first break volume 25, March 2007 special topic

Visualization and Interpretation

Automated delineation of geological elements

from 3D seismic data through analysis of multi-
channel, volumetric spectral decomposition data
Jonathan Henderson,1 Stephen J Purves,1 and Chris Leppard2 describe some innovative
volumetric spectral decomposition techniques designed to optimize the amount of geological
information obtainable from seismic data sets.

T he spectral content of recorded seismic data is

dependent on the acoustic properties of the earth
along the propagation path. Variations in spectral
content occur due to variations in bed thickness/tun-
ing effects, the nature of the interface between different lay-
so they could be used as part of the standard interpretation
tool set within Hydro. Application of the workflow to data
from several provinces has clearly demonstrated the richness
of the geological information that can be extracted by volu-
metric spectral decomposition techniques.
ers (fining/coarsening sequences) and changes in pore-fill, in
particular the presence of gas. Although in most instances Spectral decomposition
insufficient information is available to isolate why a particu- Spectral decomposition is the process of analyzing how a
lar change in the received frequency spectrum has occurred, given signal can be represented through a summation of sim-
significant insights can be gained from examining the spatial ple, well defined basis functions. The most widely known
variation of the response at different frequencies. form of spectral decomposition is Fourier analysis in which
This has led to substantial interest in spectral decompo- a signal is considered to be a weighted sum of sine or cosine
sition as a seismic interpretation tool for both stratigraph- waves of different frequencies. Using the Fourier Trans-
ic analysis (Partyka et al., 1999, Marfurt and Kirlin 2001, form the magnitude and phase of the cosine at each frequen-
Johann et al., 2003) and for hydrocarbon detection (Cast- cy within the signal can be determined. The Fourier Trans-
agna et al., 2003). In general, application of spectral decom- form assumes that the frequency content of the signal is time
position to interpretation of 3D seismic data has involved
extraction of data associated with 2D planes or horizons or
producing 3D data sets that show the response at a single
frequency. To realize the full potential of spectral decompo-
sition, techniques are required that allow the 3D spatial var-
iation in response at different frequencies to be analyzed and
the results of the analysis to be used for 3D delineation of
geological elements (GeoBodies).
This paper describes a novel set of 3D visualization and (a) 30 Hz 50 Hz
GeoBody detection and delineation techniques that form the
basis of a true, spectral decomposition based volume inter-
pretation workflow, developed as part of a research and
development collaboration between ffA and Norsk Hydro.
The components of this workflow are 2D and 3D spectral
decomposition, generation of volumetric Spectral Attributes,
2D and 3D RGB visualization of multiple frequency bands,
(b) 30 Hz 50 Hz
3D RGB opacity rendering, and GeoBody detection.
Many high-end powerful geophysical interpretation tools Figure 1 Vertical section through volumes showing the mag-
are considered complex and are not user friendly; as a conse- nitude response at 30 Hz and 50 Hz computed using (a)
quence they are under utilized. One of the aims of the work constant bandwidth filters and (b) constant Q filters. Note
described was, therefore, to incorporate volumetric spectral the superior vertical localization of the 50Hz response infor-
decomposition tools within a simple and intuitive workflow mation provided by the constant Q filters.

1
ffA, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
2
Hydro, Bergen, Norway.

