlation and
eigenstructure algorithms take into account waveform variation while semblance, variance and GST
methods include amplitude and waveform changes in the calculation. Methods that are not sensitive to
amplitude variations provide sharper results.
Next step is the analysis window size that is required for the coherence calculation. The size of the
analysis in horizontal (spatial) and vertical (temporal) directions can be chosen based on fault
displacement and geometry. Faults with different scales cannot be imaged using one coherence
volume with a fixed analysis window. It is therefore needed to carry out coherence calculation with
different analysis windows to capture faults with different scales. Smaller lateral size and longer in
time or depth direction is best to image steeper faults and wider lateral window can be selected to
43

detect faults with gentler dips. Coherence volumes can be checked in vertical (inline and cross line
directions) or horizontal (time slices) directions to investigate the quality of the imaged faults. Some of
the coherence volumes are better viewed in time slices directions and coherence volume will be
blurred in case if analysis window size is not suitable.
Figure 11 illustrates 3D view of structurally oriented semblance from Norwegia Sea with three seismic
lines. The attribute volume illustrates the faults clearer than the seismic volume.
Although the focus so far in this chapter was on faults as discontinuities, it worth mentioning that
stratigraphic discontinuities can also be imaged using coherence attributes. In such cases smaller
temporal window size provides better results.

Figure 11 3D structurally oriented semblance discontinuity attribute volume together with three
seismic sections from the Norwegian Sea. The attribute volume illustrates the faults clearer than the
seismic data. Black arrow shows main NW-SE trending fault zone and white arrow shows the N-S
series of parallel faults (Alaei, 2012).

44

Chapter 6 Fault attribute volumes

Imaging and interpretation of faults has received a lot attention over the past decade. Interpretation of
seismic data includes horizon and fault picking which can be viewed as picking continuity (horizons)
and discontinuity (faults).
Development in automated seismic interpretation has been quite useful for geological horizon picking
while autotracking of faults has been a challenge since automated seismic interpretation started.
Interpretation of faults on 3D seismic data is a time-consuming task and the standard practice is to
identify faults on vertical (inline, cross line, or arbitrary line) and horizontal sections (time slices) if
the fault location and throw is noticeable on seismic image. Application of 3D seismic attributes
together with advanced visualization techniques allow combination of different fault characteristics
and gain an understanding of complex fault systems more intuitively than traditional fault picking
(Henderson, 2011). Several attempts have been made to automatically detect faults (e.g. Bakker, 2003;
Tingdal et al., 2001; Gibson et al., 2005). Fault attributes are series of attributes that detect and
enhance fault images through the application of different filters. Gibson et al. (2005) applied a semiautomated method to identify, extract and model faults within 3D seismic data. The approach is based
on detection of small faults on horizons and merges different segments of identified faults. The
confidence of mapped faults is also involved in the calculation.
One of the main objectives of attributes imaging discontinuities (for example dip or coherence
volumes) is to increase or enhance visual image of faults in the seismic data. In addition to single
attribute volumes such as coherence attributes there is a growing trend in developing algorithms to
enhance fault images and automatically detect them (e.g. Chopra and Marfurt, 2008). Different
approaches have been published using various filtering algorithms or different input to the fault
attribute estimation process. Multiattributes have also been used to enhance fault images. In this
chapter some fault attributes will be presented together with examples from different structural
settings.
The first approach is to carry out some filtering applications on the coherence attributes. For example
Barnes (2005) applied a least square filter to coherence volumes within the analysis window to
preserve discontinuities representing faults and removing non-structural features. The filter fits already
imaged discontinuities within analysis window to a plane. If the plane is vertical or planar, then a fault
is mapped at the center of the analysis window with an associated probability. The size of the analysis
window will influence the scale of enhanced faults from the input coherency volumes. Figure 1
illustrates one example from Barnes (2005). The conventional edge attribute (coherence attribute) is
shown in figure 1b and figure 1c shows the fault attribute that is generated using two passes fault
filter. Fault patterns are clear in the fault attribute image.

45

Figure 1 Fault enhancement process. a) Seismic time slice b) seismic discontinuity attribute, c) fault
attribute generated by two passes through the fault filter, and d) enhanced fault attribute generated by
additional image processing of the fault attribute (Barnes, 2005).
A commercial package from ffA uses a two stage algorithm to enhance and extract faults from
coherence volumes. In the first stage a Gaussian filter is applied to coherence volumes to enhance
discontinuities representing faults. The filter size in three dimensions determines the amount of energy
of the filter distributed in the data samples within analysis window. The larger the filter size the larger
faults will be enhanced. It is therefore recommended to run the process in multi-stages in order to
capture both small scale and larger scale or regional faults. The second stage is to extract the detected
faults. This is done spatially by a ridge detection algorithm to image faults. The size of analysis
window (spatially) determines the spacing of imaged faults. A larger lateral filter size will image long
continuous faults while smaller filter size will image faults with closer spacing. The sensitivity of the
fault detection can also be controlled.
Figure 2 is an example from North Sea showing polygonal faulting. The Gaussian filter approach
explained above used to enhance fault images. Figure 3 exhibits another example of polygonal faulting
from the cretaceous interval of the Norwegian Barents Sea. The intensity and pattern of the polygonal
faulting varies in different depths.

46

Figure 2 Enhanced fault attribute image using Gaussian filter. Time slice shows Polygonal faulting
from North Sea.

Figure 3 Two time slices of fault attribute and three seismic sections from the southern part of the
Norwegian Barents Sea. Fault attribute shows the polygonal faulting in the stratigraphic sequence.
Another algorithm for detecting faults is ant tracking (Randen et al., 2001). Edge or discontinuity
attributes volumes such as coherence attributes used as input for the ant tracking calculation. The
process enhances fault images and suppresses noise and non-structural features. The main concept is
based on the ant colonies behavior in finding the shortest path from source food to their nests. Seed
points on discontinuities are marked within the input edge or coherency attribute volumes. These are

47

considered as artificial ants and will be used to capture fault zones. Noise or non-fault features (e.g.
reflectors) are not picked by ants at all or picked by single ants. Fault network can then be extracted
from the ant-track volumes. This is an iterative process that link zones with low coherency
(discontinuities) and remove features related to stratigraphy and noise.
Figure 4 shows an example from Kong et al. (2012). The example is from Dao Ruang structure
onshore NE of Thailand. Seismic lines (Figures 4a, b, c, and d) illustrate the crestal part of the
structure with complex reflector pattern within the core of the structure. Ant-tracking results
corresponding to the seismic lines are shown in figures 4d,e,f, and g. The attribute characterizes faults
and discontinues with different scales.

Figure 4Seismic sections (a, b, c, and d) and corresponding ant track fault attributes (e, f, g, and h)
through the core of the Dao Ruang structure imaged from the different azimuth ranges exhibits
variations in events and discontinuities imaged within the ellipse (After Kong et al., 2012).
Dorn et al., (2005) described an Automatic Fault Extraction (AFE) approach that extracts faults from
coherency volumes. The workflow includes five steps. It starts with coherency attribute generation. A
de-striping process is carried out to remove remaining acquisition footprint. Linear features
representing faults in coherency volumes keep the low coherency value over minimum number of data
samples. Data points in an analysis window (slice) are searched for low coherency to form a line
segment. The output at each point represents relative probability that the point links to a horizontal
linear feature. Length and azimuth of linear features representing potential faults can be controlled
through filter parameters. Figure 5 shows the coherence attribute (Figure 5a) and corresponding line
enhanced relative probability volume (Figure 5b) from Dorn et al., (2005). Line enhancement stage is
followed by fault enhancement. The process is like the line enhancement but linear features are
searched in both slice and azimuth directions. The goal is to remove stratigraphic linear features such
as channel boundaries, or pinch outs. The scale in the fault enhance cube illustrates the probability that
each data sample can be part of a fault system. Next step is to reduce or remove non planar events with
48

low coherency and automatically extracting imaged fault poly lines. Then the extracted or picked
polylines are linked together, and separate them to make fault surfaces.

Figure 5 a) Coherency volume. b) line enhanced relative probability volume (Dorn et al., 2005).
Barnes et al. (2012) described another algorithm to create enhanced discontinuity seismic attributes
such as coherence volumes. The method is based on combined spectral blueing and Fault attributes.
The first step widens the seismic spectrum and provides higher resolution seismic data input for fault
attribute estimation processes. The goal is to increase seismic data bandwidth and make it as close as
possible to the well log data spectrum. The spectral widening is carried out using fractal assumption of
the reflectivity. This means that the amplitude spectrum can be approximated by power law. The
method improves temporal resolution of the seismic data while increasing higher frequencies in the
data which may contain noise. It is therefore recommended to run structurally oriented noise reduction
49

to remove high frequency random noise. The higher resolution cleaned seismic data is used as input to
run coherency attributes to image discontinuities. Coherence attribute volumes were filtered
(Laplacian filtering) to enhance spatially. To enhance vertical integrity of faults on coherence
attributes Barnes et al. (2012) suggested ant tracking (Randen et al., 2001; Pedersen et al., 2002)
approach.
Figure 6 is an example from Barnes et al. (2012) which illustrates the noise filtered seismic input data
(using coherency filtering), fault attribute, and ant tracking. This fault imaging workflow improved the
fault images considerably and makes the structural interpretation easier. The acquisition footprint
along inlines has also been enhanced (lower part of figure 6c.).

Figure 6 Fault enhancement process. a) Time slices at 1200 ms from input seismic data b)
Discontinuity attribute derived from the noise filtered seismic data and c) Fault attribute derived from
(b) through filtering and ant tracking (After Barnes et al., 2012).
Figure 7 shows the comparison of coherence attribute and enhanced fault attribute from Mid
Norwegian Sea. Fault traces and fracture patterns are visible on coherence attribute (Figure 7a), but
the enhanced fault attribute (Figure 7b) provided a much clearer image. For example the area shown
by the ellipse is noisier and it is hard to identify faults while in the enhanced fault attribute the traces
of the faults are visible. The filtering used to generate the enhanced fault attribute improved the lateral
continuity of the faults.

50

Figure 7 Comparison of coherence and fault attribute from Mid Norwegian Sea. a) Structurally
oriented semblance attribute, b) enhanced fault attribute. The fault attribute is less noisier and there
are more faults visible within the area shown by the ellipse.
The next example is also from the same dataset of figure 7 but a different approach (Alaei, 2012) or
workflow has been applied to generate the attributes. Regardless of algorithms to calculate coherence
attribute, the input is 3D full stack seismic volumes. Resolution in 3D seismic volumes is the ability to
identify individual geological features and vertical or temporal resolution depends on frequency
content of the seismic data. Usually the higher frequencies correspond to thinner beds and lower
frequencies correspond to thicker beds. Spectral decomposition (will be discussed in chapter 8) which
is the process of creating a continuous time-frequency analysis of seismic data (e.g. Castagna, 2006)
can be utilized to convert broad band seismic data into discrete frequency/frequencies. If we use
decomposed seismic volumes representing individual frequencies (resolution) as input to fault
attribute analysis process, discontinuities with different scales will be imaged. Figure 8a and b shows
the comparison of fault attribute using full bandwidth seismic data as input in the workflow and
amplitude volume from higher frequency. The fault attribute using high frequency amplitude input has
certainly more faults and also improved image quality. The example clearly illustrates the role of using
higher resolution seismic volumes in the fault imaging process and also shows how the integration of
spectral decomposition and fault attribute workflows can help us to improve imaging faults.
Amplitude volumes of lower frequencies can also be used to create fault attributes of larger or regional
scale.

51

Figure 8 a) Enhanced fault attribute at 1700ms time slice using full band seismic volume as input. b)
Enhanced fault attribute at 1700ms time slice using amplitude magnitude volume of 52Hz frequency.
There is clear improvement in the amount of imaged fault using single frequency amplitude volume as
input. Black arrow shows main NW-SE trending fault zone and white arrow shows the N-S series of
parallel faults. The blue arrow shows the area with three sigmoidal fault traces within the main NWSE trending fault zone (Alaei, 2012).
It is already mentioned that interpretation of faults using seismic attributes include fault identification,
detection, and extraction. Enhanced fault attributes shown in figures 8, 7 can be used as guide or
steering volumes in the conventional fault interpretation. However there are some approaches to
further extract fault traces from enhanced fault attributes. Two examples of such attributes are given in
figures 9, and 10. The extraction process is a spatial filter with certain size that extracts the faults
imaged in the fault attributes. Probability of objects identified as discontinuity features can also be
assigned. In figure 9 and 10 the color represents the probability with red color corresponding to higher
probability. Figure 9 is the same time slice shown in figure 7. Figure 10 is a combined fault attribute
and seismic sections that illustrates the additional degree of structural detail that fault attribute imaged.
Dataset is from the Norwegian Barents Sea.

Figure 9 Extraction of faults and discontinuities. The attribute strips down the Fault attribute shown
in figure 7. The color represents the probability associated with each extracted fault trace. It
corresponds to the fault confidence level. The time slice is the same as shown in figure 7.

52

Figure 10 Extracted faults and seismic sections. The comparison of faults observed on seismic data
and those imaged by fault attribute show the added value of using seismic attributes to detect faults.
Dataset is from the Norwegian Barents Sea.
Extracted fault network can be used in further interpretation or structural modelling studies. Figure 11
exhibits a combined volume of faults that embedded in the seismic volume. This is quick way to QC
the faults imaged using fault attributes.

53

Figure 11 Integration of extracted faults with seismic data. The correlation can be used as a useful
tool to QC the generated fault attributes.

54

Chapter 7 Curvature attribute volumes

Curvature is a geometric quantity of any point on a line (or surface) that illustrates the amount by
which the line deviates from being straight. Lateral variations in dip and azimuth of seismic data
provide a measure of curvature. The curvature of a surface is defined in three dimensions as the
inverse of a circles radius which is tangent to that surface at the point (Roberts, 2001). With the recent
developments in volumetric curvature attribute calculation (Al-Dossary and Marfurt, 2006) there is no
need for including interpreted horizons in curvature estimation. Mathematically curvature at any given
point can be estimated as derivative of lines tangent angle with respect to the point position on the
line (e.g. Sigismondi and Soldo, 2008). Concave up (antiformal features) curvature is considered as
positive curvature, whereas negative curvature defines surface that is convex up (synformal features).
Geologically consistent curvature estimation is the one that calculate maximum positive and maximum
negative curvature values (Chopra and Marfurt, 2007).
Curvature attribute can be used to identify any geological features that are expressed as flexures in the
seismic data. It can be used to image positive and negative curvature zones within seismic data. This
attribute gives more structural detail compared to coherence attribute (Chopra and Marfurt, 2008) and
structural lineaments are better imaged on curvature attribute volumes. Small scale geological features
and fractures have been identified and mapped using curvature attributes volumes (e.g. Masaferro et
al., 2003).
Stratigraphic features such as channels can also be imaged using curvature attribute. Curvature of
different parts of channels can be used to identify them in curvature attribute volumes. For example
channel thalweg that is the line in the deepest part of channel and connecting the points of lowest bed
elevation has a negative curvature while the channel overbank boundary (upper part of the channel)
can have a positive curvature. Therefore curvature attribute volumes can be used to reveal internal
channel morphology.
Al-Dossary and Marfurt (2006) described multispectral curvature attribute estimation algorithm that
gives estimates of long and short wavelength curvature. Volumetric curvature can be used to image
both faults and stratigraphic features. Figure 1 is an example from Chopra and Marfurt (2007). Figure
1a is a horizon slice coherence attribute and corresponding most-negative curvature (Figure 1b) and
most-positive curvature (Figure 1c). The geometry of channels is imaged with improved clarity.

