SeisSpace®

Seismic Processing
and Analysis
Training Manual
Volume 1 for R5000.8.3

copyright © 2013 by Landmark Graphics Corporation

Part No. 162382 K February 2014

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 Contents

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-i

Agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--ix
Day 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--ix

Day 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--x

Day 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--xi

Day 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--xii

Remaining class time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A--xiii

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -3

User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Starting the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Basic Navigator Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Flow Building and Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

Data Selection and Sorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19

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Interactivity of Trace Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Topics to be covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Trace Display Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Trace Display Icon Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Using the Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Interactive Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17

Create and Apply a Parameter Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Exit/Stop versus Exit Continue Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

2D Marine Geometry Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Create a 2D Marine Geometry Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

QC the Geometry Database with DBTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

Load the Geometry to the Trace Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

Interactive Data Access via DBTools and Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24

Parameter Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Parameter Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Pick a Deconvolution Time Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Apply Preprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

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Create Brute Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Velocity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Using the Volume Viewer/Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Velocity Smoothing with the Volume Viewer/Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15

2D Marine Final Stack and Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Final Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Compare Brute and Final Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

Poststack Migration Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Tapering in Migration Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

Apply F-K Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Compare the Stack and Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

JavaSeis Framework Create and SeismicCompare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

JavaSeis Data Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Introduction to JavaSeis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

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Database From Full Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

Overview of Project used in Chapters 8 - 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2

Overview of Full Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

Extract Information from the SEGY File and Write JavaSeis Dataset. . . . . 8-4

Parameter Defaulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16

Complete the Geometry Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19

Load Geometry to the Trace Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43

Preprocessing and Elevation Statics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Make a Dataset with a Compact Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2

Top Mute and Decon Design Gate Picking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9

Interactive Spectral Analysis and Decon Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13

Seismic Compare as a Testing and Analysis Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19

Elevation (Datum) Statics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29

Trace Statistics and Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36

Preprocessing Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50

3D Stack and Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

3D RMS Velocity Field ASCII Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2

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3D Parameter Table Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9

Creating a JavaSeis Sortmap - CDP Gathers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11

Picking a Post-NMO Mute on a Supergather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14

Ensemble Stack (CDP Stack). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17

Inline Displays of 3D Stack Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22

3D Viewer Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27

F-XY Decon and the Distributed Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30

Crossline Display Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35

Time Slice Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42

3D Residual Statics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

Picking an Autostatics Horizon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2

Calculate Residual Statics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5

Statics Application and Stack Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-10

Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1

Velocity Analysis Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2

3D Supergather Generation and QC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4

Precomputed Velocity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-8

Volume Viewer/Editor Interaction with Velocity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-15

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CDP Taper on Stack Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1

Stack with Final Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2

CDP Taper Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3

Execution of CDP Taper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5

Generating QC Plots of the Taper Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5

Change Datum of Velocity Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-11

3D Prestack Time Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1

Offset Binning Parameter QC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2

3D Prestack Time Migrations in SeisSpace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-6

3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Stack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-8

3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Image Gathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-13

Poststack Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1

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3D Poststack Migration Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-2

3D Poststack Migration Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-7

3D Geometry from SPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1

Topics covered in this chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1

3D Land Geometry from SPS Data - Project Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-2

Import SPS Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-4

Import FFID from SPS Relational File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-7

Automatic Calculation of CDP Binning Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-10

Batch Method for CDP Binning and Database Finalization . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-18

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 Agenda
This Agenda represents the typical pace of the standard 4-day class. Content and pace may be
adjusted according to the interests and abilities of the students. Supplemental exercises from
Volume 2 may be covered if time allows.

Day 1

Introductions, Course Outline, and Miscellaneous Topics

SeisSpace User Interface

• Initial Demonstration
• Flowbuilding Exercise
• Basic Trace Display
• Data Selection and Sorting

Interactivity of Trace Display

• Demonstration and description

• Interactive Data Access
• Parameter Table Picking

2D Marine workflow

• Manual Creation of Geometry Database

• Basic Database QC
• Parameter Testing
• Preprocessing
• Brute Stack
• Velocity Analysis
• Final Stack
• Migration

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Chapter Agenda

Day 2

JavaSeis Data Format

• Introduction to JavaSeis data format

• Nomenclature and examples

LAND 3D WORKFLOW

Full Extraction Geometry

• Extract geometry information from SEGY file to geometry

database and Create a JavaSeis dataset
• Database QC, CDP binning and database completion
• Load geometry to the trace headers

Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

• Make a JavaSeis dataset with a compact Framework

• Pick top mute and deconvolution design gate
• Deconvolution tests and Interactive Spectral Analysis
• Elevation Statics
• Trace kills using trace statistics
• Apply preprocessing to shot data

Stack and Display

• Import velocity data from an ASCII file

• 3D Parameter table interpolation
• JavaSeis Sortmap creation and use
• Pick a post NMO mute
• Create an initial stack
• Inline displays of stack dataset
• Introduction to the 3D Viewer
• F-XY Decon and the Distributed Array
• Crossline display options
• Time slice display

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 Chapter Agenda

Day 3

Residual statics

• Picking an autostatics Horizon

• Calculate Residual Statics
• Static application and stack comparison

Velocity Analysis

• 3D Supergather formation and QC

• Precomputed Velocity analysis
• Velocity Analysis
• Interaction with the Volume Viewer/Editor

CDP Taper on Stack Data

• Generate a final stack volume

• Overview and execution of CDP Taper
• QC plots of the taper values

Velocity Preparation for Migration

• 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Overview

• Editing and smoothing a velocities with 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor
• Change datum of velocity field

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Chapter Agenda

Day 4

3D Prestack Time Migration

• Offset Binning and parameter QC

• 3D PSTM programs
• 3D Kirchhoff PSTM - output to stack
• 3D Kirchhoff PSTM - output to gathers

3D Poststack Migration

• 3D poststack migration overview

• 3D migration exercise

3D SPS Geometry

• Import SPS information

• Bin traces and complete database

xii SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter Agenda

Remaining class time

If any time remains on Day 4, consult with the instructor and choose from the following sections
in Volume 2 of the manual, which are summarized below.

The first three topics use the same Land 3D Line/Subproject that is covered in Volume 1. The
geometry database must be completed and the shots dataset with updated headers must be ready
to use for these. These topics may be exercised in conjunction with the Volume 1 exercises.

First Break Picking

• Interactive Neural Network (NN) First Break Training/Picking

• Batch Neural Network (NN) First Break Picking
• First Break Picking (module unrelated to NN picking)

Coordinate-based Refraction Statics

• Refraction Statics Calculation - coordinate based

• Apply Refraction Statics
• Stack with Refraction Statics

Basic Flow Replication

• Flow Replication Terminology

• Prepare a Flow for use as a Template
• Flow Replication Icons
• Templatize the Flow
• Edit the Replica Table
• Create and validate substitution strings
• Build, Submit and Monitor Replica Jobs
• Additional Features of Interest

3D Marine Geometry from UKOOA Data

• UKOOA Import and CDP binning

• Assigning CDP Flex Binning
• Database QC
• Expand Flex Binning

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Chapter Agenda

Additional Geometry Information

• Geometry Core Path Overview

• Details of the Geometry Programs
• Pre-Geometry Database Initialization
• Inline Geometry Header Load after Pre-Initialization
• Geometry from Full Extraction

Demultiple Techniques (basic only)

• Radon Analysis and Filter

• Radon Velocity Filter
• F-K Multiple Attenuation

Plotting

• Creating, Viewing and Plotting a CGM+ file

• Viewing and plotting a CGM+ file

NOTE: Third party software is required in order put data on a paper plot.
Normal training facilities do not have plotting capability.

Archival Methods

• SEG-Y output
• Tape Data Output
• Archive Wizard

xiv SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Preface
SeisSpace and ProMAX Relationship
The ProMAX processing system was designed and introduced around
1990. The system was very effective in processing data in a workstation
based environment. SeisSpace uses many concepts from ProMAX, but
it is a much more powerful system able to perform highly scalable
parallel processing in a cluster environment. The SeisSpace interface
provides all the capabilities of ProMAX and can be used to build flows
that use the same executables and tools found in ProMAX.

Of greater importance than just a new user interface, SeisSpace provides

a new trace processing executable and uses the open-source JavaSeis
data format. Together, these provide the capability to read and write
datasets in parallel with a single job running multiple processes across
many nodes of a cluster. JavaSeis accommodates addressing and sorting
data very efficiently and allows much more robust algorithms to be
applied to more sophisticated data organizations. Landmarks’s
implementation of JavaSeis provides a means for launching displays
directly from datasets, providing greater user efficiency in analyzing
data.

SeisSpace is all of ProMAX and much more.

About The Manual

This two volume manual is intended to accompany the instruction given
during the standard SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis course.
Because of the power and flexibility of SeisSpace, it is unreasonable to
attempt to cover all possible features and applications in this manual.
Instead, we try to provide key examples and descriptions, using
exercises which are directed toward common uses of the system.

Most if not all of the class time will be spent using Volume 1, which can
be thought of in three main sections:

• Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the Navigator (user interface) and its

basic features, including flow building, editing and job execution.
This section focuses on the use of the ProMAX Trace Display tool.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 1

Preface

• Chapters 3 through 6 take the user through a simple 2D marine

processing sequence from geometry definition through poststack
migration. This is done exclusively with ProMAX modules.

• Chapter 7 introduces the user to JavaSeis data format which is used

extensively in Chapters 8-16. These chapters take the user through
a more comprehensive land 3D project. This sequence should
provide a solid foundation for using the full range of capabilities
available in SeisSpace.

The course is designed to complete all of Volume 1 within the standard

4-day course. Depending on the experience, interests and needs of the
students, some material in Volume 1 may be omitted, allowing time to
cover material from Volume 2.

For example, if all students have reasonable familiarity with using

ProMAX (perhaps from pre-SeisSpace days), then Chapters 2-6 may be
omitted. This makes about an extra day’s worth of time to cover material
in Volume 2.

The first three chapters in Volume 2 rely on successful completion of

Chapters 8-10 of Volume 1 because they are exercised in the same Line/
Subproject. The remaining chapters in Volume 2 can each be exercised
independently of any other chapter.

After the class, you will find the manuals useful as a supplement to the
online documentation of the application.

How To Use The Manual

This manual is divided into chapters that discuss the key aspects of the
SeisSpace system. In general, chapters conform to the following outline:

• Introduction: A brief discussion of the important points of the topic

and exercise(s) contained within the topic.

• Topics Covered in Chapter: Brief list of skills or processes in the

order that they are covered in the exercise.

• Topic Description: More detail about the individual skills or

processes covered in the chapter.

• Exercise: Details pertaining to each skill in an exercise, along with

diagrams and explanations. Examples and diagrams will assist you

2 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Preface

during the course by minimizing note taking requirements and

providing guidance through specific exercises.

This format allows you to glance at the topic description to either

quickly reference an implementation or simply as a means of refreshing
your memory on a previously covered topic. If you need more
information, see the Exercise sections of each topic.

Conventions

Mouse Button Help

This manual does not refer to using mouse buttons unless they are
specific to an operation. MB1 is used for most selections. The mouse
buttons are numbered from left to right so:

MB1 refers to an operation using the left mouse button. MB2 is the
middle mouse button. MB3 is the right mouse button.

Actions that can be applied to any mouse button include:

• Click: Briefly depress the mouse button.

• Double Click: Quickly depress the mouse button twice.

• Shift-Click: Hold the shift key while depressing the mouse button.

• Drag: Hold down the mouse button while moving the mouse.

In some instances mouse buttons may not work properly if either Caps
Lock or Nums Lock is on.

Exercise Organization
Each exercise consists of a series of steps that will build take the user
through a specific workflow. In most instances this involves creating a
“flow” composed of one or more modules, information about with
parameter selection and module interaction. The flow is executed and
the results analyzed or an interactive tool exercised. With the
introduction of JavaSeis data format, a number of exercises involve
launching an interactive display and/or analysis tool directly from the

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 3

Preface

dataset, rather than building and executing a flow. Many of the steps
give a detailed explanation of how to correctly pick parameters or use
the functionality of interactive processes.

The flow examples list key parameters for each process of the exercise.
As you progress through the exercises, familiar parameters will not
always be listed in the flow example.

You will find many images of tool menus. In general, arrows are
used to highlight parameters that you must change from their
default values.

The exercises are organized such that your dataset is used throughout the
training session. Carefully follow the instructor’s direction when
assigning geometry and checking the results of your flow. An
improperly generated dataset or database may cause a subsequent
exercise to fail.

4 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 1
User Interface (Navigator /
Flowbuilder)
This chapter will introduce you to the user interface, commonly referred to as “The Navigator” or
“The Flowbuilder” for building and submitting jobs to the system. You will learn how to set up a
workspace, then build and execute a couple of processing flows to demonstrate some fundamental
system functions.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Starting the Interface

o Basic Navigator Layout
o Flow Building and Execution
o Data Selection and Sorting

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

Starting the Interface

Before you can start the Navigator, there is a daemon called the
“sitemanager” which needs to be running. In a typical production
environment, this daemon will be configured to start on the head node
of the cluster when the system boots and will be running as the “root”
user. This is the general recommended mode of operation and as such
the class will be conducted in this manner.

NOTE: It is not necessary to run a root-owned centralized sitemanager.

There are considerable advantages to using a centralized sitemanager
such as allowing users to see each others jobs while they are running and
having a persistent record of all the jobs that have been submitted. Each
user may start his own sitemanager if desired. You may elect to also run
with the internal/embedded sitemanager that runs only while the
Navigator is open. The advantage of a internal sitemanager is that it
requires little administrative effort to set up. The disadvantage is the
lack of shared information on job activity between different users in the
same network.

For some classes your instructor may have started the sitemanager on
your machine. If the sitemanager is not running, your instructor will
provide simple instructions on how to start it.

The SeisSpace Navigator is typically started by executing a script.

Usually, your system administrator will create a start-up script and set
certain variables specific to your home environment. Setting up the
software on a system will not be discussed in this class. You will use a
start-up script using an installation that has already been configured for
the class. Examples of the recommended startup scripts are delivered in
the $PROWESS_HOME/etc directory in the installation. For example,
this directory could be /apps/SeisSpace/etc .

You can start the navigator by executing the script SSclient from the
command line. Please leave the UNIX window open where you start
SeisSpace. SeisSpace will be writing information to this window that
may be useful for diagnosing problems. This script sits in the “home
directory” of the user:

> ./SSclient

You will see a number of messages scroll through the window, and it
will take several seconds for the Navigator to appear.

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

With the R5000.8.2.0 Release, SeisSpace is being delivered with the

default “look and feel” called Design 21 or D21. This uses a black
background for the user interface which causes less eye-strain than
traditional white backgrounds.

You may change from the black background to a white background by

doing the following:

On the upper left of the Navigator, click on Edit to get a pulldown menu,
then click on Preferences at the bottom of the pulldown. This opens the
following dialog:

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

User Preferences Dialog

For a white background choose “D21 Light” for the Look and Feel.
You may also want to select “Large” for the Size of the Toolbar Icons,
and possibly choose a larger value for the Scalar for the UI fonts. A
value of 1.2 to 1.4 is a big as most people may want.

Click OK. If you change only the background color, you do not need to
restart the Navigator. The other two changes require that you exit and
re-open the Navigator for those choices to be implemented.

A number of the remaining User Preferences will be explained later in

the course when their relevance is more easily shown.

Screen images for the remainder of this manual are made with the white
background, as this produces much better printed quality.

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

Basic Navigator Layout

The interface has three main components:

1. The Folders section which is also called the “tree view” on the left
side of the Navigator. The default configuration closes this view
when you open a flow. for editing. You will find it more convenient
to keep the tree view open

2. The Tabbed view section which has allows several views for flow
editing, data selection, etc. The Tabbed View is the middle panel of
the Navigator. This where the Flow Editor appears, and is where
you will spend most of your time.

3. The Auxiliary information section on the right for showing the

Processes list or the list of flow replication replacement variables.
Many users prefer to keep this space available for flow editing and
keep the Processes list hidden.

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

The general state of the Navigator is saved when you exit, and restored
when you restart the Navigator. User preferences allow each user to
customize the restart behavior and selected mouse button behaviors and
other options. These preferences will be discussed later.

Data organization and hierarchy

General data storage is built upon a multi-level organizational model of
directories and subdirectories that include Data_Homes (top level),
Projects, and Subprojects. Historically, ProMAX used the terms
“Area” and “Line”, while SeisSpace uses “Project” and “Subproject”
for the same data organization levels.

Each subproject is further organized to show logical groupings of

Flows, Datasets, Tables, etc. At the system level, these are simply files
and subdirectories, but their names allow them to be shown in the
interface in a more user-friendly manner.

General mouse button behavior

In general, MB1 on an item initiates an action, while MB3 opens a menu
of actions to choose for that element.

For example, MB1 on a Project name in the Folders view opens the list
of Subprojects in the Tabbed view (center section) of the Navigator.
MB3 on a Project name will reveal a menu of actions you can take on
that project, such as Copy, Paste, Delete. MB1 on a flow name will open
that flow for editing in the Tabbed view. MB3 on a flow name opens a
long menu of actions you might choose.

The pull down menus at the top of the Navigator GUI:

• File: Has different options depending upon what is activated
(highlighted) in the Folders view by a previous MB1 click on an
item. If Datasets is highlighted, for example, you will have the
options of New ProMAX Dataset, New JavaSeis Dataset,
Open, Refresh, Sort, Datasets Listing, Save Session or Exit. If
Flows is highlighted, you have the options of New Flow, Open,
Refresh, Sort Save Session or Exit.

• Edit: Allows the user to do typical editing tasks depending upon

what is activated (highlighted) by MB1. Available Edit options
are Copy, Paste, Rename, Delete. The user may also change
Permissions and check the properties of files. There is an

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

Administration option that allows you to log on as the

Administrator and change the Data_Home and the cluster
environment. We will not cover the Administration tasks in this
class. The last option under Edit is Preferences. This option
allows you to change a variety of Navigator behaviors, display
styles and job options. The Navigator tab is highlighted below,
but you may change options on the Flow Editor, Log/Job Viewer,
Exec and Miscellaneous tabs. You already had the chance to
change some options, and other options may be explained later.
For more information on this topic you are encouraged to read
the online help for “Setting Preferences” in the User Guide.

User Preferences Dialog

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

• Help: Access to the help files and information about the version
of SeisSpace.

When starting the Navigator for the first time, you will have access to
any “Shared” Data_Homes that were set up by the administrator. You
may also be able to add your own “private” data_homes. Under each
data_home is a list of “Projects”. Each Project is likely to have multiple
subprojects. A Subproject directory contains all of the information for
either a single 2D line or a single 3D survey.

After opening a data_home in the tree view by clicking on the small

“toggle” icon to the left of the name, a subdirectory list of Projects (or
Areas) will show under the data_home listing.
The “gold star folder” icon
indicates the “Data_Home”
level.

Click on the toggle to open

or to collapse the directory
details beneath it.

Click on the “toggle” next to one of the project folder names to see a list
of your available sub-projects. You will create a new Project, a new
Sub-project and a Flow to read some data and get familiar with the Trace
Display tool.

Click on the text name of Data_Home to be used for the class. This will
list the current Projects (or Areas) in the table view. You can either use
the File --> New Project option from the pull down menus, the “white
page with the sun” icon under the word File in the upper left corner of
the Navigator, or use the MB3 --> New Project option from the MB3
menu in the open space in the table view to create a new project.

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

The “pulldown menu” after MB3 on the Data_Home level:

Please use your own name for the Project name (e.g., Fred’s
Project). You can use up to 32 characters to describe your Project, with
any characters. Blank spaces are allowed as well as most special
characters. However, it is recommended that you use alphabetic,
numeric, the hyphen ( - ) and the underscore ( _ ) characters.

The “Measurement system” parameter is not utilized at the current time,

so use the default value.

Click on your new project name in the Folders view on the left. Click
both the name and open the toggle to the left of the name. Right now
there is nothing under your new Project name.

Click MB3 on Your Project name and choose New from the menu, then
type in 2D Marine Line in the dialog box.

• If you prefer keyboard shortcuts (accelerator keys), you could

accomplish the same thing by clicking MB1 on Your Project name

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

to set the focus on it, then use the keyboard Alt-F, Alt-N, Alt-S to
open the dialog.
• Or click on the left-most icon on the tool bar (a Folder with a
starburst).
• Or click on File > New > Subproject.

There are often three or more ways to cause an action, depending on

your preference for using the mouse or keyboard, and the location of
focus in the Navigator.

Click on the 2D Marine Line text to highlight it and use either the File
--> New Flow, or MB3 options menu to add a new flow. Give the new
flow the name 01 SEGY Input. This will open the Flow Editor.

The flow naming convention we will use in the class is to number the
flows as they are built. This is strictly for convenience, to help organize
the flows.

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

Flow Building and Execution

Flow Editor

Type desired
module name
here.

Once you are in the flow editor you can select the processing modules
you want to use to build the flow. There are many ways to build flows.
Sometimes we will create new flows or copy existing flows. You can
have more than one flow visible in the Flow Editor and use Copy and
Paste or Drag and Drop to move modules from one flow to another. You
can choose modules from the Processes List by clicking on the module
name, however the list of modules is very long, so few people use this
method.

We will build this flow by typing a few characters of the module wanted
and use the “quick-search” option. The flow we will build is:

SEGY Input
Automatic Gain Control
Trace Display

1. With your 01 SEGY Input flow currently active (light yellow

colored background) click in the white box near the top of the flow
dialog and start typing SEGY (case does not matter; do not hit
return). A list of modules will appear in the Flow box. Choose the
module name SEG-Y Input.

One of the big advantages of the flow-builder is the option to open more
than one flow at a time in the Flow Editor tab. In order to make it more

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

obvious which flow is active, the background color of the active flow is
light yellow.

2. Add the Automatic Gain Control module. You may use the
shortcut of typing AGC, which is the common acronym.

3. Add the Trace Display module. A very useful shortcut for Trace
Display is CED, which comes from TraCE Display. Be sure to
choose the module name with the blue circle icon.

NOTE: Modules with a blue circle icon are traditional ProMAX

modules, while those with a green diamond icon are newer SeisSpace
tools. While processing this 2D marine data, you will be using only
ProMAX modules.

You can use common abbreviations like “nmo” for Normal Moveout
Correction and “agc” for Automatic Gain Control. If you don’t know the
name of a particular tool, try typing a few letters of what you want to do,
such as “display” for producing some type of display, or “mig” for a
migration module.

When the Flow Editor is “active”, here are the main tool bar options
available on the top of the Navigator with their pulldown menu options.
Notice that the icons on the pulldown menus are the same as
corresponding function icons across the top of the Navigator:

• File: Allows you to create a New Flow, Save a flow, Save as a

new flow name, Revert Flow to its most recent saved condition,
Close the flow or Close All open flows in the Flow Editor tab
panel, Save Session saves the current state of the Navigator, and
Exit the Navigator.

• Edit: Allows you to edit flows using standard Windows-like

commands. It also lists the Hot keys you can use to do the same
functions instead of using your mouse.

• View: The options under the pulldown menu are: Log Viewer to
see the log of the most recent execution of the highlighted flow
(this is equivalent to the job.output file of ProMAX); Job Viewer
to show the history and status of submitted jobs; Flow Viewer to
view all the parameters in a flow in ASCII, XML or as a flow
diagram format; Print Flow to generate an html file of the flow
under the flow directory and open it in a browser. Most of the
remaining options modify the layout and visibility of various
sections of the interface. The Templatize/Detemplatize Flow is

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

the key option for the flow replication capabilities, which may be
discussed later in this class.

• Actions: Allows the user to Test Parameters of the flow before

submitting it for execution, submit jobs to the local machine or
to a queue, cluster or other host. We will use the Local Submit
option for the class, as job queues typically are not configured on
training class workstations.