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invariant (stationary). This restriction has led to the devel-
opment of many techniques for the decomposition of non-
stationary signals such as seismic data, including the short-
time Fourier Transform (Nawab and Quatieri, 1988); Wign-
er-Ville distribution (WVD) (Claasen and Mecklenbrauker,
1980); the Wavelet Transform (Daubechies 1988; Mallat,
1989); the Wavelet Packet Transform (Coifman and Wicker-
hauser, 1992); and Matching Pursuit Decomposition (MPD)
(Mallat and Zhang, 1993, Chakraborty and Okaya, 1995).
The time/frequency representations of the data generated by
these techniques will not be identical and the technique that
it is most appropriate to use is application dependent.
In constructing the volumetric spectral decomposition
workflow described below the aim was to be able to select
and compare the response at a range of different frequencies
and not to produce a full frequency spectrum for each sam-
ple within the input 3D data set. A computationally efficient
method for achieving this is to estimate the phase and ampli-
tude response at a given frequency by convolution of the
input data with a wavelet of known characteristics. Many
wavelet choices are available; the one chosen here is the
Gabor wavelet. A useful property of the Gabor wavelet is its
time/frequency localization characteristics. The uncertainty
principle (Williams et al, 1991) states that:
(1)
i.e. the smaller the width of the analysis window (6t),
the poorer the frequency resolution (6t) and vice versa.
Through selection of appropriate wavelet parameters, the
inequality in equation 1 can be minimized for all frequen-
cies using a Gabor wavelet. In addition, the Gabor wavelet
is a close approximation to the Ricker wavelet commonly
used in seismic processing. The Gabor wavelet is defined
mathematically:
(2)
Where: m is the scale, o the time shift, j the frequency mod-
ulation and the phase of the atom. The scale and the fre-
quency modulation determine the centre frequency, frequen-
cy resolution and spatial localization of the atom.
The optimal trade-off between spatial localization and
frequency resolution is achieved by keeping the frequency
modulation (c) constant and varying the scale (m). We call
this the Constant Q mode as the ratio between the frequen-
cy bandwidth and centre frequency is constant. Constant Q
mode provides results equivalent to a Gabor wavelet trans-
form. If the scale (m) is kept constant and frequency modu-
lation (c) is varied then the bandwidth of the filters is con-
stant and independent of the centre frequency. This Constant
Bandwidth mode provides results that are equivalent to a
Gaussian windowed short-time Fourier Transform.
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first break volume 25, March 2007
The differences in spatial localization between the Con-
stant Q and Constant Bandwidth modes are illustrated in
Figure 1. Due to its advantageous time/frequency localiza-
tion properties Constant Q mode is used when the aim is to
analyze spectral changes associated with individual seismic
events. A disadvantage of the Constant Q mode is that spa-
tial localization is frequency dependent and it does not pro-
vide an even sampling of frequency space. Constant Band-
width mode is used when the aim of the spectral decomposi-
tion is to differentiate between different geological elements
on the basis of their bulk properties, for example delineation
of large salt bodies or gas chimneys. In these instances it may
be the properties of the overall frequency spectrum that are
most useful in the analysis and, then, the even sampling of
the frequency space and constant time support of the Con-
stant Bandwidth mode are useful.
The commonality between the implementations of the
short-time Fourier Transform and the Gabor-Morlet Wavelet
Transform provides great flexibility and control over the way
in which the spectral decomposition is carried out and lends
itself extremely well to the objectives of providing a simple
mechanism of assessing in 3D the relative variations in fre-
quency within the data and using multiple channel frequen-
cy information for GeoBody definition.
Spectral attributes
The value of spectral decomposition techniques in seismic
interpretation lies to a large extent in being able to compare
the 3D variation in the response at different frequencies. This
is a 4D problem but can be converted into a 3D problem by
generating a set of spectral attributes that provide informa-
tion on the shape of the spectrum associated with each point
in the seismic data (Figure 2). The Constant Bandwidth
spectral decomposition method provides the framework
for spectral attribute computation allowing a wide range of
descriptors of frequency spectra to be generated volumetri-
cally, including:
N Basic power measures
- Total spectral power
- Mid band power
N Quartile power
This is a measurement of the power present within each
quartile of the frequency distribution. Each quartile is an
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equal width division of the frequency range, as illustrated
for the positive half spectrum.
N Quartile ratio
The ratio of the power in the first and fourth quartile gives
an indication of the symmetry of the distribution.
N Frequency of maximum power
N Statistical measures
- Mean frequency
- Variance (Bandwidth)
- Skew
N Q-Factor
Q or Quality factor is a measure of signal fidelity or
focus. It is a measure based upon the relationship between
the bandwidth and the peak strength of the distribution.
Frequency based attributes have been used in seismic inter-
pretation for some time and can be useful for highlighting
features within the seismic data that are otherwise difficult
to visualize. As they are computed from an analysis of the
complete frequency spectrum they are less affected by noise
than the responses measured within a particular frequency
band. The spectral attributes complement the multi-channel
3D visualization and segmentation techniques development
of which was the main objective of this work.
RGB displays