55

Figure 1 Horizon slices through a) coherence attribute volume, b) long wavelength most negative,
and c) long wavelength most-positive curvature attribute volumes. There is considerable improvement
in the detailed geometry of stratigraphic features that is observed in curvature attributes (after
Chopra and Marfurt, 2008).
Martins et al. (2012) described another volumetric curvature calculation that is based on level surface
consideration of seismic horizons. A special curve which corresponds to the intersection of level
surfaces with orthogonal planes is used in curvature estimation process that is called normal curvature.
Figure 2 illustrates a time slice through curvature attribute volume from Barents Sea. Negative
curvature corresponds to synformal features in figure 2 and the positive curvature corresponds to
antiformal features. Figure 2a shows the time slice through envelope attribute. The high amplitude
areas are associated with some channels while the curvature attribute (Figure 2b) shows the geometry
of the channel.

56

Figure 2 a) Time slice thorough envelope attribute volume, and b) curvature attribute volume.
Amplitude responses of channels are not the best attribute to detect channel geometry while curvature
attribute provides detailed image of channel geometry.

57

Chapter 8 Spectral decomposition

Spectral decomposition which is the process of creating a continuous time-frequency analysis of
seismic data (e.g. Castagna, 2006) can be utilized to convert broad band seismic data into discrete
frequency or frequencies. Figure 1 illustrates a Ricker wavelet with 25Hz centre frequency in time and
frequency domain. The frequency spectrum (Figure 1b) shows that the maximum amplitude is at 25Hz
frequency. Seismic data is non-stationary which means that frequency content of seismic data varies
with time and spectral decomposition is used to characterize the time-dependent frequency response of
seismic data (Sinha et al., 2005). Spectral decomposition is an integral part of many processing
algorithms and has been used in seismic processing (e.g. Robinson, 1957) much earlier than seismic
interpretation. Some of the applications in seismic processing are low and high frequency noise
removal, and deconvolution, attenuation of overburden. This technique has been applied both
qualitatively (e.g. Marfurt and Kirlin, 2001) and quantitatively (Partyka et al., 1999) to 3D seismic
interpretation. Several areas of seismic interpretation have benefited from spectral decomposition. It
has been used to improve or widen seismic bandwidth, enhance resolution, seismic thickness
estimation of thin beds, stratigraphic and structural imaging, and direct hydrocarbon indication.
Integration of spectral decomposition technique with other seismic attributes (e.g. Alaei, 2012) is also
used in seismic interpretation.

Figure 1 Synthetic Ricker wavelet in time (a) and frequency (b) domain. The center frequency of the
wavelet is 25Hz and the maximum energy in frequency domain is at 25Hz.The time duration of the
wavelet is 128ms.
There are several frequency decompositions methods including DFT method, continuous wavelet
transform (CWT), matching pursuit decomposition (MPD) method, and maximum entropy method
(MEM). Spectral decomposition using Discrete Fourier Transform technique (DFT) is fast.
In the DFT method amplitude spectrum of different frequencies are calculated using a time window.
The spectrum is spread over the time window and poses a limitation on vertical resolution. According
to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle the product of time and frequency resolution is constant. This
means that if we increase the resolution in time the frequency localization or resolution will be
decreased. The frequency response of long time window differs from short length time window
(Partyka et al., 1999). The long analysis window includes several reflective packages and statistically
randomizes thin beds interference within the analysis window. This means that in case of large time
analysis window, stacking pattern of thin geological beds can be regarded as random. In case of a
short time window the reflectivity pattern is less random and in addition to wavelet the amplitude
spectrum characterizes local interference pattern within the analysis window. This characterizes the
acoustic properties of beds within the analysis window as well as thickness variations.
In practice DFT method using short window can be carried out (e.g. Chopra and Marfurt, 2008) by
first applying a DFT to an extracted seismic cube centred on the target time. The target time can be a
certain time or geological horizon and data volume input to the DFT calculation contain a slab of data
that includes a given number of data samples above and below the target interface. The result at this
stage is amplitude spectrum of constant frequencies. This step is followed by taking the average or
median of the amplitude spectrum. Spectral balancing is finally performed using the peak amplitude

58

and an estimate of noise level. The horizontal slices of frequency decomposition data can be used to
image thin bed tuning associated with channels and deltas.
Figure 2 from Partyka et al., (1999) illustrates an example of a dataset from Gulf of Mexico. Figure 2a
shows the conventional energy envelope extraction along a geological horizon slice (Pleistocene age).
Frequency decomposition data improve the image quality of geological features and illustrates them
more effectively. Figures 2b and c show the amplitude response of 16 and 26Hz respectively. The
feature marked as channel A is better imaged in the higher frequency amplitude volume (26Hz) while
the outline of the channel B is clearer in 16Hz frequency response. The envelope attribute shown in
figure 1a does not characterize the channels as good as the single frequency volumes shown in figures
1b and c.

59

Figure 2 a) Conventional envelope attribute from a Gulf of Mexico dataset. b) 16Hz energy map, c)
26 Hz energy map (after Partyka et al., 1999).
The second group of frequency decomposition methods are based on wavelet transform. Fourier
transform has been largely used to decompose seismic data into frequency domain. However the
method has some limitations (e.g. Goupilaud, 1992; Sinha et al., 2005). As mentioned earlier since
60

time and frequency are conjugate variables, as a result of uncertainty principle, improving resolution
in time will cause smearing in frequency domain. In addition, using one sampling rate may not be
good enough to approximate seismic signal. This means that to avoid aliasing derived errors Fourier
analysis application is limited to band limited highly regular periodic signals. In order to overcome
some of these limitations wavelet representation of seismic signal has been used (e.g. Goupilaud,
1992; Chakraborty and Okaya, 1995, Castagna, 2006). The sum of the frequency spectrum of wavelets
that constitute a seismogram represent the frequency spectrum of the seismogram.
An analysis wavelet is chosen and its scaled version (stretched and compressed) is used to carry out
the decomposition. The superposition of weighted wavelet spectrum in the neighborhood of any data
point in seismic trace represents the frequency spectrum at that data point (Castagna et al., 2003). The
amplitude spectrum of the seismic signal is represented by two quantities: a (the stretching index or
scale) and b (translation along time axis).
By using analysis wavelet g(t), a seismic signal s(t) can be represented by (Mallat, 1999; Goupilaud,
1992)

s (b, a )

1
t b
s (t ) g
dt

a
a

(1)

The two quantities (a and b) can be applied to create a 2D time scale image from each seismic trace.
Spectral decomposition with Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) can be achieved in three steps
(Chopra and Marfurt, 2008). The first step is to decompose input seismic traces into wavelet
components as functions of a and b (equation 1). The next stage is to create instantaneous frequency
gathers. This is done by multiplying CWT coefficient with complex spectrum of each wavelet used in
the basis function and adding the results. Finally constant frequency cubes are generated by sorting the
instantaneous frequency gathers.
Another approach to carry our frequency decomposition using wavelet transform is Matched-Pursuit
Decomposition technique (MPD) (Castagna et al., 2003; Liu and Marfurt, 2007). The goal is to create
peak spectral frequency and its associated amplitude volume. The method has been described by Liu
and Marfurt (2005 and 2007). A library of complex wavelets for the finely samples set of frequencies
are computed. The process followed by the estimation of instantaneous frequency and envelope. This
is done using Hilbert transform. Next step is to look for the maximum values of instantaneous envelop
and associated frequency. This process is crucial to identify key seismic events. They then fitted the
wavelet library to the complex trace using a least square algorithm to calculate complex coefficients
that represent the amplitude and phase of complex wavelet and matches best with the data. A residual
trace is generated by taking the difference of the data and the process is repeated until the residual falls
below a desired threshold. Castagna et al., (2003) applied this technique on both synthetic and real
data. Figure 3 shows an example from NW shelf of Australia (Castagna et al., 2003). Gas saturated
sand beds are shown by blue color and brine saturated beds are blue. Amplitude response of three
different frequencies (10, 20, and 30Hz) is shown in figures 3b, c, and d. Of the two distinct gas sands
10Hz frequency response (Figure 3b) shows a strong amplitude beneath the deeper gas sand. The low
frequency shadow associated with gas-filled sands is visible in 10Hz and to a lesser degree in the
20Hz (Figure 3c). It disappears in 30Hz (Figure 3d).

61

Figure 3 a) Broad-band seismic section from NW Shelf of Australia. Gas sands are pink and brine
sands are blue. b) Amplitude magnitude of 10 Hz. Considerable low-frequency energy occurs beneath
the reservoir but is not present elsewhere. c) Amplitude magnitude of 20 Hz. d) Amplitude magnitude
of 30 Hz (after Castagna et al., 2003).
Spectral decomposition technique has different application in seismic interpretation including tuning
thickness estimation, stratigraphic imaging, structural imaging, and direct hydrocarbon indications.
I provide examples of different interpretation applications. The final products of frequency
decomposition process are amplitude and phase volumes of discrete frequencies. Theses volumes can
be used either individually as amplitude and phase volumes or can be blended together to create a
volume that contain data from more than one frequency. Red_Green_Blue blending tool is used to
combine amplitude volumes from three individual frequencies to make a new volume that can be used
to analyse three different amplitude volumes simultaneously. RGB blending is one the most used and
popular display methods of frequency decomposition outputs.
Next example is from North Sea and shows a channel or incised valley feature which is observed on
the seismic section (Figure 4a). The channel fill detail includes low, medium, and high frequency
ranges. Spectral decomposition using wavelet transform carried out using denoise seismic data. The
analysis targeted the horizon of interest. Amplitude responses from individual frequencies provide
additional detail that can be interpreted as layers with different package or different seismic facies
(stratigraphic imaging). The response difference of 13 and 24 Hz frequency magnitude volumes of the
area marked with the rectangle is most likely associated with thickness variation.

62

Figure 4 a) seismic section from North Sea. The seismic section illustrates a clear cross section from
a large channel or incised valley system. The wiggle traces show how amplitude volumes of different
frequencies can be used to map thickness of each part of the channel. b) 13Hz energy map. Wavelet
transform is used to run spectral decomposition. c) energy map from 24Hz. The area within the
rectangle show different responses.
Stratigraphic imaging of fluvial channels from Triassic sequence in the Barents Sea using spectral
decomposition is provided in the next example. Figure 5 shows a time slice through RGB blend of 19
(Red), 27 (Green), and 30 (Blue)Hz amplitude volumes. The amplitudes vary from channel to channel
and also along some of the channels. The variation of different discrete frequency responses along
channels can be due to either thickness variations or changes of acoustic properties. Geological
features such as those imaged in figure 5 sometimes are not clearly visible on broadband seismic
amplitude maps or even not visible at all. This is partly because the particular frequency or frequencies
of the features are not the dominant or close to dominant frequency of the broadband seismic data.

63

Figure 5 Time slice through RGB blend of 19 (Red), 27 (Green), and 30 (Blue)Hz amplitude volumes
from Snadd Formation of the Norwegian Barents Sea. Different channels have been imaged and there
are also variations of different frequency responses along some channels.
Figure 6 exhibits time slice through RGB volume (17, 27, and 38Hz amplitude volumes) from Barents
Sea. The time slice is from the Kobbe Formation and a single cycle channel is observed (shown by
white arrows in figure 6). Faults are also visible in the time slice and one segment of the channel is
displaced by one of the long faults.

Figure 6 Time slice through RGB volume (17, 27, and 38Hz amplitude volumes) from Kobbe
Formation of the Norwegian Barents Sea. One channel is imaged (shown with white arrows) and RGB
blend volume improved faults images as well.
Understanding of the depositional settings or environment of sedimentary rocks plays an important
role in the stratigraphic interpretation of frequency slices. The amplitude patterns and textures
observed in the slices can be used to identify different geological features.
Figure 7 illustrates amplitude response of 24 and 52 Hz from Mid Norwegian Sea. The area shown by
the circle has larger extent of higher amplitude at 24Hz than 52 Hz. The arrow also show higher
amplitude associated with the fault at 24Hz.

64

Figure 7 Time slice through amplitude volume of 24Hz (a) and 52 Hz(b) frequencies. Data is from the
Mid Norwegian Sea. The area shown within the circle shows a different response which is most likely
related to thickness changes. The white arrow shows the changes of amplitude response of two
discrete frequencies along the fault .
Spectral decomposition can also be used for structural imaging studies. Figure 8 is an example from
North Sea which shows two time slices through RGB blend volume (11, 14, and 27 Hz). Selection of
amplitude volumes of discrete frequencies for the blending process depends to a large degree to the
geological objects that are going to be imaged. Visual inspection of individual frequency slices can be
used to select those that best illustrate objects of interest.
The RGB blend time slices shown in figure 8 are from two different depths. The variation of
individual frequency amplitudes caused distinct amplitude response over different fault blocks at each
time slice. There is also amplitude response variation in certain areas at the two depths. The white
arrow shows one of the fault blocks with different response at two depths.

65

Figure 8 Time slices of RGB blend volumes from a North Sea 3D dataset using 11, 14, and 27 Hz
amplitude magnitudes. a) 2070ms and b) 2190ms. There is amplitude response variation in certain
areas at the two depths. The white arrow shows one of the fault blocks with different response at two
depths.
Spectral decomposition has been used for direct hydrocarbon indicator. This is in particular associated
with amplitude response of low frequency volumes. Hydrocarbon saturation in general and gas
saturation in particular can cause increased amplitude in certain frequencies (mainly lower) which is
not visible on the full bandwidth seismic data. Figure 9 is an example from Fahmy et al., (2005)
which shows two seismic sections from a deep water reservoir. The broadband seismic data (Figure
9a) doesnt show any amplitude anomaly while the 11Hz amplitude volume (Figure 9b) shows a clear
amplitude anomaly which is proven to be associated with 154m of net oil sand.

Figure 9 DHI interpretation of spectral decomposition data. a) Full band seismic section b) amplitude
response of 11Hz frequency. The high amplitude from low frequency corresponds to a thick oil column
(after Fahmy et al., 2005).
Another spectral decomposition example for direct hydrocarbon indicator and stratigraphic imaging is
from Gulf of Mexico. Figure 10 shows two time slices through 9, 18, and 24 Hz RGB blend. Figure
10a shows strong low frequency amplitude anomaly to the left (white arrow) and also channel to the
right (orange arrow). The low frequency amplitude anomaly in figure 10b which is deeper than one
shown in figure 10a is interpreted as a DHI (Figure 10b). The geometry of channel imaged in figure
10b (orange arrow) is easy to peak.

66

Figure 10 DHI and seismic facies interpretation of spectral decomposition data from Gulf of Mexico.
The figure shows shallow (a) and deep (b) time slices through RGB blend volume. Orange arrow
indicates a channel feature and the white arrows indicate possible hydrocarbon filled zones.
The last example (Figure 11) is also from Gulf of Mexico and shows the response from very low
frequency volume (7 Hz). In order to verify the hydrocarbon indication interpretation forward seismic
modelling carried out along a 2D line. The seismic line along model is shown in figure 12a and
acoustic properties of a combined gas and oil filled scenario is shown in figure 12b. Dry, oil, gas, and
oil leg with gas cap scenarios has been realized and the response compared to the real seismic data
(Figure 12a). The best match is achieved with oil leg and a gas cap. Therefore, the interpretation of
low frequency amplitude anomaly shown in figure 11 corresponds most likely to response of an oil
filled trap with gas cap.

67

Figure 11 Low frequency amplitude volume from Gulf of Mexico. The response is interpreted to be
associated with hydrocarbon accumulation.