• Tools: Allows the user to open the Replica Editor, the Replica
Job tables and start DBTools

• Product: Allows the user to change the processes list. Choices

may include 2D, 3D, 4D, DepthCharge, Field, Dev and VSP.

• Help: Access the help files.

The icons across the top of the Navigator GUI perform the same
functions as the corresponding item on the pull down menus.

Your flow should look like this:

4. Select SEG-Y Input parameters.

Click MB2 on the SEG-Y Input module name to open the

parameter selection window, commonly called the menu.

To view the help file for the highlighted module use the F1 key. You
can also use the Edit --> Help on Processes from the pull down or
MB3 options menus.

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

NOTE: There are only two parameters in the SEG-Y Input menu
that you will change from their default values for this exercise. The
input file happens to work nicely with the default values. Please see
the Help File for this module for details. The majority of default
parameters adhere to the published standards for SEG-Y format data
(i.e., byte locations and format, coordinate scalar usage, etc.). There
are numerous options to override the standards, remap header
values, etc., to accommodate deviations from the standard.

5. Notice that if the window is active and you let the mouse hover over
any parameter in a menu, you will get a pop-up with a short
explanation of the parameter. This is referred to as “mouse help”.

Change from
Tape to Disk

Type-in the file

name or click
on Browse to
select the file.

6. The SEGY file is on disk, so change the menu option accordingly.

Your instructor will give you the file name. For many classes the file
will be found here:

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 Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

/home/student/misc_files/marine2d_shots.segy

7. Select Automatic Gain Control with MB2 to open the menu. Set
the AGC operator length to 1500 ms.

To change this value simply place your cursor on the existing value
(it will be highlighted), and type in the number 1500.

8. Open the Trace Display menu with MB2.

For now, do not change any of the values. We will discuss many of
these options in the next chapter. At that point, you will have the
opportunity to test and explore the various options.

9. Click on the Test Parameters icon to see if the flow

parameterization is valid. Any problems found will produce a
message at the bottom of the Flow Editor. The most common error
will say “Error trying to build device list”, which indicates that
pathname for the SEG-Y file is incorrect.

MB1 -Test Parameters Submit on this machine

10. Use the Test Parameters feature until you get the message
“Successful Init Phase!”. Then submit the flow for execution using
the Submit on this machine icon.

The Job Viewer window (shown below) will appear automatically

when you submit a job.

Note that the columns may not appear in the same order as shown in
the diagram. You can reorder the columns by dragging them to the
desired location and turn off columns that you are not interested in
with the column selector icon from the icon bar.

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

In the Job Viewer, you can hold down MB2 while the mouse is on
the 01 SEGY Input to view the tail end of the job log.

Shortly after the job is submitted, a new Trace Display window

appears on the screen.

11. Select the Next Screen icon with MB1. This icon is the black
triangle pointing to the right.

This takes you to the next shot. Repeat 2-3 times.

12. Select File --> Exit/Stop Flow.

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This ends the job. All we intended to do with this flow was to verify
that we can read the SEG-Y file.

Return to the Flow Editor. Let’s modify the flow to write the trace data
to an output dataset instead of displaying it.

13. Click MB3 on the AGC module and again on the Trace Display
module. This “deactivates” these modules, so the next time we
execute the flow those modules will be ignored. However, it is
convenient because we can “re-activate” those modules by clicking
MB3 on them again. This is a very convenient option for testing,
and spares you from having to reselect menu parameters every time
you want to re-use a module.

14. Type DDO in the tool selector box and choose Disk Data Output.
Your flow should now look like this:

Notice the word INVALID next to the module name. This is a reminder
that you must parameterize this menu by selecting or adding a dataset
name that the module will write the trace data to.

15. Click MB2 to open the DDO menu, then click on the word
INVALID. This action changes the Panel view to the Datasets list
for the current subproject. There are no datasets in the list, so you
need to click MB3 in the list view and select New ProMAX
Dataset.

16. Enter the name “01 Shots from SEGY” in the dialog and click
OK. The naming convention we have chosen for datasets is to use
the numeric prefix of the flow as a prefix for any dataset written by
that flow. This is purely for convenience, and is not a requirement.
However, it does make is much easier to manage and identify your
datasets.

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17. Submit the job to the local machine. Select the job name in the Job
Viewer, and when the job completes, select the Display job output
icon. There are several other places in the Navigator that allow you
top view the job log.

18. If the Job Viewer Status indicates a job failure, the job log should
show some reasonable error message indicating the problem. Ask
your instructor for assistance if you cannot determine the solution.

There is a great deal of valuable information in the job log related to the
SEGY data, such as minimum and maximum values found for various
permutation of trace header bytes. Have a look through the log and see
what you can discover. Ask your instructor to explain anything you do
not understand.

Make sure you have a successful job completion before proceeding to

the next section.

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Data Selection and Sorting

Your first look at the data was the first shot with all channels. After
clicking the Next Ensemble icon, you saw the next shot. What if you
wanted to look at every other shot? What if you only wanted to look at
a subset of the channels? What if you wanted to sort the data to CDP and
then display. All these options and more are available in Disk Data
Input.

Sort data by source number

1. Edit your flow named 01 SEGY Input. Add the module Disk Data
Input (DDI) and select the dataset that was written in the previous
exercise. Use MB1 drag-and-drop to rearrange the module sequence
and MB3 to activate/deactivate modules so your flow looks like this:

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Chapter 1: User Interface (Navigator / Flowbuilder)

2. Open Disk Data Input menu with MB2 and click where the menu
reads Get All for Trace Read Option.This toggles the read option
to Sort, and the menu will automatically add several new options:

• Interactive Data Access: Allows you to move forward and

backward through the data after it is displayed. It also allows you
to change the values for primary and secondary sort order to
jump to a new location and it allows you to select an ensemble
to display from the database. Leave at No for now.

• Select primary trace header entry: Allows you to specify a

group of ensembles or traces to read, or sort the data to a
different order. Most commonly, sorting within ProMAX is done
on input. This allows a user to easily change domains without
running a separate, time consuming flow. An ensemble in
ProMAX is any logical grouping of traces, such as a shot record,
or a CDP gather.

• Select secondary trace header entry: Allows you to re-order,

and choose which traces you want to read within each ensemble.

• Select tertiary trace header entry: Allows you to specify an

order, or restrict the amount of data brought read. This is
normally left unchanged with a default value of “No trace header
entry selected”. This option is only visible if you have selected a
secondary trace header entry.

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3. Select SOURCE (Live source number (usr-defined)) for the

primary sort order, this will read in shot ordered ensembles. When
you click on the parameter name, a selection dialog opens. You can
type the letter “S” in the header list to move to the headers that start
with “S”.

4. Leave the secondary sort set to NONE, this means that the default
sorting of traces within ensembles will be used. This default was set
when the dataset was written out to disk.

5. Type in the text box for the sort order list. If the list you plan to use
is very long you can select the pencil on paper icon to the right of
Sort order for dataset to open a text editor window appears. A
format and example are given at the bottom of this window.

6. In the text box or the editor window type 1, 3/

This specifies that only SOURCE numbers 1 and 3 will be read into
the flow. The slash mark is used to separate an optional second list
of primary keys to read. It is generally good practice to end the text
strings with the slash ( / ) character.

7. Select the Local Submit icon.

The first shot displayed is Live Source Number 1.

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8. Select the Next Screen icon.

This will be Live Source Number 3.

When the last source is displayed, the Next Screen icon becomes
inactive. To exit this display, select File --> Exit/Stop Flow.

Sort data by source and channel number

Let’s make the exercise slightly more complicated, and display
every tenth shot and limit the number of channels to 1-60.

1. Edit your previous flow.

2. Select CHAN for the secondary trace header entry. This will allow
you to sort each SOURCE ensemble by channel number, and also
limit the number of channels to be processed.

3. Change the Sort order for dataset to 1-101(10):1-60

• 1-101 selects the SOURCE range to be processed.

• (10) selects every tenth SOURCE within the defined range.

• the colon character ( : ) separates the primary sort values from

the secondary sort values.

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• 1-60 selects the first 60 CHAN (channels) within each

SOURCE.

Note

If you only select a primary sort key, then only one set of values should be specified
in the sort order for dataset. If you select both a primary and a secondary sort key,
then two sets of values, separated by a colon, are necessary in the sort order. This is
a common place for new users to have job failures.

4. Execute the flow.

You will see the first shot and all subsequent shots display with only
the first 60 channels.

5. Select the Next Screen icon to see additional shots.

6. Move your cursor into the trace display area. Notice that the mouse
button help gives a listing of the current SOURCE and CHAN.
Trace Display will always give you a listing of the values for the
current Secondary and Primary sort keys.

7. Select File --> Exit/Stop Flow when finished.

Sort data by CDP number

The dataset that we have been reading is stored on disk in shot order.
Both of the previous exercises maintained the shot ordering, and
specified the shot gathers to be displayed. In this exercise you will
actually read in the data as CDP gathers. This uses another option of
sorting, which is to actually change the type of ensemble being
processed.

Recall that the primary trace header entry specifies the type of ensemble
to build, and also the range of that ensemble to read. The secondary sort
key allows you to select and sort the traces within each ensemble.

NOTE: The SEGY file that was read already contains CDP numbers,
offset, CDP and shot X-Y coordinates and various other header values.
The default behavior of the SEGY Input tool reads values from standard
locations and puts these into the ProMAX trace headers. Refer to the
module documentation for details. Do not expect that every SEGY file
will have meaningful or valid values for any byte positions. Always QC
any data that you get from elsewhere.

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1. Edit your previous flow.

2. Select CDP for the Primary trace header entry. This tells the
program to build CDP gathers from the input dataset.

3. Select AOFFSET for the secondary trace header entry. This tells
the program to order the traces within each CDP gather by the
AOFFSET header.

4. Set the sort order for dataset to 500-600(25):*/

• 500-600(25) This select every 25th CDP between 500 and 600.

• *. This is a wildcard that tells the program to read in all

AOFFSET values in increasing order.

5. Execute the flow.

6. Notice that we have now displayed a CDP gather, even though the
input dataset is stored on disk as shot gathers.

7. Move your cursor into the trace display area, and confirm that the
displayed gather has Primary and Secondary sorts of CDP and
AOFFSET.

8. Select File --> Exit/Stop Flow when finished.

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Display near offset section

Using the sorting capabilities within Disk Data Input, you can easily
display “constant offset” sections for 2D marine data by selecting to
build ensembles of common channel number. These constant offset
sections will give you a broader overview of what the geology for your
line looks like and how things like the frequency content changes with
offset.

1. Edit your previous flow

2. Change the primary trace header entry to CHAN (which is a proxy

for constant offset for this dataset).

3. Set the secondary trace header entry to SOURCE.

4. Set the sort order for dataset to *:*/. The asterisk is the wildcard
character and indicates that “all” shots and “all” channel values are
requested.

5. Submit the job and step through the data panels. Select File -->
Exit/Stop Flow when finished.

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 Chapter 2
Interactivity of Trace Display
Trace Display provides general trace display and analysis capabilities. In addition, it allows for
interactive definition of parameter tables. Interaction with the data is accomplished using a series
of icons and pulldown menus presented upon execution of a flow with Trace Display. Icon or
menu choices allow you the ability to:

• Obtain information about the traces in the display window.

• Modify the presentation.
• Define processing parameter information.

Topics to be covered in this chapter:

o Trace Display Window

o Trace Display Icon Bar
o Using the Icons
o Interactive Data Access
o Menu Bar
o Create and Apply a Parameter Table
o Exit/Stop versus Exit Continue Flow

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

Trace Display Window

1. In the previous section we built a flow to display some shot data.

Execute that flow again with the following parameters. Be sure to
select YES for Interactive Data Access? for all jobs in this chapter.:

The following pages explain the most commonly used options and
features of the Trace Display interactive tool.

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You will get the following display:

Icon Bar Menu Bar Interactive
Data Access

Mouse help Data display

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

Trace Display Icon Bar

Following is a brief description of the Trace Display icons, located in the

icon bar:

• Next Ensemble: Show the next ensemble. When there is no more

data in the flow, the icon will turn gray and become inactive.

• Previous Ensemble: Shows the previous ensemble. Is not active if

the user does not specify Interactive Data Access in the input flow,
or if the first ensemble in the sort order is currently displayed.

• Rewind: Shows the first ensemble in the sort order. Is not active if
the user does not specify Interactive Data Access in the input flow,
or if the first ensemble in the sort order is currently displayed.

• Save Image: Save the current screen image. Annotation and picked
events are saved with the trace data, to be viewed later.

• Animation: Brings up the Animation dialog box to review the

saved images. This button is active only when there are at least two
saved screen images. You have the option to cycle through the
selected screens at a chosen rate. These are just screen images, you
cannot edit parameter files using the saved image.

• Paint Brush: Use this tool to apply picked Trace Kills, Reversals,
and Mutes to the display. This tool is only active when you are
picking a parameter table. The paintbrush tool is a toggle button,
select once to apply the active tables, select again to undo.

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• Zoom Tool: Click and drag using MB1 to select an area to zoom. If
you release MB1 outside the window, the zoom operation is
canceled. If you just click MB1 without dragging, this tool will
unzoom. You can use the zoom tool in the horizontal or vertical axis
area to zoom in one direction only

• Annotation Tool: When active, you can add, change, and delete
text annotation in the trace and header plot areas. For adding text,
activate the icon, then click MB1 where you want the text to appear.
For changing text, the pointer changes to a circle when it is over
existing text annotation, move by dragging the text with MB1,
delete by clicking MB2, and edit the text or annotation color with
MB3.

• Velocity Tool: Displays linear or hyperbolic velocities. For a linear

velocity, click MB1 at one end of a waveform and drag the red
vector out along the event. A velocity is displayed at the bottom of
the screen. Use MB2 to display a hyperbolic velocity by anchoring
the cursor at the approximate zero offset position of the displayed
shot or CDP. Position the red line along the event and read the
velocity at the bottom. New events can be measured with either
velocity option by reclicking the mouse on a new reflector to re-
anchor the starting point. Velocities can be labeled by using MB3
on the current velocity. Geometry must be assigned to successfully
use this icon.

• Header Tool: Displays detailed information about trace headers

and their values for each individual trace. Activate the icon, and
click MB1 on any trace to call up the header template. If the header
template is in the way of the traces being viewed, you can move the
template by dragging the window. To remove the template
deactivate the header icon, or activate any other icon.

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Using the Icons

In this section we will review the functionality of the Icons in Trace

Display

Zoom

There are three ways to zoom in Trace Display

1. Click on the Zoom icon so it is black. Select a rectangular area.

Zoom feature is
active when icon
is selected.

Press and hold MB1 to define the first corner of the zoom window.
Continue to hold the button and drag the cursor to the other corner.
Release the Mouse button and the display will zoom into that rectangle.

2. A single MB1 click on the data area will unzoom the display.

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3. Select a time range.

Press and hold MB1 in the column of numbers to define the start time
Continue to hold the button and drag the cursor to the maximum time.
Release the Mouse button and the display will zoom

4. A single MB1 click will unzoom the display. Click in the data
region to unzoom completely. Click on the time annotation region
to unzoom only vertically. Click on the header annotation region to
unzoom only in the horizontal direction.

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

5. Select a range of traces.

Press and hold MB1 in the row of numbers to define the start trace
Continue to hold the button and drag the cursor to the maximum trace.
Release the Mouse button and the display will zoom

6. A single MB1 click in will unzoom the display

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Add Annotation
Text annotation can be added anywhere on the display which is useful
for screen captures to identify specific features about on the display.

Text may be added, moved (in position on the display), and/or edited
using the appropriate mouse button as described at the bottom of the
display in the mouse button help area.

Click MB1 anywhere on the data area where you wish to place annotation and
the “Edit Text” window appears. Type in some text and press the OK button.
The text will appear on the display where you clicked.

You may move, delete or edit this text by placing the cursor on the text.
The size of the text can be controlled as an X-resource by editing the
appropriate X-resources file. This is typically owned by the Administrator, but
is found at $PROMAX_HOME/port/misc/lib/X11/app-defaults/TraceDisplay.

You can add additional text labels by clicking somewhere else on the display.

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Velocity Measurement
With the dx/dt analysis feature you can measure the apparent velocity of
linear or hyperbolic events that appear on the display. This feature will
only work if the trace offset values in the headers exist and are accurate.

Click MB1 on a linear event of interest.

Move the mouse away from the point where you clicked.
A red line should appear with velocity tracking at the bottom of the
display.
Press MB3 at the end of the line and the velocity will be annotated near
the line.

Hyperbolic events can be measured by using MB2 to initiate the line

instead of MB1.

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Trace Header List

You can get a listing of all of the existing trace headers and their values
for any given trace by using this icon.

Select any trace with MB1 and the trace header list will open in a
separate window. Click on any other trace to show its header values.

Click MB2 to open a header list for another trace for comparison.

You can remove the header list by clicking on the icon to de-activate it.
You may also find resizing and moving the windows to be useful.

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

Save Screen
This icon saves the current screen image in memory. These screens can
be recalled from memory and then can be reviewed in different
sequences.

Click on the
icon ONCE to
save the current
view to memory.

By default, a screen is saved every time you advance to a new ensemble.

If you change the display of a current ensemble and want to save an
image you must press the Save Screen icon.

Save three or four screens by either displaying a different ensemble, or

by changing the display (zoom, annotation, etc.) and manually saving
the screen.

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Animate Screens

After you save at least two screens, the Animation Icon becomes
available (i.e., it is no longer “greyed out”). Click on the Animation
icon to open the Animation Tool dialog.

With the Animation feature active you can review the saved screens.
You may elect to view them circularly, one at time in sequence, or compare
two of the saved screens.

The speed of the circulation can also be controlled by the Speed Slide bar.
The speed can be changed as the screens are swapping.

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Interactive Data Access

These interactive data access, or IDA, options are available in several

display tools including Trace Display and Velocity Analysis. Interactive
data access is only active when it has been specifically turned on in the
menu of the Disk Data Input tool. You must choose Sort (not Get all)
for the Trace read option. This selection exposes the menu item
Interactive data access which has a default value of No. You must select
Yes to invoke the IDA functionality. There are three options for
interactive data access:

• Sequentially step forward or step backward or jump back to the first

ensemble, respectively by selecting the Next Ensemble, Previous
Ensemble, and Rewind icons within the display tool.

• Use the Interactive Data Access window to change to sort order, or

jump to a specific range of ensembles.

• Choose a set of ensembles in a DBTools view of database attributes

and send the corresponding trace data to a display tool.

The first two methods will be discussed here. The database selection
method will be covered in a later chapter.

NOTE: You can confirm the Interactive Data Access (IDA) is

functioning by the existence of the Interactive Data Access dialog,
which appears on screen before the display tool appears. For additional
confirmation, you can step forward with the Next Ensemble icon. When
IDA is functioning, the Previous and Rewind icons will change from
“greyed out” to “black”.

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1. Sequentially move forward and backward several times using the

Next Ensemble and Previous Ensemble icons.

Next
Previous

2. Jump back to the first ensemble using the rewind icon.

Rewind to
First
Ensemble
in the
Interactive
Data Access
dialog list.

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

3. Type a range of ensembles to display in the Interactive Data Access

dialog, and press the Send Sort Order List button.

Type in a new
selection entry

Then click here

to reset to
your new list.
This restarts the entire data input process, so there may be a delay while the
new sort order is processed.

4. Notice that the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sorts are displayed
for reference only, you cannot change to attribute names, only the
range of values.

Also notice that you can select a previous sort list from the middle
box, or select a previously saved sort list from the file menu.

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Menu Bar

File Pulldown Menu

File has seven options available in a pulldown menu. You can save your
picks, make a hardcopy plot, move to next screen, previous screen or
rewind, or exit Trace Display. You have two choices when you exit. You
can exit and stop the flow, or you can exit and let the flow continue
without Trace Display.

Note:

Use caution when using the stop option. For example, assume that you have a flow
that contains Disk Data Input to read in ten ensembles followed by Disk Data
Output and Trace Display. If you execute this flow and use the Exit/Stop Flow
option after viewing the first five ensembles, then only the five ensembles that you
viewed will be stored in the output dataset as opposed to writing out ten ensembles.
If you use the Exit/Continue Flow option instead, then all ten ensembles will be
written out.

View Pulldown Menu

View has six options in a pulldown menu. You can control the trace
display, the trace scaling, and trace annotation parameters. You can also
choose to plot a trace header above the trace data, edit the color map
used for color displays or toggle the color bar on and off.

Common changes would be to change the Amplitude Scaling Factor

from 1 to other values, and to change the display mode from WT/VAR
to Variable Density using a greyscale.

Adding Header plots of various header words is also commonly done.

For pre-stack data you may elect to plot the offset above the traces and
for stack data you may want to plot the stack fold above the section.

You may also elect to change the numbers plotted above the traces. For
example you may want to look at the FFID numbers and the offsets.

The best way to learn these features is to play with them and see what
happens.

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Watch the difference between the Apply and OK buttons. The Apply
button will make the changes but the selection window will remain. The
OK button will make the changes and dismiss the window.

Animation Pull Down Menu

The Animation menu has options to save the current screen and to open
the Animation tool dialog, shown below. These two menu options are
identical to the functionality provided by the Save Screens and Animate
Screens icons.

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Picking Pull Down Menu

Picking allows you to interactively open and add information to one or
more parameter tables.

These parameter tables allow you to save information about which

picked traces you’d like to kill or reverse. Also, you can pick any kind
of mute, horizons, gates, or autostatics horizons. Other options allow
you to edit database or header values.

We will look at this option in the next section.

Once you have selected a parameter table for your picks, a new icon will
appear in the icon bar.

NOTE: The first break picking capabilities under the Picking options
are not discussed in this part of the course. It may be discussed by your
instructor, if time allows.

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Create and Apply a Parameter Table

Parameter tables are generated when you interactively define lists or

tables of information. These files are stored in binary format and are
intended for use in subsequent processing flows. The interactivity of
Trace Display allows you to generate these tables, while viewing the
data. You may also QC the interpolation of values from one shot, or
CDP to another for space variant parameter tables such as mute
functions.

Pick Parameter Tables

In this exercise, you will pick a top mute and some example trace edits.
Other parameter tables may be picked in a similar fashion.

1. Edit your flow named 01 SEGY Input.

2. Select to read the first, middle and last shot gathers on the line
(Sources 1,88,176).

3. In Trace Display, set the Number of ENSEMBLES (line

segments)/screen to 3, which allows all three shot records to be
shown together in a single view.

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4. Execute the flow.

The interactive Trace Display window appears.

Click on Picking to show pull-down menu

Example shots for Parameter Table Picking

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

5. Select Picking -->Pick Top mute. Another window appears for

selecting a previous mute parameter file or creating a new file.

Type in a
descriptive
name for
your table

Type in a new table name, for example top mute - direct arrival,
and press the OK button. It is recommended that you describe the
purpose of the table as well as the type of data that it was picked on.

When you create a new table, another window appears listing trace
headers to choose the secondary key from.

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In this case, an appropriate key for muting traces would be

AOFFSET, allowing selection of the mute within each shot record
based on times that are interpolated as a function of absolute value
of offset. Depending upon the parameter table you are picking, the
most appropriate secondary header should appear at the top of the
list.

NOTE: It is convenient that AOFFSET happens to be first in the

alphabetized list.

The “Picking” icon

• This icon is automatically activated (depressed and set to black)
when a pick object from the Picking menu is selected. A small
window with the file name will appear. This means the table is open
and ready to be edited. When active, click with MB1 to pick a point
on a trace or click and drag to pick a range of traces. When the
mouse is over a picked point, the pointer shape changes into a
circle. Click and drag using MB1 to move a picked point. Use MB2
to select a single point to delete, or click and drag over a range of
points to delete them. To select traces from the next shot, use the
Next Ensemble icon. The created table remains open, and waits for
more picks to be added to the file.

