Publications

Seismic is a remote sensing tool that provides regional to local subsurface insight. At larger scales, it reveals morphology related to the structural and stratigraphic context. At smaller scales, it can detect or resolve rock and fluid properties, thickness, architecture, and various other forms of heterogeneity. The 3-D insight that comes from such imaging, allows it to serve as an ideal backdrop for integrating well and reservoir data. There are limits to what it can do however. Limited signal bandwidth and abundant thin layering interact to produce tuned seismic reflections with peaks, troughs and zero-crossings that rarely follow exact/true geologic boundaries. Such interference plagues traditional seismic methods and hinders the extraction and characterization of subsurface information (Partyka, 2005). The problem is often compounded by weak impedance contrasts and/or poor signal-to-noise ratios. This can lead to reflection energy that is not only tuned, but also weak and noisy (i.e. a challenge to characterize). In such cases, careful data conditioning becomes particularly important.