Seismic Interpretation is the extraction of subsurface geologic information from seismic

data. On that definition we all are agreed.

However, if we seek a more penetrating explanation, we find practitioners get tongue-
tied and talk around the subject in a variet of was.
In this article I attempt to give a longer, more descriptive definition that will appl to ever
interpretation project involving reflection seismic data.
!he danger in seismic interpretation is in thinking that everthing we see is geolog"
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#eflection seismic data comprise$
%ontinuit of reflections indicating geologic structure.
&ariabilit of reflections indicating stratigraph, fluids and reservoir fabric.
!he seismic wavelet.
'oise of various kinds and data defects.
Seismic interpretation is the thoughtful procedure of separating these effects.
!he seismic wavelet starts as the pulse of seismic energ, which, generated b the
energ source, travels down through the earth, is reflected and travels back up to the
surface receivers carring the geological information with it. !his recorded wavelet is
minimum phase of some fre(uenc bandwidth, and during data processing it is
converted )we hope* into a +ero-phase wavelet, making interpretation easier and more
accurate.
!he interpreter is not directl interested in the wavelet itself but rather in the geological
information that it carries.
!hus, understanding the wavelet and distinguishing its characteristics from details of the
geolog is one of the critical tasks of toda,s interpreter.
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'oise is ever-present in seismic data. It ma be random noise, it ma be multiple
reflections, it ma be refracted energ, it ma be other energ of unknown source.
!he data ma suffer defects because of$
Irregular data ac(uisition showing as footprint.
Obstacles to the data ac(uisition crew.
-(uipment difficulties in the field.
.rocessing problems.
!he interpreter must know enough about the ac(uisition and processing to recogni+e
these undesirable features, and thus to not confuse them with the geolog he/she seeks.
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Seismic energ is reflected from interfaces where the acoustic properties of the rocks
change. !hese interfaces follow sedimentar boundaries created at the time of
deposition of the sediments.
0ollowing the continuit of these reflections then defines for us the structure imposed on
these boundaries b the tectonic forces of geologic histor.
0ollowing this continuit and making structure maps is thus the most basic, and most
traditional, activit of seismic interpretation.
!o aid in this endeavor the seismic interpreter can manipulate the data and the displa in
various was.
!he time-honored approach to prepare the data for structural interpretation is to appl
12% )1utomatic 2ain %ontrol* in the late stages of data processing. !his reduces
amplitude variabilit )where most of the statigraphic information lies*, and hence
increases visible data continuit.
!he interpreter also ma compress the displa color bar to opticall saturate and thus to
render invisible more of the amplitude variations. Other techni(ues include the use of
Instantaneous .hase )which completel destros amplitude information* and Structurall
Oriented 0iltering.
1ll these are good ideas 3 provided the interpreter reali+es that the are directed at
structural interpretation onl, and that the re(uirements of later, more advanced tpes of
seismic interpretation are (uite different.
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Once the structure has been established, the interpreter turns his attention to
stratigraphic interpretation and the detection of hdrocarbon fluids.
Overwhelming important here is seismic amplitude 3 and the amplitude ma be
presented to the interpreter or extracted from the data in various was. !he data loaded
to the workstation must be !rue 1mplitude and 4ero .hase, and the interpreter must
satisf himself that the data used are such.
5nderstanding the wavelet is complicated and ver important )part of the fundamental
separation of effects* but outside the scope of this article.
In order to increase the visibilit of stratigraphic variations the interpreter will remove the
structure 3 and the best wa to do this is to make a Hori+on Slice.
!he concept behind the Hori+on Slice is the reconstitution of a depositional surface at a
ke point in geologic histor. !he structure used for the reconstitution is most commonl
defined at the level of the objective. However, it is often better to define the structure at
one level )conformable with the objective* and to use this to remove the structure at the
objective level.
!his ver effectivel separates structure into step one and stratigraph into step two.
!his procedure is illustrated in the accompaning figure. !he hori+on tracked on the two
vertical sections follows a reflection with good structural continuit and little, if an,
stratigraphic variabilit. !he hori+on track is then displaced downwards b 67 ms )a
simple hori+on computation on the workstation* to intersect the prominent red blob
visible below it, and the amplitude is then extracted along the displaced track.
!he resulting Hori+on Slice, on the right of the figure, shows a ver clear channel )the
spatial pattern of the red blob* with interesting amplitude variations along it.
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8hen the seismic interpreter extends his analsis even further and enters the field of
reservoir evaluation, the data re(uirements are even more stringent, but the Hori+on
Slice concept is still effective in removing the effects of structure. Some form of Inversion
ma be used here, and this process converts interface information )amplitude* into
interval information )acoustic Impedance*.
!he more advanced forms of inversion seek to remove the wavelet, and this is therefore
part of the fundamental idea of separating effects. However, the challenge here is to
exactl understand the wavelet that has to be removed.
!his is difficult, and man inversions suffer and projects fail because of this issue.
So seismic interpretation is the thoughtful separation )with workstation assistance* of the
various effects that the subsurface and the seismic ac(uisition process have mixed
together"