Some parameter tables require a top pick and a bottom pick, such as
a surgical mute or a miscellaneous time gate. Once you have picked
the top element such as the top of a time gate, depress MB3
anywhere inside the trace portion of Trace Display. A new menu
appears allowing you to pick an associated layer (New Layer).
Some of the other options allow you to snap your pick to the nearest
amplitude peak, trough or zero crossing.

6. Pick a mute.

Pick a few points (3 to 5) on the first shot to define a top mute to

remove the direct arrival energy. Selected points will be connected
and with a straight red line between picks.

7. Click MB3 in the display field and choose Project from the popup
menu to display the interpolation/extrapolation of your picks on all
offsets and to the other shots in the display.

8. Pick a different mute on the last shot and click MB3 > Project
again. Watch how the projected mute on the center shot is
interpolated based on the first and last shots.

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Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

When you finish picking, your mute should look similar to the
following. Your mute should be below the direct arrival (around 200
ms on the near offset), but should not cut into the water bottom
reflector or refractor, for this exercise.:

Direct arrival

9. When you are happy with your mute, save the table to disk by
clicking on File > Save Picks. It is a good practice to save your
picks occasionally, in case you get taken away from your work.
This mute will be used when you process this data “for real” in
Chapters 3-6.

The “Paint Brush” Icon

The Paint Brush can be used to visually show the effect of applying the
mute.

10. Select the Paint Brush icon.

You can toggle the mute on and off with the Paint Brush Icon. Edit
the mute if you are not happy. Remember you can only edit picks
when the picking icon is highlighted.

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NOTE: The Paint Brush icon only shows graphically what the mute
would look like if applied. You must save the table, then run another
flow to actually apply the mute to real traces.

Picking Traces to be Killed

11. Select Picking --> Kill Traces.

You will be prompted to enter a descriptive name for this list of

traces to be killed followed by a secondary header selection. Use a
descriptive name similar to “trace kills”. The sensible choice for the
secondary key is “CHAN (recording channel number)”.sorted by
Channel number.

A second parameter table is now listed in the Parameter table

selection window.

12. Using MB1 select some traces to be killed (use your imagination).

MB2 can be used to remove previously selected traces from the list.
The traces to be killed will be marked with at Red line.

13. Select File --> Exit/Stop Flow. When you choose to exit, you are
prompted to save the picks you have just made. The picks are saved
in parameter tables which can be used later in processing.

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Apply the Mute and Trace Edits

Here is a convenient opportunity show you other options for the
presentation style of the Flow Editor which you may prefer.

1. Let’s start by editing your previous flow and inserting the modules
Trace Muting and Trace Kill/Reverse

Now go to the icon bar across the top of the Navigator and click MB1
on the icon indicated below -- this icon reveals a pulldown set of three
additional icons. Click MB1 on the second of the three icons.

Compact style

Scrollable list

The second “pulldown” icon changes the Flow Editor to the “scrolled
parameter list” presentation. Notice how the Flow Editor has changed.
You still see the list of modules, but now the menu parameters for all
modules are shown to the right.

Click on a module name on the left and its parameter menu shifts to the
top of the scrollable list. The scroll bar on the right allows you to move
up or down anywhere in the list. If you prefer this Flow Editor style, you
can set this in the Flow Editor tab of the User Preferences dialog (Edit

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 Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

> Preferences) by un-checking the box for “Use dialogs instead of a

scrolled list of parameters for all processes”.

If you prefer the normal style of the Flow Editor, click on the same icon
location and select the first pulldown icon for “Compact” style.

simply click on the same icon sequence to that got you here.

2. Let’s return to editing and parameterizing the flow. In the Trace

Muting menu click on Invalid to choose the mute table that you
picked in the previous exercise.

3. In the Trace Kill/Reverse menu select the table containing the list
of traces to be killed.

4. Execute the flow.

Notice the effect Trace Muting has on your data. Also, be aware that
this effect is only applied to the display. There is no Disk Data
Output tool in the flow, so no data is being saved.

Example Display with Mute and Edits Applied

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 2-27

Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

Exit/Stop versus Exit Continue Flow

There are two Exit options in Trace Display. One will terminate the
Trace Display and the entire flow, the other will Terminate the Trace
Display and allow the remaining processes in the flow to continue
running.

If you have a large dataset and/or compute-intensive tools in the flow,

you should pay close attention to this exercise. In this exercise we will
look at the difference between Exit/Stop versus Exit/Continue.
1. Using the same flow, change the input to read the first 20 shots
and add a Disk Data Output at the end of the flow and add a dataset
name of temp.

NOTE: The “0.0” setting for the Record length to output parameter
means output the entire trace, according to the length found in the
input data. If desired, the trace length can also be redefined using the
tool Trace Length. Do not do this in this exercise.

2. Execute the flow.

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 Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

3. The first display will have the first three shots, if you followed
instructions. If you have only one shot in view, then step forward to
the third shot.

4. Use the File --> Exit/Stop Flow pull down menu to stop the flow.
The Job Viewer will show the job status as User Terminated.

5. Exit from the flow and click on the Navigator tab and then
Datasets in the Folders list.

6. Click on the “temp” dataset with MB3 and select Properties.

Notice that this file contains only the first three shots that were
displayed. Because the Flow was halted, no additional shots were
processed.

7. Execute the flow again.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 2-29

Chapter 2: Interactivity of Trace Display

8. Use the File --> Exit/Continue Flow pull down menu. This closes
the Trace Display but allows the flow to continue sending data
through all the other modules.

9. This very small job finishes quickly. Notice that the Job Viewer
will show status of Completed instead of User Terminated.

10. Click on Datasets in the Folders view, then click MB3 on the
dataset named temp and select Properties. Notice that the file now
contains 20 ensembles, which matches the selected range of values
in the Disk Data Input menu.

11. Delete the file named temp from disk by selecting the dataset in
either the folders or table view in the navigator and using the MB3-
-> Delete option.

12. Close the Flow Editor with the X on the upper right of the Editor
dialog.

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 Chapter 3
2D Marine Geometry Assignment
This chapter and the following three chapters describe a typical 2D marine processing sequence.

Geometry Assignment creates the OPF (Ordered Parameter Files) Database and loads information
into the trace headers of the data. The sequence of steps, or flows, depends upon available
information. This chapter is an introduction to one of the different approaches for geometry
assignment. The Geometry Overview section in the online helpfile provide further details of the
geometry assignment process.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Create a 2D Marine Geometry Database

o QC the Geometry Database with DBTools
o Load the Geometry to the Trace Headers
o Interactive Data Access via DBTools and Database

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Create a 2D Marine Geometry Database

In this exercise you will assign geometry to a 2D marine line dataset by

first completing the ProMAX Geometry Spreadsheet to create the
database, and then creating a ProMAX format dataset with complete
headers. The spreadsheets are directly linked to the OPF database files
for ease of editing. After finalization of the database, the Inline
Geometry Header Load process combines an input dataset with
information from the database to create a ProMAX format dataset. You
will use the DBTools database display tools to check that the geometry
is correct. Two flows are required to accomplish the geometry
assignment:

• The 2D Marine Spreadsheet flow uses the spreadsheet as an editor

to add values and automatically enter the information into the
database.

• The Inline Geometry Header Load flow loads the geometry

information from the database to the trace headers of the ProMAX
dataset.

2D Marine Geometry Spreadsheet* is a stand-alone spreadsheet tool. It

provides full editing capabilities for defining the marine geometry.

This exercise defines the geometry. This geometry information will be

entered using the spreadsheet. You will enter the geometry information,
define the CDP binning parameters, bin the midpoints, and finalize the
database.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Description of shooting geometry

The following picture and table describe the general acquisition
geometry for this survey.

Channel 119 Channel 1

3150m

x
near offset = 200m 25m
far offset = 3150m 200m
group interval = 25m
shot interval = 50m

Shooting Geometry

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Parameter Value

Number of Shots 176

FFID Range 5650 - 6000 by 2

Number of Channels per shot 119

Channel closest to the boat Channel 1

Near Source to Receiver Offset 200m

Far Source to Receiver offset 3150m

Shot Interval 50m

Receiver Interval 25m

Shot Line Azimuth 10 degrees

Source Depth 6m

Streamer Depth 11 m

2D Marine Geometry Spreadsheet

13. In your 2D Marine Line add a new flow called 02 Marine
Spreadsheet and select the 2D Marine Geometry Spreadsheet*
process.

NOTE:

If 2D Marine Geometry Spreadsheet is not available in the

processes list, select the Product option at the top of the
Navigator and change to ProMAX 2D.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

14. There are no parameters for this module. Execute the flow to get the
following geometry assignment main menu.

15. Select Setup and fill in the boxes according to the acquisition
geometry table. The information that is input to the Setup menu is
used for QC purposes.

Geometry Setup Page

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

• Select Matching pattern number in the SIN and PAT

spreadsheets for the Assign Midpoints Method.

• Fill in the Source and Receiver Station Intervals, Nominal Sail

Line Azimuth, Source Depth, and Receiver Depth from the given
information.

• Click OK to save the information and close the window.

16. Select Auto-2D from the main menu.

We will use the Auto-2D spreadsheet to calculate and fill much of

the information in the sources and patterns spreadsheets.
Fill in these values

Auto Marine 2D Geometry

• Near Channel: Channel number closest to the vessel.

• Far Channel: Channel number furthest from the vessel.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

• Chan Increment: Channel number increment. This number may

be positive or negative.

• Minimum Offset: Distance along the streamer azimuth from the

source array location to Near Channel. See “2D Marine Sign
Convention Diagram” on page 9 of this chapter for more
discussion.

• Perpendicular Offset: Distance perpendicular to streamer

azimuth from the source location to the Near Channel. See “2D
Marine Sign Convention Diagram” on page 9 of this chapter for
more discussion.

• Group Interval: Receiver station interval in feet or meters.

• Number of Shots: Number of shots to generate in the sources

spreadsheet.

• First Shot Station: Station number of the first shot to generate.

• Shot Station Number Increment: Source station numbering

increment.

• Sail Line Azimuth: Direction measured relative to North of a line

extending in the direction of increasing station numbers. The
streamer azimuth in the sources spreadsheet will be set to this
value plus 180 degrees.

• Shot Interval: Distance between shot stations in feet or meters.

• X Coordinate of First Shot: X coordinate of the first shot station.

The center of the source array is what is typically defined for the
X-Y coordinates.

• Y Coordinate of First Shot: Y coordinate of the first shot station.

17. Fill in the parameters for this menu, and click OK.

For a more detailed description of each of these parameters refer to

later sections on the source and pattern spreadsheets. Status boxes
are displayed on your screen as the information is calculated. A final
box indicates if the calculation completed successfully.

18. Click OK in the final status box.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Patterns spreadsheet
19. Open the Patterns spreadsheet.

Patterns Spreadsheet

The Pattern for this acquisition geometry uses two rows of the
spreadsheet.

• Row 1 - Receiver pattern: This information should already be

filled out from the Auto-2D calculations. Check to make sure
that it is correct. The X-Offset value of 200.0 indicates that the
coordinates for channel 1 receiver will be calculated relative to
the shot X-coordinate.

• Row 2 - Source pattern: Enter Src Pattern number 1, as indicated

by the arrow in the image above. The X-Offset is 0.0 indicating
the X-coordinate is referenced to the center of the source array.
The Y-Offset of 0.0 indicates that the streamer is towed directly
behind the source array with no lateral offset.

The pattern information is very simple, but is critically important.

Unlike many land recording configurations, a typical marine streamer
configuration does not change, so there is only a single receiver pattern.
The source array position does not change relative to the streamer, so
there is only a single source pattern which we call “Src Pattern 1".

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

2D Marine Sign Convention Diagram

• The X and Y offsets in the Pattern spreadsheet are the distances

relative to the X-Y coordinates in the sources spreadsheet. A
positive X offset is defined as an offset distance in the direction of
the streamer azimuth, or in the direction of the tail buoy. Y offsets
are defined in the previous graph.

• The channel number in the Min Chan column is always the channel
number closest to the boat. If Channel 1 was the far offset, then the
Chan Inc would be negative. For streamer patterns, the X Offset
and Y Offset columns always define the position of Min Chan
(channel closest to boat) relative to the X-Y coordinate of the
source array. The Grp Int column defines how the receiver positions
change from the near channel to the far channel. This parameter
uses the same sign convention as the X and Y offsets.

20. Select File --> Exit from the Pattern spreadsheet menu.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Sources spreadsheet
21. Open the Sources spreadsheet.
Action needed on the indicated columns

22. When filling columns in the spreadsheets, there are three steps:

• Select a range of rows to modify.

• Select the column to modify.

• Select the action to apply to the selected column.

23. Fill in the Source column to match the Station column.

Select all rows by clicking MB3 on one of the numbers in the Mark
Block column.

Click MB1 on the Source column heading.

Select Edit --> Fill. This will bring up a window where you will
specify to fill the column starting at 1 and incrementing by 1. You
can also access this fill menu by clicking MB2 in a column heading
(remember to look at the mouse button help).

NOTE: The SOURCE attribute can be used for any purpose to

distinguish shot records. For this example exercise, we chose to
make it the same as the shot station values only for simplicity.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

24. The X,Y coordinates for this spreadsheet are already set by the
Auto-2D calculation. X-coordinates start at 10000 and increment
by 8.7. Y-coordinates start at 10000 and increment by 49.2. (These
increments are calculated from the 50 meter nominal shot interval,
and the 10 degree shot line azimuth).

25. Fill the H2O Depth column with 100.0 m.

26. Source depth is 6 m and is already set by the Auto-2D calculation.

27. Fill the FFID column starting at 5650 and incrementing by 2. Scroll
to the bottom of the spreadsheet and confirm that shot station 176
has FFID of 6000.

28. Scroll to the right to view the rest of the columns.

29. The streamer azimuth is calculated automatically from the shot line
azimuth. It is determined by orienting as if you were standing on
the boat and looking in the direction of the tail buoy. In this case,
the boat is traveling 10 degrees East of North, therefore, the
streamer azimuth will be 190 degrees. You can specify a feathering
angle with this parameter.

30. Leave the Time and Date columns blank.

31. Enter 1 for the Src Pattern column. Remember that we set the
pattern number (name) to “1” when we edited the Patterns
Spreadsheet, and you must declare that relationship here.

32. The Shot Fold* column will be filled automatically when midpoints
are assigned during binning.

33. Leave the value for Static set to 0.0.

34. Select File --> Exit to exit and save the Sources spreadsheet.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Binning
35. Select Bin in the main 2D Marine Geometry Assignment window.

There are three steps to be completed in this window, Assign

midpoints, Binning, and Finalize database. The binning has a second
optional step of binning the receivers.

36. Select Assign midpoints by pattern number in the source and

pattern spreadsheets, and OK.

Steps
1
2

Assigning midpoints

An Assignment Warning window always appears when the Assign

midpoints option is chosen. It simply reminds you that fundamental
geometry attributes will be calculated and will overwrite any
existing values for those attributes in the TRC OPF database. Click
Proceed.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Several status windows will be displayed. Click OK in the final

status window when successfully completed.

37. Select Binning in the 2D Marine Binning window, and select the
Midpoints, user defined OFB parameters method.

CDP
binning
parameters

Offset
binning
parameters

Binning Midpoints

Six of seven boxes in the lower half of the window become active.
Fill these in with the following information. There are two
independent sets of boxes, the first three boxes describe the CDP
binning, and the second three describe the offset binning.

38. The first two boxes allow you to specify a CDP number to tie to a
given source station. Entering some value larger than the maximum
number of channels per shot is a good rule of thumb. In this case, if
we tie Station 1 to CDP 127, the first midpoint recorded of the line
will be CDP 1.

39. CDP spacing is 12.5 m.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Offset binning creates the OFB (offset bin) parameter files in the
database. These are necessary for any surface consistent processes
which you might run, but they may also be useful for other purposes.
There are a couple of different scenarios for the values to use for the
offset binning parameters. The first is to make each channel its own
offset bin. In this case you would set the offset bin increment equal to
the group interval.

The second choice is to assign offset bins so that each bin has continuous
CDP coverage. For a typical marine case, you would set the offset bin
increment equal to twice the shot increment. For this dataset, the shot
interval is 50m, so the offset bin increment would be 100m.

25m inc
3150m
x

minimum offset bin center = 200 200

maximum offset bin center = 3150
offset bin increment = 25
Offset bin equals group interval

3137.5m 100m increment

x
200

237.5m
minimum bin center = 237.5
maximum bin center = 3137.5
offset bin increment = 100
Offset bin equals twice the shot interval

40. Enter the Offset Bin Center Increment of 100 m.

41. Enter the Minimum and Maximum Offset Bin Centers of 237.5
m and 3137.5 m.

42. Choose the option to have CDP Numbers increase with

increasing station numbers.

43. When the boxes are filled, click OK. When successfully completed,
click OK in the final status window.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

44. Select the Receivers method of Binning.

Receiver binning creates SRF files in the database which are a

numbering system for the Receiver Stations that is similar to a land
survey. These SRF files are necessary if you plan to run the Wave
Equation Multiple Rejection module, but is otherwise optional.
There may be some instances where highly variable water bottom
conditions may benefit for processing based on these “pseudo-
receiver” positions.

Binning Receivers

45. Set the Receiver Bin Width to 25 m.

46. Select the option to have Receiver numbers increase with

increasing source station number and click OK.

47. Click OK in the final status window when successfully completed.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Finalize the database

48. Finalize the database.

• Select the Finalize database option and then click OK.

Finalize Database

• Click OK in the final status window when successfully

completed.

49. Click Cancel in the 2D Marine Binning window.

50. Select File --> Exit to exit the 2D Marine Geometry Spreadsheet.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

QC the Geometry Database with DBTools

The geometry database is complete, but we should always check at least

a few critical attributes to see if the geometry definition looks correct.

The Geometry Spreadsheet is an interactive tool that allows editing

and updating attributes in the database that are specific to defining the
locations and relationships of shots, receivers, CDPs, etc.

DBTools is a general purpose database attribute display tool that allows

you to visualize and QC any database attributes, regardless of whether
they are specific to the geometry of the line. As you work through a
processing sequence, you may generate a variety of attributes that are
written to the database.

1. Open the DBTools interface by selecting Tools --> DBTools or click

on the DBTools icon). DBTools is the main database display tool.

Open DBTools

NOTE: From DBTools you can launch another database display tool
called XDB. DBTools and XDB have a number of similar capabilities,
but they each have capabilities that are unique. These will be explored
as you work through this class. You open XDB by selecting File -->
XDB Database Display from the DBTools main menu. In this class we
will work primarily with DBTools.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

2. In the DBTools main window click on the CDP tab and then double
click on FOLD to view a 2D plot of CDP versus FOLD.

Double-click on an attribute name is a short-cut to opening a 2D Matrix

view. This shortcut is equivalent to the following seven mouse clicks:

On the DBTools main dialog choose View > 2D Matrix to open a

selection dialog. In the dialog select CDP for horizontal, select Fold for
vertical, select Fold for color, select Fold for histogram. Click OK.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

3. The plot should look like the following:

4. Activate the Tracking Icon and move your mouse into the display
area.

5. Check the values of the first and last CDPs on the line. They should
be 1 and 819. The maximum fold on the line should be 30.

6. Zoom along the horizontal axis. Notice the repeating pattern of 30,
30, 30, 29, 30, 30, 30, 29 fold. This is due to having 119 channels
rather than the more typical 120 channels.

7. Slowly move your cursor across the bars in the histogram. Notice
the count of 441 CDPs with 30 fold and 154 CDPs with 29 fold. All
other histogram values are part of the taper-on / taper-off at either
end of the line.

8. Select View --> Close to remove the display.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 3-19

Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

9. From the main DBTools window select View --> 2D Matrix.

10. From the Create 2D Crossplot Matrix window click on the TRC
tab, then select TRC, OFFSET, CHN, CHN.

11. Select OK to create the following display:

Select Zoom icon

Zoom on the
horizontal axis

12. Zoom in on the first 2000 traces using a horizontal zoom.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

13. Activate the Tracking icon, and verify that the offset of channel 1 is
-200, and the offset of channel 119 is -3150. The values for current
cursor locations are displayed in the mouse button help area at the
bottom of the window.

14. Select View --> Close to close this display, but leave the main
DBTools window open for the next set of exercises.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 3-21

Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Load the Geometry to the Trace Headers

1. The next step will be to load the database information to the trace
headers, and output a ProMAX format dataset. In your 2D Marine
Line add a flow named 03 Inline Header Load. Add the 3 tools as
shown below

2. In Disk Data Input, select the dataset 01 Shots from SEGY. Use
the Get All (default) option for choosing which traces to read from
the input data file.

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

3. In Inline Geom Header Load, select FFID as the Primary and

None as the Secondary headers to match the database. Also, select
1480 m/s as the water velocity, which is used with the source and
receiver depths to calculate and apply the static shifts to move the
traces to sea level datum.

Leave all of the other parameter defaults.

4. Enter an output dataset name in Disk Data Output. For

convenience and for clarity, we recommend naming the output
dataset starting with the flow number that writes the dataset, then
the main sort order or data type, and then a description. For this
dataset use the name 03 Shots - w/geometry.

5. Execute the flow. Confirm that the Job Viewer shows a status of
successful Completion.

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Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

Interactive Data Access via DBTools and Database

DBTools and Interactive Data Access can be combined to allow you to

select a set of ensembles from a database display and then send those
ensembles to a trace display. In this section you will complete a simple
exercise to explore this capability, and to QC the header loading results.

1. Add a new flow and give it the name Display shots. Add the
modules Disk Data Input, AGC and Trace Display.

2. In Disk Data Input, select the 03 Shots with geometry dataset you
just created. Choose to sort by SIN (source index number), and
choose Yes for Interactive Data Access.

YES to
interactive
data access

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 Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

3. Enter 1500.0 for the AGC operator length.

4. In Trace Display menu set the Number of ENSEMBLES (line

segments) / screen to 2.

5. Execute the flow, and use the Header List icon to check that the
trace headers are populated. The velocity tool may also be
informative.

6. In the main DBTools window select the SIN tab and then double
click on FFID.

Double-click
on FFID

7. When the display appears, (1) activate the Rectangular Selection

icon, and (2) draw a box around a set of points by click-hold-and-
drag MB1. The points in the selection box are now displayed in

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 3-25

Chapter 3: 2D Marine Geometry Assignment

white. Send this selected set of data to Trace Display by (3) an MB1
click on the Bow and Arrow icon.

Notice that 2
the Bow-
and-Arrow
icon is
“bright”
when
DBTools
is able to
communicate
through PD.

8. Go to the Trace Display tool and move around in the subset of

records dictated by your selection in DBtools.

9. Use the Rectangular selection icon to select different ranges, and

single points (you may need to zoom in). The Polygon selection
icon may also be used but is more applicable to 3D data.

10. Exit from all Trace and Database displays.

3-26 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 4
Parameter Testing
This chapter continues the 2D marine processing workflow with parameter testing.

A suite of processes are provided for you that allow convenient and flexible parameter testing and
data analysis. You will use one of these processes to test parameters for gain recovery. You will
then apply deconvolution to your dataset and create a brute stack.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Parameter Test
o Pick a Deconvolution Time Gate
o Apply Preprocessing
o Create Brute Stack

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 4-1

Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Parameter Test

The Parameter Test process provides a mechanism for automatically

testing simple parameters by creating multiple copies of input traces and
replacing a key parameter in the process being tested with specified test
values. The output consists of copies of the input data with a different
test value applied to each copy.

Parameter Test creates two header words. The first is called REPEAT
which is a sequential counter of the data copy. REPEAT is used to
distinguish each of the identical copies of input data. The second is
called PARMTEST and is an ASCII string uniquely interpreted by the
Trace Display tool as a display label for the traces.

Test True Amplitude Recovery

In this exercise, you will use Parameter Test to compare the dB/sec
correction in True Amplitude Recovery.

