ABSTRACT: GeoMorpher: Image domain reconstruction of seismic data

Hoffman, Nick , La Trobe 3D-GEO, Melbourne, Australia

At its simplest, a seismic line can be considered to be a 2D profile of subsurface structure. The task of the interpreter is to identify the various structural and stratigraphic components of that profile and to generate a geological history including environment of deposition, facies, (delineating reservoir, source, and trap potential), burial history and structural evolution. Disentangling the interplay of structural and stratigraphic effects in the same seismic line is one of the most difficult challenges.

A digital image domain method - GeoMorpher - is presented which permits quick and simple structural restoration of all tectonic events in the section. Normal and reverse faults can be healed up and stratigraphic condensations and intercalations can be corrected, resulting in a new image of the data which more closely resembles a chronostratigraphic section, yet contains the rich detail of seismic sequences from the original data.

Examples will be presented using SE Asia and other datasets that show how much stratigraphic detail can be interpreted from even the most complex structural situations. Kinematic images of the reconstruction allow the full information content of the seismic to be recovered and a truly integrated structural and stratigraphic interpretation to be made.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90913©2000 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Bali, Indonesia