Interactive visualization of 3D seismic data: a volumetric method

The authors demonstrate the utility of examining seismic data with a volumetric scheme, whereby a synoptic view of the interior of the data volume is possible before conventional interpretation. High-amplitude seismic events, representing reflections from subterranean surfaces, are transformed to color pixels, and the resulting 3-D images reveal the structure of the geological layers. Such morphological features as hills, valleys, and faults are apparent indicating that the approach could prove useful for identifying potential oil reservoirs. The authors implement the technique on a personal computer to produce displays of similar quality, but they find that the construction of the 3-D images is too slow for reasonable interactivity. However, with the addition of a parallel-processing accelerator, a personal-computer-based workstation would be feasible for this kind of 3-D visualization and interpretation.<>