1. Build the following flow named 04 - Parameter Test:

2. In Disk Data Input, select the 03 shots - with geometry dataset as

the input. Choose to Sort the data by SIN, and read the first,
middle, and last shot on the line. These SIN values are 1, 88 and
176.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Parameter Test will not work with Interactive Data Access, so set
it to No.

NO

3. Specify values for Parameter Test.

Enter a list of parameter values to test for dB/sec correction constant,

each separated by the vertical bar character ( | ) which is also called
the “pipe” character. To determine the format (real, integer, string)
and a realistic range of test values, look at the default value in the
True Amplitude Recovery process. Use values of 9, 6 and 3 dB/sec
for this exercise.

Notice they are entered in decreasing order. The reason will be

apparent when you see the test display.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

4. Specify True Amplitude Recovery parameters.

Select Yes for Apply dB/sec corrections, and enter five nines
(99999) for the dB/sec correction constant.

Note:

Entering five nines (99999) is a flag that tells the process to use the values
found in Parameter Test for this parameter.

5. In Trace Display menu set the Number of ENSEMBLES (line

segments) / screen to 4 and change the Trace scaling option from
Individual to Entire Screen. You will see why we have chosen to
show 4 ensembles per screen when you see the test display.

6. Execute the flow to compare displays.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

7. Look at all groups of shots by using the Next Ensemble icon. The
Control Copy shows the unprocessed data copy for each shot.

Notice that you have the three test values annotated and “control
copy” for reference with the tested parameter “not” applied. The
control copy is always last, so it makes sense for dB/sec values to be
entered in decreasing order so the smallest value tested is next to the
control copy.

8. View the tests on all three shots, decide on the most appropriate
value for the dB/sec correction, and then select File --> Exit/Stop
Flow.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

9. Go to the Job Viewer window and highlight 04 - Parameter Test.

Click on the “Display job output” icon (third from the left) to see
the job log. Look at the processes that were actually executed in
your flow.

Near the bottom of the log is a listing of the executed processes.

There are many additional processes listed here that were not in your
original flow. Also notice that Parameter Test is absent. This occurs
because Parameter Test is a macro, which is a module that
internally combines other modules in a single menu.

Tool name REPEAT

through FLOW_ENDIF
are generated by the
combination of the
module Parameter Test
and True Amplitude
Recovery (TAR).

Each tool name is a

module that could be
used to build a long
flow with many
parameter values to
be changed.

Parameter Test makes

testing much easier.

10. Edit your flow again, and change the Trace Display parameter
Number of ENSEMBLES (line segments) / screen to 1.

11. Execute the flow.

12. Use the Next Ensemble icon to step forward to the control copy for
the first record, then use the Animation tool to review the tests. Do
the same for the remaining shots.

13. Select File --> Exit/Stop Flow when finished.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Pick a Deconvolution Time Gate

Deconvolution improves the resolution of the seismic wavelet and helps

suppress multiples. It is usually applied to the data to prepare it for
stacking. In anticipation of this, you will pick a miscellaneous time gate
in Trace Display. This time gate will be used for the deconvolution
design window.

Picking a Deconvolution Design Gate

Display a few representative shots from the line and pick a
deconvolution design gate on them.

1. Copy your Parameter Test flow to a new flow called 05 - Pick Decon
Gate. Your instructor can show you a variety of ways to copy a flow
or to copy the menus from one flow to another. One method is to
select the New Flow icon at the top of the Navigator, type in the new
name, and then highlight all the processes in the 04 - Parameter
Test flow and drag and drop them into the new flow.

2. Use the same parameters for Disk Data Input as before, that is to
input only SIN values 1, 88 and 176.

3. Remove the Parameter Test menu. Highlight it and hit the Delete
key.

4. Set the dB/Sec parameter in the TAR process to 6. Be absolutely

certain that you do NOT leave this value at 99999.

5. Set the Trace Display parameters to show 3 ensembles per screen

and Entire Screen for trace scaling.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

6. Execute the flow to get a Trace Display similar to this:

Pick Layers dialog

Picking a Deconvolution Gate, top and bottom of gate shown

7. Select Picking --> Pick Miscellaneous Time Gate and give the
gate a name such as decon gate, and select a secondary key of
AOFFSET in the next dialog box that appears. You are ready to
begin picking when the Pick Layers dialog appears with your gate
name highlighted.

8. Pick the top of the decon gate on Source 1 (the record on the left),
similar to what you see in the image above. Click MB3 in the data
region and choose Project on the pulldown menu. This adds a
green line showing the extrapolation and/or interpolation of the
gate onto the other records. You can use this as a reference for
picking the top of the gate on the other records. Pick the third
record (slightly different from the first), then choose Project again
to check the interpolation on the middle record. Pick the top for the
middle record if you think the interpolation would not be adequate.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

9. Now you MUST initialize the bottom of the gate by clicking MB3
on the data and selecting New Layer from the pulldown menu. This
will add a new entry in the Pick Layers dialog that has the same
name as your table with a (2) prepended. Pick the bottom of the
gate on every record that has the top of gate picked.

NOTE: You MUST use the MB3 > New Layer feature to initialize and
pick the bottom of the gate. The miscellaneous time gate (GAT) table
must be picked with top and bottom pairs. Making a new table called
“(2) decon gate” will not work!

10. When you are happy with your picks, select File --> Exit/Stop
Flow, and select Yes to Save Edits Before Exiting. Your picks
should look similar to those pictured above.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Apply Preprocessing

SeisSpace / ProMAX offers a wide array of deconvolution processes.

These include, but are not limited to, standard spiking/predictive
deconvolution, ensemble deconvolution, surface consistent
deconvolution, and adaptive deconvolution. Your input data and
processing objectives will dictate which deconvolution is more
appropriate. For this class, we will use a standard spiking deconvolution.

Apply Mute, True Amplitude Recovery, Deconvolution

1. Copy your 05 - Pick Decon Gate flow to a new flow named 06 -
Apply Deconvolution. Add modules as needed to make the flow
look like this:
You may copy the flow, or add a
new flow then drag-and-drop or
cut-and-paste the menus from the
previous flow.
Alternatively, you can simply add a
fresh menu for each module.

In any case, you will need

to add these four new
modules to the flow.

2. In the first Disk Data Input make to select your 03 shots - with
geometry and choose to Get All traces. Do NOT leave this with a
sort for only 3 shots.

3. For True Amplitude Recovery, leave the parameters the same as

in the previous flow, that is 6 dB/sec.

4. Open the Trace Muting menu, then click on the word INVALID to
get to the MUT table list and select the mute you picked in the
exercise in Chapter 2.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

5. For the Spiking/Predictive Decon process set parameters as

follows:

Click on INVALID
and select your
time gate from the
GAT table list

6. Add a dataset name 06 Shots - with decon to write to in the Disk

Data Output menu.

7. Select the dataset 06 Shots - with decon for the second Disk Data
Input menu. The dataset is empty now, but will be filled with traces
when this tool is executed in the flow, which is after Disk Data
Output has done its work.

NOTE: This flow is composed of two “sub-flows”. The first sub-

flow is the first DDI through DDO. The second sub-flow begins
with the second Disk Data Input. The second sub-flow does not
begin running until the first sub-flow has completed successfully.

8. Set the number of ensembles per screen to 3 and choose Entire

Screen scaling in the Trace Display menu.

9. Execute the flow.

10. The first “sub-flow” will run, reading data from 03 shots - with
geometry and apply the preprocessing and output to 06 Shots -
with decon. Transparently to the user, the job continues directly
into running the second “sub-flow”, reading data from 06 Shots -
with decon and displaying the data in the Trace Display tool.

11. After looking at a few records to be sure the processing is correct,

select File > Exit/Stop Flow. There is no need to continue reading
data from the 06 Shots - with decon dataset.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Create Brute Stack

Getting your first look at the stacked data will involve several
processing steps including reading in the data as CDP gathers, applying
NMO, and stacking.

1. Add a new flow named 07 - Brute Stack and add the modules as
shown below:

2. In Disk Data Input select your 06 Shots - with decon dataset and
choose to Sort by CDP. Enter */ for the sort order to select all
CDPs.

3. To apply Normal Moveout Correction, we need velocities. Follow

these steps to copy an existing Vrms velocity table to your Line/
Subproject:

• Look in the Folders view for the Project named 2d-tutorials

• Open the toggle for 2d-tutorials to show its subprojects.
• Open the toggle for the tutor2d - WEMR and SRME
subproject.
• Open the toggle for Tables
• Open the toggle for VEL
• Click MB3 > Copy on the table named initial picked vels
• Return to your Subproject in the Folders view and click MB3 >
Paste on your Subproject name.

NOTE: Table files have a distinguishing name, and this VEL table
will automatically be added to the correct position in the folders of
your subproject.

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

4. In the Normal Moveout Correction menu choose the initial

picked vels table that you just copied. Use the default of 30 percent
for the stretch mute.

Use a stretch
mute of 30%.
This is crude,
but good
enough for
this class.

5. Default all of the parameters in CDP/Ensemble Stack. The

defaults call for the mean of summed samples with square root of
fold applied for recovery scaling.

6. Trace Display Label stores a text string as a trace header which is

automatically displayed by the Trace Display process. It is very
useful in helping to keep track of processes when comparing results
from multiple flows. Enter Brute Stack as the label for this
exercise.

7. Add a new dataset name 07 Stack - Brute via the Disk Data
Output menu.

8. Use the Test Parameters icon to check your flow before you
submit it. If you have Intelligent Parameterization turned on, this
behavior is automatically being done and should show status
messages at the bottom of the Flow Editor window.

Test Parameters (run the init phase)

9. Execute the flow if everything looks good.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

Display the Brute Stack

After your stack job finishes, you will want to display the stack.

1. Add a new flow named 08 - Display Stack:

2. Select your stack dataset in the Disk Data Input menu and default
all other parameters so that you Get All traces.

3. Specify the Bandpass Filter to be 3-6-60-70. for the Ormsby filter

frequency values.

4. Default all values for AGC. A 500 ms length is fine for this
example.

5. In Trace Display, set the following menu values:

Trace display MODE Greyscale

Primary trace LABELING header entry None

Secondary trace LABELING header entry CDP

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 Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

6. Execute the flow. You should have a Brute Stack similar to this.

If your section looks very different, ask your instructor for

assistance.

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Chapter 4: Parameter Testing

4-16 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 5
Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis
There are several processes available for picking stacking (RMS) velocities. In this set of
exercises you will use the primary interactive Velocity Analysis process.

You will generally want to prepare a special dataset for input to the velocity analysis tools. The
data must not have normal moveout corrections applied, but in order to improve the analysis you
would benefit from applying a standard bandpass filter, some type of amplitude scaling and
whitening applications. The input sort order will be CDP.

The output from this processing sequence will be a velocity parameter table which may be used in
subsequent processing.

You can operate on supergathers which combine several CDPs into a single location. Supergathers
can be helpful when analyzing low fold or poor signal/noise data.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Velocity Analysis
o Using the Volume Viewer/Editor
o Velocity Smoothing with Volume Viewer/Editor

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Velocity Analysis

The Velocity Analysis tool provides comprehensive interactive velocity

analysis, velocity quality control, and velocity field modification
capabilities.

Velocity Analysis is a “graphical socket tool”. Therefore, preprocessing

of data can be performed in the same flow before passing the data to the
analysis tool. When combined with IDA (Interactive Data Access) in
the Disk Data Input tool, this process also allows random access to the
dataset. With this feature, you can go back to a previously processed
ensemble, rewind the data to the first CDP specified in the sort order for
dataset, or go to any CDP in the dataset by specifying a new sort order.

Velocity Analysis can be used to quickly pick velocities in the

semblance panel or on the stack panels. More detailed velocity
information can be obtained by turning on the constant velocity strip
option and the interval velocity display. Choice of the analysis locations
is initially determined by sorting in the Disk Data Input step, but can be
changed within the Velocity Analysis tool. Picks can be made on either
the semblance panel or the stack panels. Picks made on one panel will
appear on the other panel. Velocity-time pairs will be output to a table
at each CDP picked by the processor.

It is strongly recommended to make supergathers of the data before

Velocity Analysis. This is especially true in areas of low CDP fold. This
exercise uses the Supergather Formation macro to create supergathers.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Pick Stacking Velocities

1. Build the following flow, 09 - Velocity Analysis:

2. Select parameters for Supergather Formation.

Supergather Formation is a macro that reads the data as CDP

gathers, and combines them into supergathers for the velocity
analysis tool. Data should be preprocessed gathers without NMO.
For this exercise, choose the 06 Shots - with decon dataset.

Set the Minimum center CDP to 150, the Maximum center CDP to
750 and the CDP increment to 150 CDPs.

Set the CDPs to combine to 9.

3. Apply a Bandpass Filter.

For velocity analysis, it is usually desirable to limit the frequency

range of the input data. Enter Ormsby filter values of 3-6-50-60.

4. Apply Automatic Gain Control.

For velocity analysis, a relatively short AGC window is usually

desirable. The default value of 500 ms will work fine for this
exercise.

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

5. Select parameters for Velocity Analysis Precompute.

Set the number of CDPs per supergather to 9, the absolute offset of

the first bin center to 200, and the bin size for vertical summing
offsets to 25. The maximum offset should have the default of 3150,
which is provided via the maximum offset value in the geometry
database.

In this exercise we will use 1000 m/s and 5500 m/s for the minimum
and maximum velocities for the semblance analysis and display.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Enter 9 for the number of CDPs per stack strip. This matches the
number of CDPs available in the supergathers.

To generate velocity fan function strips for our velocity analysis, use
the default Top/base range for the method of computing stack
velocity functions. Also use the defaults of 500 for the Velocity
variation at time 0 and 1500 for Velocity variation at maximum time.

Select Yes to use a guide function from an existing velocity table,

and choose the initial picked vels table that was used in the brute
stack job.

Set the Maximum stretch mute percentage to 60.0. The default of

30.0 is too severe.

NOTE: Looking back up the menu, the Number of stack velocity

functions defaults to 11. This is used in combination with other
menu parameters to generate 11 velocity functions. The functions
will be evenly spaced in velocity for each analysis location,
spanning the reference velocity functions from the initial picked
vels table. The slowest function will have a velocity 500 m/s slower
at time 0.0 than the reference function, and 1500 m/s slower at the
maximum time. Similarly, the fastest function will be 500 m/s faster
at time 0.0 and 1500 m/s faster at maximum time than the center
reference function. These 11 functions will be used to create the
stack strips and will be displayed on the semblance panel.

6. In the Disk Data Output menu, add an output dataset name 09 -

Velocity Precompute.

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

7. Select parameters for Disk Data Input.

Input the 09 - Velocity Precompute dataset created in the previous

run and set Trace Read option to Sort.

Choose the primary sort key of SG_CDP which was generated by

the Supergather Formation macro.

Set the Interactive Data Access option to Yes and allow the
remaining parameters to default.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

8. Select parameters for the Velocity Analysis.

Add a NEW table

where your picks
will be saved.

See explanation
below about
which items are
visible.

This is the
existing table
to be used as
reference
functions.
Stretch mute 60.0
for gather panel

The input data for this tool is precomputed which is the default
setting for Velocity Analysis menu. (The VA Precompute tool is
optional because you could do the semblance and stack calculations
directly in the Velocity Analysis tool.)

Add a new table name such as Final velocities where your picked
functions will be stored.

Provide the existing table name initial picked vels as the Velocity
guide function table.

Set the Maximum stretch mute for NMO to 60.0. This value will be
applied to the gather panel only. Because the incoming data is
precomputed, the stretch mute is already applied for stack and
semblance data.

For the moment, select Yes for Set which items are visible. The
menu expands to show a large number of parameters. Check about
1/3 down the list and select Yes for Apply NMO on gather panel and
Yes for Animate NMO on gather panel. There are many other
options that we will not explore here.

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Now select No for Set which items are visible to collapse the menu.
Your choices will remain in effect. They are only hidden to keep the
size of the menu small.

9. Execute the job.The IDA dialog and the Velocity Analysis tool
should appear on screen in a short time.

10. You can modify the display by selecting one of the pulldown menus
from the top of the Velocity Analysis display window.

The various menu options allow you to control the display

appearance and behavior and what items you want visible for
velocity picking. The Semblance, Gather, and Stacks pull down
menus allow you to modify display parameters specific to each
display component.
Output Velocity Table Name
Analysis Location

Cursor Tracking Readout

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

11. Pick a stacking velocity function for the first ensemble.

Activate the picking icon (by default it is activated and black), and
begin picking a function with MB1. You can pick in either the
semblance display, or the stack display. As you pick velocities on the
semblance plot, the picks are also displayed on the stack strips, and
vice versa. Use the next ensemble icon to move to the next analysis
location.

As you add picks, the gather panel updates with the current
“function”. Beware of strong multiples on this data.

12. After you pick the first location and move to the second, you may
want to overlay the function that you just picked as a guide. You
can do this by clicking on the View --> Object visibility pulldown
menu and toggling on the Previous CDP checkbox. Other guide
function options are available from this dialog box.

Your velocity picks are automatically saved to the VEL table when
you move from one location to the next. You also have the option to
save picks using the Table/Save Picks option, which is a good
practice. When you choose to exit the tool, you will be prompted to
save picks if you have made new picks since the last save.

Be aware that the picks you see in the tool will overwrite an existing
velocity function in the output table as you move from location to
location.

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Using the Volume Viewer/Editor

The Volume Viewer/Editor tool allows display of velocities and

interaction with the Velocity Analysis tool

As you pick velocities along a line using the Velocity Analysis tool, you
may want to QC the picked velocity field. This can be accomplished by
simultaneously viewing a color display of the entire velocity field. The
tool used for this is a standalone process called the Volume Viewer/
Editor. VVE communicates with the Velocity Analysis tool through the
Pointing Dispatcher (PD), which is initiated by the IDA option in Disk
Data Input. To establish communication, the Velocity Analysis tool
must be running before starting the Volume Viewer/ Editor. After
picking and saving at least one velocity analysis location, return to the
Navigator. You may choose to iconify the Velocity Analysis window.

1. Return to the Flow Editor for you velocity analysis flow. Click MB3
on all modules to toggle them off, and add the Volume Viewer/
Editor.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

2. Set parameters for Volume Viewer/Editor.

Select User Specified for the Source of surface coordinate limits.

The min/max CDP values are provided from the LIN database. The
default value of Volume sets the spatial range using the existing
functions in the table, which is probably only a single CDP location.

Select the velocity table Final velocity that you are using in the
Velocity Analysis tool.

All other parameters can be defaulted. Notice the default of Yes to

Interact with Velocity Analysis? This allows the communication
with the Velocity Analysis interactive tool via PD (the Pointing
Dispatcher daemon).

Optionally, you may select to use a stack dataset as an “underlay” to the

velocity field by selecting Yes to Display poststack seismic data. You
must then provide the name of the stack dataset

3. Execute the flow and return to your Velocity Analysis display.

The Volume Viewer/Editor window will appear. You may need to

try different ways of arranging the windows on the screen until you

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

have made an arrangement that is workable for you. If you have dual
monitors, this should be easy.

The following diagram is one possible way to arrange the windows

if you have only one monitor

Possible Window Arrangement

If you have not picked any velocities (that is if the velocity table is
empty), the Volume Viewer/Editor display will contain zero
values, the display will be all blue, and the velocity scale will be very
large.

If you have only a single velocity function in the table, you will only
see a vertical color variation in the VVE Cross Section window. That
velocity function is extrapolated across the entire line/section.

Notice that the VVE tool shows light green vertical lines at the
CDPs 150 to 750 incrementing by 150. These are the locations for
data that is available to the Velocity Analysis tool. This information
is communicated through PD.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

4. From the Velocity Viewer/Editor window, select View --> Volume

Display.

The Volume Controls dialog window will appear. Select the Cross-
section Nodes button, then click Ok. This will display vertical blue
lines in the Cross Section window indicating the positions of the
Velocity Analysis locations already picked and saved to the velocity
table. The VVE tool refers to these locations as velocity “nodes”.

5. In the Velocity Analysis window, pick or modify the velocity

function for the current location.

6. In the Velocity Analysis display, select the “bow-and-arrow” icon

to send the new information to the Volume Viewer/Editor.

The velocity displayed in Volume Viewer/Editor updates in response

to picks made in Velocity Analysis when you either 1) click on the
bow-and-arrow icon or 2) when you move to a new location. You
should now see a vertical line in the Cross Section window at the
CDP location of the velocity function just picked.

7. In the Velocity Analysis window, select the “Process next

ensemble” icon, and pick the next analysis location.

When you are finished picking this new analysis location, select the
“Process next ensemble” icon again. This will not only move you to
the next analysis location, but will automatically send the velocity
picks just made to the Volume Viewer/Editor display.

8. In the Volume Viewer window, select the “PD” icon.

Any Velocity Analysis CDP location can be easily retrieved or

deleted from Volume Viewer/Editor through the use of the mouse.

Volume Viewer/Editor PD Function

By activating PD icon on the Volume Viewer/Editor, you can select a
CDP location in the Viewer and tell the Velocity Analysis tool to
retrieve and display the data for that location. This icon does not appear
if No was selected for Interact with Velocity Analysis in the VVE menu.

9. With the “PD” icon activated, position the mouse cursor over a
node in the VVE display. The cursor should change from an arrow
to an “o” or small circle. Click MB1 on that location to retrieve that
velocity function into the Velocity Analysis display. Clicking MB2

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

deletes that function. You will have to re-pick that entire function if
you change you mind about the deletion.

10. To various locations in the Viewer and send data to the Velocity
Analysis tool to get familiar with the PD behavior.

11. Continue picking velocities in Velocity Analysis until you finish all
of the locations on this project and are happy with the velocity field.

Remember, you may either use the “bow-and-arrow” icon to send

the picks from Velocity Analysis to the Volume Viewer/Editor
display for QC before moving to the next analysis location, or you
may move directly to the next ensemble and your previous picks will
be automatically sent to the VVE display.

12. Once you have finished picking all locations, select the Bow and
Arrow icon to send the final picks to the Volume Viewer/Editor,
then deactivate the PD icon in the Volume Viewer/Editor.

13. Select File --> Exit/stop flow in the Velocity Analysis window.

14. Leave the Volume Viewer/Editor window active for the next
exercise.

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 Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

Velocity Smoothing with the Volume Viewer/Editor

Your stacking velocity picks have now been saved to disk for later use.
Before exiting the Volume Viewer/Editor, you are going to smooth the
stacking velocities and save them to a NEW table name later use in
migration.

1. Maximize your Volume Viewer/Editor display.

2. Select Edit --> Grid/Smooth Volume.

Enter the parameters as shown above, and click Ok.

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Chapter 5: Stacking (RMS) Velocity Analysis

3. Notice that the velocity field is smoother, and the blue lines
indicating the node locations have changed in response to the
increment values you specified above.

4. Select File --> Save As --> Active Volume.

Give your table the name smoothed for fkmig and click Ok.

Caution

Make sure that you select Save As to give your smoothed field a new name,
otherwise it will overwrite the input stacking velocity table and you will have to do
all the picking again.

5. Select File --> Exit.

6. Because the smoothed velocity table was created by an interactive

tool, the Navigator may not be aware of this table. You may need to
use the “Refresh” capability in the Folders panel of the Navigator in
order to see and select the new table name.

5-16 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 6
2D Marine Final Stack and
Migration
The suite of 2D migration tools includes pre and poststack time and depth migration and
migration velocity analysis. The available poststack migrations options include F-K, Finite
Difference, Reverse time T-K, Phase Shift and Kirchhoff. The goal is to migrate the stack section
with the most appropriate poststack migration process. To aid in this selection, the discussion
includes a brief description of each process. The online help and cited references give further
detail.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Final Stack
o Compare Brute and Final Stacks
o Poststack Migration Processes
o Tapering in Migration Modules
o Apply F-K Migration
o Compare the Stack and Migration
o JavaSeis Framework Create and SeismicCompare

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 6-1

Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Final Stack

Now that you have an updated velocity field, you should create a new
stack using the new velocities.

