Seismic attribute

About: Seismic attribute is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1313 publications have been published within this topic receiving 10892 citations.

Seismic attributes — A historical perspective

Abstract: A seismic attribute is a quantitative measure of a seismic characteristic of interest. Analysis of attributes has been integral to reflection seismic interpretation since the 1930s when geophysicists started to pick traveltimes to coherent reflections on seismic field records. There are now more than 50 distinct seismic attributes calculated from seismic data and applied to the interpretation of geologic structure, stratigraphy, and rock/pore fluid properties. The evolution of seismic attributes is closely linked to advances in computer technology. As examples, the advent of digital recording in the 1960s produced improved measurements of seismic amplitude and pointed out the correlation between hydrocarbon pore fluids and strong amplitudes (“bright spots”). The introduction of color printers in the early 1970s allowed color displays of reflection strength, frequency, phase, and interval velocity to be overlain routinely on black-and-white seismic records. Interpretation workstations in the 1980s provided...

3D seismic interpretation of slump complexes: examples from the continental margin of Israel

Abstract: This paper uses three-dimensional (3D) seismic data from the continental margin of Israel (Eastern Mediterranean) to describe a series of slump deposits within the Pliocene and Holocene succession. These slumps are linked to the dynamics of subsidence and deformation of the transform margin of the eastern Mediterranean. Repeated slope failure occurred during the post-Messinian, when a clay dominated progradational successionwas forming. This resulted in large- scale slump deposits accumulating in the mid-lower slope region of the basin at different stratigraphic levels. It is probable that the slumps were triggered by a combination of slope oversteepening, seismic activity and gas migration. The high spatial resolution provided by the 3D seismic data has been used to define a spectrum of internal and external geometries within slump deposits. Importantly, we recognise twomain zones for many of the slumps on this margin: a depletion zone and an accumulation zone. The former is characterised by extension and translation, and the latter by complex imbricate thrusts and fold systems. Volume-based seismic attribute analysis reveals transport directions within the slump deposits, which are predominately downslope, but with subtle variations particularly at the lateral margins. Basal shear surfaces are observed to ramp both up and down stratigraphy. Slump evolution occurs both by retrogressive upslope failure, and by downslope propagation (out- of- sequence) failure. Slump anatomy and the combination of factors responsible for slump failure and transport are relatively poorly understood, mainly because of the limited 3D of outcrop control; hence, this subsurface study is an example of how improved understanding of the mechanisms and products can be obtained using this 3D seismic methodology in unstable margin areas.

Seismic attribute technology for reservoir forecasting and monitoring

Abstract: During the 1970s and 1980s, the seismic attributes most used in petroleum exploration were amplitude‐based instantaneous attributes. However, in the 1990s, seismic attribute technology has dramatically advanced in several directions; techniques now range from single‐trace instantaneous event attribute computations to more complex multitrace windowed seismic event attribute extractions to the generation of seismic attribute volumes. Applications run from simple amplitude anomaly detection to monitoring fluid front movement over time.

Geopressure prediction using seismic data: Current status and the road ahead

Abstract: The subject of seismic detection of abnormally high‐pressured formations has received a great deal of attention in exploration and production geophysics because of increasing exploration and production activities in frontier areas (such as the deepwater) and a need to lower cost without compromising safety and environment, and manage risk and uncertainty associated with very expensive drilling. The purpose of this review is to capture the “best practice” in this highly specialized discipline and document it. Pressure prediction from seismic data is based on fundamentals of science, especially those of rock physics and seismic attribute analysis. Nonetheless, since the first seismic application in the 1960s, practitioners of the technology have relied increasingly on empiricism, and the fundamental limitations of the tools applied to detect such hazardous formations were lost. The most successful approach to seismic pressure prediction is one that combines a good understanding of rock properties of subsurf...