Fundamental to obtaining information from spectral decom-
position techniques for seismic interpretation is the ability
to examine and compare the response at different frequency
bands. RGB (Red-Green-Blue) blending of 2D images has
been used extensively for this purpose in other domains and
also in spectral decomposition of seismic data (Hall and
Trouillot, 2004). RGB volume visualization and opacity
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 2 Time slice from (a) an instantaneous amplitude vol-
ume compared to the spectral attributes, (b) 4th quartile power,
(c) Spectral skew, (d) Mean frequency.
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Figure 3 RGB Colour Space.
rendering of 3D seismic spectral decomposition data has not
been reported previously.
RGB blending combines the information provided by
three input images to generate a single full colour output
image. An RGB image can be considered to utilize a 3D col-
our space, C, with distance along the axes representing the
relative intensity of each of the three colours Red, Green and
Blue (Figure 3). An RGB image is formed by selecting a colour
based on a position within the 3D colour space whose coordi-
nates are defined by the values in the three input images.
(3)
Where Cout(x,y,z) is the colour assigned to the point (x,y,z)
in the output image and IR(x,y,z), IG(x,y,z) and IB(x,y,z) are
the voxel values at point (x,y,z) in the input images that are
assigned to control the Red, Green and Blue contributions
respectively.
The quality of an RGB blended image is dependent on
the available colour resolution. Many 3D visualization
environments use 8 bit (256 level) colour tables, such dis-
plays can not adequately represent an RGB blend. In the
majority of cases a good quality RGB blend can be achieved
with 18 bit colour resolution (262144 colours), increas-
ing the colour resolution to 21 bits (2097152 colours) can
be beneficial in some cases but little improvement is seen
if the colour resolution is increased further. Where render-
ing speed is an issue, it can be useful to have the option to
reduce the colour resolution to 15 bits (32768 colours). To
create an 18 bit RGB image six bits (64 levels) are assigned
to each input channel. To optimize the way the available
dynamic range is used, tools for automatically mapping the
input data into the 3D colour space have been developed.
These are based on either analysis of the data within the
whole 3D cube or corresponding to a given horizon; user
defined transfer function options are also available.
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RGB opacity rendering and geobody delineation
Volumetric RGB blended images provide a tool for assessing
rapidly and easily the results of the spectral decomposition
(Figure 4). However, once a feature of interest has been
identified using the spectral decomposition information it is
useful to be able to use that information to produce a 3D
GeoBody that delineates the feature. A common approach
to GeoBody definition is to use thresholding and connectiv-
ity analysis in which all voxels with a given range of values
which are connected to one another are assigned a unique
label. An advantage of this technique is that direct visual
feedback can be provided by linking the opacity curve set-
tings used to volume render the data to the threshold used
to select the voxels relating to the feature of interest. This
process is much more difficult to apply to RGB images as the
opacity curve needs to be set for a 3D colour space rather
than for a 1D colour space.
Two solutions to the problem of defining an opacity
curve in a 3D space have been developed. The first involves
defining a 3D region of interest in the RGB colour space
from the projection of 1D opacity curves that are set inde-
Figure 4 Volume RGB blend showing the different seismic
response (different colour) in different fault blocks.
Figure 5 Selecting a set of colours using individual red, green
and blue channel opacity curves.
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first break volume 25, March 2007
pendently for each of the Red, Green and Blue channels
(Figure 5). A strength of this technique is that the user knows
which values they have selected from each of the three input
volumes and it works well when the voxels of interest have
values that are contiguous within the 3D RGB colour space.
It can also be used to set a graduated RGB opacity curve.
The drawback with this technique is that it can be difficult
to set an opacity curve to isolate a feature of interest if the
voxels comprising the feature are widely distributed or form
multiple clusters in the 3D colour space. The second tech-
nique was developed to address this issue.
Direct viewing of an RGB image is the simplest way
to determine the colours that define the feature of interest
so it is logical to set the opacity curve for selecting those
colours by interacting directly with the RGB image. The
second technique that has been developed for setting the
opacity curve requires the user to define a Region of Inter-
est (ROI) on a 2D slice, by drawing a polygon containing
the colours to for which the opacity is set (Figure 6a). One
opacity value is then assigned to all the colours within the
region of interest and a second opacity value is assigned to
all other colours. The opacity curve produced is then used
to opacity render the RGB volume data. This technique
allows the user to see which colours they are selecting but
avoids the need for accurate manual delineation of the fea-
ture of interest. It also allows an opacity curve to be set
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 6 Image ROI RGB Opacity Setting. (a) ROI drawn
on a 2D section through an image, (b) Colours selected with
sharp opacity setting, (c) Colours selected with diffuse opacity
setting, (d) Volume render of colours selected with the diffuse
opacity setting. (NB. ROI RGB settings can be selected by
drawing the ROI on any RGB blended image.)
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that is appropriate for features defined by colours that are