Create Final stack with new velocities.

1. Copy your brute stack flow to flow 10 - Final Stack:. There are three
changes you must make.

2. Select your new velocity Final velocity table in the NMO menu.

3. Change the Trace Display Label to Final Stack.

4. Select a new dataset name 10 Stack - final for Disk Data Output.

5. Execute the flow.

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 Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Compare Brute and Final Stack

To compare the brute stack and final stack datasets, return to your earlier
flow that displayed the brute stack.

1. Edit your 08 - Display Stack flow:

2. Add the process Disk Data Insert, and select your 10 Stack - final.

This process will insert your Final Stack into the flow after reading
the Brute Stack, but will not merge the datasets.

3. In Trace Display, choose to automatically save screens. This is the

default behavior

4. Execute the flow.

Trace Display first appears with your Brute stack.

5. Use the Next screen icon to step forward to your Final stack. Both
stacks have been automatically saved as screen images.

6. Use the Animation icon to compare the two stacks.

7. Choose File > Exit / Stop Flow.

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Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Poststack Migration Processes

Choosing a poststack migration process can be difficult. You must

weigh CPU time, accuracy of velocity model, steepness of imaging dip
and other factors in order to choose the most appropriate process. Often,
a number of different migrations must be run in order to compare results.
To help you decide on the optimal migration for a given situation, the
following summary of the 2D poststack migrations is provided:

Poststack Migrations
Migration Name Category Type Velocity V(x) V(t/z) Steep Rel
Dip Times

Memory Stolt F-K F-K Time VRMS(x,t) Poor Poor Fair 0.2

Phase Shift Phase-Shift Time VINT(t) None Good Good 1.0

Fast Explicit FD Time FD Time VINT(x,t) Fair Good Fair 9.6

Steep Dip Explicit FD FD (70 deg) Time VINT(x,t) Fair Good Good 21.0
Time FD (50 deg) Time VINT(x,t) Fair Good Fair 10.0

Kirchhoff Time Kirchhoff Time VRMS(x,t) Fair Good Good 14.6

Reverse-Time T-K Reverse Time Time VINT(t) None Good Good 2.5

Explicit FD Depth FD Depth VINT(x,z) Good Good Good 21.7

Kirchhoff Depth Imp.Eikonal Depth VINT(x,z) Fair Good Good 7.3

Max.Amp. Depth VINT(x,z) Good Good Good 12.0
Mult. Arr. Depth VINT(x,z) Excel. Excel. Excel. 64.0

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 Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Tapering in Migration Modules

Tapering is automatically applied to samples at the bottom and edges of

the seismic section prior to migration. This prevents migration artifacts
due to the abrupt truncation at the bottom of the input section (see
diagram below). The magnitude of the edge taper should normally
increase with depth, as migration artifacts originating deeper in the
section tend to move a longer distance.

Upper edge
taper default is 2 traces

Bottom
taper default is 200ms
Lower edge
taper default is 20 traces

A Hamming taper is used which consists of a cosine weighting that

varies from 100% to 8% over the length of the horizontal taper. The
bottom taper goes from 100% to 0%.

In the migration processes, there is a parameter that asks if you want to

change the default tapering. This does not turn off the taper, instead, it
allows you the change the default tapering values.

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Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Apply F-K Migration

At this point in a production processing sequence, you would have your

best stacked dataset with statics and velocities applied, a prepared
velocity table (smoothed, scaled by percentages, shifted to datum if land
data, etc.), and an idea of the types of migrations you would like to run.

In this exercise, you will run a simple F-K migration on your data.

1. Build the following flow, 11 - FK Migration:

2. Select your 10 Stack - final dataset and use Get All in Disk Data
Input.

3. Select parameters for Memory Stolt F-K migration.

Most of the parameters can be defaulted.

Select Yes for Get RMS velocities from database, and select your
smoothed velocity table smoothed for fkmig.

Set the percent velocity scale factor to 95. No special reason for this
choice.

4. Change the Trace Display Label to FK migration

5. In Disk Data Output, add a new dataset 11 FK migration.

6. Execute the flow.

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 Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

Compare the Stack and Migration

When the migration job finishes, you should compare the stack and
migration. Return to your earlier flow that displayed the brute stack and
final stack.

1. Edit your 08 - Display stack flow:

2. The easiest thing to do is to add another Disk Data Insert and

select your migrated dataset 11 FK migration. If you do not want
to see your brute stack, you can re-select the final stack in
DDInput, and select your migrated data in DDInsert.

3. Execute the flow.

Use the animation tool to compare your stacked and migrated

datasets.

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Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

JavaSeis Framework Create and SeismicCompare

There are two options for displaying a conventional ProMAX dataset.

You can build and execute a flow as we have been doing though this
exercise, or there is an option named Look that is found in the pulldown
menu when you click MB3 on a dataset name.

Look creates a temporary flow that includes Disk Data Input and Trace
Display, using the default values of these modules. There is no option
for additional processing to be done -- this a simply a convenient way to
very quickly and a simply “look” at the data.

Use the Look option to view any of the datasets in this project. You will
see a job with the name LookNNNN.0 in the Job Viewer. When you exit
the Trace Display, the temporary flow is deleted.

JavaSeis Framework Create* extends an existing ProMAX dataset to

have characteristics of a JavaSeis dataset. JavaSeis format datasets can
be displayed in several additional ways that simple ProMAX datasets
cannot.

NOTE: The JavaSeis Framework Create tool adds two files that are
a logical part of the original ProMAX dataset. The ProMAX
components of the dataset are unchanged, and you can still use it as
input to any appropriate ProMAX tool.

1. Add a new flow 12 - Create JavaSeis Framework

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 Chapter 6: 2D Marine Final Stack and Migration

2. Parameterize the menu as shown below. Be careful to select the

attribute name LINE_NO, (hashed line name), not ILINE_NO (3D
inline number).

3. Execute the flow.

4. When the flow completes, return to the JavaSeis Framework

Create menu and click MB3 on the dataset name to show the
following pulldown menu and select SeismicCompare

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5. The SeismicCompare tool will open as shown below.

SeismicCompare will be exercised extensively in the remainder of
the course.

6. Select File > Exit to close SeismicCompare.

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 Chapter 7
JavaSeis Data Format
JavaSeis is an “open source” data format that allows parallel read and write of datasets. This
allows highly scalable performance for a single job submitted to a cluster, even when the
computation requirements are low. Additionally, JavaSeis and the SeisSpace trace executive allow
very fast sorting of data in ways that accommodate very sophisticated algorithms. To use the
JavaSeis data optimally, the user must understand how JavaSeis datasets are organized.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o What is JavaSeis?
o JavaSeis Dataset Organization
o JavaSeis Terminology
o How does JavasSeis work?
o JavaSeis Dataset Examples
o JavaSeis Data Input - parallel distribution examples

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Chapter 7: JavaSeis Data Format

Introduction to JavaSeis

What is JavaSeis?
JavaSeis is an open source data format for seismic data. The format was
defined through the open source JavaSeis Project which is hosted by
SourceForge.net. The JavaSeis.org website has a great deal of
information, but the content is mainly useful to software developers
rather than end users.

The JavaSeis format was adopted and initially implemented in 2007

with the ProMAX 2003.19.1.0 release, which included the option of
using SeisSpace and JavaSeis. Major improvements were delivered in
R5000.0.0.0 version in 2008, and improvements are ongoing with each
new software release.

JavaSeis format accomplishes two key things: 1) it is a data storage

format that allows efficient parallel read and write of disk-resident data,
and 2) it defines the organization of data as it is operated on and
modified by the executing software.

A JavaSeis dataset is effectively an “N-dimensional” array. Currently,

JavaSeis datasets can be defined with 3, 4 or 5 dimensions, but the
concept could be extended to any higher number.

Each dimension is assigned an attribute name and a range of values. This

explicit organization allows JavaSeis datasets to be read from or written
to in parallel because every unit of data has a predefined position within
this framework. It also allows interactive tools to have direct and
immediate access to any “Frame” of data. These are the two most
compelling reasons for using JavaSeis.

Do not confuse the JavaSeis concept of “framework dimensions” with

the “spatial dimensions” of a seismic project. A 4D JavaSeis dataset has
no direct relationship with a 4D time-lapse seismic project. It may be
easier to think of JavaSeis dimensions as “address levels” or a
hierarchy for organizing the dataset.

JavaSeis Dataset Organization

A JavaSeis dataset has an explicit “Framework”, with each dimension
of the dataset indexed by a minimum, maximum and increment value.
In effect, a JavaSeis dataset is an array that has “a place for everything,

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 Chapter 7: JavaSeis Data Format

and everything is in its place” (if each thing exists). The location of any
unit of data within a JavaSeis dataset is defined by the indexed structure
of the Framework.

A JavaSeis dataset is always defined by at least three dimensions.

Let’s consider the logical structure of a 3D JavaSeis dataset. The three

axes or dimensions have the generic names “Sample”, “Trace”, and
“Frame”.

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Chapter 7: JavaSeis Data Format

The Sample axis has a fixed number of samples with a logical

minimum, maximum and increment. Typical time-domain seismic data
may start at time 0.0, end at 8.0 seconds and have a 2 millisecond sample
rate. We account for the first and last samples, so this data would have
4001 sample values.

The Trace axis has a fixed number of traces with a logical minimum,
maximum and increment value. A shot record is a set of traces, and we
often identify those traces by the recording channel number. The Trace
axis may use channel number (CHAN) as the logical labels.

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As shown in the previous diagram, a set of Traces is a “Frame”. A

Frame is a logical group or set of traces. The term ensemble is used in
many processing systems, and you will see that term used in SeisSpace
as well. When you see the word Frame, think Ensemble.

A logical Volume is composed of a set of Frames. A 3D JavaSeis

dataset is composed of a single volume. This bounding case of a single
volume avoids the need to declare a range of values for the Volume axis.

If our dataset was 4D, we would need to assign an attribute so we could

logically address each Volume on the Volume axis. Similarly, a 5D
dataset requires an attribute labeling the Hypercube axis.

KEY POINT: Think of a Frame as equivalent to an Ensemble.

JavaSeis Terminology
Here is a glossary of terms that are used with JavaSeis datasets. We start
with the generic names for the dimensions or axes of a JavaSeis dataset.

• Sample - the first dimension in the JavaSeis dataset. The sample

axis for time domain data is indexed by the triplet {start time, end
time, sample rate}.

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Chapter 7: JavaSeis Data Format

• Trace - the second dimension, which is described by a range of

trace’s values such as {first channel, last channel, channel
increment}.

• Frame - the third dimension, composed of one set of “Traces”. It is

easiest to think of a frame as equivalent to an “ensemble”. JavaSeis
datasets are read and written an entire frame at a time. A frame is
the basic unit for accessing JavaSeis data. The bounding case is a
Frame containing a single Trace.

• Volume - the fourth dimension, composed of one set of “Frames”

constitutes a single volume. A triplet of values defines the range of
Volumes. The bounding case is a dataset with a single Frame.

• Hypercube - the fifth dimension, composed of one set of

“Volumes”. A triplet of values defines the range of Hypercubes.

• axis - any dimension or address level of a JavaSeis dataset.

• range -the triplet of {start, end, increment} values that define the
sampling or labeling of a dataset axis.

• Framework - the explicit description of the axes of a JavaSeis

dataset as it exists on disk.

• Data Context - the explicit description of data at a given point in a

job flow.

Framework and Data Context are intimately related. Think of the

Framework as the structure of the dataset on disk. When a Frame of data
is read from the dataset into the flow, the dataset’s Framework defines
the Data Context within the flow at that point. Tools that fundamentally
change the organization of the data in a flow (such as stacking,
resampling, TX to FK transform, etc.) change the Data Context, and
such a tool should correctly pass this new context down the flow.

The Data Context describes the overall organization of the data within a
running job. There is typically only a small amount of data at any point
within a running job, but the system “understands” the entire Data
Context at each point in the job.

When everything is handled correctly, data in a flow that enters the

JavaSeis Data Output tool has a Data Context that can define the
Framework for the output dataset.

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How does JavaSeis work?

JavaSeis datasets have an explicitly defined organization such that every
Frame or other unit of data has a specific location where it belongs
within the dataset. This structure is referred to as the “framework” of the
dataset.

From the user perspective, it may be easier to think of a JavaSeis

“framework” as a row or an array of “boxes” that contain the trace data.
Any “box” can be found immediately according to its address, so that
data can be read without having to read through any other data or require
a sort or look-up table. In the same manner, when writing data to the
dataset, every Frame of data has a predetermined (logical) position. This
allows multiple processes to write to the same dataset simultaneously
without using any file-locking or other costly overhead.

A key thing to remember is that JavaSeis datasets are read and

written “a Frame at a time”.

The basic unit of data passing through a job is a Frame. Processes may
be applied to individual traces within a Frame, but data moves from tool
to tool through the job as Frames.

There also are processes that operate on a volume of data at once, which
allows application of true 3D algorithms. Tools of this kind are
commonly implemented as Distributed Array tools, which allow the
coordinated use of the memory of multiple nodes. The Distributed Array
is loaded “a frame at time” until the complete logical volume is in the
array, then the chosen algorithm is applied. This will be explained in a
bit more detail in a later chapter. There are even more complex
algorithms being developed for the Distributed Array that allow
operations between and among multiple volumes, but that is beyond this
course.

You may be more comfortable to think in terms of “axes” or address

levels for the dataset, rather than dimensions. Remember that the
various dimensions might not have a spatial component. Your data
might be sampled in frequency and wavenumber domain or tau-p or any
variety of other transform domains other than something associated with
X, Y, Z or Time. The system will take care of updating the data context
once you have data in the system. However, you need to become
comfortable with the nomenclature, definitions and options for JavaSeis
datasets in order to use it effectively.

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JavaSeis Dataset Examples

Here are some dataset examples described in JavaSeis terminology.

A stack volume for a 3D project naturally is a 3D JavaSeis dataset:

• “Sample” - amplitude samples in time (or depth)

• “Trace” - range of crossline numbers
• “Frame” - range of inline numbers

This stack dataset is a familiar “volume”. In the JavaSeis realm a single

volume of data needs no address on the Volume axis.

The Volume Axis is the 4th dimension or 4th address level.

The Volume Axis is where we address each Volume or each 3D unit of

data.

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 Chapter 7: JavaSeis Data Format

Shots records for a 2D line commonly are a 3D JavaSeis dataset:

• “Sample” - amplitude samples in time

• “Trace” - range of channel numbers
• “Frame” - range of FFID numbers

Each shot record is a Frame, and the set of Frames make a single volume
of data, hence a 3D dataset. In essence, a shot ensemble is a Frame.
Conventional prestack 2D data has three dimensions as JavaSeis.

As a disk dataset, this will be read one Frame at a time. Each Frame is a
shot record, which should be familiar as an ordinary “ensemble” of
traces.

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Prestack data for 3D project is often a 4D JavaSeis dataset, though

there are many variations according to the way we choose to sort and
organize the data.

• “Sample” - amplitude samples in time

• “Trace” - range of crossline numbers
• “Frame” - range of inline numbers
• “Volume” - range of offset bin numbers

In this example the prestack data are sorted into a number of Volumes,
where each Volume contains a specific range of offsets and each offset
range is assigned an “offset bin number” (commonly OFB_NO). Within
each offset volume the data are organized in Frames of Inlines, and each
Inline contains the set of Traces that are the range of crosslines within
each Inline.

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Cross-spread Gathers for a 3D project may be defined as a 5D

JavaSeis dataset:

• “Sample” - amplitude samples in time

• “Trace” - range of cross spread receiver numbers (XSD_RLOC)
• “Frame” - range of cross spread shot numbers (XSD_SLOC)
• “Volume” - receiver line number range (R_LINE)
• “Hypercube” - source line number range (S_LINE)

Each cross-spread is a volume of data, with axes defined by the receiver

station location with the cross-spread (XSD_RLOC) and the shot station
location within the cross-spread (XSD_SLOC). Each cross-spread
gather contains data from only a single receiver line (R_LINE) and shot
line (S_LINE). Using those attributes for the Volume and Hypercube
axes lets us know exactly where in the project each cross-spread gather
is located based on the data collection numbering scheme.

NOTE: The description above may seem unusual because some

processing systems reference cross-spread gathers in terms of
subsurface based inlines and crosslines rather than surface locations of
shot and receiver.

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Some key modules when using JavaSeis

You should keep in mind that JavaSeis is a data format, not a
process or methodology. The majority of trace processing tools
(modules) understand the concept of “data context”, and they will pass
the correct context along with the data to the next tool in a flow. In this
sense, all modules are “JavaSeis modules”.

There are a number of tools that are designed specifically to read or

write JavaSeis datasets, or to accommodate special capabilities that
JavaSeis datasets provide. A summary of the most important tools is
provided here.

1. JavaSeis Data Input reads traces from a JavaSeis dataset that was
created and populated by JavaSeis Data Output. Parameters in the
JDI menu control how data is distributed in a parallel job.

2. JavaSeis Data Output is used to write to the output dataset.

JavaSeis Data Output allows you to write to the same dataset from a
multi-joblet job or from independent jobs running simultaneously.
This tool can also output data to a JavaSeis Velocity Table, which
allows for much more efficient and dense sampling of velocity
fields than is possible with traditional ProMAX tables.

3. JavaSeis Sortmap Create* creates a map file that can be used by

JavaSeis Input to read the dataset in a particular sort order.

4. Inline Merge Sort reorganizes and physically sorts the traces into a
new JavaSeis context. Data are not output from this tool until all
traces have been read into it and been sorted. The tool will
exchange traces between nodes automatically to accomplish
sorting.

5. Frame Utilities allows the user to perform various operations on

the traces within a Frame, such as selecting or dropping out
specified traces based on a header value, sorting traces within the
Frame, etc. This tool operates on a single Frame at a time, and is
independent of any other Frame.

6. Data Context Editor is used to define the “context” of the data at a

specific point in a flow. The context is the logical ranges for each
dimension of the data. As data moves through a flow, the
characteristics may change by operation such as resampling,
stacking, sorting, transforms, etc. Our goal is for the context to be
automatically updated by any tool that imposes a change in the
sampling of the data in one or more dimensions. The most common

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place where Data Context Editor is needed is when data are

imported into the system such as with SEGY Input or SEGD Input.
The system must be made aware of the context of the incoming
data. The data context is used to define the “framework” of a
JavaSeis dataset at the JavaSeis Data Output module. The data
context is used by SeisSpace as the basis for communication
between tools in a processing flow.

NOTE: The Data Context Editor only “describes” how the data is
organized and how it is to be passed through the system. This tool does
not sort traces, it does not physically rearrange Frames, it does not
change trace header values -- it does not physically change anything
about the trace data. It only describes the organization. If you describe
the data incorrectly, unexpected things may happen.

JavaSeis Data Input - Parallel Distribution

In general, running a job in “parallel” is accomplished by parameter
choices at the bottom of the JavaSeis Data Input menu.

The exact options are dependent upon the Framework of the input
dataset.

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The commonly used parallel distribution options are:

• Block by Volume
• Block by Frame
• Circular by Volume
• Circular by Frame

There are three other options for “Workpile” which are typically only
used for shot migrations such as RTM. We will only illustrate the four
common methods here.

We will use a shot organized 4D JavaSeis dataset with the following

Framework:

This indicates that we have 16 shot lines (S_LINE), each of which has
11 shot stations (SOU_SLOC). For this exercise, we really do not care
how many traces per shot record or the trace length and sample rate. This
is because we read JavaSeis data “a frame at a time”. The size and
content of the Frame does not matter in the parallel distribution method.

Let’s look at this as a fully populated dataset, meaning that every Frame
contains a shot record.

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We will presume the job is going to be submitted using four Execs,

meaning it will be run as a single job, but the data will be split into four
subsets that will be distributed among those four Exec processes.

If we choose Block by Volume distribution, the data along the Volume

axis is divided into four blocks, with each block going to a different
Exec process as illustrated here:

If we choose Circular by Volume distribution, the data along the

Volume axis is distributed in “round robin” fashion among the four Exec
process as illustrated here:

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If we choose Block by Frame distribution, the data along the Frame

axis is divided into four blocks, with each block going to a different
Exec process as illustrated here:

Notice above that the 4th Exec has less data to process -- it only gets two
rows of Frames, while the other Execs get three rows.

If we choose Circular by Frame distribution, the data along the Frame

axis is distributed in “round robin” fashion among the four Exec process
as illustrated here:

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Now let’s consider a dataset that is only partially populated, as if the

project had an irregular shape. In the illustration below, blue indicates a
Frame containing a shot record and black is an empty Frame or non-
existent shot record.:

If we choose Block by Volume distribution, the data along the Volume

axis is divided into four blocks, with each block going to a different
Exec process as illustrated here:

Notice that no data exists in Volumes 13-16, so the 4th Exec has no work
to do. This means you might have a node tied up (via the job queue) for
that Exec, but the node would be idle. This is highly undesirable. The
problem is that the system does not know where data exists in the
dataset. When a job runs, each Exec must check whether any data exists
for each Frame. It is up to the user to create datasets that are “compact”

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and have the least amount of “empty” Frames. You should avoid over-
specifying the Framework size.

Here is a way that we can work around this problem, if it does occur. The
simple solution is to use Circular by Volume distribution:

In the example above, all four Exec processes will have a relatively
equal amount of data to process. No Exec will be completely idle, so
there will be no “wasted” resource.

It is very important that you understand the Framework of your datasets

and how your data can be distributed for parallel processing.

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 Chapter 8
Database From Full Extraction
In many instances you may receive data from contractors or other sources where the basic
geometry is already installed in the trace headers. You may elect to build the geometry database
from this existing information.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Overview of the Project used in Chapters 8 - 16

o Overview of Full Extraction
o Extract Geometry from SEGY files and Write JavaSeis Dataset
o Parameter Defaulting
o Complete the Geometry Database
o Load the Updated Geometry to the Trace Headers

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Overview of Project used in Chapters 8 - 16

Project Overview
You will process a land 3D project from raw records and geometry
through prestack and poststack migration. The emphasis will be on
introducing features and options in the system rather than the variety of
geophysical tools.

We will treat this as a re-processing project. The SEGY data has full
shot and receiver geometry information in the headers, and we will use
this to initialize the database. There are no duplicated shot locations and
no duplicated FFID numbers. We have prior first break pick times and
NMO velocity data in ASCII format.

We know the specifications of the CDP binning grid, but we will also
look at a method to automatically calculate a binning grid that fits the
midpoint locations.

Project Specifications
• This project has a multi-cable rolling swath shooting geometry.

• Typical shot has 106 channels on each of 8 receiver lines with

maximum of 848 channels on any shot, but number channels varies.

• Shot spacing is variable, with a total of 2094 shots.

• The shot line numbers range from 1 to 154 and are 165 ft apart

• The shot station numbers range from 101 to 306 and are 165 ft apart

• Group interval is 165 ft, with a total of 13201 receiver locations.

• Cable spacing is 330 ft, with a total of 78 receiver lines numbered

from 1 to 78 and stations along the receiver lines from 101 to 296.

• The source and receiver spacing yields a natural CDP binning of

82.5 ft parallel to the cables and 82.5 ft perpendicular to the cables.

• This project will treated as having surface sources.

• Record length is 4000 milliseconds sampled at 8 milliseconds.

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 Chapter 8: Database From Full Extraction

Overview of Full Extraction

For reprocessing, the extraction process can be used to read trace header
information for building the initial database. The extracted information
can be QCed, edited if needed, then CMP binning and final update of the
database can be done via the 3D Land Geometry Spreadsheet.