Figure 12 Seismic forward modeling to verify DHI interpretation that is given in figure 11. a) seismic
section b) Acoustic impedance of the 2D model. c) Zero offset seismic response. The best amplitude
match observed in an oil case with gas cap.

68

Chapter 9 Multi-attributes
So far different volume based amplitude and geometric attributes have been described. The main goal
of seismic attribute analysis is to assist the seismic interpretation of 3D data.
It is sometimes necessary to follow the variations of two or more attributes within a data volume in
order to detect geological features and extract additional information such as corresponding properties
of detected geological objects. Integrating different seismic attribute volumes or multiattribute analysis
is aimed to improve imaging of geological features. This process can be done automatically or
manually. Automatic integration of attributes to detect patterns representing geological features have
been carried out using different methods and one of the most used methods is neural network pattern
recognition (e.g. Russell, et al., 1997; Chopra et al., 2004; Farzadi and Hesthammer, 2007; Hu et al.,
2012). In the automatic pattern recognition approach the computer is trained to identify certain
features that fit the input criteria by searching the whole input seismic volume. Each output data
sample has N seismic attributes with different weights assigned to each attribute. The idea is that set of
input patterns are linked to the output by using a relationship that is encoded in the network weights
(Chopra and Marfurt, 2008). For example a mathematical relationship is defined between certain
parameters at some well locations that one of those properties can be estimated using seismic
attributes. We can then create those property volumes using cross-property transformation.
The second type of multiattributes are those that are generated manually using different blending
approaches. Every attribute is sensitive to a particular property and relevant attributes can be selected
to detect different geological features of interest with multiattribute analysis. By combining the
attributes, images from the target geological features will be distinctive and the contrast of objects of
interest with the background will be enhanced. It is recommended to combine attributes that are
independent of each other (Barnes, 2000b).
In addition to the detection of geological features, multiattributes can be created to verify certain
geological ideas or models.
Attributes can be blended using different approaches such as opacity rendering or RGB blending. One
example of a multiattribute is combined amplitude and waveform attributes. For example envelope or
even amplitudes from single frequencies from frequency decomposition process can be blended with
attributes such as dip, coherence, or fault attributes. This multiattribute can be used to show areas
where amplitude distribution is conformed to faulted blocks. High amplitude values can corresponds
to sand or hydrocarbon filled sands. Such potential interpretation criteria can be derived from well
calibration. If the good quality reservoir rocks are associated with stronger amplitude, the high range
of amplitude can then be selected and using opacity curves the remaining amplitudes is unselected.
The threshold depends on the required cut off for specific case of study. The opacity rendered or
filtered envelope attribute will then combined with a coherence or fault attribute. If higher amplitudes
are related to potential hydrocarbon filled zone, the combined envelope-fault attribute can illustrates if
there is any conformity between amplitude and trap outlines.
The other useful application of envelope-fault multiattribute is for hydrocarbon migration studies.
Seismic response of hydrocarbon filled sands is sensitive to low saturations. It means that with very
low hydrocarbon saturation seismic character will change. It is therefore feasible to find out if long
regional fault network which are best routes for hydrocarbon migration illustrates any stronger
amplitude compared to the background.
Figure 1 shows an example of a multiattribute volume from Barents Sea. Envelope and cosine of
phase attributes used in chapter 3 to image geometry and variations of acoustic properties along
Triassic clinoform packages (Figures 4 and 10 in chapter 3). Figure 1b and c is the same as figures 4b
and 10b. The higher amplitude values of envelope attribute volume have been selected using opacity
curve and the rest is deselected. The new volume after the application of amplitude cut off is blended
with cosine of phase attribute volume. The new multiattribute can be used to interpret the geometry of
69

clinoforms and at the same time lithology variations along clinoform packages. Combining the two
attributes and using amplitude and phase characteristics allow us to identify clinoform beds and further
detect sandy parts of the beds forming the clinoforms.

Figure 1 Multiattribute example from Barents Sea. a) Seismic section with some clinoform
geometries. b) Envelope attribute response illustrating amplitude variation along clinoform packages.
c) Cosine of phase attributes that image the clear geometry of the clinoform. d) Blended envelope and
cosine of phase volumes. The new multiattribute can be used to interpret the geometry of clinoform
packages as well as lithology variations along them.
Figure 2 illustrates a time slice through a blended fault and envelope from North Sea. There are
chaotic areas that are not associated with high amplitude. One example is shown by yellow arrow in
figure 2. There are also areas where fault attribute shows chaotic character or faulting which
corresponds to high amplitude as well (for example area shown by red arrow).

Figure 2 Time slice through combined fault and envelope attributes from North Sea. Red arrow shows
where amplitude anomaly corresponds to non-coherent events while the yellow arrow shows where
non coherent events are associated with low amplitudes.

70

Chapter 10 Seismic attribute analysis workflow planning

Number of attributes has grown up remarkably over the past 20 years and different commercial
packages provide a very large set of attributes. Seismic interpretation has gone from traditional
interpretation of 2D slices of 3D volumes to include the third dimension (time slices) in the analysis.
One of the challenges is to select the right attributes and suitable attribute analysis workflow. The
other challenge which has received less attention is how to integrate the seismic attribute analysis in
the greater task of integrated seismic interpretation. The goal should be to include seismic attribute
analysis together with other seismic interpretation studies in a way to increase the reliability of
interpretation results. In fact the non-uniqueness nature of seismic interpretation requires integrating
several methods to achieve a reliable interpretation. In hydrocarbon exploration the ultimate goal is to
identify potential prospects and characterize reservoir which seismic attribute analysis can be
combined with traditional seismic interpretation, quantitative seismic studies and even other
geophysical techniques such as Controlled Source Electro Magnetic (CSEM) studies to increase the
reliability of the interpretation. There have been relatively good advances in generating different
seismic attributes while less has been done in the integration part. The value that seismic attribute
analysis can add to the whole process of hydrocarbon exploration can be even more revealed if it is
integrated with other techniques.
In order to avoid trapping into generating loads of attributes with little or no value to the particular
project objectives the planning phase is of extreme importance and will save us a lot of time and
effort. We can go through a check list before we start the actual study and this preliminary phase can
be regarded as some kind of feasibility study. There are occasions that using seismic attribute analysis
will not add any value to the interpretation study. The focus here is on seismic exploration. Here is my
suggested check list or questions that have to be answered or looked into before planning any attribute
analysis:

The first and main question is: What is the goal of the seismic interpretation in the area of
study? Is it Regional interpretation for screening or detailed interpretation over particular
leads or prospects?
Noise content of data: The intensity of noise removal parameters depends on noise content and
also size of geological features to be detected. Seismic response of small scale geological
features may affected by strong noise removal applications. Therefore if the objective is to
image small scale geologic features noise cancellation process has to be performed in a way to
preserve such features irrespective of noise content.
Structural imaging
o Faulting scale and intensity (extension, compression or strike slip settings)
o Amplitude variations or waveform changes
o Fault seal problems
Stratigraphic imaging (depositional environment identification)
o Deepwater or fluvial
o Channels or other geometries (clinoform)
o Carbonates (reef, ramp, chalk, or karst geometries)
o Reservoir quality issues
Combined structural and stratigraphic imaging
o Hydrocarbon migration
Direct hydrocarbon detection studies

Time available to carry out studies is always on top of all planning elements. Different attribute
analysis workflows can be planned based on the answers to the above questions and a set of attributes
that were presented in chapters one to nine of this book.

71

Acknowledgment
I would like to thank Rocksource ASA management for the permission to work on the subject. PGS
and WesternGeco (NCS and Gulf of Mexico) are acknowledged for the permission to publish some
examples of the seismic data from North Sea, Barents Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.

References
Alaei, B. [2006] Seismic depth imaging of complex structures, an example from Zagros folds and
thrust belt, Iran. PhD thesis, University of Bergen.
Alaei, B. [2012] Improved Fault Imaging by Integration of Frequency Decomposition and Fault
Attributes, Example from Mid Norwegian Sea. 3rd EAGE Fault and Top Seal Conference, C13.
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1074-1098.
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systems from the Iranian Persian Gulf using volume-based multiple seismic attribute analysis and
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Gersztenkorn, A. and Marfurt, K.J. [1999] Eigenstructure based coherence computations as an aid to
3D structural and stratigraphic mapping. Geophysics, 64, 1468-1479.
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Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE, 43, 2094-2102.
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RGB color blending of seismic attribute volumes. The Leading Edge, 27, 342-350.
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August, 30-34.
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Leading Edge, 21, 238-243.
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Attributes. 74th International Annual Conference and Exhibition, EAGE, Extended Abstracts, X012.
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Wide Azimuth Seismic Data - A Thailand Case Study. 74th International Annual Conference and
Exhibition, EAGE, Extended Abstracts, X030.
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International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 786789.
Liu, J. and Marfurt, K.J. [2007] Instantaneous spectral attributes to detect channels. Geophysics, 72,
P23-P31.
Luo, Y., Al-Dossary, S. and Alfaraj, M. [2002] Edge-preserving smoothing and applications. The
Leading Edge, 21, 136-158.
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calculations in the presence of structural dip. Geophysics, 64, 104-111.
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Attributes in 3D Seismic Data. 74th International Annual Conference and Exhibition, EAGE, Extended
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74

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
SeismicAttributesand
TheirApplicationsinSeismicInterpretation
BehzadAlaei

CourseGoals

Therearealargenumberofattributes
availableindifferentprogramsandthemain
goalsofthiscourseare:
tolearnthebasictheoryoffundamental
attributes
Parametrizationofthefundamentalattributes,
Techniquestoincorporatethevolumesinthe
explorationandreservoircharacterization,
andPlanworkflowsbasedonspecificpurposeof
studies.

Seismicattributeshavebeenincreasinglyusedin
bothexplorationandreservoircharacterizationand
hasbeenintegratedintheseismicinterpretation.
Theyhaveproventobeusefulindifferentgeological
settingssuchasclastic,carbonate,andsaltrelated
basinsaswellasdifferenttectonicregimesincluding
extensional,strikeslip,andcompressional.
Theplanforthiscourseistointroduceseismic
attributeswiththeirapplicationsinseismic
interpretationusingexamplesfromdifferent
sedimentarybasinsandalsothroughcertain
attributeworkflows.

Coursestructure
PartOne
Inputdatacleaning
Tracebasedattributes
Dipandazimuthvolumes

PartTwo
Workflows
Workflowplanning
Channelimaging

Coherencevolumes

Faultimaging

Faultenhancement

Carbonateimaging

Curvatureattributevolumes

Crossproperty
workflows

Spectraldecomposition
Multiattributes

Courseoutline

Introductionandhistoricalreviewofattributes
Datacleaningandnoiseremovalaproaches
Tracebasedattributes
Dipandazimuthvolumes
Discountinutyattributevolumes
Faultdetection,enhancement,andextractionattributes
Curvatureattributevolumes
Frequencydecompositionandinterpretationchallenges
Multiatributes
Seismicattributeanalysisworkflowplanning
Fault,channel,andcarbonateimagingworkflowexamples

INTRODUCTIONANDHISTORICALREVIEW

75

AttributeDefnition

Anexamplefromageologicalmodel

anyquantitativemeasureobtainedfrom
seismicdataisaseismicattribute.
Theyhelpustodetectandquantifygeological
featuresofinterest.
Oneormoregeologicalmodelorhypothesisis
usuallyderivedafterthefirststageofdata
screening.
Thismodelorhypothesisanduncertainties
associatedwithitdecidetoalargedegreethe
typeofseismicattributestobegenerated.

Tidedominatedshorefacefaciesassociatedwithsubsequent
upliftandfaulting.

Stratigraphic
imaging

RobertW.Dalrymple,KyungsikChoi,2007

Fault
imaging

Integration/
Interpretation

SeismicattributeDevelopments

o Traveltime

Datatypeateachpoint
o Amplitude
inseismiicvolumes

Traveltime

Amplitude

Frequency

Singletrace

Multitrace

Multiattribute

o Frequency

Seismicattributestimeline

Singlefoldandmultifold2Dseismicexamples

1980
2010

1970
2000

1990

1950

1960

Singlefold

ModifiedBarnes2001

76

Multicoverage

Alaei2006

Earlycolorseismograms(Balch1971)

Earlycolorseismograms(Balch1971)

ThemethodisbasedonComputerGraphicPhotographic
systemwhichusescolormimicrytodisplaythefrequency
spectraofseismiceventssimultaneouslywiththeirtime
varyingwaveforms.
Redcolorisusedforlowfrequenciesandvioletcolorisused
forhighfrequencies.
Theoutputofoursystemisavariableareawiggletrace
seismiccrosssection.
Thewaveformsarethesameasthoseonaconventional
section;however,thevariableareapartofthesection
appearsincolor.
Thecolorrepresentsthefrequencyspectrumofthewavelets

Earlycolorseismograms(Balch1971)

Earlycolorseismograms(Balch1971)

Constantvelocitystack

InstantaneousfrequencysectionNorthSea

Earlysurfaceattributes
Dipsurfaceattributemapof
topreservoir

Surfaceamplitudeattribute
mapofatopchannelsystem

Taner etal.1979

Rijks andJaufrred 1991

77

Earlycoherenceattributes

Discretefrequency(26Hz)magnitudemap

Seismictimesliceat1250ms

Coherencesliceat1250ms
Clearrelationshipbetweenfaults
andstratigraphicfeatures

DatafromGulfofMexicoand
attributemapexhibitsvarious
depositionalfeatures
Bahorich andFarmer1995

Curvaturesurfaceattributesmaps
Mostpositivecurvature

Partyka etal.1999

Advancedvisualization
RGBblendoftheresponse
atthreedifferent
frequencies

Mostnegativecurvature

Bodiesdetectedusingthe
RGBregionofinterest
opacitytechnique.

Hendersonetal.2008

ChopraandMarfurt2007

AdaptiveGeobodyextraction

Integrationofworkflows
Integrationoffrequency
decompositionandfault
attribute(Alaei2012)

VolumetricCMYcolor
blendingappliedtothree
faultimagingvolumes
(Henderson2012)

Thegeobodysurfaceiscolorcodedtoindicatehow
wellthesurfacepositionmatchestheunderlyingdata
withredindicatingagoodfitandblueapoorfit.

78

Henderson2012

Introductiontonoisecancellation

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
InputDataCleaning
BehzadAlaei

Almostallseismicdataarecontaminatedbyrandom
andcoherentnoise.
Noisecancellationandimprovingsignaltonoiseratio
isoneofthemaingoalsofseismicsurveydesign,and
processing.
Howeverthereisusuallysomenoiseleftinfinal
processeddataavailabletoseismicattributeanalysis.
Theremainingnoisemayproducepoorattribute
volumes.
Ifdataispoorlymigrated,littlecanbedoneto
improvethedataquality

Noiseremovalinacquisitionandprocessing
Before

Acquisition:

Example1:3Dfkfiltering
After

difference

Grouprecievers
Recieverarray
Sourceoptimization(e.g.pointsourceBagainietal.2010)
Noisetestinlandsurveystodeterminethebestarraytosuppress
randomnoise.