distributed through the 3D colour space.
As RGB images contain a large number of colours it
can be difficult to ensure that the region of interest defined
represents all the subtle variations in colour that need to
be included to fully represent the feature of interest. Varia-
tions in colour within the feature of interest can be account-
ed for by allowing the region of interest used for selecting
(a) (b)
the colours to be extended to encompass the data/colours
on slices either side of the slice on which the ROI is drawn.
In addition, a colour diffusivity parameter can be set. The
diffusivity parameter defines a distance in the 3D col-
our space and all colours within that distance from those
within the user drawn ROI are included in the segmenta-
tion (Figure 6b, 6c). This provides a great deal of control
over the data selection. The effect of changing the verti- (c) (d)
cal extent of the ROI or the diffusivity parameter is seen
immediately on the 3D opacity rendered version of the 3D Figure 7 Comparison of conventional and RGB based body
RGB volume providing direct visual feedback (Figure 6d). delineation results. (a) instantaneous amplitude volume, (b)
Once a suitable opacity setting has been determined a seg- bodies detected based on an amplitude threshold aimed at dif-
mentation process can be applied to identify the voxels ferentiating the different responses within western section of
comprising the features of interest. A connectivity analysis the data set, (c) RGB blend of the response at three different
and labelling algorithm is then applied to the segmentation frequencies for the same data set, (d) bodies detected using
result to generate a set of GeoBodies (Figure 7). the RGB ROI opacity technique.

RGB spectral decomposition workflow and results

The processing and visualization steps outlined above have
been incorporated into a simple to use workflow (Figure
8) allowing the spectral decomposition and RGB blending
and body segmentation processes to be applied efficiently
and effectively even with large volumes of data. The volume
comprises a 2D parameter assessment and reconnaissance
phase and a 3D processing, analysis, and GeoBody delinea-
tion phase.
The 2D parameter assessment and reconnaissance phase
(Phase I) of the workflow (Figure 9) is defined using a spectral
decomposition Wizard in which the user is taken through
the steps required to optimize the information provided by
the spectral decomposition and RGB blending processes.
Phase I of the workflow comprises the following steps:
N Selection of the test data. The testing generates results
relating to a time or horizon slice selected by the user from
the volume to be processed.
N Selection of the spectral decomposition parameters (min
and max frequencies, number of frequency bins and
whether a set of constant bandwidth filters or constant Q
filters are to be used).
N Two result preview modes are available. A single fre-
quency/attribute mode and an RGB mode in which the
response at three frequencies or three attributes are viewed
simultaneously.
N Selection of the frequency components or attributes to
be computed volumetrically. Figure 8 Spectral decomposition workflow schematic.

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Visualization and Interpretation

The aim of Phase I is to allow a thorough evaluation of

which frequency bands or frequency based attributes con-
vey most clearly the information required from the spectral
decomposition process. This enables the volumetric calcula-
tions to be carried out efficiently and without the creation
of redundant volumes.
Phase II of the workflow supports volumetric analysis
of RGB blended data (NB. volumetric RGB blends can be
created from any three seismic volumes and not just vol-
umes created during Phase I of the spectral decomposition
workflow). RGB blends are viewed in the main application
3D visualization window with an additional 2D RGB view-
er available to control the ROI based opacity and segmen-
tation process. Phase II of the workflow comprises the fol-
lowing steps:
N 3D volume or horizon visualization of RGB blended
data
N Adjustment of the RGB blend scaling parameters.
N RGB opacity rendering
N Segmentation of RGB images based on a user defined
opacity curve
N GeoBody delineation by connected component analysis
of the segmented RGB image

Comparison of depositional elements

Figure 9 Phase I of the frequency decomposition workflow.
Horizon based extractions from single trace attributes vol-
umes such as envelope (reflection strength) are common-
ly used as a basic indicators of lithology, and the patterns
observed in the spatial distribution of the attribute values
are often interpreted to represent aspects of the sedimenta-
ry depositional systems (e.g. channel/fan systems) contained
within the seismic data. Comparisons between maps gen-
erated using these standard attribute techniques and maps
generated using the RGB spectral decomposition technique
highlight the value of the RGB spectral decomposition tech-
nique for the extraction of geological information directly
from seismic data.
The horizon-based map extractions shown in Figure
10 illustrate one such comparison from a full-offset, time-
migrated, offshore seismic dataset. The input seismic vol-
ume was first noise cancelled using ffAs noise cancellation
techniques to minimize the effects of noise when generating
the subsequent attribute volumes. The horizon based map
extraction from the envelope volume (Figure 10a) clear-
ly highlights the presence of a meandering channel sys-
tem running from top-right to bottom-left across the map.
However, detailed elements of the channel system are diffi-
cult to observe, such as the geometry of individual channels
and their internal architecture and morphology, due to the
lack of amplitude contrast between the channel fill, channel
edge and the background slope sediments. In comparison,
the horizon based map extraction from the RGB spectral
decomposition volume (Figure 10b) provides much more

92 2007 EAGE
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Figure 10 Comparison of horizon based extractions from (a)
an envelope attribute volume (reflection strength) and (b) an
RGB spectral decomposition volume.
clarity to the depositional geometry, morphology, and inter-
nal architectural elements of the channel system. Applying
the RGB segmentation functionality, the preferred deposi-
tional elements identified by the user can be extracted from
the volume and segmented into three dimensional geobod-
ies for use in volume calculations and input into the users
geo-model.
Summary
Volumetric spectral decomposition can be used to extract
from 3D seismic data substantial amounts of information
that would be otherwise inaccessible. The work described
here has addressed several of the practical issues associated
with using volumetric spectral decomposition techniques
within a 3D interpretation workflow. The link between 2D
and 3D spectral decomposition techniques and the novel 3D
2007 EAGE
special topic
Visualization and Interpretation
RGB visualization tools efficiently addresses the problems
of determining the data that needs to be generated volu-
metrically to support a 3D spectral decomposition analysis.
The RGB opacity rendering and segmentation tools provide
a mechanism for generating 3D objects that allow informa-
tion extracted from the volumetric spectral decomposition
processing to be utilized in later stages of the interpretation
and modelling workflow.
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