Full Extraction Path

O.B. UKOOA ASCII Field
Notes Data

UKOOA SEG-? Input

Import Spreadsheet
Import
Database
Import Seismic Data
Extract (ProMAX)
Database
Geometry Files
Spreadsheet
Ordered Parameter Disk Data
Output
Files

Marine Data Inline Geom

SSD correction Header Load Valid Trace
Numbers
Overwrite Seismic Data
Seismic Data Trace Headers
(ProMAX) (ProMAX)

The full extraction process makes one very critical assumption in that
there must be some unique trace header value for all traces of the same
shot and of the same receiver. That is, there must be something unique
about each source and each receiver position in combination with the
channel number. The uniqueness can be based on any of the following:
FFID numbers, or SOURCE attribute numbers, or surface station and
line numbers, or XY coordinates, or recording date and time values.

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Extract Geometry from SEGY Files and Write

JavaSeis Dataset

In this exercise, you will read seven SEGY files and extract the
geometry from the headers to build a database. You will also output the
trace data to a JavaSeis dataset.

Create a New Subproject and Run Extraction

1. The first thing you need to do is to create a new sub-project under
your project. Click MB3 on your project name and select New
Subproject from the pulldown menu. This opens a dialog where you
type in the name Salt 3D - extraction, then click OK. The

measurement system parameter is not currently used, so you can

ignore it.

2. Click MB3 on the new subproject name, select New Flow from the
pulldown menu and give it the name 01 - Extract database files.
Initially, add only the modules shown below.

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3. Parameterize the SEGY Input tool. Items flagged with arrows need
your attention for this exercise.

Type-in

or
Browse
for file
names

4. Select Disk for the Type of storage to use. Then choose Browse to
open a dialog to choose the SEGY files. Your instructor will
provide the directory name where you can find the seven SEGY
files.

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When you are at the directory indicated by your instructor, you will
see the SEGY files in the Files panel. You may need to stretch the
dialog to a larger size to see the full length of names.

Use MB1 and Shft-MB1 to select the files shown in the Files panel,

then click on Add to put the pathnames for all files in the bottom
panel. With all seven files showing, click on Done to close the
dialog and return to the SEGY Input menu.

5. There are a varying number of traces per ensemble, however the

MAX traces per ensemble needs to be supplied as 848, the
maximum number of channels per shot for the project.

6. Choose Yes to Remap SEGY header values. The default behavior

is to map the header values according to their published byte
locations to specific headers names in ProMAX/SeisSpace. Refer to
the help file for details. In these SEGY files, we have put six non-
standard attributes in convenient locations in the SEGY trace
headers.

7. Here are the attributes that you will remap:

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 Chapter 8: Database From Full Extraction

• SOU_SLOC shot station number

• S_LINE shot line number
• SRF_SLOC receiver station number
• R_LINE receiver line number
• FB_PICK first break pick time
• CABLE_ID relative cable number within a shot

NOTICE THE SYNTAX CAREFULLY. There are two places

where there are consecutive commas for each of the five integer-
valued attribute names and one place for the real-valued attribute.

Do not leave blank spaces.

Attribute names are not sensitive to case, but you may find it easier
to read attribute names using upper case characters. The format
value “4I” indicates 4-byte integer format. The format value “4R”
indicates 4-byte real (floating point) format, and requires the
additional code for IEEE (as opposed to IBM) in order read the
bytes correctly.

sou_sloc,,4I,,197/s_line,,4I,,201/srf_sloc,,4I,,205/r_line,,4I,,209/

fb_pick,,4R,IEEE,233/cable_id,,4I,,237/

4I
Upper
case
letter I

8. Parameterize the Extract Database Files menu.

Make sure to select 3D and Land as this is a Land 3D project. You

will identify all traces coming from a common source by their FFID
number and all traces recorded at the same receiver using the
receiver coordinates. There are no duplicate FFID numbers in this

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dataset. If there were duplicates, you would need to use a different

attribute to define each unique shot record. You will overwrite any
previous database information, if any, and choose No for Calculate
trace midpoint coordinates.

9. IMPORTANT! After parameterizing the menus, click on the Test

Parameters icon. This confirms that the SEGY file is found and
identifies any syntax errors in the trace header remapping, as well
as other possible errors.

Test Parameters

The message Error trying to build device list indicates that the
pathname to a SEGY file is incorrect. Check the spelling carefully.

Syntax for the SEGY header remapping is a common problem, often

indicating a problem with the Override format.

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Fix any errors and select Test Parameters again, and repeat until you
get the message Successful Init Phase!

10. AFTER you have a Successful Init Phase, add the Data Context
Editor tool to the flow. The Init Phase gathers information from the
SEGY Input menu and from the SEGY file that is used to populate
a number of parameters in the DCE menu.

11. Parameterize the Data Context Editor menu as shown in the

images below. Your instructor will go through each tab with you in
detail.

General Tab

The Description with a default value of “<none>” is an optional entry.

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The SEGY Input menu indicates that the input data are shot records, so
the fundamental data type is automatically set to SOURCE.

The JavaSeis Framework needs to be declared as 4 dimensional. You

will need to ensure proper values for the Sample, Trace, Frame and
Volume tabs, as well as the ProMAX tab of this menu. Fortunately, the
Init Phase (Test Parameters) has populated good values into many parts
of the DCE menu.

ProMAX Tab

If you followed the steps properly, no changes should be needed in the

ProMAX tab. If your values are not as shown above, you may redo the
previous steps OR you may directly select the appropriate values for the
menu.

Many ProMAX modules need to know the primary and secondary sort
keys, as well as certain other legacy information that is declared in the
ProMAX tab.

The value Yes for ProMAX TRACENO header values are valid is tied
to the use of Extract Database Files and writing a dataset to disk. Each
trace of the dataset uniquely maps to specific information that gets
written to the TRC Order of the geometry database.

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Sample Tab

These menu values are taken from the SEGY binary header. Make sure
your values match what is shown above.

Trace Tab

The CHAN (recording channel number) is selected for the Trace axis
with values ranging from 1 to 848, with the maximum number taken
from the SEGY Input menu.

The Physical units can be changed to feet if you like. However, this
value is not used by any process, so it does not matter. The Physical
spacing of traces can be left at 1.0. These values are IGNORED by the
system.

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Frame Tab

For this dataset we need to pay careful attention to the Frame and
Volume parameterization. This dataset was carefully checked to ensure
there is no duplication of shot station number within any shot line. That
is, every shot record can be uniquely identified by its shot station
number and shot line number.

REMINDER: JavaSeis datasets use an indexing scheme that requires

each Frame to have a unique integer identifier within its Volume, and
that each Volume have a unique integer value within its Hypercube.

The Frame axis will be the SOU_SLOC attribute (External source

location number) within each shot line. Minimum and maximum values
are 101 and 306.

Remember that JavaSeis datasets are read and written in units of

Frames, one Frame at a time.

A Frame is an Ensemble.

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Volume Tab

The Volume axis will be S_LINE (Source line, swath or sailline) with
minimum and maximum values of 1 and 154. All SOU_SLOC values
within a given S_LINE will constitute a logical “volume” within the
dataset.

NOTE: This dataset has 2094 shot records. The range of SOU_SLOC
values is 206 and S_LINE values is 154. This accommodates 206 X 154
= 31,724 shots. However, only about every sixth shot station was
occupied and only half the shot lines were used, which reduces the
number by roughly a factor of 12. You will also see that the corner areas
of the project space were not shot.

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12. Add a JavaSeis Data Output tool to the flow. Open the menu and
click on NONE to get to the datasets list, then click MB3 and add a
new JavaSeis dataset with the name “01 Shots - extracted”.

Be aware:
Create at
runtime

Create
“now”

NOTE: The recommended “Best Practice” for the JavaSeis Data

Output menu is that you click on the Create button when you have the
job fully parameterized, but before you submit for execution.

It is a recommended generally that you click on Create before you

submit any job. When you become more comfortable with using
JavaSeis, you may choose to simply submit using default values and not
bother with the Create option.

Be aware that there are some infrequent situations when the framework
can only be created at runtime.

13. Notice the previous comment! This job is a case where you must
choose Yes to Create/recreate dataset at runtime. You can click on
the Create button to see the what the Framework looks like, but
you will still have to select Yes as described above

14. When you believe you have all the parameters set properly, click on
the Create button in the JDO menu. If parameters are valid, the
framework for the output dataset will be created and shown to you
at the bottom of the menu. Check the values and make sure they are
correct. It is possible to have a valid framework that has the wrong
ranges of values. If any errors or problems are found, it will report

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(FAILED 1b) or very similar, and you will see messages at the
bottom of the flow to help diagnose what is wrong. Your instructor
can provide assistance in deciphering errors.

This job
requires
Yes to
create /
recreate

Check
these
values
carefully.

15. Execute the flow. This flow must be run with a single Exec (or
joblet). Your instructor will discuss Execs and joblets as we
progress further into the class and start running jobs in parallel.

There are two reasons this flow cannot be run as a parallel or multi-
joblet flow. First, SEGY files cannot be read in parallel, as they are
only read from the beginning to the end. Second, this job includes
the Extract Database Files module that writes to the OPF database
files. This MUST be done as a single joblet as we are not able to
write to the OPF database files in parallel.

Extract Database Files reads the trace header information and

accumulates all of the necessary OPF domains (unique shots,
receivers and traces) and their attributes. After all the trace data have

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been read, then the module writes the accumulated information to

the OPF database.

In the ProMAX tab of the DCE menu, you selected Yes that the
TRACENO values in the trace headers are valid. This declares that
there is an explicit one-to-one match between the traces in the
dataset and the TRC OPF (Ordered Parameter File). This “match” is
how we associate the database information with the trace data.
Another term you may see is that the dataset has “valid trace
numbers,” permitting further processing with a consistent pairing
between the OPFs and the dataset.

The concept of “valid trace numbers” is an important option for the

Inline Geom Header Load process which will be run after the
geometry is completed.

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Parameter Defaulting

User Defaults
As you build more and more flows, you may find that you want to
change the defaults of some parameters in some processes so that you
don’t have to continuously change them every time you use the same
tool. This section will introduce this concept by setting some parameters
in the JavaSeis data output process.

NOTE: This procedure is used for both ProMAX and SeisSpace menus.

The defaults are stored in a special flow. The administrator may set up
some defaults for everyone to use, but users can set up their own
defaults. On the Navigator tool bar, select Edit > Administration >
Edit Parameter Defaults > User Defaults as seen below:.

A special flow editor is opened in a new tab called the Default Flows tab
and is automatically called User.0 [Parameter Defaulting].

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Add the Trace Display tool (blue ProMAX version) and open the menu.

Near the bottom of the menu, select Entire Screen for the Trace scaling
option, and click on the checkbox to the left. It is the checkbox that
makes the default take effect, not just changing the value.

Save this flow. If you do not save the flow, you have not changed the
default.

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Now, every time you select (blue) Trace Display for a flow, the menu
default for Trace scaling option will be Entire Screen. You can change
the default values for any parameters in the menu to suit your
preferences. Of course, these parameters can be changed to the value
you need in case your preferred default is not appropriate to a particular
flow.

You can add tools (modules) to this special non-executable flow as you
find more tools where you want to change the defaults. This flow is
hidden from your real Areas/Lines/Flows, as it has a unique purpose in
the system.

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Complete the Geometry Database

Land 3D Geometry Spreadsheet

The geometry database was initialized and populated with values by the
Extract Database Files tool. In this section, you will use the Land 3D
Geometry Spreadsheet tool to QC the basic geometry, define and
apply the CDP binning grid and finalize the database.

The Spreadsheet is a special editing and updating toolset that operates

on the geometry database.

1. Build and execute the following flow 02 Geometry spreadsheet.

There are no menu parameters for 3D Land Geometry Spreadsheet.

NOTE: If the 3D Land Geometry Spreadsheet module does not

appear as a choice, go to the Navigator tool bar and change the Product
to ProMAX 3D.

2. Execute the flow.

3. The dialog below provides access to the various spreadsheet and

binning capabilities. This will be referred to as the main menu.

You can access additional information on spreadsheet capabilities by

selecting the Help option.

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4. Click MB1 on Receivers in the main menu to open the Receivers

Spreadsheet. All columns should have values. If the Line column is

empty, you probably ran Extract Database Files in 2D rather than

3D, and you will need to run the extraction job again. Scroll to the
bottom of the spreadsheet and verify that you have 13201 receivers.
It is not obvious, but the receivers are sequenced in the order that
each unique receiver location was found from the incoming trace
headers. They are not in order of station or line number.

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5. On the spreadsheet window, select View -> View All -> Basemap
to open a receiver and shot location map. When shot information
exists, it is automatically added to the view.

6. Select the Cross domain (double fold) icon. This icon allows a
variety of information. Move the cursor onto the data area and
check the mouse help information below the map. Hold down MB1
to see the receivers for the shot closest to your cursor. Move the
cursor across the project to get a better understanding of the
shooting geometry. Hold down MB2 to highlight the shots that
were recorded by the receiver nearest the cursor.

7. The receiver lines run approximately west-east. Hold down MB3

and drag along the northernmost receiver line to measure the
azimuth. The azimuth value is shown in the area below the map.
You should find a value of about 87.5 degrees (measured clockwise
with north being 0.0).

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8. Select the Zoom icon and use MB1 to zoom in. Re-select the
Cross-domain icon. Click and hold MB3 on any receiver, then drag
the cursor to check the spacing between receiver stations and
receiver lines. Distance and azimuth values are shown below the
map as you drag the cursor. Receiver spacing is ~165 feet and cable
spacing is ~330 feet.

9. Overlay a color contour of the source and receiver elevations by

selecting Display > Recs&Sources > Color Contour > Elevation.

Select Color > Bar to display the elevation color scale. Select Color
> Extents to change the elevation range.

10. Select the Views > Remove > Shot and Receiver based Field of
Elevation.

11. Return to the main menu and click on Sources to open the sources
spreadsheet.

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12. Click on the Report icon on the XYGraph Display.

Click MB1 on any shot location on the basemap. This action shifts
the spreadsheet to that shot.

After selecting a shot location with the Report feature, click MB1
on the BORDER of the spreadsheet window. Now you will see the
selected shot highlighted with a black box.

If you identify an anomalous shot in the XYGraph, the Report

feature is a convenient way to get to that shot’s attributes for
inspection or editing in the spreadsheet.

NOTE: You opened the basemap from the Receivers spreadsheet,

which displays the receivers first and then the shots. Because the
shots are the most recently displayed component, the Report
function is operating for shots. But, you had to open the Sources
spreadsheet for this feature to show you the shot you clicked on.

If you select View > Transparent > Receiver based Posting of

Position, the receivers have preference. Now the Report feature will
respond to receiver locations. Click MB1 in the map and the nearest
receiver to that location will be shown in the receiver spreadsheet.
Remember to click MB1 on the border of the spreadsheet window
in order to see that station highlighted.

13. Close any remaining XYGraph and spreadsheet windows.

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Enter Information in the Setup menu

1. Select Setup from the main menu and enter the values as shown
below. The details are explained below.

The Setup menu allows you to define global information applying to the
configuration and operation of the Geometry Spreadsheet. Much of this
is already set correctly by the Extract Database Files tool that
initialized the database.

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Assign Midpoints Method is automatically set to Existing index

number mappings in the TRC. This parameter is initially set based on
the method used for initializing the geometry database. It is extremely
rare that you would ever change this value.

Station Intervals section sets values that are primarily used for QC
functions that will be explained later.

Nominal receiver station interval -- 165.0

Nominal shot station interval -- leave at 0.0. Shot spacing for this
project is too irregular for us to do any useful QC based on spacing.

Nominal Crossline Separation -- ignore. This feature is disabled.

Nominal Survey Azimuth -- 87.5. This is the correct value for the
project, but does not effect any QC that we will perform.

Base Source station co-ordinates... This can be ignored. It is used

only for very old-style shooting where only the receiver stations were
surveyed, and shot station coordinates were derived based on receiver
station coordinates.

Source type -- Select Surface seismic source for this project. This
value sets the appropriate default value for certain menus related to
datum statics.

Units -- Select Feet for this project.

Co-ordinate origin -- Leave X0 and Y0 at 0.0. This allows a bias to

coordinate values.

NOTE: The Units value only affects the annotation that you see on
displays, such as showing “m/sec” or “ft/sec”. It is assumed that all data
used in the system has the same unit type. If you have coordinate data in
metric units and need to import velocity data that has English units, you
will have to adjust the velocity values to metric unit values before you
use the velocities. This can be done in the ProTab editor, which you will
use later in this class.

2. Click the OK button to register these values and close the dialog.

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Receiver Interval QC
1. Open the Receiver Spreadsheet for another QC option.

2. Click MB1 on Setup > Sort > Ascending. The following warning
appears.

We will sort the receiver data only temporarily. You will be warned
again before you can commit to saving the sorted data. And, even if
you did save, the tool will ensure that integrity of the geometry data
will be retained. Click Ok.

3. Notice the help information at the bottom of the window. You need
to sort the receiver data by Line and by Station (within each line).
Click MB1 on the column heading Line, then click on Station.
The data is now sorted, even if you didn’t see anything happen.

4. Click MB1 on Setup > QC, then select Interval/Error in the

dialog box and click Ok. You now have two additional columns as
shown here. Notice the scroll bar across the bottom. You may
choose to stretch the window wider.

5. The QC Intv* is the distance between stations. The QC Intv Err*

is the difference between the actual station interval and the nominal

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station interval of 165 that was entered in the Setup menu. Scroll
down to look for anomalous values. You will see a big difference at
the change from the last station on a line to the first station on
another line. Do not make any changes.

6. Select Setup > QC > No QC Fields. You must do this or the entire
spreadsheet program may fail.

7. Select File > Abort so that the sorting is undone.

8. Close any remaining XYGraph and spreadsheet windows.

Midpoint Assignment
This exercise explains the CDP binning procedures. We are treating this
as a reprocessing project and already know the details for the binning
grid that we need to use.

You will also see how to automatically calculate a binning grid that fits
exactly onto the midpoint positions. You can manually adjust the grid to
optimize its position.

1. In the main menu click MB1 on Bin. to open the dialog below.

2. Select Assign midpoints by: Existing index number mappings

in the TRC and click OK. The Assignment step performs the

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following calculations for each trace in the TRC order of the

database:

• Computes shot to receiver offset distance

• Computes midpoint coordinate between the shot and receiver
• Computes shot to receiver azimuth

3. The following Assignment Warning window will pop up warning

that some or all of the data in the TRC spreadsheet will be
overwritten. We need to do this, so click on Proceed.

4. A number of progress windows will flash on the screen as this step

runs. A final Status window should notify that you Successfully
completed geometry assignment. Click Ok.

If you get an “Error Encountered” message, you should check the

job log by selecting the job name 02 Geometry spreadsheet in the
Job Viewer window and pressing the View job output icon (third
from the left), or simply double-click on the job name.

CDP Bin Grid Orientation - Standard Definitions

Binning parameters allow you to choose any corner of the project as the
Origin of the Inline, Crossline and CDP numbering. You have complete
flexibility in the inline and crossline directions. Here are the keys to
understanding the binning grid:

• The bin grid Y axis is parallel to the specified azimuth.

• The bin grid X axis is 90 degrees clockwise from the Y axis.
• The grid cell X,Y dimensions must be input as positive numbers.

A good way to remember this is to think of the binning grid based on the
back of your left hand, with your index finger pointing along the Y-axis
and your thumb pointing along the X-axis. In essence, the bin grid uses
quadrant I of a Cartesian system.

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Following are examples of how the binning grid could be positioned

onto a map view of the project.
o
45
Azimuth __________
o
Y
Inline Parallel to ______ 45

Inline 1
Xline 1
CDP 1

o
225
Azimuth __________
o Inline 1
X
Inline Parallel to ______ 45 Xline 1
CDP 1

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Bin Grid Orientation for this Project

Azimuth 87.5o
Y
Inline Parallel to ______

Inline 1
87.5o Xline 1
87.5o CDP 1

Create and Save the CDP Binning Grid

The binning grid will now been defined.

1. Select Define binning grid from the binning window and click Ok.

This will open the XYGraph display with no data displayed.

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2. Select Display > Midpoint > Control Points > White (or choose
black if you prefer).

You should get the following map of midpoints.:

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3. On the XYGraph display select Grid > Display, then Grid >
Parameterize.

This default grid has the X-Y Origin at the lower left corner of the
map and 10 by 10 cells with 100 by 100 spacing.

For this project we will assume that the grid details have been
provided from previous work. If you were given three XY corners,
some simple math would be needed to calculate the values required.

Fill out your parameters to match the following:

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Click on the Green Traffic Light to display the new grid.

TIP: If you were not provided the bin grid parameters, you could do
some simple calculations based on shooting geometry and shot and
receiver spacing, as well as finding an appropriate azimuth using the
shot-receiver basemap features that were shown earlier.

4. Zoom in on the midpoint map to see how well it fits over the data.

This project was carefully shot, and the midpoint data fall in
relatively tight clusters that generally fall nicely centered in the grid
cells.

It is a good practice to scroll around the edges of the project space to

check that no midpoints fall outside the grid.

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5. Scroll to the northwest corner of the grid. Notice the origin grid cell
has an X in it. The Origin X-Y is the center of this grid cell. The

Grid origin X-Y

is bin center

Move Grid
icon

6. If your grid does not fit neatly over the midpoints, you can select
the Move Grid icon and drag the grid using MB1.
Notice the
appearance of
the grid along
the north edge.

Compare this to
the next image
after switching
the grid display
mode after
selecting
Grid > Drawing

7. It may be easier to move the grid to an optimal positioning by

selecting Grid > Drawing to change to display style of the grid so
that the intersections of grid display are the center points of each

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cell. This lets you have a “crosshair” to help put the grid centers
more precisely on the midpoint clusters.

In the alternate
Drawing mode,
the grid display
changes to show
the center of each
grid cell as a
“crosshair”.

Notice the appearance

of the grid along
the north edge.

Select
Grid > Drawing
to change the
grid display mode.
back to normal.

NOTE: The Grid > Drawing option is a toggle that changes the way
the grid is displayed. The grid parameters are not changed by using
this option. Select Grid > Drawing a second time to return to the
normal grid display mode.

8. Make sure you grid positioning is correct. If you experimented by

moving or adjusting the grid, please reset the grid parameters to
those shown previously (page 30) by selecting Grid >
Parameterize.

9. Save the grid definition by selecting Grid --> Save to and give
your grid a name such as Final typed-in grid. and click Ok.

10. Exit from the XYgraph by selecting the File > Exit > Confirm.

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Re-load the final CDP Binning info and Complete CDP Binning
1. Return to the 3D Binning and QC window and select Bin midpoints
> OK. Click on Load to bring in the final grid parameters into this
menu.

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2. Set the Min offset to bin to 165.0 and Offset binning increment to
330.0. There are variety of rationales for selecting the offset
binning parameters. We chose to use twice the receiver interval.

3. IMPORTANT: select Inlines parallel to the grid Y axis

(parallel to azimuth of receiver lines for this project).

4. Click Apply to perform the binning. This action automatically

saves the binning parameters shown, and generates a variety of new
attributes in the database.

5. When complete, click on Cancel to dismiss that status window.

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OPTIONAL -- Automatic Calculation of Bin Grid

The previous exercise assumed that the binning grid parameters were
provided from a previous processing of the project. Here is a method for
automatically calculating a binning gird that fits exactly over the
midpoint data of the project when you already know the exact azimuth
and bin dimensions that you want to use for the project.

You do NOT need to do this exercise. This is an alternative to the

manual and graphical manipulation of the binning grid.

1. Select the Bin Midpoints option in the 3D Binning and QC menu

and click Ok.

Enter
values for
these three
parameters
only.

These are
the only
values
needed to
calculate
a grid
that fits
exactly
over the
midpoints.

2. Enter values for Azimuth, Grid bin X dimension and Grid bin Y
dimension. (87.2, 82.5 and 82.5). Then click MB1 on Calc Dim on

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the bottom left of this dialog. This will calculate values for the next
four parameters.

3. You now have a parameters for a binning grid that fits a minimum
sized rectangle containing all the midpoint data of the project.
SAVE the Grid. Change the grid name in the menu above from
DEFAULT grid to something very descriptive, such as
calculated grid 87.5 Azim, 82.5x82.5.

4. Now you can return to the 3D Binning and QC window and select
the Define binning grid option and open XYGraph. Display the
midpoint data. Select Grid > Open and select the calculated grid
that you just saved.

5. You can make adjustments if needed, then save the grid.

6. Return to the 3D Land Midpoint Binning menu, Load the grid, set
all other parameters as discussed previously, then Apply the grid.

END of Optional / Supplemental section

Continue the project exercise below.

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Generate a Fold QC Plot and Finalize the Database

1. Return to the 3D Binning and QC window and select to QC the Bin
data. You must select your bin space name and click Ok.

2. This will generate a QC fold plot. Look for a relatively uniform

distribution of fold on this plot.

3. Return the 3D Binning and QC window and generate a QC plot of

“Line Space Fold”.

4. Examine the resulting plot, and ensure that inlines range from 1-
308 and crosslines range from 1-390. If your ranges are wrong, then
you probably set the inlines to be parallel to the X-axis instead of
the Y-axis in a previous step. Go back and correct it now, if needed.

5. Exit from both of the QC plots.

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6. Return to the 3D Binning and QC window and select Finalize

Database and click Ok.

7. When complete, click Cancel.

8. Select File > Exit from the main spreadsheet menu to exit the
Geometry Spreadsheet. Close any remaining displays such as
XYGraph. It is a good idea to keep your workspace clear of
unneeded windows.

9. Open DBTools and go to View > LIN. A new dialog will appear.
Scroll down to the bottom of the window and click on View Bin
Design.

Scroll
to the
bottom

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10. Make sure your bin display looks like the display below. Note the
location of the origin, the number of Inlines and Crosslines. If your
display does not match this, return to the Geometry Spreadsheet to
determine what you need to change.

11. Use File --> Close to remove the display

12. Use Database --> Close to exit the Line Database Editor

13. Use Database --> Exit to exit from DBTools

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Load Updated Geometry to the Trace Headers

1. If the geometry in the database looks good, build the following flow,
03 - Load Geom to Headers:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input select your input dataset that contains the
shots after geometry extraction.

3. In Inline Geom Header Load select the option to match the traces
by their “valid trace numbers”.

Since the traces were read and counted with Extract Database Files,
you have a “valid trace number” to identify a trace. In case the grid
definition you used was a little different from the one in the book,
select Yes to the two Drop Traces questions to avoid any traces with
“null” trace values for CDP or receiver location.

4. In JavaSeis Data Output make a new output dataset 03 - Shots

with Geometry. Notice that we have not included a Data Context
Editor. Click on the Create button in the JDO menu. Notice that
the output dataset has the same framework as the input dataset. The
only difference between the datasets is some additional trace
headers to hold the updated geometry information.

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NOTE: To compare multiple menus, open one menu with MB2, then
open the other menu by holding the Cntl key as you click MB2.

5. Execute this flow. This flow can be run either single or multiple
joblet depending on the training environment. Your instructor will
describe the options that are available for this class.

6. Use MB3 on the dataset name to open the Foldmap of the output
dataset and watch it populate as the job runs. On the Foldmap,
select Options -> Update Automatically.

7. After the job finishes, go to the Datasets list in the Navigator and
select MB3 -> Properties on the output dataset name. Review the
details of the dataset that are available here.

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8. The dataset should contain exactly 1,699,444 traces and reflect that
both the Geometry and Trace numbers match the database.

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 Chapter 9
Preprocessing and Elevation Statics
Both 2D and 3D land data need prestack processing and datum statics. This chapter presents a
brief review of typical prestack processing, including top mute, true amplitude recovery, trace
editing, deconvolution filter and elevation statics.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Make a Dataset with a Compact Framework

o Top Mute and Decon Design Gate Picking
o Interactive Spectral Analysis and Decon Test
o Seismic Compare as a Testing and Analysis Tool
o Elevation (Datum) Statics
o Trace Statistics and Editing
o Preprocessing Flow

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Make a Dataset with a Compact Framework

The preprocessing flow that you will build will apply a first break
suppression mute and a simple spiking deconvolution. Therefore, you
must pick a top mute and a miscellaneous time gate (decon design gate)
to satisfy the parameterization requirements of these processes.

Since 3D shot records usually span multiple cables, they will typically
have some duplicate offsets. Sorting the shot record by offset may help
pick the parameter tables, since both tables are time values, interpolated
as a function of offset.

Choosing Analysis Locations

The Foldmap allows you to select any data to be shown in the 2D
Viewer, and you can use this to select analysis locations as tightly or as
coarsely as needed to account for spatial variance in your data. The data
for this class has relatively little spatial variation to account for, and you
need only pick about five shot records.

There are two basic ways we can approach the location issue. We could
go directly from the Foldmap and display an arbitrary selection of shots,
picking tables from each shot. This would be fine unless we wanted to
revisit those exact locations to make changes to the way the tables were
picked.

The alternative is to isolate a few selected shots to a separate dataset so

we can easily return to the same locations if needed. We’ll work
through this more flexible approach. We will isolate a few shots and
output them to a dataset that has a “compact” framework.

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1. Make sure you are in the Subproject labeled “Salt3d - From

Extraction”.

2. From the datasets list use the MB3 options menu and select Fold
Map for the 03 shots with geometry dataset.

3. The view above suggests locations you might use for picking
parameters.

DECISION POINT -- How to Handle the data for analysis

The Foldmap allows you to open the 2D Viewer (Trace Display) and
select any frame (S_LINE:SOU_SLOC pair) for display. We could pick
top mutes and time gates directly from this display. However, it could
be difficult to return to those exact locations if you wanted to review or
edit them. You could write down the location details, but this would not
be convenient.

A better alternative would be to run a simple flow to isolate the selected

shots into a dataset on their own. The simplest way to do this would be
a flow with only two modules, JavaSeis Data Input and JavaSeis Data
Output, and let the input framework define the output framework. This
could work just fine, but the dataset would be even more sparse. That is,
we would have only five shots in a framework that could fit 31,724 shots

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(206 shot stations times 154 shot lines). The inconvenience of this is that
the Foldmap would have five tiny blue spots showing the shot locations
and you would have to zoom in on the Foldmap in order to find and click
on each location to bring the data into the Viewer. If you wanted to use
this sparse dataset in the Seismic Compare tool, finding the live shots
within the sparse dataset is even more difficult.

The recommendation for this situation is to ensure that we create a

compact framework for the shots that are selected. Here is a sequence
that allows a compact framework for this small set of shots.

1. Add a new flow 04 Pick parameter tables.

NOTE: This flow will include the module Data Context Editor,
commonly called DCE. This tool allows the user to change the data
context in the flow. When you have Intelligent Parameterization
“active”, the context of the flow is being evaluated as you add modules
and change parameter values. We recommend that you build the flow
and make parameter choices for all tools that come before DCE in the
flow. This especially applies regarding the input dataset in JDI, which
sets the initial context of the flow.

Add the DCE menu after you have made the key parameter choices.
When you add the DCE menu to the flow, its parameters are populated
with the data context of the flow at that instant. If you then change
parameters or modules, this may change the context of the flow, which
would then require changes in the DCE menu.

You can use the Reset button in the DCE menu to refresh all its
parameters in to match the current context according to tool and menu
choices above it in the flow.

BE AWARE that the Reset button refreshes ALL TABS of the DCE
menu.

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2. In JavaSeis Data Input select the 03 Shots with geometry dataset.

Choose Arbitrary Subset as the Trace read option, then type-in
the five pairs of S_LINE:SOU_SLOC values using the syntax
shown below.

You must type-in the numbers shown below into the selection list
parameter of the JDI menu. All parameters not shown further down in
the menu can be defaulted.

24:159/24:265/80:218/135:133/135:294/

3. We use Trace Header Math to renumber the five shot records. Set
the Select mode option to Sequence renumber mode.

Select

Follow
details
below

4. Click on the default REPEATED data copy number (the default

attribute for SELECT trace header word) to open the dialog shown
below. You can declare your own special attribute name by typing
the name you wish in the New Header box at the bottom of the
dialog window. Header names must start with an alphabetic
character and can be up to 8 characters in length. Numerics can be
used as well as the underscore character ( _ ).

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Type in SEQ as the name we will give for this new header. Let this be

an integer attribute because we will use it as part of the output dataset

framework, which requires integer attributes.

5. Set the starting and increment values to 1. Your THM menu should
look like this:

At this point in the flow we now have a convenient attribute called SEQ
that numbers the shot records from 1 to 5 (remember, we only have 5
records in this dataset). We will use this attribute as part of a new data
context.

6. The Data Context Editor menu is automatically populated with

the existing context in the flow, which is the context (or framework)
of the input dataset. The use of Arbitrary Subset has no effect on the
context.

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The existing context is 4D because the input dataset has a 4D

framework. We are going to change the context to 3D in the General
tab of the menu. With only 5 shots records, it is simpler and more
compact to use a 3D context.

7. Select the Frame tab of the DCE menu and choose the SEQ
attribute and set the first and last SEQ values to 1 and 5
respectively.

NOTE: If you feel you have made a mess of the DCE menu parameters,
you can click on the Reset button at the bottom. Beware that this resets

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every menu item of every Tab to match the context above this point in
the flow. Use the Reset button with caution.

8. In the JavaSeis Data Output menu, add a new dataset name 04

shots for testing then click the Create button.

NOTE: Check the framework shown at the bottom of the menu and
confirm that it is 3-dimensional with SEQ 1-5(1) as the Frame axis.

9. Execute the flow. You should inspect the job log after the job
finishes. The summary at the bottom of the log should help you see
how much data was processed.

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Top Mute and Decon Design Gate Picking

Pick a Top Mute and Miscellaneous Time Gate

1. Open the Fold Map for the new (and very compact) dataset 04 shots
for testing. Click on the icon shown below to open the 2D Viewer
which will come up with no data shown.

Notice on the Fold Map that the horizontal axis shows that there is only
one single Volume, which is evidence that this is a 3-dimensional
dataset. The vertical axis is labeled with SEQ(1-5,1), indicating there
are five Frames in this dataset.

2. Click on any of the five shot locations in the foldmap to display the
corresponding data in the viewer.

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Notice that each shot record is displayed with the traces in their existing
sort order which is by channel number. You can see each of the eight
cables of the shooting geometry.

Sort icon

Pick Editor

3. Change the sort order of the traces by selecting the A->Z icon on
the viewer, then select AOFFSET as the sort key. Click on the
CLOSE button to dismiss the sort dialog.

NOTE: The display contains a Frame of traces. We can sort the traces
within a Frame at any time, including while they are in this display tool.

4. Click on the Pick Editor icon and select Top mute. Alternatively,
you can select Edit on the tool bar and select Pick editor to
initialize picking. In the bottom of the dialog box you will need to
provide a name for the mute table that you will pick. All mute
tables appear in the same table list, so it is important to use
descriptive names for table. The name should include information
to remind you of the purpose of that mute. Something like “top
mute - pre-decon” is recommended.

5. Select AOFFSET as the secondary key for the table.

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6. You may need to change the scaling to Individual Trace or some

other scaling of your preference to see the amplitudes a little better.

Refresh icon --->

7. As you pick, notice that the red line is simply a straight line
between pick locations on the screen. The green line is the
interpolated value based on the AOFFSET value of each trace in the
display. This is how the mute will actually be applied. Use the
Refresh icon on the Picks dialog box to see the affect of the mute.
NOTE: this is a graphical affect only; no traces are actually being
processed.

8. Create a “miscellaneous time gate” using the Edit --> Pick Editor
pull down or the Picking icon in the icon bar to use as a time
window for the deconvolution design gate. Do not include any first
break or refraction energy in this design gate. After you pick the
top of the miscellaneous time gate, move the cursor onto the trace

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data area and click MB3 --> New Layer to add the bottom of the
miscellaneous time gate.

Notice that the Picks dialog highlights the active element that you are
picking. Be careful as you move from one shot to another that you select
the appropriate item in the Picks dialog. The “- base” is the bottom of
the time gate immediately above it in the list.

In the Trace Display window, red shows the active picks, green shows
the interpolation of the red picks and blue shows other pick elements
that are not active.

9. View all shots and adjust the top mute and deconvolution design
gate as necessary. It is a good practice to select the Save All button
occasionally in the Picks dialog.

10. Exit from the Trace Display (2D Viewer). You will be prompted to
Save Picks if you have not saved since your latest pick.

11. Close the Fold Map.

NOTE: If you close the Fold Map before exiting the Trace Display, you
will lose any unsaved picks. When picking parameter tables, you should
always save picks or exit the Trace Display before closing the Fold
Map.

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Interactive Spectral Analysis and Decon Test

In this section and the next section, we will show two different methods
for displaying power spectra and comparing data. In this section you
will create a ProMAX-style job flow and run the Interactive Spectral
Analysis (ISA) tool. In the subsequent section you will see how to use
SeismicCompare with its interactive processing capability and spectral
display view to perform a very similar exercise.

As with all tools and features shown in this class, you can choose what
is useful for your purposes.

Deconvolution testing may become very involved in certain situations.

One criterion that you may use to help decide on decon parameters is to
look at amplitude (or power) spectra of the trace data before and after
decon. We will start by getting familiar with the Interactive Spectral
Analysis tool. Then, we will modify the flow by adding tools to copy
each record and apply decon to one copy and compare the “before and
after” results. If the decon has worked properly, you should see some
“flattening”, or “whitening” of the spectrum after decon relative to
before.

NOTE: As with most exercises in this class, the emphasis is on

capabilities of the system. We leave geophysical optimization as a
subjective exercise for your own data.

The next section may be omitted in the interest of

time.
The primary tool used is the older ProMAX
Interactive Spectral Analysis whose
functionality is in process of being replaced
by SeisSpace/JavaSeis based tools.

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There are some flow management

techniques in this section that may be
useful when processing your own data.

Build a Flow to look at a power spectrum of a shot

1. Build the following flow, 05 Interactive spectral analys. Start by
reading the test shot dataset and running the ISA in “Simple” mode.

This first time we run ISA it is in its simplest configuration. Use

Data selection method of Simple and Display data by Ensembles.
Set the Secondary header for sorting to OFFSET.

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You will see the following display:

Interactive Spectral Analysis - Simple Mode

In Simple mode the entire record is transformed and displayed. You

can control the contents of the display by using the View -->
Visibility pull down menu and selecting the individual tiles of
interest.

2. Exit from the display using the File > Exit/Stop Flow pull down
menu.

3. Return to the flow and change the ISA Data selection mode to
Single Subset.

4. Execute the flow again.

You will get the following display:

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Select
Subset

In this mode you can select a Single Subset of the available data for
the purposes of computing the average power and phase spectra.for
a smaller Time-Offset window of the record.

You can choose a different subset as many times as you want.

5. Click on the Select Rectangular Region Icon. Use MB1 to set one
corner of the analysis window, then click MB1 a second time to set
the opposite corner of the window. The data window and spectral
windows will change configuration to match your data selection.
Exit from the display using the File > Exit/Stop Flow pull down
menu.

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6. Return to the flow and change the ISA Data selection mode to
Multiple Subsets. Also select Yes to Freeze the selected subsets in
the ISA menu.

7. Execute the flow again.

You will get the following display:

8. Select the Select Rectangular Region icon. Use MB1 to set one
corner of the analysis window, then click MB1 a second time to set
the opposite corner of the window. Select the Options > Spectral
Analysis pull down menu. If you select a new area and repeat the
Options > Spectral Analysis pull down selection, a new window
will appear. In this way you can compare the spectral results for
different areas.

9. Exit the spectral analysis displays.

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Build a Flow to look at a power spectrum before and after decon

1. Copy the existing 05 Interactive spectral analys flow to a new flow
05a Decon test and ISA to do a spectral comparison before and
after deconvolution. Add the five extra modules as seen in the image
and described below:

2. This flow will read the first shot frame, apply a default AGC and
then apply the first break mute that you picked earlier. This frame
(shot record) will be duplicated and the second copy will have the
decon applied using the design gate you picked earlier and the
default parameters.

NOTE: The module Reproduce Traces creates a header attribute with

the name REPEAT. The default parameterization produces two copies
of each ensemble, and sets the REPEAT attribute to values of 1 and 2
for the sequential ensembles. Review the menu parameter values for IF
and ELSEIF to understand how the data passes through these tools.

3. After the display comes up you can select the Options > Spectral
Analysis pull down menu to show the spectral estimate for the data
before decon.

4. Click on the forward arrow to display the data after decon.

5. Select the Options > Spectral Analysis pull down menu again to
show the spectral estimate for the data after decon.

You can experiment with selecting subsets of the shot record before
and after decon. Notice how the tool remembers the selection
window from the first copy to the second copy of a record. Each
“new” shot record has a different configuration, so the window
expands to the full record, so you must select a new subset.

END of OPTIONAL section

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Seismic Compare as a Testing and Analysis Tool

Use SeismicCompare tool to test parameters and show power spectra

In this sequence you are going to use the Seismic Compare capability
of Javaseis datasets to do the following:

• Apply additional processing to data in SeismicCompare

• Test a range of parameters for a tool without building a normal flow
• Show frequency spectra for panels in seismic compare
• Show the drag-and-drop capability that ties SeismicCompare
testing capability to production flow building

You will use the 04 shots for testing dataset, but the capabilities shown
in this section are generally applicable to any JavaSeis dataset.

1. In the Folders view for your subproject, click on or toggle open the
Datasets level.

2. Click MB3 on the 04 Shots for testing dataset and choose Seismic
Compare. The following display will appear.

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NOTE: SeismicCompare opens showing the middle Frame of the

middle Volume of the dataset.
Location
selector
dialog

Sort
traces

Hand or
Selection
icon

Processing
Flow
icon

The red border around a data panels indicates it is the selected panel
that will be acted on. Typically, the Hand (selection) should be
activated (click on it) in order to select a panel. Click on the data of
either panel to select it, as confirmed by the red border. Beware that the
Rectangular selection icon provides a different function that will be
exercised below.

3. Click on the Processing Flow icon. This opens a special Flow

Editor window that allows you to process data in the
SeismicCompare tool.

NOTE: The processing is applied only to the Frame of data in the

highlighted panel that has a red border around it. When you change
locations to a different Frame of data, any “added processing” that you
have applied to the current view is automatically applied to the new
Frame of data. There is no “data output” capability, so no data is saved
to disk.

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You can use any tool in the Processes list that operates on individual
traces or on single ensembles. This capability makes parameter testing
very easy.

Initial SeismicCompare flow dialog Flow dialog after adding TAR tool

This SeismicCompare Flow Editor is not a conventional flow that gets

saved in the folders view. However, there is a "Save as" icon to allow
you to save the contents to a new flow name.

You can also drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste modules in this dialog to

or from the ordinary Flow Editor dialogs in the Navigator.

4. Add the tool True Amplitude Recovery to the SeismicCompare

Flow Editor and click MB2 to open the TAR menu. Notice the
menu default applies a 6 dB/sec correction.

5. Click on the Submit icon (Process Initial Data) on the bottom left.
This applies the processes in the Flow editor to the highlighted
Frame in the display. The default option of “New Tile” opens the
processed frame in a New Tile, giving you two tiles or panels in the
display.

6. You now have two copies of the shot record, one “raw” and one that
has 6 dB/sec gain applied. It may be easier to evaluate the data if
you zoom horizontally to show only one or two receiver lines of
data and change to wiggle-trace mode (short-cut: click MB3 on the
data area and choose Quick Display > Wiggle/Variable Area
Display).

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7. The dataset name is shown below the data. When you apply

processing to a tile, the name under the processed data is put in

parentheses and the letter P is appended.

8. Click MB3 on the data area for a pulldown menu that allows you to
modify the display. The option to switch easily between variable
density and wiggle trace is very handy.

9. The red border around a tile indicates it is the “selected” tile. Click
on the panel on the right to select it, then click on the Delete key on
your keyboard. The selected tile should disappear from the display.

10. Let’s run a test to find a reasonable value for the gain correction.
Return to the SeismicCompare flow editor and open the menu for
True Amplitude Recovery. This flow editor has two special

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features that make testing simple. One allows you to select a menu
parameter for testing multiple values of a parameter, and the other
allows the tested parameter values to be annotated automatically on
each data tile.

11. Click Cntl-MB2 on the parameter text dB/sec correction constant.

Notice the yellow-bordered box that opens in the menu. This is
where you will enter the values to be tested. Now click MB2 (only)
in the same place. An asterisk (*) is added to the right of the
parameter text, indicating that this parameter value will be
automatically annotated on the data when the process is applied.

Cntl-MB2 to
select a parameter
for testing

MB2 to annotate
a parameter’s
value on the
data

Enter the values to be tested which are 3, 6, and 9 using the “pipe” ( | )
character as a separator. Spaces are not required, but make it easier to
see the values clearly.

NOTE: This substitution method is allowed for any menu parameter

that allows type-in values.

Use Cntl-MB2 to deactivate/reactivate the substitution option. Use MB2

to turn off/on the annotation option.

You may add more tools to this editor, but you can test only one menu
parameter at a time. When you click Cntl-MB2 on another menu
parameter, this automatically turns off any other test parameter.
Previous test values for the testing option are remembered, in case you
want to review those tests.

You should now have a display with four tiles. Use the Location
Selection dialog to move to another shot location. Notice that the
processes are applied and you get the same set of panels, but with a new
data Frame.

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12. We will use a value of 9 dB/sec for our production processing on

this project. Delete the three test tiles from the display by selecting
each one and hitting the delete key.

13. Return to the flow editor and use Cntl-MB2 and MB2 to turn off
the test mode for the TAR menu.

TIP: As an alternative, click MB3 on the parameter text to show

options, then choose Toggle Display Label or Toggle for Testing.

14. Be sure to set the dB/sec correction value to 9 -- this parameter

choice works fine for this training exercise.

15. Add the tool Trace Muting, and select the mute table that you
picked earlier.

16. Click on the Submit icon to apply these processes, and your display
should have two tiles.

17. Add the tool Spiking/Predictive Decon to the flow, select the
decon design gate that you picked earlier, and set the decon
operator length to 200.

18. Apply this set of processes, which adds a third tile to the display

We could do more detailed analysis of various deconvolution

parameters using this testing capability, however the objective of this
course is show you the tools to analyze and optimize your data, not to
optimize this dataset.

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.Notice in the display below that the third panel is "selected". The Flow

dialog has a white background, indicating the processing that has been
applied in that panel. The white background (instaed of yellow) also
indicates that nothing more can be applied to that panel. You can only
"add" new tools or change parameters when the Flow dialog is yellow
and associated with a panel that can have processing applied to it.

Amplitude spectra in SeismicCompare

At this point it may be instructive to look at the amplitude spectra of the
data. We can select data in a more meaningful way if we sort the data by
offset rather than organized by CHAN and receiver line.

19. Locate and click on the Sort Traces icon (A-Z icon) and choose
AOFFSET from the selection dialog that appears. The traces in all
tiles are sorted immediately when you click on an attribute. Close
the selection dialog after making the sort selection.

SeismicCompare should now have three shots records in view, with the
traces sorted by offset in all tiles. The first tile is the raw shot, the second
tile has a top mute and gain recovery applied, and the third tile has a top
mute, gain recovery and spiking decon applied.

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20. Click MB1 on the Amplitude Spectrum icon (bottom icon on the
left side of the SeismicCompare display). This opens a spectral
display for the entire selected tile.

Stretch the dataset name

subwindow wide enough
to see the name.

The display opens with the area for dataset names virtually hidden. We
will be comparing several datasets, so drag the divider to stretch open
that part of the display so you can see the name(s). You can re-size the
display in whatever way you wish.