Processing
Prestack:Theaimoftheprestackprocessingistooptimizethesignal
oftheprimaryreflectionsfromthegeologicalhorizons,while
attenuatingandeliminatinginterference.
Denoiseapplication:Traceeditingisperformedbasedonstatistical
amplitudethresholds.
FKlinearnoiseattenuation
Poststackrandomnoiseattenuation

Example2:Linearnoiseattenuation

Example2:Linearnoiseattenuation

Before

After

79

Noisereductionforattributeanalysis
Severalnoisecancellationmethodshavebeendevelopedthat
targetedbothrandomandcoherentnoisetypes.Some
examplesare:
Structureorientedmeanormedianfiltering,
trimmedmeanfilter,principalcomponentfiltering(Chopraand
Marfurt2008),
Multiwindow(Kuwahara)filter(Luoetal.2002),
Multistagenoisefiltering(e.g.AlDossaryandMarfurt2007).

Bestnoisefilteringmethodsremovenoisewhileleavesubtle
geologicfeaturessuchassmallchannelorfaultuntouched
thereforeenhancedataspatialcontinuity.
Noisefilteredseismicdatamakestheseismicinterpretation
easierandalsoprovidescleanerdataforattributegeneration
processes.

Structurallyorientednoisefiltering

Structurallyorientednoisefiltering
Structurallyorientededgepreservingfiltersarebest
inremovingcoherentnoisewhilekeepingsubtle
detailsuchassmallscalefaults.
Theyarethemostusednoisereductionfilters.
Themaingoalistodistinguishgeometricelements
(dipandazimuth)ofreflectorsrepresentingsignals
fromnoise.
Noisereductionprocessinthestructurallyoriented
filteringmethodsdividesintotwosteps:
Estimationofdip/azimuthand
applicationofsomefilterssuchasmeanormedianto
removenoise.

Example1NorthSeabeforenoisecancellation

Thenoisereductionprocessisappliedinasmall
windowthatiscalledanalysiswindow.
Meanfilteringtakestheaverageofthesamples
withintheanalysiswindow.
Medianfilteringsubstituteseachvalueinthe
analysiswindowbythecentralvaluewithinthe
window.
Meanfilteringisasmoothingapplicationand
enhancesthecontinuityoftheseismicdata.
Medianfilteringremoveoutliersfromthedata
andenhancethedatasharpness.

Example1NorthSeaafternoisecancellation
Significantimprovementinspatialcontinutyoftheseismicdata

Example:Inlinebeforenoisecancellation
Structurally oriented noise
removal filters began by
calculating a statistics such as
the variance of the data in each
of the laterally overlapping
analysis windows.
In the window that has the best
statistics (e.g. minimum
variance), they smoothed the
data using a mean or median
filter.

umean (t )

1 J
u j (t )
J j 1

Whereuj(t) denotesthejth ofJ

tracesfallingwithintheanalysis
window

80

Example:Inlineafternoisecancellation

Example:Crosslinebeforenoisecancellation

Structurally Oriented noise

removal has been applied.
11x11x11 filter size has been
used to create the dip/Azimuth
steering cubes.
Structurally Oriented Finite
Mean filter reduces coherent
noise while at the same time
preserving subtle details.
The noise cancelled image is
more coherent and the faults are
clearer.

Example:Crosslineafternoisecancellation

Noisecancellation,initialstage
Reviewinputseismicdatainx,y,andz(ort)directionsto
identifynoisecontent.
Carryoutthereviewalongandacrossshootingdirectiion.In
conventionalmarine3Dsurveystheshootingdirectionis
alonginlines.InonshoreandOBCsurveysfindoutthe
acquisitionlayoutgeometryfromtheseismicheader
information.Trytoanswertoquestionssuchas:
Isthereanydifferencebetweennoisecontentininlineand
crosslinedirections
Isthereanyfeatureinthedatathatcannotbeexplainedby
geologicalphonomena(acquisitionfootprint)
Isthereanyclearchangeinnoisecontentindepthortime
direction(poorapplicationofforexampletimevarient
filtersduringprocessing)

Noisefilteringparameters
Representativesubvolumetobegeneratedtorun
testsbeforefilteringwholeseismicvolume
Firststepistocreatedipandazimuthvolumesto
distinguishgeometricelementsofinputseismicdata.
Thedipandazimuthvolumesareusedtoguidethe
noisefilteringandtheyprovidestructural
informationrequiredfornoisefiltering.
Noisereductioncanbeappliedinonestepor
multistagesdependingonthenoisecontentofthe
inputseismicdata.

Step1:Generalreviewresults
Similarnoise

Homogeneous
spatialfiltering

Differentnoise

Orientedspatial
filtering

Similarnoise

Wholevolume

Differentnoise

Splitvolumes

Inline/Crossline
noisecontent

DataReview

Timevarient
noisecontent

81

Step2:noisefilteringparameters

Exampleinlinebeforenoisecancellation

Similarinx,y,z
differentinsizes
Dip/Azimuth
volumes

test

Finaldip/Azimuth
AWS

AWS
Differentin
x,y,z

Representative
subvolume
Meanfiltering

test
Filter
Size

Finalfiltering
parameters

Filterparameters
Medianfiltering

AnalysisWindowSize(AWS)

82

test
Filter
Size

Finalfiltering
parameters

Step1noisereduction

Step2strongnoisereduction

Exampletimeslicebeforenoisereduction

Step1noisereduction

Step2strongnoisereduction

Differencevolumesinlines
Stage1

AusefulQCmeasureforevaluating
noisereductionprocessisto
calculatethedifferencevolumeof
preandpostnoisefilterto
investigatewhathasbeentakenout
oftheoriginaldata.

Ifthedifferencevolumeshows
coherentdata,thereishigh
chancethatsomeofthesignal
(geologicalinformation)islost
andifthedifferencevolume
showsrandomdataitmeans
thatthegeologicalinformation
ispreserved.

Differencevolumestimeslices

Workfloworientednoiseremovalprocess

Stage1

Thereisalwayssomesignallostduring
denoisingapplications.
Itissuggestedtoplanthedatacleaning
processalignedwiththesubsequentattribute
analysis(workfloworientednoiseremoval).
Itmeansthatbothnoisecontentoftheinput
dataandtypeofattributesthatisgoingtobe
calculatedhaveanimpactonthefiltering
parameters.

Stage2

Workfloworientednoiseremovalprocess
Highnoise
content
(1)Noise
content

Finalnoisereductionis
plannedbasedonsteps1
and2

Moderate/low
noisecontent
Structural
imaging

(2)Study
objectives

Stratigraphic
imaging
Integrated
imaging

Stage2

Regional
study
Highresolution
study

Fluvialsetting
Shallow
marine
Deepwater
setting

Workfloworientednoisereductionexample
Therearesomeverysmallfaultswithlimitedlateralextent
andshortoffset.
Attributeanalysiscanbeplannedtoeitherrevealhigh
resolutionsmallscaleorregionalstructuralframeworkofthe
studiedarea.
Forahighresolutionfaultstudythenoisefilteringparameters
shouldnotbestronginordertopreservesubtle
discontinuitiesrepresentingsmallfaults
Foraregionalstructuralstudystrongerfilterparameterscan
beappliedtoderivelargescalepictureeasieratthecostof
losingsmallscaledetail.

Carbonates
(Reef,ramps)

83

Workfloworientednoisereductionexample
Originalseismicdata

Workfloworientednoisereductionexample
Meanfiltersize5
filtersize5

Structural workflow: Geological subtle

discontinuities are important

Workfloworientednoisereductionexample
Meanfiltersize11

84

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
TraceBasedAttributes
BehzadAlaei

Complextraceanalysis

Complextraceanalysisconcept
Envelopeattributegenerationandinterpretation
application
InstantanousPhaseattributegenerationand
interpretationapplication
Instantanousfrequencyattributegenerationand
interpretationapplication
CosineofPhaseattributegenerationand
interpretationapplication

Complextraceanalysis

Tracebasedattributesarecalculatedateachdata
sampleandthecalculationisindependentof
adjacenttraces(noanalysiswindow).
Aseismictracewhichisatimeseriescanbe
consideredastherealpartofacomplexnumberor
analyticalsignal.
Seismictracef(t) isconsideredastherealpartofa
complextraceF(t),where
F(t)=f(t)+if*(t)
istheimaginarypartofthecomplextraceandcan
beestimatedfromtherealpart.

Envelope

Byusingtheconceptofanalyticalorcomplexseismic
tracedifferentquantitiesassociatedwithcomplex
numberscanbeestimatedfromtheseismictraces
whichareconsideredastherealpartofthecomplex
seismictrace.
Thesequantitiesareamplitudeandphaseand
correspondingattributesare:Envelope,Instantaneous
phase,Instantaneousfrequency,andcosineofphase.

Envelope

Envelope(E)orreflectionstrengthistheabsolute
valueoftheamplitude
E (t )

content

f 2 (t ) f *2 (t )

Thereisnoinformationaboutphaseinthisattribute.
Themaximumisnotnecessarilytheamplitudeofthe
largestpeakortroughinthedata.
Differentcolorscalescanbeusedtodisplaythis
attribute.Thescaleincludesonlypositivenumbers.
Seismictimeslice

Envelopetimeslice

Taneretal1979

Thedashedlineontherealseismictraceillustrates
theenvelopeofthetrace.

85

Envelopeapplications

Anychangesintheacousticpropertiesoftwo
adjacentrockunitsarereflectedintheamplitude
andwillbeimagedasvariationsintheenvelope
attribute.
Thisattributecanbeusedtoidentifylithology
variations.
Itcanalsoindicatehydrocarbonaccumulations.
Highvaluesofenvelopeattributecanrepresent
lithologicvariationsacrossrockunits.

Envelopeapplications
Ithaspoorverticalresolutionbutbetterlateral
resolution.
Theinterpretationoftheenvelopeattributeismore
reliableifitislinkedtolocalstratigraphythrough
seismictowelltieanalysis.
Thereisoftenmorethanonepossibleinterpretation
foranyobservedenvelopeanomalywhichindicates
thenonuniquenatureoftheattributeinterpretation
Thisnonuniquenesscanbeaddressedeitherby
calibratingtheinterpretationwithwellresultsor
integratingtheattributeswithsomeotherattributes
toincreasethereliabilityoftheinterpretation.

ExamplerecentfansystemNorthSea
TimeslicefromtheNorthSea

Envelopetimeslice

ExampleTriassicchannelsBarentsSea
Thecomparisonofinputseismicdataandtheenvelopeattributeshowsthat
channelimagesareimprovedintheenvelopeattributevolume.

RecentfansthataredevelopedfromthemainlandNorway.

Envelopeapplications
Lithologicalvariationsassociatedwithdifferent
sedimentarytexturescanbeidentifiedandmapped
usingenvelopeattribute.
Forexamplechannelsfilledwithdifferentlithology
comparedtooverbanksedimentscanbemapped
withenvelopeattribute.
Carbonatelithologiescanbeseparatedfrom
surroundingrockunitsusingenvelopeattributes.
Theenvelopeattributecanbeusedtodifferentiate
betweenreflectionsofindividuallayers(thicklayers)
andreflectorsrepresentingacompositeof
reflections(thinnerbeds)

86

Example,Verticalandlaterallithologyvariation
Theinterpretedchannelfill
lithologyshowninthefigure
isderivedusingdifferent
enveloperesponse.

Mudfilled
Sandfilled

TriassicclinoformsBarentsSea

TriassicclinoformsBarentsSea
Envelopeattributeshowsresponse
variationalongreflectorsofclinoforms
thatcanbeinterpretedaslithology
variations(sand,shale)alongthem.

3Dvisualizationofenvelopeandseismicdata

Instantaneousphaseattribute
InstantaneousPhaseP(t) attributeisthephaseofthe
complexseismictrace

f * (t )
P (t ) tan 1

f (t )

Singlecycle
channel
(shallow)
to
multistory
channel
system
(deep)

Thisattributeissensitivetothecontinuityofreflectors
andisindependentofamplitudeorreflectionstrength.

Channelssystemsareclearlyvisibleontheenvelopeattributeslices.
Thedevelopmentofchannelsystemthroughgeologictimecanbefollowedintwotimeslices.

Applicationofphaseattribute
Identificationofthegeometricalrelationships
betweenbedswithinsedimentarysequencessuchas
onlap,offlap,truncation,anddownlapsettings.
Thegeometryofreflectorpackagesimagedbyphase
attributescanbeusedtointerpretsedimentary
sequencesandtheclarityofreflectorpackagesis
muchbetterthanconventionalseismicdata.
Faultsalsocorrespondtophasechangesandphase
attributecanbeusedtoimagefaults.
Faultsarebetterimagedinhorizontaldirection(time
ordepthslice).

Thevaluesofthephaseattributevaryfrom180to
+180degrees

Instantanousphaseattributeexample
Faultsareclearerinthephaseattributeandoutlineofdifferent
phaseresponsesareassociatedwithstratigraphicvariations
alongthebeds.
Geobodies

87

Instantanousphaseattributeexample
Phaseattributevolumeenhancedsmallandlargescalefaulttraces.
Thephaseattributecanbeusedtoenhanceimagesofnotonlythe
faulttracesbutalsothefaultblocks.

Instantanousphaseattributeexample
Phaseattributeresponsefromthegasfilledzone.The
arrowshowsthegasfilledzoneinthephaseattribute.

Instantanousphaseattributeexample
Seismictimeslicefromtopofagasfilledreservoir.

InstantaneousFrequencyattribute
Instantaneousfrequencyattributeisthetime
derivativeoftheinstantaneousphaseattribute

(t )

dP ( t )
d (t )

Inotherwordstheinstantaneousfrequencyattribute
isthechangeoftimedependentphaseattribute.

Applicationsofinstantaneousfrequency
Lowfrequencyanomaliesbelowgassaturatedreservoir
rocksashydrocarbonindicator.
Fracturesmayappearaslowfrequencyzones(Taner2001).
Thisattributecanbeusedtocharacterisecomposite
reflections.
Compositereflectionsrepresentseismicresponseofa
seriesofthinnerbedsinterferedwitheachother.
Individualreflectionscorrespondtoseismicresponseof
thickenoughlayers.
Variationofthicknessandacousticpropertiesof
individualthinbedsfromcompositereflectionsisimaged
oninstantaneousfrequencyattribute.

88

Applicationsofinstantaneousfrequency

Bedthicknessindicator.Higherfrequenciesindicate
sharpinterfacessuchasexhibitedbythinlylaminated
shales,lowerfrequenciesareindicativeofmore
massivebeddinggeometries,e.g.sandprone
lithologies.

Cosineofphaseattribute
Cosineofphaseattributeiscontinuousphase
attributeandisamonotonicfunction.
Thephaseattributeemphasizesthecontinuityofthe
eventsandisafunctionoftimeandnotfrequency.
Cosineofphaseattributeisindependentofreflection
strength.
Itoftenmakesweakcoherentevents(subtlechanges
intheshapeofseismicwaveform)clearer.
Weakcoherenteventsmaycorrespondtosmall
faults,truncationsassociatedwithunconformities,or
pinchoutsandbecomeeasiertointerpretoncosine
ofphaseattributevolumes.

Applicationsofcosineofphase

Structuralapplication:

CosineofPhaseAttribute

Cosineofphaseattribute((t))iscalculated
bydividingseismictracetoitsreflection
strengthorenvelope

(t )

f (t )
E(t )

Grayscalecolormapisthedominantscale
usedtoshowthisattribute.

Clinoformexample
Seismicsectionwithreflectionpackagescorrespondingto
clinoformgeometries

Faultidentification

Stratigraphicapplications
sedimentarysequencepatternsidentification
(clasticandcarbonatesedimentaryrocks),
Progradingsedimentarylayerpattern
identification
Regionsof onlapandofflaplayering
Pinchoutsimaging

Integratedattributeanalysisworkflows.

Clinoformexample
Cosineofphaseattributethatshowsclearlytheterminationpoints
formingtheclinoformgeometries.Thearrowsindicatesthelocationof
someoftheterminationpoints.

