--> Abstract: Regional Virtual Subsurface Geology: Development of Subsurface Information System (SIS) Web-Based Tools for Geological Imaging and Problem-Solving in the U.S. Midcontinent, by John Victorine, John Doveton, Evan Franseen, and Lynn Watney; #90078 (2008)

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Regional Virtual Subsurface Geology: Development of Subsurface Information System (SIS) Web-Based Tools for Geological Imaging and Problem-Solving in the U.S. Midcontinent

John Victorine, John Doveton, Evan Franseen, and Lynn Watney
Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

In the past, agencies who collected logs, core reports, and other subsurface data were archivists of paper records with services generally limited to the supply of raw data or printed summaries. With the creation of digital databases, subsurface data have been migrated to agency websites for access and download by interested users. In GIS applications, users expect geographic information to be presented immediately in a dynamic variety of formats, so that attributes can be readily visualized and analyzed for information content. A subsurface information system (SIS) must have similar goals, although the data inputs and extra depth dimension require the design of novel processing and presentation techniques. At the Kansas Geological Survey, prototype Java-based software has been developed for the geological analysis of digital logs integrated with core images and descriptions. The transformation of logs from traditional curve formats to images allows details of stratigraphy and lithofacies to be displayed that highlight distinctive patterns over various time and spatial scales. The output formats are designed to accommodate intelligent interrogation and integration of geologic data by the geologist so that problems of stratigraphy, facies, and petroleum reservoirs can be analyzed efficiently and interactively as a stand-alone process or in conjunction with user software. Examples are shown from the Midcontinent U.S. including lithofacies changes and recent dissolution in Permian evaporites, and subtle changes in stratal architecture and lithofacies in late Paleozoic carbonates.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas