Visualizing Geological Structure with Subtractive Color Blending

Abstract

3D seismic attributes enable seismic interpreters to gain a more complete understanding of subsurface geology resulting in more complete and detailed interpretations. Building a thorough understanding of 3D structural variations and fault networks often requires working with multiple seismic attributes due to the fact that different attributes convey different information and that the seismic signature of faults changes through the data set. Color blending techniques have proven effective in intuitively allowing interpretation of information in multiple seismic attributes simultaneously. One of the most successful techniques uses an RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) color model to present data in a manner which is in tune with the way people perceive color. These types of blend are highly effective at visualizing data such as results of poststack frequency decomposition or offset-stack volumes. We present an alternate color-blending model based on combining attributes using the subtractive primary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY). When used with structural attributes, the subtractive model produces displays that are predominately light, and structural variations and faults are associated with darker shades of varying hues and black, and the model is aligned with the way we are accustomed to visualize fault and structural attributes, making these displays very intuitive. In this paper we provide a number of examples of how these blends can be used to show how fault character changes laterally through a fault network and relate C

Characterizing carbonate facies using high-definition frequency decomposition: Case study from North West Australia

“…It is preferable, based on experience, to use the RGB model to mix frequency magnitude volumes ( Figure 6). The CMY model can be used to blend geometric attributes to highlight faults, fractures, and channel edges (Henderson et al, 2007;Guo et al, 2008;Purves and Basford, 2011). The CMY color blend presented in this study shows that conformance and semblance attributes dominate with no major contribution from the dip attribute.…”

Fault deformation, seismic amplitude and unsupervised fault facies analysis: Snøhvit Field, Barents Sea

“…The dip attribute is defined as a measure of reflector inclination with respect to the horizontal (Barnes, 2000;Marfurt, 2006). The dip attribute can be used to calculate the orientation and magnitude of M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 11 structural and/or stratigraphic edges within a seismic volume, for example faults or lateral lithological changes (Purves and Basford, 2011;Alaei, 2016). It is important to note that the dip attribute is a measurement of changes to the seismic reflector while the DD in section 3.4 is a measure of the apparent dip of the interpreted seismic horizons.…”

Increasing the Reliability of Geological Models Using Spectral Decomposition and Seismic Facies Analysis

“…Cyan-Magenta-Yellow (CMY) colour blends of 3 edge attributes are an effective way of revealing the complete fault network (Purves and Basford, 2011). Reservoir scale faults can become visible that are not seen when a single attribute is used, and the regional faults are often imaged in a more complete and less ambiguous manner.…”