Clinoformexample
ClinoformgeometriesareclearlyimagedintheHavertFormation.
Theprogradationdirectionofclinoformcanbefollowedusing
cosineofphaseattribute.

89

Clinoformpackagesandprogradationmaping
N

Clinoformpackage

Clinoformshelfedgebreaktrenddenotedinblackstipple
DatafilteringappliedtoNorthernsectionofcube(givingisotropicappearence)
Xline3531

Seismicline thougha
cosineofphasevolume
illustratingthepresenceof
clinoforms(arrows)within
theEarlyTriassicHavertFm.
Theapparantclinoform
progradiondirectionis
towardstheNNW.Variable
clinoformtrajectories(e.g.
downsteppingorfallingand
aggradationalorrising)are
observed.Thisisachieved
byrunningisoproportional
slicing.

Channelgeometry
Stackedchannelsmappedusingcosineofphaseattribute.

90

Channelgeometry
Stackedchannelsmappedusingcosineofphaseattribute.

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
DipandAzimuthAttributeVolumes
BehzadAlaei

Dipandstrikeangles

DipandAzimuthattributes
Orientationofanyplanargeologicalelementinspace
isdescribedbyitsstrikeanddip.
Strikeistheorientationoftheintersectionof
geologicalobjectwithhorizontalplaneanddipisthe
anglethatplanarsurfacemakeswiththehorizontal
surface.
Inseismicvolumesazimuthanglecanbeestimated
insteadofstrikeangleanditisperpendiculartothe
strikeandistheorientationofthemaximumdip
direction.

Dipandazimuthinseismicvolumes
Seismicsurvey

Surveyinline
direction

Geologiclayers

Dipangle

Outlineofastandard3Dsurveywith3Ddisplayoftwogeolgicbeds.

SurfaceDipandAzimuthattributes

SurfaceDipandAzimuthattributes

Dipvaluesateachpointoninterpretedhorizons
representsitsinclination.
Azimuthcorrespondstothedirectionoftheinclination
thatisestimatedfromeitheralocalreferencesuchas
3Dsurveyinlinedirectionorthenorth.
dt
dt
Dip ( ) 2 ( ) 2
dy
dx

dt

1/ 2

Azimuth arctan(

Inseismicvolumesazimuthanglecanbe
estimatedinsteadofstrikeangle.
Azimuthangleisperpendiculartothestrike
andistheorientationofthemaximumdip
direction.
Itismeasuredeitherfromnorthorseismic
surveyinlinedirection.
Dipandazimuthseismicattributeprovides
insightintotheorientationoflocalstructure.

dt

dy
dx

Thetwotermsinthedipandazimuthequations
correspondstotheestimatedvaluesintwo
directions.
Dipvaluesateachpointonthemapiscalculatedby
takingaveragegradientofeachsampleandoneora
fewadjacentdatapoints.
Thequalityofhorizonattributespartlydependon
theaccuracyofpickedhorizons.

91

Earlysurfaceattributes

Dipmapoffaultedanticline(Dalleyetal.1989)
Thediphorizonattributemaphighlightfaultsandflexures.

Dipsurfaceattributemapof
topreservoir
(RijksandJaufrred1991)

Dipinmsec/m

Azimuthmapoffaultedanticline(Dalleyetal.1989)

DipandAzimuthcolordisplays

Dipvolumesarebestviewedwithagreyscalecolor
mapwherelowdipsarerepresentedbywhiteand
highdipsarerepresentedbyblack.
Azimuthvolumesshouldbeviewedwitharotary
colormap.

Surveytop
orNorth

BlackBlueWhiteRed

Azimuthindegreesfomnorth

Volumetricdipattributetimeslice

Volumetricdipandazimuthestimationmethods

Seismictimeslice

Example
Dip/Volume

1.

Visibleonseismic

Dipvolumetimeslice

Dipattributetime
sliceillustrates
faultswithclarity.

92

Invisible/ambigious
onseismic

Calculatingtemporalandspatialderivativesofthe
phaseestimatedusingcomplextraceanalysis(e.g.
Luoetal1996)

2.
3.

Explicitdipscantofindthemostcoherent
reflector(Marfurtetal1998)
Calculationofvectordipusingthegradient
structuretensor(Crosscorrelatingthegradientof
thedataandformingagradientstructuretensor
e.g.HoeckerandFehmers2002)

Dipscanattributegenerationapproach
Marfurtetal.(1998)calculateddipandazimuthbyapplying
semblancescanningmethodto3Ddatatoestimatereflector
dip.
Seismicwaveformsimilarityis
measuredbetweentheadjacenttraces
withintheanalysiswindowusing
differentalgorithmssuchassemblance
orvariancemethods.
Nextaninterpolationlineisfittedto
theestimatedcoherencevaluesbythe
peakvalue(highestcoherency)and
someneighboringdips.Instantaneous
dipestimateisderivedfromthedipof
thispeakvalues.

Dipattributeexampleusingphasemethod
Thismethodusephasedataasinputtocalculatedipandazimuthand
thereforeisnotinfluencedbychangesintheamplitude.
Thedarkercolorscorrespondtodipchangesthatcanbecausedeitherby
structuralfeaturessuchasfaultsandfracturesorstratigraphicfeaturessuchas
channels.
Faultpatternscanbeidentifiedonthetimeslice.

Dipattributevolumemapedonasurface
Thedipsurfaceattributeshowslargerextentofgeological
featuresthatfollowgeologicalhorizons(forexamplechannels).
Differentsetsoffaultandalsochannelshavebeenimagedon
thesurfaceattributemap.

PhasebasedDipandazimuthestimation
Calculatetheinstantaneousfrequency,(equation
chapter3inchapter2)whichistimederivativeof
instantaneousphase.
Inthenextstepthespatialderivatives ofphase
whichareinstantaneouswavenumbers(Kx andKy)in
inline/crosslinedirectionsaretaken.
Dipcanbecalculatedby:

k
k
Dip ( x ) 2 ( y ) 2

0.5

Azimuthattributeexampleusingphasemethod
TheAzimuthvolumetendstohighlightareasofcontinuity

DipattributeestimationusingGradientTensormethod
Themainobjectiveistodeterminethedirectionthatseismic
waveformhasthemaximumchange.Theanalysisisdoneina
smallwindowthatcontainsfewsamplesinx,y,andt(orz)
directions.
Theinputtothismethodistheseismicdataandtherefore
unlikethephasemethoditmayaffectedbyvariationsinthe
seismicamplitude.
Themethodworksintwosteps:
Firstimagegradientiscalculatedalongthreedifferentdirections.This
canbedonebytakingderivativesofseismictraceinthethree
directions.Thisgivesthechangesintheseismicwaveformalongthe
threedifferentdirections.
Inthenextstagethederivedgradientforeachpointiscross
correlatedwithsampleswithinanalysiswindowtodeterminetrends.

93

Analysiswindowsize

Dipandazimuthvolumeapplications

Thesizeoftheanalysiswindowhasanimpactonthe
scaleoftheresult,i.e.largeranalysiswindowswill
providedipandazimuthestimateoflargeror
regionalstructures.
Thefiltersizeoranalysiswindowsizecanalsovary
betweenininline/crosslineorxandydirections.
Itisrecommendedtodefinethefiltersizeinxandy
directionsfollowingthemainstructuraldirectionor
atleasttestfiltersizesthatmatchwiththedominant
structuraltrends.

Assteeringvolumestorunattributesthatrequire
localreflectorgeometryandhelpustoapplynoise
filtersalongseismicevents.Theseinclusestrcuturally
orientednoisefilteringandstructurallyoriented
coherenceattributegeneration.
Dipandazimuthvolumeshaveapplicationsinboth
structuralandstratigraphicimagingstudies.
Quantitativeestimatesofdipandazimuth
throughoutseismicvolumeisakeytomapping
seismictexture.

Dipandazimuthvolumeapplications

Dipandazimuthvolumeapplications

Thesizeoftheanalysiswindowtocalculatedipand
azimuthvolumesthatisusedtosteerdatafiltering
applicationsisusuallylarge.
Ifnoisecancellationprocessisdoneinmultistages,
theresultofeverystepshouldbeusedasinputto
generatesteeringdip/azimuthvolumes.

Identificationofsubtlechangesinreflectordip
andazimuthallowustoinfer:

faults,
angularunconformities,
coherentprogradationalpackages,
fans,
chaoticslumps,
braidedstreamcomplexes
Identificationofsaltrelatedstructures.

Integrationwithotherattributes

DipvolumeexampleGradientstructurebased
SeismicandDipvolumes
Faultimaging

Dip/azimuthattributescanhighlightsubtlefaultsaswellasstratigraphicfeatuersthat
manifestthemselvesthroughdifferentialcompactionorthroughsubtlechangesinthe
seismicwaveform.
Dipvolumegenerallyhighlightsdiscontinuitiesinthedata.
Parameters:filtersize557,Differentfiltersizeshavetobetestedtogetthebestdipand
Azimuthvolumes.

Dipcubewith557filtersizeCompositedipandseismicimages
Compositedipvolumeandseismicdata

Chaircutdisplay

94

Dipattributevolumeimagedmorefaultsthanwhatcanbe
observedoninputseismicdata.

TwotimeslicesfromAzimuthvolume

DipvolumeexampleGradientstructurebased
Thechannelsgeometryimageshavebeenconsiderablyimprovedinthedip
attribute.Thearrowsshowtwochannelswhicharenotidentifiableinthe
seismictimeslicewhilevisibleindipattributevolume.

TheAzimuthvolumetends
tohighlightareasof
continuity
Theattributerevealsthe
differentgeometryofthe
faultzoneforthemainNW
SEtrendingfault(shownby
whitearrows).
Thefaultzoneisnarrower
inthedeeppart(lowertime
slice)thanintheshallowpart
(uppertimeslice).

DipvolumeexampleGradientstructurebased
Thechannelsgeometryimageshavebeenconsiderablyimprovedinthedip
attribute.Thearrowsshowtwochannelswhicharenotidentifiableinthe
seismictimeslicewhilevisibleindipattributevolume.

Dipattributevolumeandseismictimeslice

Dipattributevolumesaltbodyimage
Anindividualsaltdiaper
withradialfaulting
aroundthesaltbody.

Dipattributevolumeandseismictimeslice
Noisecontentof
thedataincreases
indeeperlevels
whichcanbe
observedondip
attributeresponse.

Thegeometricaldevelopmentofsaltbodiesthroughthe
stratigraphicsequencescanbechasedusingdipattributesfrom
differentdepths.

95

DipHorizonattributeslumpfeature
DiphorizonattributeresponseofaslumpfromNorth
Sea.Thechaoticregionindicatedbythedashedlinesis
theextentoftheslumpfeature.

96

Coherencevolumes

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers

CoherenceAttributeVolumes
BehzadAlaei

Seismiccoherencyadvantages

Coherence measures the similarity of the

seismic waveform between the adjacent
traces.
The coherence coefficient decreases in case
of discontinuity or changes in waveform from
trace to trace.
Images discountinuties in the seismic volumes
instead of reflections.
Reveals structural and stratigraphic changes
in seismic volumes such as faults, channels,
and reef edges.

Coherenceattributeexample

Seismiccoherencyappliedtoa3Dcubeofseismicinputdata
offersseveraldistinctadvantagesincludingtheabilityto
acceleratetheinterpretationprocessbybeginningstructural
andstratigraphicanalysisbeforedetailedpickingbegins,evenon
preliminarybrutestackdatacubes;
Carefullyanalyzestructuralandstratigraphicfeaturesovertheentiredata
volume,
Identifyandinterpretsubtlefeaturesthatarenotrepresentable
bypicksonpeaks,troughs,orzerocrossings;
Generatepaleoenvironmentalmapsofchannelsandfans
correspondingtosequenceversusreflectorboundaries;
Analyzefeaturesthatareeitherinternalorparalleltopickable formation
topsandbottoms.

Coherenceattributesshowgeologicalfeatureswith
muchmoreclaritythanusingverticalorhorizontal
sectionsoforiginalseismicdata.
Timesliceofseismicdata
andcorresponding
coherenceattributefrom
MidNorwegianSea.The
faultpatterniseasytofollow
onthecoherenceattribute.

Marfurtetal1998

Coherencehorizonattributeexample

CoherenceAlgorithms

CarbonatebuildupsfromthePaleozoicoftheNorwegianBarentsSea

Horizonslicesarethe
preferreddisplayto
identifystratigraphic
featuressuchas
carbonatebuildups
thatfollowgeological
horizons.
Theboundaryofthe
carbonatebuildupis
wheretheseismic
waveformchanges
andtherefore
imagedclearlyon
thecoherence
attribute.

Cross correlation
Semblance
Variance based method
Eigenstructure based coherence
Gradient structure Tensor-based
coherence
(e.g. Bahorich and Farmer 1995)

(e.g Marfurt et al 1999)

(e.g.Baker 2003)

97

Crosscorrelationcoherencealgorithm

Thefirstcoherencemethodisbasedoncross
correlationestimation(e.g.Bahorichandfarmer,1995) of
adjacentseismictraces.
ThisisalsocalledC1algorithm(Marfurtetal.1999).
Ananalysiswindowofthree,fiveormoretraces
canbeselected.
In3Dthecalculationincludesfirstcross
correlation(maximum)ininlinedirection
followedbycrosslinedirectionandthen
combiningtheresultsfromtwodirectionsto
derive3Dcoherence.

Crosscorrelationbasedcoherenceexample
Aseriesofstructural
andstratigraphicfeatures
areimagedsuchastwo
majorchannels,point
bar,enechelongrowth
faults,radialfaults,anda
saltdome.
Thecoherenceattribute
exhibitsthedistinct
relationshipbetweenthe
stratigraphicand
structuralfeatures.

Timeslice
through
seismic
volume

C1
coherence
attribute

Threetracecrosscorrelationanalysiswindow
k t N / 2

T I

k k l
k t N / 2
k t N / 2

k t N / 2

Tk2

k t N / 2

2
k l
k t N / 2

whereCisthecrosscorrelationofthetraceininlinedirectionwith
thetargettrace,Nisthenumberofsamplesinthecorrelationtime
window,Tisthetargettrace,andIistheinlinetrace.

Crosscorrelationbasedcoherenceexample
Shadesofgrayhavebeenusedtomapcoherencevalues.
Lowercoherencewhichcanindicatediscontinuitiessuchasfaultsaredisplayed
withdarkershade.
Therearebothstructuralandstratigraphicfeaturesinthedata.

Analysiswindowsize:64msandthreetraces
BahorichandFarmer1995

Crosscorrelationbasedcoherenceexample
DataisfromSouthMarshIslandGulfofMexico,USA.Seismictimesliceat1.8secis
shown.Saltdomefeatureistotheleftoftheimagewithclearcircularseismic
pattern.

timeslice

o Threetracecrosscorrelationcoherenceattributewith80msverticaltime
windowlength.
o Thecoherenceattributesimagedfaultswithclearoutline.

GersztenkornandMarfurt1996

98

GersztenkornandMarfurt1999

Crosscorrelationcoherencyalgorithmlimitations

Firstlimitationisthenoisecontent.Fordata
contaminatedbynoisethecrosscorrrelationmethod
usuallyprovidesnoisyresults.
Secondlimitationofthecrosscorrelationalgorithmis
theassumptionofzeromeanseismicsignals.Thisis
approximatelytruewhenthecorrelationtimewindow
exceedsthelengthofaseismicwavelet.
Thereforeforlowerfrequencyseismicdatalargertime
analysiswindowhastobeselected.
Nonzeromeanrunningwindowcrosscorrelation
algorithmiscomputationallymuchmoreexpensive.

