3D Seismic Data, Attributes and

Visualization - Part 2
Geometric Attributes
Alistair Brown
Alistair Brown
Definition of reflector dip and azimuth

(Rijks and Jauffred, 1991)

inline 1200 (with pc filtering) Vinton Dome

Upper mid
Miocene

Hackberry

Marfurt
 Vinton Dome, LA.
Upper mid Miocene – time structure map

Marfurt
 Vinton Dome, LA
Upper mid Miocene – conventional amplitude extraction

Marfurt
 Vinton Dome, LA
Upper mid Miocene – conventional dip magnitude

Marfurt
 Vinton Dome, LA
Upper mid Miocene – conventional dip azimuth

Marfurt
Coherency Attributes
after Bahorich
Core Labs School Example:
Bahorich
Bahorich
Bahorich
Alistair Brown
Alistair Brown
Time Slice Horizon Slice
 Correlation versus Semblance
• Correlation responds to changes in
waveshape only
• Semblance responds to changes in
waveshape and/or amplitude
 Eigen
• Semblance shows dissimilarity even when
amplitudes are smoothly varying

• Eigen will respond to amplitude variations

only if they deviate from a trend

• Eigen has better resolution than semblance

 The Coherence Cube Algorithms—fundamental

Gulf of
Mexico

time slice Seismic correlation

@ 1064 ms

seismic data
courtesy of
Geco Prakla Core Labs
semblance Eigen
seismic coherence Dewatering Features
(a) Conventional seismic
time slice at 2800 ms in the
Valhall area of the North Sea.
(b) Coherency slice at 2800
ms. The polygonal features
are faults caused by
dewatering of overpressured
shale.

Coherency slice at
1560 ms in the
Arkwright Field
showing
polygonal
dewatering
features (left).
Vertical seismic
section (right).

Haskell et al., 1999

Upper basin-floor fan about 4 ms below horizon P3. The sinuous, meandering
channel of the inner basin-floor fan passes into the unconfined outer basin-
floor fan. Ridges outside of meander loops (a few shown by green arrows) are
sediment waves.
(Saller et al, 2004)
 Nigerian Continental Slope
Coherence - 144 ms below Sea Floor
N

Outrunner Blocks
Debris Flow

Glide Track

2000 m

(Nissen et al., 1999

Time slices through (a) a seismic
and (b) coherence data volumes. (c)
Overlay of coherence on seismic.
(Chopra, 2002)
Curvature Attributes
Radius of Curvature

P
N

Marfurt
Sign convention for curvature attributes. The grey arrows
represent vectors normal to the surface. Where these vectors are
parallel on flat or planar dipping surfaces, the curvature is zero.
Where the vectors diverge over anticlines, the curvature is defined as
positive and where they converge over synclines, the curvature is
defined as negative.
(Roberts, 2000)
 Principal Curvatures

kGauss=k1k2
Definition of the curvature at a point P on a folded surface. Orthogonal
curves labeled k1 and k2 are the principal curvatures at P and their
product equals the Gaussian curvature, kGauss.
(Lisle, 1994)
 Gaussian Curvature, kGauss

kGauss=0
kGauss=0

Illustration of Gauss’s theorem, which states that the Gaussian

curvature, kGauss, at a point on a surface is not altered as a result of
isometric folding of the surface. The flat unfolded surface has a
kGauss value of zero because both principal curvatures are zero;
after isometric folding, kGauss is also zero.
(Lisle, 1994)
 Other curvature measures
Gaussian curvature: kGauss=k1k2

Mean curvature: kmean=(k1+k2)/2

k1 if |k1|<|k2|
Minimum curvature: kmin= { k2 if |k1|>|k2|

k2 if |k1|<|k2|
Maximum curvature: kmax= {
k1 if |k1|>|k2|

Dip curvature: kdip=k1sin2a+k2cos2a

Strike curvature: kstrike=k1sin2a+k2cos2a

where a=dip azimuth at P

(after Lisle, 1994)
Most negative curvature, kneg
and
most positive curvature, kpos

kneg

kpos

kneg≤ kpos
Calculates curvatures
about the axis
perpendicular to the
tangent at point P
(modified from Lisle, 1994)
Time Coherence Mean
curv

Gauss Strike
Dip curv
curv curv

Shape Max Max

Pos Neg

Chopra,2007
Most Positive

Most Negative

Chopra, 2007
Most Positive Most Negative
(Edges) (Base)

Chopra, 2007
 bowl

Most negative curvature= red

Most positive curvature

is equal to and
perpendicular to most
negative curvature

Marfurt
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/zoo/diffgeom/surfspace/concepts/curvatures/prin-curv.html
 Saddle

Most negative curvature= red

Most positive curvature= blue

Marfurt
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/zoo/diffgeom/surfspace/concepts/curvatures/prin-curv.html
 ridge

Most negative curvature= red

Most positive curvature= blue

Marfurt
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/zoo/diffgeom/surfspace/concepts/curvatures/prin-curv.html
 dog

Most negative curvature= red

Most positive curvature= blue

Marfurt
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/zoo/diffgeom/surfspace/concepts/curvatures/prin-curv.html
 monkey

Most negative curvature= red

Most positive curvature= blue

Marfurt
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/zoo/diffgeom/surfspace/concepts/curvatures/prin-curv.html
 Quadratic Shape defined by
Gaussian and Mean Curvature
kgauss=0 kgauss>0 kgauss<0

kmean=0

kmean>0

kmean<0

Cylindrical
Shapes Shape Index (Bergbauer, 2003)
 Time structure map (after 3x3 Vertical slice
median and 5x5 distance weighted
average filter
(Roberts, 2000)
 0 0

10 360

Dip magnitude Dip azimuth

(Roberts, 2000)
Most negative curvature, Most positive curvature,
kneg kpos
(Roberts, 2000)
Volumetric Curvature: Deep water Gulf of Mexico
t=1.9 s 5 km

Most negative curvature Most positive curvature

Marfurt
 Karsting
Most
positive
curvature

(Sullivan et al., 2005)

neg 0.0 pos
Textural
Attributes
Time slices through
facies volume resulting
from cluster analysis
of attributes.

Gao, 2008
Visualization
Exercise 1: Count the black dots!

Marfurt
Exercise 2: Are the horizons straight
or are they curved?

Marfurt
Tubman
Kidd, 1999
Kidd, 1999
Kidd, 1999
Kidd, 1999
Kidd, 1999
 2-D and 3-D color displays
max

W E

S
S=dip magnitude,
H=dip azimuth min

L=coherence

Hue: the wavelength contrast aspect

of color
S=dip magnitude,
Lightness: the level of illumination
H=dip azimuth,
L=coherence Saturation: the degree to which the
hue differs from a neutral gray

(Chopra and Marfurt, 2005)

 Amplitude Frequency

RGB Overlay
Redundant and Useless Seismic
Attributes
Barnes, 2005
Barnes
Barnes
Barnes
Barnes
Barnes
Barnes
Unstable Attributes

Barnes
Barnes
Barnes
Redundant Attributes

Barnes
Barnes
Barnes’ Attribute Rule #1
Barnes’ Attribute Rule #2
Barnes’ Attribute Rule #3
Barnes’ Attribute Rule #4
Barnes’ Attribute Rule #5