Crosscorrelationtimeanalysiswindowsize

Crosscorrelationtimeanalysiswindowsize

Thethreetracecrosscorrelationalgorithmtemporalanalysishalf
window64ms.

Thethreetracecrosscorrelationalgorithmtemporalanalysishalf
window16ms.

timeslice1200ms

timeslice1200ms

timeslice1800ms

timeslice1800ms

Increasedartifactsbydecreasingthetimeanalysiswindowsize.
Marfurtetal1998

Marfurtetal1998

Semblancebasedcoherencecalculation

Semblancebasedcoherencecalculation

Semblanceanalysisasameasureofcoherencyhasbeenused
inotherdisciplinesofseismicdataanalysislikevelocity
estimation(NeidellandTaner1971)whichisthenormalized
output/inputenergyratiousedasameasureofcoherency.

Inpracticesemblancebasedcoherenceattributecanbe
estimatedbyselectinganappropriate3Danalysiswindow
withcertainspatialandtemporalextent.
Thesizeofthiswindowhasanimpactontheresolutionofthe
derivedcoherenceattributeandonthescaleofdiscontinuities
tobeimaged.
Thenalocalplanareventisdefinedorprovidedas
dip/azimuthinputwithintheanalysiswindow.
Semblanceisthencalculatedalongthedipofplanareventsat
eachpointintimeusingHilberttransformoftheseismic
traceswithintheanalysiswindow.
Thedip/azimuthsteeringvolumescanbegeneratedusing
differentalgorithmsthatpresentedinpreviouschapter.

jk N / 2

f i, j (i)
j k N / 2 i 1

S
kN /2 M
2
M f i, j (i)

j k N / 2 i 1

whereMisthenumberoftracesincludedintheanalysis,kisthe
referencetimeindex,i andj arethetraceandtimeindices.

Semblancecoherenceattributeexample

SemblancecoherenceexampleNorthSea
Structurallyorientedsemblanceattribute.
Theanalysiswindowsizeisfiveinhorizontaldirectionand15
samples(60ms)invertical(time)direction.
Majorfault
Faultterminationpoint

Fivetracesemblancealgorithmwith80msverticalwindowlength.
Sincethemethodusesdip/azimuthvolumetosteerthecalculation
itisalsocalledstructurallyorientedsemblancealgorithm.

Majorfault

GersztenkornandMarfurt1996

99

Variancealgorithmforcoherenceestimation
Itislikethesemblancecalculationofcoherence.
Whatismeasuredbyeithersemblanceorcoherence
isfitnessofeachseismictracewithinanalysis
windowtotheaveragetracewithintheanalysis
window.
Varianceisoneminusthesemblancevalueof
coherenceandthecalculationiscarriedoutalongthe
locallydippingreflector.
Thevariancevaluesrangefromzerofortraceswith
similarwaveformandone(maximum)for
discontinuityinthewaveformsimilarity.

VariancecohernceexampleNorwegianSea
Variancesection

VariancecohernceexampleNorwegianSea
Variancesection

100

VariancecohernceexampleNorwegianSea
Seismicsection

VariancecohernceexampleNorwegianSea
Seismicsection

Eigenstructurebasedcoherencealgorithm
Thecoherenceiscalculatedusingtheratioofthe
energyofscaledversion ofeachtracealongdipping
reflectorwithinanalysiswindowtotheoriginalinput
traceenergy.
Thescaledversionofeachtraceisthecoherent
componentofthedataandiscalculatedbyscalinga
wavelet thatdescribesbestthewaveformvariability
oftraceswithintheanalysiswindow.
Eigenstructurebasedcoherenceestimationismore
developedcrosscorrelationbasedcoherence
estimationalgorithm.

Eigenstructurebasedcoherencealgorithm

Eigenstructurebasedcoherenceexample

Inpracticethecoherenceiscalculatedby(Chopra
andMarfurt2008):
Step1:Sortingdatavectorswithinanalysis
window;
Step2:Autoandcrosscorrelationofdatacolumns
(alongdippingreflectorswhichislikeshifted
seismic);
Step3:Covariancematrix;
Step4:Calculatefirsteigenvalue;
Step5:Estimatetraceenergy;
Step6:Takeratioofsteps4and5.

Theeigenstructurecoherenceislessnoisyandthequalityoffault
anddiscontinuityimagesenhancedconsiderably

GersztenkornandMarfurt1996

GradientstructureTensorbasedcoherence
Thismethodisbasedonanalysisofalocalstructure
tensor.
Itincorporatebothlateralwaveformvariabilityand
changesinseismicamplitudeinthecalculation.
Localderivativesinthreedimensions(spatialand
temporal)areusedtocreatecovariancematrix.
Coherencemeasureistheplanarityoftheevents
withintheanalysiswindow.
itisagoodmethodtoidentifyfaultswithdifferent
seismicexpressionseitherside(amplitudeand
waveformvariation).

Roleofdipandazimuthsteeringvolumes
Someofthecoherenceestimationmethodssuchas
crosscorrelationmethodtakeintoaccountthelocal
dip.
Howeverotheralgorithmssuchassemblance
method(usingseveraltraceswithinanalysiswindow)
dorequirepredefineddip/azimuthvolumeto
estimatethecoherencealongreflectordip.
Ifdip/azimuthisnotusedinthecalculation,itwill
causesomeartifactsinthefinalestimatedcoherence
attribute.
Insuchcasesweassumeflatdipinbothinlineand
crosslinedirections.

SemblanceandGSTcoherenceexamples
Semblance

GST

Thelargescalefault
patternsarealmostthe
sameonallthree
coherencevolumes.
Howeverthereare
somedifferencesin
pickingsmallerfaults
andfracturesets.Tensor
basedcoherence
estimationimaged
severalsmallerscale
faultsbetweenmajor
faulttraces.

Roleofdipandazimuthsteeringvolumes

Coherencewithoutdipsteering Coherencewithdipsteering

Chopra2002

101

Coherenceattributeanalysissteps
Therearethreestepsthathavetobetakenwhile
usingcoherenceattributesinanyseismicattribute
analysisstudies.Thesestepsare:
Coherencealgorithmselection
Analysiswindowselection
Bestdatarevieworientations
Timeisalwaysanissueinattributestudies.Someof
thecoherenceestimationmethodsarefastsuchas
crosscorrelationorsemblancemethodswhile
methodssuchasGSTapproachesaremoretime
consuming.

Ananlysiswindow

Coherenceattributemethodselection
1. Itisrecommendedtoreviewcleanedseismicdatain
verticalandhorizontaldirectionstoidentifyamplitude
andwaveformvariationsacrossmajorfaults.
2. DipandAzimuthsteeringvolumesshouldbeusedif
needed.
3. Themaincriterionforcoherencemethodselectionisto
understandtheamplitudeandwaveformvariation
acrossfaultsinthedataset.
4. Crosscorrelationandeigenstructurealgorithmstake
intoaccountwaveformvariationwhilesemblance,
varianceandGSTmethodsincludeamplitudeand
waveformchangesinthecalculation.

Structurallyorientedcoherenceattribute

Thesizeoftheanalysisinhorizontal(spatial)andvertical
(temporal)directionscanbechosenbasedonfault
displacementandgeometry.
Faultswithdifferentscalescannotbeimagedusingone
coherencevolumewithafixedanalysiswindow.
Itisthereforeneededtocarryoutcoherencecalculation
withdifferentanalysiswindowstocapturefaultswith
differentscales.
Smallerlateralsizeandlongerintimeordepthdirection
isbesttoimagesteeperfaultsandwiderlateralwindow
canbeselectedtodetectfaultswithgentlerdips.
Alaei2012

102

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
FaultAttributeVolumes
BehzadAlaei

Faultattributes Introduction
Faultattributesareseriesofattributesthatdetect
andenhancefaultimagesthroughtheapplicationof
differentfilters.
Thegoalistoincreaseorenhancevisualimageof
faultsintheseismicdata.
Differentapproacheshavebeenpublishedusing
variousfilteringalgorithmsordifferentinputtothe
faultattributeestimationprocess.

Leastsquarefilteringofcoherenceattribute
1. Aleastsquarefilterisappliedtocoherencevolumes
withintheanalysiswindowtopreservediscontinuities
representingfaultsandremovingnonstructural
features.
2. Thefilterfitsalreadyimageddiscontinuitieswithin
analysiswindowtoaplane.
3. Iftheplaneisverticalorplanar,thenafaultis
mappedatthecenteroftheanalysiswindowwithan
associatedprobability.
4. Thesizeoftheanalysiswindowwillinfluencethe
scaleofenhancedfaultsfromtheinputcoherency
volumes.

Faultattributes Introduction
Developmentinautomatedseismicinterpretationhas
beenquiteusefulforgeologicalhorizonpickingwhile
autotrackingoffaultshasbeenachallengesince
automatedseismicinterpretationstarted.
Ifthefaultlocationandthrowisnoticeableonseismic
image,interpretationoffaultson3Dseismicdatais
carriedoutbypickingfaultsonverticalandhorizontal
seismicsections.
Applicationof3Dseismicattributestogetherwith
advancedvisualizationtechniquesallowcombinationof
differentfaultcharacteristicsandgainanunderstanding
ofcomplexfaultsystemsmoreintuitivelythantraditional
faultpicking

Faultenhancementmethods

Filteringapplicationsonthecoherence
attributes:
Leastsquarefiltering
Gaussianfiltering
Anttracking
AutomaticFaultExtraction(AFE)
CombinedspectralblueingandFaultattributes
Integratedattributeanalysis

Faultenhancementexample
Seismictimeslice

Barnes2005

103

Faultenhancementexample

Faultenhancementexample
Faultattributeisgeneratedbytwopassesoffaultfilter

seismicdiscontinuityattribute

ClearFaultPatterns

Faultattribute

Barnes2005

Faultenhancementprocess(ffA)

Barnes2005

Faultenhancedattribute

Fault Enhance
o FaultEnhanceisaGaussiansmoothingoperation.
o Itisusedtoimprovetheverticalandlateralcontinuityof
thefaults.

Fault
attributes

Fault Detect
o ItstripsdowntheFaultAttribute.
o Itextractsthebackboneoffaultsaccordingtouserdefined
parametersbutretainsinformationaboutthefaultconfidence
level.
o

IdentifiesridgesintheFaultAttributeandextractsthemasfault
planes

Fault_In

AGaussianfilterisappliedtocoherencevolumesto
enhancediscontinuitiesrepresentingfaults.
Thefiltersizeinthreedimensionsdeterminesthe
amountofenergy ofthefilterdistributedinthedata
sampleswithinanalysiswindow.
Thelargerthefiltersizethelargerfaultswillbe
enhanced.
Itisthereforerecommendedtoruntheprocessin
multistagesinordertocapturebothsmallscaleand
largerscaleorregionalfaults.

o Compositeimagethatembedsthelineationsdetectedatthe
FaultDetectstageintoanotherinputvolume.

Faultenhanceattribute

FaultenhancedexampleNorwegianSea
5 km

G ( x, y )

1
2

104

e
2

x2 y2
2 2

TheideaofGaussiansmoothingistouse
2Ddistributionasa`pointspread'
function,andthisisachievedby
convolution.

Semblancevolume
time slice

Faultenhanced
volumetimeslice

Itisusedto
improvethe
verticaland
lateral
continuityof
thefaults.

Faultenhancedexamplefiltersize112

Smallscalefaultshavebeenhighlighted.

FaultenhancedattributeexampleNorthSea
PolygonalfaultingNorthSea
Patternofpolygonalfaultingvariesfromeasttowestandatleastthreedifferent
disturbutionzonesareobserved.Theintensityoffaultingchanges.

FaultenhancedattributeexampleBarentsSea

Faultenhancedexamplefiltersize224

Largerscalefaultshavebeenhighlighted.

FaultenhancedattributeexampleNorthSea
PolygonalfaultingNorthSea
Patternofpolygonalfaultingvariesfromeasttowestandatleastthreedifferent
disturbutionzonesareobserved.Theintensityoffaultingchanges.

TimeslicethroughFaultenhancedattribute

PolygonalfaultingBarentsSea
Developmentofpolygonalfaultingthroughgeologictime.

Datafrom
NorwegianSea

TromsFinnmark
Faultcomplex

Majorfaultsaswell
assmallscalefaults
havebeenimaged.

105

FaultDetectattributeexampleNorwegianSea

FaultDetectattributeexampleBarentsSea
Compositefaultdetectattributeandseismicsections

Faultenhanced
volumetimeslice

o Faultsaredetected
andextractedfrom
faultattributevolume.
o Probabilityis
associatedtoevery
detectedfaulttrace.It
representsthe
confidencelevelof
eachdetected
discountinuty.

FaultInattribute
Integrationofdetectedfaultswithseismicvolume.
Theintegrationcanbedoneondifferentseismicvolumes.

Anttrackingexample
Thecrestalpart
ofthestructure
withcomplex
reflectorpattern
withinthecoreof
thestructureis
shown.
Anttracking
results
correspondingto
theseismiclines
areshownin
figurese,f,g,and
h.
Theattribute
characterizes
faultsand
discontinueswith
differentscales.
Kongetal2012

106

Anttrackingfaultattribute
Edgeordiscontinuityattributesvolumessuchas
coherenceattributesusedasinputfortheanttracking
calculation.
Theprocessenhancesfaultimagesandsuppressesnoise.
Themainconceptisbasedontheantcoloniesbehavior
infindingtheshortestpathfromsourcefoodtotheir
nests.Seedpointsondiscontinuitiesaremarkedwithin
theinputedgeorcoherencyattributevolumes.Theseare
consideredasartificialantsandwillbeusedtocapture
faultzones.
Noiseornonfaultfeatures(e.g.reflectors)arenot
pickedbyantsatallorpickedbysingleants.

AutomaticFaultExtractionApproach(AFE)summary

1. Coherenceattributegeneration
2. Denoiseapplication
3. Lineenhancement
4. Faultenhencement
5. Faultextraction

AutomaticFaultExtractionApproach(AFE)
Coherencyattributegeneration:Theworkflowstartswith
coherencyattributegeneration.
Denoise:Adestripingprocessiscarriedouttoremove
remainingacquisitionfootprint.
Lineenhancement:Linearfeaturesrepresentingfaultsin
coherencyvolumeskeepthelowcoherencyvalueover
minimumnumberofdatasamples.Datapointsinan
analysiswindow(slice)aresearchedforlowcoherencyto
formalinesegment.Theoutputateachpointrepresents
relativeprobabilitythatthepointlinkstoahorizontal
linearfeature.

AutomaticFaultExtractionApproach(AFE)
Faultenhancement: Theprocessislikethelineenhancement
butlinearfeaturesaresearchedinbothsliceandazimuth
directions.Thegoalistoremovestratigraphiclinearfeatures
suchaschannelboundaries,orpinchouts.Thescaleinthefault
enhancecubeillustratestheprobabilitythateachdatasample
canbepartofafaultsystem.
Faultextraction:Nextstepistoreduceorremovenonplanar
eventswithlowcoherencyandautomaticallyextractingimaged
faultpolylines.Thentheextractedorpickedpolylinesarelinked
together,andseparatethemtomakefaultsurfaces.

Dornetal2005

AutomaticFaultExtraction(AFE)example
Coherenceattribute

Dornetal2005

AutomaticFaultExtraction(AFE)example
Lineenhancementattribute

Dornetal2005

CombinedspectralblueingandFaultattributes

Examplenoisefilteredseismicinputdata

Thegoalistoincreaseseismicdatabandwidthandmakeitas
closeaspossibletothewelllogdataspectrum.
Themethodimprovestemporalresolutionoftheseismicdata
whileincreasinghigherfrequenciesinthedatawhichmay
containnoise.
1. Thehigherresolutioncleanedseismicdataisusedas
inputtoruncoherencyattributestoimagediscontinuities.
2. Coherenceattributevolumeswerefiltered(Laplacian
filtering)toenhancespatially.
3. Anttrackingattributeanalysistoenhancevertical
integrityoffaultsoncoherenceattributes.

Barnesetal2012

Barnesetal2012

107

ExampleFaultattribute

ExampleAnttrackingattribute
Thisfaultimagingworkflowimprovedthefaultimagesconsiderablyand
makesthestructuralinterpretationeasier.
The
acquisition
footprint
alonginlines
hasalsobeen
enhanced
(lowerpartof
figure).

Barnesetal2012

Barnesetal2012

Suggestedmethodworkflow

Integratedfaultattributeanalysis
Ifweusedecomposedseismicvolumesrepresentingindividual
frequencies(resolution)asinputtofaultattributeanalysisprocess,
discontinuitieswithdifferentscaleswillbeimaged.
Theideaistointegratespectraldecompositionwithfaultattribute
analysis.
Decomposedseismicvolumesrepresentinglowerfrequencieswill
helpimaginglargerdiscontinuities.
Moreimportantlycoherencyattributesusinghigherfrequency
decomposedseismicvolumeswillimagehigherresolutionorsmall
scalediscontinuities.
Twotypesoffaultattributeshavebeengeneratedincluding
structurallyorientedsemblanceattributetodetectdiscontinues
andthenfaultshavebeenenhancedinthesemblanceattribute
usinganenhancementattribute.Theresultshavebeencompared
withthesameattributesusingfullbandwidthseismicdataasinput.

Spectraldecomposition
stage

CWTSpectral
decomposition
LowFrequency
amplitude
magnitude
HighFrequency
amplitude
magnitude

Faultidentification
stage

Structurallyoriented
coherence
(Largescale)
Structurallyoriented
coherence
(Smallscale)

Faultenhancement
stage

Faultattributeanalysis

Faultattributeanalysis

Alaei2012

Integratedfaultattributevolumes

Integratedfaultattributevolumes
Faultenhancedattributeusingbroadbandseismicdataasinput
Examplefrom
MidNorwegianSea

Faultenhancedattributeusinghighfrequencyamplitudedataasinput
Examplefrom
MidNorwegianSea

1km

1km
Alaei2012

108

Alaei2012

Alaei2012

Integratedfaultattributevolumeszoomed
Conventional
Faultattribute

Newmethod
Faultattribute

Thelengthofthe
zoomedareais
about3.4km

Faultattributeconventionalandnewmethodcomparison
Conventional
Faultattribute

Newmethod
Faultattribute
3
2
1

Changeinfaultzone
width(Threezonescan
beobserved).
Thefaultzonewidthin
area1isthesmallest
one.
Variationofinternal
smallerscalefaulting
withinfaultzone(fault
overlapandlinkage).
Area2includesinternal
sigmoidalfaulttraces.
Thereisless
deformationwithinfault
zoneinarea3.

109

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
CurvatureAttributeVolumes
Behzad Alaei

Curvatuteattributevolumealgorithms
Initialalgorithmswerebasedoninterpretedhorizons.
Itdepndedonthequalityoftheinterpretationand
alsosomefeaturesdoesntfollowhorizons.
Donias etal.(1998)proposeanestimateofthecurvature
basedonthedivergenceformulationofthedip
azimuthvectorfieldcalculatedinnormalplanes.
Fractionalderivativesofapparentdiponeachtimeslice
toextractcurvaturemeasuresateachvolumesample
(ChopraandMarfurt 2007;AlDossary andMarfurt 2006).

Introduction

Curvatureisageometricquantityofanypoint
onaline(orsurface)thatillustratesthe
amountbywhichthelinedeviatesfrombeing
straight.
Mathematicallycurvatureatanygivenpoint
canbeestimatedasderivativeoflines
tangentanglewithrespecttothepoint
positionontheline.
Curvaturewillassumelargevaluesinfolded
regionsandwillbezeroinstraightlines.

Fractionalderivativeapproach
Fractionalderivativeiscalculatedby:

WhereF andF1 denoteforwardandinverseFourierTransform,uis

aninlineorcrosslinecomponentofreflectordip,anda isa
fractionalrealnumberthatrangesbetween1(givingthefirst
derivative)and0(givingtheHilberttrnsform)ofthedip.

ChopraandMarfurt 2007

Curvatureconvention
Concaveup(antiformal features)
curvatureisconsideredaspositive
curvature

negative
curvature
defines
surface that is convex up
(synformal features).

110

Fractionalderivativeapproach
Estimatingthevolumetricreflectordipandazimuth
thatrepresentsthebestsingledipforeachsamplein
thevolume.
Computationofcurvaturefromadjacentmeasuresof
dipandazimuth.
Therearemanycurvaturemeasuresthatcanbe
computed,butthemostpositiveandmostnegative
curvaturemeasuresarethemostusefulinthatthey
tendtobemosteasilyrelatedtogeologicstructures.

Curvatureattributevolumeapplications
Curvatureattributecanbeusedtoidentifyany
geologicalfeaturesthatareexpressedasflexuresin
theseismicdata.
Itcanbeusedtoimagepositiveandnegative
curvaturezoneswithinseismicdata.
Thisattributegivesmorestructuraldetailcompared
tocoherenceattributeandstructurallineamentsare
betterimagedoncurvatureattributevolumes.
Smallscalegeologicalfeaturesandfractureshave
beenidentifiedandmappedusingcurvature
attributesvolumes.

Stratigraphicfeaturessuchaschannelscanalsobe
imagedusingcurvatureattribute.
Volumetriccurvatureattributesarevaluablein
mappingsubtleflexuresandfoldsassociatedwith
fracturesindeformedstrata.
Inadditiontofaultsandfractures,stratigraphic
featuressuchasleveesandbarsanddiagenetic
featuressuchaskarstcollapseandhydrothermally
altereddolomitesalsoappeartobewelldefinedon
curvaturedisplays.
Channelsappearwhendifferentialcompactionhas
takenplace.

Channelimagingbycurvatureattributevolume
Overbank
(Positive)

channelthalweg(negative)

Channelgeometry

Curvatureattributevolumeapplications

Curvatureofdifferentpartsofchannelscanbeused
toidentifythemincurvatureattributevolumes.
Forexamplechannelthalweg thatisthelineinthe
deepestpartofchannelandconnectingthepointsof
lowestbedelevationhasanegativecurvaturewhile
thechanneloverbankboundary(upperpartofthe
channel)canhaveapositivecurvature.
Thereforecurvatureattributevolumescanbeused
torevealinternalchannelmorphology.

Positiveandnegativecurvatureconcept

CurvatureexampleCoherenceattribute

CurvatureexampleMostnegativecurvature

111

CurvatureMostpositivecurvature

112

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
FrequencyDecomposition
BehzadAlaei

FrequencydecompositionIntroduction
Spectraldecompositionistheprocessofcreatinga
continioustimefrequencyanalysisofseismicdata(e.g.
Castagna,2006).
Inotherwordsspectraldecompositionisconverting
thebroadbandseismicdataintodiscrete
frquency/frequenciesbands.
Varioustimefrequencyanalysescanbeproduced
fromsingleseismictrace,whichmeansthatspectral
decomposotionprocessisnonunique.

Methods

DFT(discreteFourierTransform)
MEM(maximumentropymethod)
CWT(continuouswavelettransform)
MPD(matchingpursuitdecomposition)

Content

Introduction
Methods
Applications
Examples
Challenges
Conclusion

Exampleofasyntheticwaveletdecomposition
Rickerwavelet:
128msdurationintime,zero
phase,2mssamplingrate,and25
Hzcentrefrequency.

Frequencyspectrumillustratesthe
maximumamplitudeatthecentre
frequency

DFTfrequencydecompositionmethod
IntheDFTmethodamplitudespectrumofdifferent
frequenciesarecalculatedusingatimewindow.
DFTisappliedtotransformtheseismicdataintothe
frequencydomain.
Theamplitudespectradelineatetemporalbed
thickness variabilitywhilethephasespectraindicate
lateralgeologic discontinuities.
Theconceptbehindspectraldecompositionisthata
reflectionfromathinbed hasacharacteristic
expression inthefrequencydomain thatisindicativeof
thetemporalbedthickness.

113

DFTthinbedanalysis

LongwindowDFTfrequencydecomposition
Alongtemporal
windowsamples
randomgeology
thatcommonlyexhibits
awhite(flat)amplitude
spectrum.

Forexample,asimplehomogeneousthinbedintroducesa
predictableandperiodicsequenceofnotchesintothe
amplitudespectrumofthecompositereflection

1/temporalthickness

Partykaetal1999

ShortwindowDFTfrequencydecomposition
Ashorttemporal
windowsamples
ordered(nonrandom)
geologythattunesthe
amplitudespectrum.

Partykaetal1999

DFTfrequencydecompositioninpractice
ApplyingaDFTtoanextractedseismiccubecentredonthe
targettime.Thetargettimecanbeacertaintimeorgeological
horizonanddatavolumeinputtotheDFTcalculationcontain
aslabofdatathatincludesagivennumberofdatasamples
aboveandbelowthetargetinterface.
Theresultatthisstageisamplitudespectrumofconstant
frequencies.
Thisstepisfollowedbytakingtheaverageormedianofthe
amplitudespectrum.
Spectralbalancingisfinallyperformedusingthepeak
amplitudeandanestimateofnoiselevel.Thehorizontalslices
offrequencydecompositiondatacanbeusedtoimagethin
bedtuningassociatedwithchannelsanddeltas.

Partykaetal1999

Envelopehorizonattribute

16HzAmplitudesurfaceattribute

Theconventionalenergyenvelopeextractionalongageological
horizonslice(Pleistoceneage)fromGulfofMexico.

Partykaetal1999

114

FrequencydecompositioncarriedoutusingDFT.
Frequencydecompositiondataimprovetheimagequalityofgeologicalfeatures.

TheoutlineofthechannelBisclearerin16Hzfrequency
response.

Partykaetal1999

26HzAmplitudesurfaceattribute

DFTfrequencydecompositionlimitations

ChannelAisbetterimagedinthehigherfrequencyamplitudevolume(26Hz)

Theenvelopeattributedoesnotcharacterizethe
channelsasgoodasthesinglefrequencyvolumes

Thespectrumisspreadoverthetimewindowandposes
alimitationonverticalresolution.
AccordingtotheHeisenbergUncertaintyPrinciplethe
productoftimeandfrequencyresolutionisconstant.
Thismeansthatifweincreasetheresolutionintimethe
frequencylocalizationorresolutionwillbedecreased.
Ifthetimewindowistooshort,thespectrumis
convolvedwiththetransferfunctionofthewindow,and
frequencylocalizationislost(i.e.,thefrequency
spectrumissmeared).

Partykaetal1999

DFTfrequencydecompositionlimitations

DFTfrequencydecompositionwithshorttimewindow
ShorttimewindowDFThas
excellentverticalresolution,
howeverthefrequency
spectrumhasbeensmoothed
byconvolutionwiththe
spectrumofthewindowand
falseeventsareassociatedwith
sidelobesoftransientarrivals.

Anotherdisadvantageofashortwindowisthatside
lobesofarrivalsappearasdistincteventsinthetime
frequencyanalysis.
Longtimewindowwill improvefrequencyresolution
butmultipleevents inthewindowwillintroduce
notchesthatdominatethespectrum.
Longwindowsthereforemakeitverydifficult
toderivethespectralpropertiesofindividualevents.

Castagnaetal.,2003

ContiniousWaveletTransformfrequencydecomposition
InordertoovercomelimitationsofDFTfrequency
decompositionmethod,waveletrepresentationofseismic
signalhasbeenused.
Thesumofthefrequencyspectrumofwaveletsthat
constituteaseismogramrepresentthefrequencyspectrumof
theseismogram.
Ananalysiswaveletischosenanditsscaledversion(stretched
andcompressed)isusedtocarryoutthedecomposition.
Thesuperpositionofweightedwaveletspectruminthe
neighborhoodofanydatapointinseismictracerepresents
thefrequencyspectrumatthatdatapoint.

CWTFrequencydecomposition
Theamplitudespectrumoftheseismicsignalisrepresented
bytwoquantities:a (thestretchingindexorscale)andb
(translationalongtimeaxis).
Byusinganalysiswaveletg(t),aseismicsignals(t)canbe
representedby

s (b, a )

1
t b
s (t ) g
dt
a
a

115

CWTFrequencydecompositionexample
AmplituderesponseoftwodiscretefrequenciesfromtopTang
horizonintheNorwegianSea
12Hz

27Hz

CWTinpractice
TheCWTanalysisiscarriedoutinthreefollowing
steps:
o Thefirststepistodecomposeinputseismictraces
intowaveletcomponentsasfunctionsofa
(stretchingindex)andb.
o Thenextstageistocreateinstantaneous
frequencygathers.Thisisdonebymultiplying
CWTcoefficientwithcomplexspectrumofeach
waveletusedinthebasisfunctionandaddingthe
results.
o Finallyconstantfrequencycubesaregeneratedby
sortingtheinstantaneousfrequencygathers.

MatchedPursuitDecomposition(MPD)technique

Thegoalistocreatepeakspectralfrequency
anditsassociatedamplitudevolume.
Alibraryofcomplexwaveletsforthefinely
samplessetoffrequenciesarecomputed.
Theprocessfollowedbytheestimationof
instantaneousfrequencyandenvelope.Thisis
doneusingHilberttransform.
Nextstepistolookforthemaximumvalues
ofinstantaneousenvelopandassociated
frequency.

CWTFrequencydecompositionexample
RGBblendofthree
individualfrequencies.
Horizonslicefrom
TertiaryNorthSea

CWTfrequencydecompositionexample
24Hz
Amplitude
magnitudeat24Hz
frequency

Amplitude
magnitudeat52Hz
frequency

52Hz

Continuous
Wavelet
Transofrm
methodused
tocarryout
spectral
decomposition
Theamplitude
responseof
different
frequencies
showsome
variations.

MPDexampleNWshelfofAustralia
Gassaturatedsandbedsareshownbyredcolorandbrinesaturatedbedsareblue.
Ofthetwodistinctgassands10Hzfrequencyresponseshowsastrongamplitude
beneaththedeepergassand.Thelowfrequencyshadowassociatedwithgasfilled
sandsisvisiblein10Hzandtoalesserdegreeinthe20Hz

Castagnaetal.,2003

116

Frequencydecompositionapplications

Displayofresults
Discretefrequencyamplitue/phasevolumes

Layerthicknessdeterminations
Stratigraphicvariations

RGBvolume(mostpopulardisplaymethod)

DirectHydrocarbonindication

UsingaRedGreenBlue(RGB)
blendingtool,threeamplitudeor
phasevolumescanbeblendedto
investigatetheinterplaybetween
thevolumes.Thiscanreveala
wealthofinformationabout
stratigraphicfacies.

Layerthicknessdetermination

FaciesMappingandDirectHydrocarbonIndication

Thicknessdeterminationandfaciesanalysisusing

spectraldecompositionisbasedonthetunningeffect
atdifferentfrequencies.
Identifyingthehighest(dominant)amplitudeevents
atspecificfrequenciescalculatedbyspectral
decomposition,canhelpdeterminetheseismic
responsetocertainthicknesses.
Inthicknessmapping dominantamplitudecanbe
usedtoquantifythicknessthatislessthanthetuning
thickness.
Dominantfrequencycanbeusedtoquantify
thicknessthatisgreaterthanthetuningthickness.

DHIApplications

Geologicallayersnotidentifiableatonefrequencyorina
broadbanddisplay(typicalseismicdata)maybeprominentat
thespecifictuningfrequency(computedbyspectral
decomposition).
Phasevolumesoftheindividualfrequenciescanbeattributed
tosomefaciesvariations.
HCsaturationingeneralandgassaturationinparticularcan
causeincreasedamplitudeincertainfrequencies(mainlylower)
whichisnotvisibleonthebroadbandseismic.

Frequencydecompositionexamples

Twoseismicsectionsfromadeepwaterreservoir.
Thebroadbandseismicdata(left)doesntshowanyamplitude
anomalywhilethe11Hzamplitudevolume(right)showsaclear
amplitudeanomalywhichisproventobeassociatedwith154m
ofnetoilsand.

Example1:thicknessinterpretationusingspectral
decomposition
Example2&3:Stratigraphicimageing
Example4:Structuralimageing
Example5&6:DHIinterpretationusingspectral
decomposition
Example7:Reservoirfaciesinterpretation

Fahmyetal.(2005)

117

Example1a.Stratigraphic/thicknessimaging
Original

TWTstructuremap

Noisecancelled

High
Medium

Example1a.Stratigraphic/thicknessimaging

low

Structuralorientednoise
cancellationappliedtothe
originalseismicdata.Thehigh
frequecyrandomnoisehasbeen
reducedandS/Nratioimproved.
Differentpartsofthechannel
willbeimagedbyamplitude
magnitudeofdifferent
frequencies.

Example3Stratigraphicimaging

13Hzresponseattargetsurface

24Hzresponseattargetsurface

ThechannelfeatureisobviousonTWTmapbutdifferentdetailisimagedindifferent
frequencyvolumes.
Theresponsedifferenceoftheareamarkedwiththerectangleisassociatedwith
thicknessvriation.
Thegeometryofthefeaturecanbederivedusingmagnitueresponseofarangeof
frequecies.

Example4StructuralimagingNorthSea

StratigraphicimagingoffluvialchannelsfromTriassicsequenceinthe
BarentsSea
RGBblendof19(Red),27
(Green),and30(Blue)Hz
amplitudevolumes.

Theamplitudesvaryfrom
channeltochanneland
alsoalongsomeofthe
channels.

TwotimeslicesthroughRGBblendvolume(11,14,and27Hz).
Thevariationofindividualfrequencyamplitudescauseddistinct
amplituderesponseoverdifferentfaultblocksateachtimeslice.
Thewhitearrow
showsoneofthe
faultblockswith
different
responseattwo
depths.

RGBvolume(17,27,and
38Hzamplitudevolumes)

Thetimesliceisfrom
theKobbeFormation
andasinglecycle
channelisobserved

Example7reservoirqualityinterpretation
12Hz
12Hz

9Hz

Example72DWedgemodelingandtuningthicknessanalysis

32Hz
32Hz

AIM: To investigate the effect

of sharp impedance contrast
due to overburden shale on
observed amplitude at top
reservoir.

CWT frequency deomposition carried out with a time window centered at the
target reservoir time surface.
Amplitude response from 9, 12, and 32 Hz frequency volumes at reservoir
level (horizon slice) are shown.
Different reseponses can be attributed to variation in thickness or reservoiur
quality (e.g. Porosity).

Significant amplitude
dimming
due
to
destructive
interference
when
thickness of the shale
overburden decreases
below 40m.

ReflectionAmplitude

AmplitudeoftopReservoirreflector:

Amplitudevariations<10%forthickness>40m

ThicknessofOverburden

118

Example7RockPhysicsandpoststackinversion

Density

IntegratedRockPhysicscrossplots
andpoststackabsoluteAIinversion
isusedtoidentifydifferent
reservoirqualityinthemapped
area.
Thevariousreservoirquality
valuesusedascutoffstomapAIat
awindowcenteredattopreservoir.
Vp

Thenextstepisto
interpretamplitude
disturbutionsofdifferent
frequencyvoluesusing2D
wedgemodelingofthe
overburden,RockPhysics
investigationsandseismic
invertedsurfaceattribute
maps.

Example7conclusion
RGBblendofmagnitudsfrom9,15,and21Hzfrequencyvolumes
Theresultsfromfrequency
decompositionoftargetintervalis
integratedwith2Dwddgemodeling
oftheoverburden,RockPhysicsand
modelbasedpoststackseismic
inversiontobetterinterpretthe
amplitudevariationsobservedat
RGBblendsurfaceattributesoftop
reservoir.
Theresultsillustratessome
correlationbetweenthegood
qualityreservoirrocksinferedfrom
inversionstudiesandamplitude
responsefromcertainfrequency
volumes(e.g.32Hz).

ConclusionIntegratedinterpretation

IntegrationofLFresponsewith2Dforward
modelling HCinterpretation
IntegrationofRGBblendwithAVOinversion
attribute(suchasAI,andVp/Vs)volumes
ReservoirfaciesplusHCinterpretation
Noadditionaldatasetavailable nonunique
interpretationofthickness/reservoirfacies/HC
Inconclusive
Integrationwithotherattributesfacies
interpretation(seismicgeomorphology)

119

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
MultiAttributes
Behzad Alaei

Themaingoalofseismicattributeanalysisistoassist
theseismicinterpretationof3Ddata.
Sometimesitisnecessarytofollowthevariationsoftwo
ormoreattributeswithinadatavolumeinorderto
detectgeologicalfeaturesandextractadditional
information.
Integratingdifferentseismicattributevolumesormulti
attributeanalysisisaimedtoimproveimagingof
geologicalfeatures.
Multiattributeanalysisisdoneeitherautomaticallyor
manually.

Automaticmultiattributeanalysis

ReservoirCharacterizationOfCarbonateBuildups

Differentmethodsusedtoautomaticallycombineseismic
attributestodetectpatternsrepresentinggeological
features
Oneofthemostusedmethodsisneuralnetworkpattern
recognition.
Thecomputeristrainedtoidentifycertainfeaturesthat
fittheinputcriteriabysearchingthewholeinputseismic
volume.
EachoutputdatasamplehasNseismicattributeswith
differentweightsassignedtoeachattribute.
Thesetofinputpatternsarelinkedtotheoutputbyusing
arelationshipthatisencodedinthenetworkweights.

ReservoirCharacterizationofCarbonateBuildups
Rankedpredictingattributes,weightsappliedtoempiricalandtheirobserved
relationshiptoporositychangesinthestudiedarea

Tebo andHart2008

120

Introduction

Empiricalcorrelationsmadebetweenseismic
attributesandlogderivedphysicalpropertiessuchas
lithology,porosity,etc,throughmethodssuchas
multivariatelinearregression(MLR)andartificialor
probabilisticneuralnetworks.
Byexaminingimagesderivedusingthisvolume
basedmethod,itmaybepossibletodeduce
relationshipsbetweenthepredictingattributesand
featuresofthereservoirthatwerenotreadily
apparentfromusingasingledatatype.

Porositythicknessmapoverlainonstructuremap
Theoverallporositythickness(hotcolors)lieonthesouthern
flanksofstructure.

Tebo andHart2008

Carbonateimagingusingmultiattributes

Inputseismicattributes

Structuralinterpretationoftheboundinghorizonsofthestudyinterval.
Creationofseismicattributecubes.
PCAanalysisandexaminationofthecalculatedeigenvectorsandvaluesto
dropthedimensionswiththelowestvariability.
Projectionoftheattributedataontoselectedprincipalcomponentaxes.
Processingofthedatatoidentifysimilardatapointsorclustersorclasses.
Inspectionoftheprocessingresultstoadjustthenumberofclassesby
examiningthecrossplots toensureadequateclusteringandminimal
overlap.
Classificationoforiginalseismicdataandcreatingasingleseismicfacies
volume.
Calibrationandinterpretationwiththewelldata.
Applicationofstratal slicesforhorizontalinterpretationofgeologic
features.
Farzadi &Hesthammer 2007

Distributionofapalaeokarst systemontheTuronian erosionalsurface

Farzadi &Hesthammer 2007

Manualmultiatributes
Thesecondtypeofmultiattributesarethosethatare
generatedmanuallyusingdifferentblending
approaches:
RGBblending
Opacityrendering

Farzadi &Hesthammer 2007

Multiattributeexamples

Everyattributeissensitivetoaparticularpropertyand
relevantattributescanbeselectedtodetectdifferent
geologicalfeaturesofinterestwithmultiattribute
analysis.
Bycombiningtheattributes,imagesfromthetarget
geologicalfeatureswillbedistinctiveandthecontrast
ofobjectsofinterestwiththebackgroundwillbe
enhanced.

EnvelopeFaultattributeinterpretation

Combinedamplitudeandwaveformattributes.

Amplitude

waveform
similarity

Envelope
Amplitudeof
discrete
frequensies

Dipattribuute
Coherence
attribute
Faultattribute

AmplitudeFaultmultiattributecanbeusedtoshowareas
whereamplitudedistributionisconformedtofaultedblocks.
Highamplitudevaluescancorrespondstoreservoirrocksor
hydrocarbonfilledreservoirrocks.
Suchpotentialinterpretationcriteriacanbederivedfromwell
calibration.
Ifthegoodqualityreservoirrocksareassociatedwithstronger
amplitude,thehighrangeofamplitudecanthenbeselected
andcombinedwithdiscontinuityattribute.
Ifhigheramplitudesarerelatedtopotentialhydrocarbon
filledzone,thecombinedenvelopefaultattributecan
illustratesifthereisanyconformitybetweenamplitudeand
trapoutlines.

121

Multiattributeexamples

Combinedamplitudeandphaseattributeexample

Combinedamplitudeandphaseattributes.

Amplitude

Envelope
Amplitudeof
discrete
frequensies

SeismicsectionillustratingclinoformpackagesintheTriassic
sequenceofBarentsSea

Phase

Instantaneous
Phase
CosineofPhase

Combinedamplitudeandphaseattributeexample
Inlincethroughenvelopeattributevolumeshowingamplitude
variationsalongclinoformreflectors.

Combinedamplitudeandphaseattributeexample
Inlinethroughmultiattribute(envelopeandphase)illustratingboth
geometryoftheclinoformsandtheamplitudevariationsalongthem.

Combinedamplitudeandphaseattributeexample
Inlinethroughcosineofphaseattributevolumeshowingclear
geometryofclinoformpackages.

Multiattributeexample,blendedfaultandenvelopefromNorthSea

Highamplitudeareasidentifiedonenvelopeattribute
Chaoticareasidentifiedonfaultattribute.
Heterogenity
Highamplitude and chaotic
Highamplitude

122

and

Nonchaotic

Homogenity

Introduction

EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers
Seismicattributeanalysis
Workflowplanning
Behzad Alaei

Introduction

Challenge1: Oneofthemainremaining
challengesishowtointegrateseismicattribute
analysisinthegreatertaskofseismic
interpretationforprospectanalysisand
reservoircharacterization.
Challenge2: Anotherimportantchallengeis
howtoselecttherightattributesandsuitable
workflowsforeveryinterpretationproject.

Introduction
Numberofattributeshasgrownupremarkablyover
thepast20yearsanddifferentcommercialpackages
provideaverylargesetofattributes.
Significantdevelopmentsmadeinseismic
interpretationandadvancedalgorithmshavebeen
addedtointerpretationpackages.
Datavisualizationtechniquesevolvedfrombasic2D
displaystocomplexrendered3Dmultidisplay
functions.
Hardwaretechnologyrequiredforseismicattribute
analysisandinterpretationhavebeenconsiderably
improved.

Suggestedsolutions
Challenge1suggestedSolution:
Thegoalshouldbetoinclude seismicattributeanalysis
togetherwithother seismic/Geophysicalinterpretation
studiesinawaytoincreasethereliabilityofinterpretation
results.
Infactthenonuniqueness natureofseismicinterpretation
requiresintegratingseveralmethodstoachieveareliable
interpretation.
Thesuggestedsolutionistogothroughachecklist.
Challenge2suggestedsolutions:
Thesuggestedsolutionforthesecondchallengeistouse
suitableWorkflows.

Planningseismicattributestudies
Thefirstandmainquestionis:
Whatisthegoaloftheseismicinterpretationinthe
areaofstudy?Isthestudy
1. Regional interpretationforscreeningpurposeor
2. Detailed interpretationoverparticularleadsor
prospects?
3. Reservoircharacterizationinproducingfields?

Planningseismicattributestudies
Noisecontentofdata:
Noisecancellationparametersdependsonnoisecontent
andsizeofgeologicalfeaturestobedetected.
1. Noisecontentreview(verticalandhorizontal
directions),
2. Quickreviewofprocessingreport(seismicheaderif
reportisnotavailable)toreviewpre/poststack noise
removalsteps.
3. Noisetype:Coherentorrandom,Cancoherentnoise
bedistinguished(e.g.acquisitionfoorprint,dipping
noise)
4. Spatialandtemporaldisturbutionofnoise.

123

Planningseismicattributestudies
Structuralimaging
Faultingscaleandintensity(extension,compressionor
strikeslipsettings)
Amplitudevariationsorwaveformchanges
Faultsealproblems
Stratigraphicimaging(depositionalenvironment
identification)

Deepwater orfluvial
Channelsorothergeometries(clinoform)
Carbonates(reef,ramp,chalk,orkarstgeometries)
Reservoirqualityissues

Combined structuralandstratigraphicimaging
Hydrocarbonmigration

Directhydrocarbondetectionstudies(DHI)

124

Integrationofseismicattributesingreaterseismicinterpretationworkflow

Attributeanalysisworkflows

Faultimaging
EuropeanAssociationofGeoscientists&Engineers

StratigraphicimagingChannelimaging

AttributeAnalysisWorkflows
BehzadAlaei

Carbonateimaging
DHIimaging

Faultimagingworkflow

ChannelimagingworkflowexampleSnaddFm

Conformable

Horizonslicing

IsoProportinoal

Carbonateimagingworkflow

Stage1Singleattributevolumes

Carbonatefeatures
Chalk

Karst

Primarystage
Singleattributevolumes

Identificationofbodies

ReefandMounds

Secondstage
ImprovedCarbonateimaging

Higherresolutionimaging/
Additionalbodies

Chalk
Clinoform
Third stage
Multiattributes

Reef

Clinoform

Envelope

Envelope

Envelope

Envelope

Dip/Azimuth

Inst.Phase

Inst.Phase

CosinePhase

Chaos

Coherence

Bedform

Inst.Phase

Coherence
Characterizationand
interpretation

Karst

With/withoutamp

Dip/Azimuth

Indicator

Coherence
With/withoutamp

Dip/Azimuth

Bedform
Indicator

125

Stage2Improvedcarbonateimaging
Interpretationdependent

Stage1imaged
features

Stage3Multiattributes
Improvedimage
Imagedfeatures
Opacityrendering

FrequencyDecomposition
Discretefrequency
Amplitude

Identificationof
Newfeatures

RGBblendofthree
frequencies
Improvedimage
Imagedfeatures
Isoproportionalslicing

126

Surfaceattributesof
Targetintervals

RGBblending
Identifydifferentindependent
propertiesofimagedbodies

Identificationof
Newfeatures

ExtractGeobodiess

Wellcalibration

Characterizationand
interpretation