21. Return to the SeismicCompare tool and click on the Rectangular

selection icon, then click and drag MB1 on the data to select an
rectangular area of data. The rectangular selection area has a blue
outline in the data display. Now click on the Rectangular Selection

Show the spectrum of

the data that is in the
rectangular selection box.

Add Spectrum
of selected panel

Hold the cursor over each

icon for pop-up with
explanation of options

icon on the Amplitude Spectrum window. This now shows the

spectrum of the data in the selected area. You can reselect the
Rectangular area on the data, and the spectral display will

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automatically update to that selection. Click again on the

Rectangular selection icon on the spectral display to return to the
spectrum of entire data area of the tile(s).

TIP: Hold the cursor over each icon of the Amplitude Spectrum
window to see a variety of options.

22. Click on the Hand icon on SeismicCompare, then select (click on)
a different data tile. Now click on the Add spectrum icon on the
Spectrum display. Now you have two spectra showing.
Alternatively, you can add the spectra for all tiles by clicking Shft-
MB1 on the Amplitude spectrum icon.

NOTE: When you “select” a tile that has processing applied to it, the
Flow Editor shows exactly the processing that has been applied to that
panel. Notice also that the Flow Editor turns from yellow to white,
indicating that you cannot edit anything in that mode. If you want to add
more processing, you need to re-select the first (original) tile.

23. Play with the added processing and spectral display option until
you are comfortable with the key features. Step to different Frames
(shot records) using the Location Selector dialog as well.

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24. Your display may be similar to this:

NOTE: We have shown a variety of options for testing and selecting

parameter values that you would expect to use in a production
processing job. You now have three fully parameterized tool menus in
the SeismicCompare’s Flow Editor. Let’s put those tools into an
ordinary flow before we forget our parameter choices.

IMPORTANT:

25. Go back to the Navigator and add a new flow and give it the name
08 Preprocessing.

26. Make sure you have the first tile selected in the SeismicCompare.
Go to the SeismicCompare Flow Editor, select all three tools using
MB1 and Shft-MB1, then drag those tools and drop them onto your
new flow. You just saved a lot of time, effort and possible error for
parameterizing your batch production job.

27. Save the new flow. We’ll return to it later.

28. Close the SeismicCompare tool by selecting File > Exit.

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REMINDER: You can choose which tools and workflow methods are
most useful and effective for your situation.

The older ProMAX tool Interactive Spectral Analysis has more

extensive set of features for spectral displays.

Seismic Compare has far simpler steps and greater flexibility for
changing the processes applied and data navigation and selection.

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Elevation (Datum) Statics

Datum static corrections are generally required for land data to

compensate for adverse travel-time effects of topography and variations
in weathering thickness and velocity.

The process of calculating and applying datum statics includes the

following steps:

• Compute static time shifts to take the seismic data from their
original recorded times, to a time reference as if the data were
recorded on a final datum (usually flat) using a replacement
velocity (usually constant).

• Compute a floating datum (N_DATUM), a smoothed surface used

as the processing datum or NMO datum.

• Partition the total statics into two parts, the Pre (before) NMO term
and Post (after) NMO terms relative to N_DATUM.

• Apply the Pre (before) -NMO portion of the statics and write the
remainder to the trace header.

The first three steps occur in the calculation phase and the last step in the
apply phase. The calculation phase uses your input parameters in
combination with the information in the database and then results are
saved in the database. The apply phase reads the information from the
database and transfers it to the trace headers. ProMAX offers several
options for both phases; which option you should use depends on how
you are processing your data.

Apply Elevation Statics

The first option is to simply add “Apply Elevation Statics” to your flow.
Apply Elevation Statics, despite its name both calculates and applies the
elevation statics. Because it both reads from and writes to the database,
which is shared amongst all the datasets within the Area/Line, you could
have a problem if you attempt to run more than one instance at the same
time. Therefore, if you are processing a large project in swaths, you will
need to wait for Apply Elevation Statics to complete before you run it
again for the other datasets in your project. When you run Apply
Elevation Statics again for the additional dataset parts, you will
automatically recalculate the datum statics in the database for the entire

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

project, even though you are only updating the headers for the input
dataset. In a large project, the time spent doing the redundant datum
statics calculation can be substantial, especially if combined with having
to wait to get access to the database.

Datum Statics Calculation and Datum Statics Apply

To help alleviate these problems, Apply Elevation Statics was split into
two separate modules, Datum Statics Calculation and Datum Statics
Apply.

In a typical workflow for large volume land processing, you would run
Datum Statics Calculation once to update the entire project database and
then run Datum Statics Apply for each dataset comprising the project.

Since Datum Statics Apply only reads the precalculated and saved
information in the database and transfers it to the trace headers, you
avoid repeating the calculation phase in Apply Elevation Statics.
Processing time is saved and the possibility of having several flows
trying to write to the database at the same time is eliminated.

In addition, Datum Statics Calculation offers the ability to run multiple

times and save the output from each run under a unique Run ID. This
feature is handy when you wish to compare the results using different
parameters as we will do in the next exercise.

Before we begin the exercise, let us look at ProMAX datum statics

terminology and the calculation algorithms in more detail.

Datum Statics Terminology

With datum statics, you have the option to shift prestack data to a
floating datum or a final datum. You supply a final datum elevation and
a replacement velocity. The elev_stat_math file then establishes values
in the database for F_DATUM, N_DATUM, S_STATIC, R_STATIC,
and C_STATIC. Details of this process can best be understood by
examining the contents of the elev_stat_math file. This file typically
resides in $PROMAX_HOME/port/misc/elev_stat_math.

Three new header entries are created: NMO_STAT, FNL_STAT, and

NA_STAT. The integer multiple of a sample period portion of
NMO_STAT shifts traces to the floating datum in the apply phase. The
fractional sample period portion is written to the NA_STAT header
entry and applied later.

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If you select to process to a final datum, C_STATIC is set to zero. Since

NMO_STAT = S_STATIC + R_STATIC + C_STATIC and
C_STATIC = -1.0*FNL_STAT, NMO_STAT is the static that shifts
traces to the final processing datum, and FNL_STAT is zero because
your data are at the final datum.

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Datum Statics Terminology

S.P. CDP

Receiver

N_DATUM
NMO_STAT
Surface
Elevation
NMO_STAT

FNL_STAT

S_STATIC C_STATIC R_STATIC

F_DATUM

Database Attributes:
N_DATUM = floating datum

F_DATUM = final datum

S_STATIC = (F_DATUM - ELEV + DEPTH) / DATUMVEL

R_STATIC = [(F_DATUM - ELEV + DEPTH) / DATUMVEL] - UPHOLE

C_STATIC = 2 * [(N_DATUM - F_DATUM) / DATUMVEL]

Trace Header Values:

N_DATUM = floating datum
NMO_STAT = S_STATIC + R_STATIC + C_STATIC
FNL_STAT = - C_STATIC

TOT_STAT = cumulative applied statics

NA_STAT = statics less than one sample period which are not-yet-applied

(If TOT_STAT = 21.2 ms, and the sample period is 4 ms,

NA_STAT = 1.2 ms)

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Comparison of Smoothed Surfaces based on CDP Smoothing

In this exercise we will run the Datum Statics Calculation two times
with different smoothing parameters and compare the results using the
database display tools.

Build and Execute a Flow to Compute the N-Datum

1. Build the following flow, 06 - compute datum statics:

2. In the Datum Statics Calculation* module use a final datum

elevation of 50.0 ft. with a replacement velocity of 5500.0 ft/sec.

Choose “Surface Source” for the Database math method. We will

use the default 51 CDP spatial filter of the ELEVATIONS in the first
Datum Statics Calculation* with a Run ID of 01, and a smoother of
101 in the second Datum Statics Calculation* with a run ID of 02.

Datum Statics Calculation* is a “standalone” module which is a

module that runs on its own with no need for any other modules to
be in the flow. The asterisk (*) on the name indicates that it is a
standalone module.

3. After this flow completes, open DBTools and generate a

comparison display from the CDP database. Select the CDP
tab.and select View -> 2D Matrix. Choose CDP for the Horizontal
axis, and use MB1 and Cntl-MB1 to select C_STAT01, C_STAT02

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

and ELEV for the Vertical axis, and ILINE_NO for both Color and
for Histogram. Make sure your selection are as shown here:.

4. The initial view does not make much sense. We need to focus on a
smaller amount of data. Click in the histogram at Inline number
100.

Elevation

C_STAT02

C_STAT01

Histogram of
ILINE number

Click on the histogram at ILINE 100

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

5. On the DBTools tool bar, select Focus > On Histogram. The

display adjusts to your selection on a small range of Inline numbers
around 100. Click on the histogram again at ILINE 100. Select
Focus > On Histogram again to show only the data for Inline 100.
Elevation profile
along inline 100.
Here is a steep-
sided canal 50 feet
deep.

C_STAT02 is
smooth.
101 point filter

C_STAT01 is not
as smooth.
51 point filter.

6. Notice that the longer smoother generates a more consistent

CSTATIC. There is a canal that is about 50 feet deep that wanders
through the project area. Generally, there is only a small range of
elevation in this project.

One major criteria that you might use to help diagnose a reasonable
smoothing value is to look at the value of C_STAT in the area of a
proposed Super-Gather for velocity analysis. You would prefer that all
CDPs in a Super Gather have the same (or very similar) C_STAT value.
It is likely that higher values for smoothing are necessary in areas with
rapidly changing elevations. The channel feature of this survey requires
a smoother that is larger than the default value.

You will use the 02 version of the statics when you build the processing
flow later.

NOTE: The elevation range for this project is very small. This exercise
is to demonstrate features and functions in the system. If we were
processing this project “for real”, we would not be very concerned about
such a small elevation range and small datum static range.

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Trace Statistics and Editing

Trace Statistics provides one method for identifying bad data and killing
traces. We use it as a way to introduce many other features of the
system, such as DBTools. There are many other modules and workflow
options for killing traces and removing noise from your data. Explore
the variety of modules in the Processes list.

Utilizing the time information from previously picked first breaks or

time gate, Trace Statistics calculates up to eight different statistics for
each input trace. These statistics include:

• TRCAMP: average trace energy

• FB_AMP: average first break energy

• PFBAMP: average pre-first break energy

• PFBFRQ: average pre-first break frequency

• SPIKES: Spikiness: the ratio of amplitudes between the maximum

magnitude sample and the average trace signal amplitude

• FRQ_PK: dominant frequency of data

• FRQ_DV: Statistical frequency deviation

• ADECAY: estimated trace energy decay rate in db

In this exercise you will try to identify bad traces with Trace Statistics.
Based on the values computed for each trace, you will edit the data
volume to remove abnormal traces.

Import First Break Picks

For this exercise we will import a set of first break picks that have
previously been calculated.

1. Open DBTools, if not already open.

2. On the DBTools interface, select Database > XDB Database

Display. XDB has many similar features to DBTools, but XDB can
import and export ASCII data which DBTools cannot do.

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

3. Select ASCII --> Get to open the ASCII import dialog.

4. Click on User-defined File and enter the path and filename of the
first break picks as specified by your instructor (e.g., /.../misc_files/
salt3dfbjs). The file has an extension “.a_db” which you should
NOT include. This file was exported by ProMAX and has a
recognized format for importing.

5. Click on the F_B_PICK PICK0001 attribute on right side of the

window. The attribute values will be displayed as they are read.

6. When all data are displayed, click on Cancel at the lower right
corner of the import dialog.

7. Select Database > Save to open a dialog to select what attribute to

save. Click on the attribute name F_B_PICK PICK0001 in the Save
dialog and wait for the OK confirming the attribute is written to
disk.

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8. Exit from the XDB database display and DBTools.

9. Build the following flow, 07 - Trace statistics:

10. In JavaSeis Data Input select your 03 - Shots with geometry

dataset.

11. In Database/Header Transfer, transfer the first break picks TO the

FB_PICK trace header FROM database (TRC -> F_B_PICK->
PICK0001).

12. Parameterize the IF menu to select traces with the FB_PICK value
between 0.0-4000.0 msec. This is to prevent traces with “NULL”
first break pick times from being used in Trace Statistics, which
would cause the job to fail.

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

13. In the Trace Statistics menu, select all of the available statistics,
choose to use first breaks, output to the Database & Headers, and
add a description of the statistics.

Click this box to open this selection dialog window

NOTE: This data has a sample rate of 8 msec. The “pre-first break”
attributes require 10 live samples above the first break pick time. Traces
with a pick time less than 88 msec will output a NULL value for the
PFBAMP and PFBFRQ attributes.

14. Output the traces to a new JavaSeis dataset 07- Shots with Trace
Statistics

15. Execute the flow.

NOTE: In practice you have several options on how to use Trace

Statistics. You could write the Trace Statistics to the database only and
not output a trace dataset. In this situation, you would analyze the
statistics using DBTools to make decisions about editing. Then you
would run a flow to read the original dataset and use Database/Header
Transfer to move the appropriate attributes to the trace headers to allow
data to be selected for editing. Trace Statistics does not require that a
database exist, and it can be run on stacked data. Stacked data must use
a time gate rather than first break pick time, and you must choose
Headers Only as it cannot write to the database for stacked data.

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Analyze the Results

After the flow finishes, open DBTools. Select and view the different
TRCSTATS attributes in the TRC OPF.

Note ranges of values for each statistic for which you might elect to kill
the traces. Some simple examples are shown below.

Notice the huge number of low amplitude values

in the left edge of the histogram. Select the left side
positions with MB1, then select Focus -> On Histogram.

The display above is produced by double-clicking on the TRCAMP01

attribute name in the DBTools main window. Select the leftmost values
of the histogram, then choose Focus -> On Histogram to get a better
understanding of the distribution and range of values that are anomalous
and might need to be killed. You may repeat the selection and Focus
multiple times to see more detail in the data.

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

The display above is PFBAMP01, the pre-first break amplitude. This is

effectively a measure of ambient noise on the recording spread. High
amplitudes on this attribute may indicate a noisy receiver station.

OPTIONAL EXERCISE -- Ensemble Statistics

If time allows, you may find the following exercise interesting. We do
not use the results, so you may skip to the next section if you are short
of time.

Ensemble Statistics* is a follow-on tool that uses Trace Statistics

attributes to produce statistics for shots, receivers, CDPs, channel and
offset (offset bin). This is a standalone tool, so it is the only module
needed in the flow. The PFBAMP values for receivers can be used to
identify areas of concern for special processing or for the interpreter to
pay careful attention to.

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

If you have time, you may run Ensemble Statistics for several
attributes. The PFBAMP for receivers on this dataset clearly shows
some areas where there is probably some kind of mechanical pump or
other noise.

Here is an example parameterization you might use.When the job

finishes, open DBTools and view the attributes to se if anything

interesting can be found that might influence your testing plan, or
identify areas of concern in the project (noisy, poor data quality, etc.).

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Here is the result for receivers “pre-first break amplitude”. We have

selected the high amplitude values in the histogram so the map view
shows only the receiver locations that have high ambient noise.

NOTE: In DBTools we clicked on Options -> White background.

OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED EXERCISE --

Display Data with Trace Statistics Edits
The following exercise shows how you can more carefully evaluate your
parameter choices from Trace Statistics. This is recommended because
you should make careful judgement about your parameter choices rather
than simply selecting arbitrary cutoffs for what data to kill.

It is very instructive is to look at the actual shots with header plots of

various trace statistics to pinpoint bad traces and their corresponding
statistical values. From this type of analysis you can select appropriate
ranges of values for traces that should be killed.

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

1. Edit the 07 Trace statistics flow to display the shot gathers with and
without the trace edits. We will use the module JavaSeis Data
Match to bring the original data into the flow, then display the traces
with and without the trace kills.

2. In the JavaSeis Data Match menu, select the 03 Shots with

geometry dataset and choose Pass Ensembles Sequentially for the
Data combining policy. Default all other parameters in this menu.

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

3. Add the modules as shown below on the left side. Parameterize the
menus from IF through Trace Display Label as seen on the right
side. The header attribute DS_SEQNO (dataset sequence number is
used to control data in the flow. When DS_SEQNO is 2, the traces
only get a new Trace Label value. The second dataset in the flow is
03 Shots with geometry in the JavaSeis Data Match tool. All other

traces are from the first dataset in the flow (DS_SEQNO = 1) are
passed into the ELSE to ENDIF sequence, which is where traces
will be killed based on various Trace Statistics header values in the
07 Shots with trace statistics dataset.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the purpose of Trace Kill/Reverse is to

KILL or REVERSE traces. The menu item Trace selection MODE
gives you the option to Kill/Reverse traces in select list or to Kill/
Reverse traces NOT in select list. Traces IN the select list will be
killed. Traces NOT in the select list will be unchanged.

4. Add a two Trace Kill/Reverse menus to the flow. The example

below shows how you might use combinations of attributes and
their ranges to kill traces. The range of values has been selected for
you, but you could make similar assessments using DBTools to
identify ranges of outliers or anomalous values.Be especially
careful of the Trace selection MODE option to Include or Exclude

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

data. If you get it wrong, you kill the good data and pass the bad
data.

5. Add a Database/Header Transfer to write the trace header

TRC_TYPE to the database. You can use DBTools to show how
many traces have been killed by the two trace kill modules. You can
adjust the ranges of the parameters to keep or to kill to see how this
changes the number of killed traces.

6. Near the bottom of the Trace Display menu set Number of display
panels to 2 and Trace scaling option to Entire Screen.

7. Execute the flow.

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8. When Trace Display opens, select View > Header Plot >
Configure...

9. Select the following headers to plot, and choose a different color for
each one by clicking on the black box next to “Line color”:

• PFBAMP01 (red)
• TRCAMP01 (blue)
• TRC_TYPE (black)

10. Step forward to Source number 3. Zoom in on channel range 1-160

or so. Use this display to confirm appropriate minimum and
maximum values for each statistic. Some of the values might have
different ranges of values for different offsets. It will be useful to
zoom in on bad traces and note the statistical values associated with
each. You can also run the flow using MB3 to toggle off one or both
of the Trace Kills modules to see the traces before and after they are
killed. You can use the ProMAX Header icon (the tablet icon) to
show the header values of any trace.

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11. Use the header plots and the database display tools to determine
ranges and values of particular statistics that will be useful in
performing trace kills.

12. Use header plots of the statistics and TRC_TYPE (black) to see
which traces have been killed. Adjust parameters as required to edit
the appropriate traces.

13. Select File > Exit/Continue Flow to ensure that the entire dataset
is processed and attribute information is written to the database.

14. When the flow completes, open DBTools. Select the TRC tab and
double click on the TRC_TYPE parameter. If you put your cursor

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

over the small red box on the right edge in the histogram you can
see the number of traces that have been killed.

END of Optional Display Exercise

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Preprocessing Flow

The following exercise produces pre-processed prestack data with

elevation statics applied. These data can then be input to other 3D
specific processes.

Continue Building the Flow to Perform the Preprocessing

Re-open the flow 08 - Preprocessing that you started building during
the SeismicCompare exercise. If you did not do that step, than add a new
flow using the indicated name.

You should be able to drag-and-drop some of the tool menus from other
earlier flows.

1. In JavaSeis Data Input, input the 03 - Shots With Geometry dataset

and use Get All. This job will be “shots in, shots out”, so the data
context does not change for the output dataset.

2. Use Database/Header Transfer to copy TRCAMP01, SPIKES01

and ADECAY01 FROM the TRC TRCSTATS part of the database

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Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

TO the trace headers. Add trace header attribute names to match

the database attribute names.

3. (Refer to image above) Add a Trace/Kill Reverse process to kill

the following SIN values:

580, 662, 731, 917, 920, 995, 1091, 1131, 1217, 1700, 1708

These shots are known to be bad. This is the type of information that
you might get from Observer Notes.

4. Add a Trace/Kill Reverse process to kill each of the following

three ranges of attribute values:

TRCAMP01 0.001 - 1.0 Do NOT kill this range

ADECAY01 -4.0 - 22.0 Do NOT kill this range

SPIKES01 200.0-9999999.0 DO KILL this range

Consider the range of values shown above and convince yourself

that they make sense... to kill outlying ranges or to NOT kill
good ranges.

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NOTE: Be very careful with the selection to kill trace in or NOT in

the select list. If you get this wrong, you kill the good data and pass
the bad data.

These values will kill about 90,000 traces or about 5% of the data.

Be careful!!! It is very easy to kill the good traces instead of killing

the bad traces.

Triple check your parameters choices for the range of values to kill.

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5. Include Trace Muting and select the top mute that you picked
earlier.

6. Add True Amplitude Recovery and choose 9 dB/sec gain

correction.

7. Select Spiking/Predictive Decon parameters. You can use all of

the default parameters except that you need to input a previously
picked miscellaneous time gate for the decon design gate. The

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 Chapter 9: Preprocessing and Elevation Statics

Spiking/Predictive Decon menu has an option for applying a

bandpass filter after the decon operation. Choose Yes if you like.

8. Datum Statics Apply should use the attributes with the 101 point
smoother that were previously calculated in the N_DATUM test
exercise.These are the “02” attributes.

9. Add Trace Display Label and indicate that “decon and elev
statics” have been applied.

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10. In JavaSeis Data Output add a new dataset name, then click on the
Create button to build the framework of the output dataset.

Notice the Framework of the output dataset. It is exactly the same as

the input dataset. All of the processes in this flow operate on each
trace independently. None of the tools in this flow change the
context of the data -- the sample rate, trace length, sort order, etc. are
unchanged.

11. Execute the flow. You may choose to run this with 2 or more
“Execs per node”, and you may monitor the job via the output
dataset’s Foldmap. Open the Foldmap and select Options > Update
Automatically.

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 Chapter 10
3D Stack and Display
In this chapter you will import an ASCII file with 3D velocity field, generate sortmaps for
datasets, stack the data, view the stack in the 2D Viewer and 3D Viewer, and use Seismic
Compare to compare two stacks. You will also see a variety of ways to manipulate stack datasets
in order to view crossline as well as time slice data.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o 3D RMS Velocity Field ASCII Import

o 3D Parameter Table Interpolation
o Creating a JavaSeis Sortmap - CDP Gathers
o Picking a Post-NMO Mute on a Supergather
o Ensemble Stack (CDP Stack)
o Inline Displays of 3D Stack Volume
o 3D Viewer Introduction
o F-XY Decon and the Distributed Array
o Crossline Display Options
o Time Slice Displays

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Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

3D RMS Velocity Field ASCII Import

One critical part of the initial stack sequence is to apply normal

moveout. You may want to build a stacking (RMS) velocity parameter
table from a pre-existing velocity field. The following exercise show
how to import an ASCII RMS velocity field to a velocity parameter
table.

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 Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

1. In the Folders view, toggle open your Salt 3D extraction directory.

Click MB3 on Tables (this will highlight it) and select New Table
from the pulldown menu to open a selection dialog box:

2. On the Create Table Dataset dialog box, use the pulldown menu,
scroll down and choose VEL (RMS (stacking) Velocity).

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3. Type in imported from ASCII for the name. Click OK. This
creates an empty table.

4. In the Folders view, click on Tables to show the list of all tables in
the center panel. Click MB3 on imported from ASCII and select
Edit using ProTab from the pulldown menu.

5. You now have the table open for editing.

Click on the File > ASCII Import pull down menu in the upper left
corner to open the Import File Selection dialog.

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 Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

6. Use the Up icon to step up to the directory levels. Your instructor

will tell you the directory location of the ASCII file you need to
select. When you are at the correct directory, click on the file name
salt3d.vels.ascii and click Open. This opens the Import Format
Modeler dialog box.

Up one
directory

7. The data to be imported is shown in the lower portion of the Import

Format Modeler. Follow the instructions in the window using the

“highlight and drag” method in steps 1-3.

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8. The essential steps are to highlight the X Coord button in the upper
left corner. Then drag the mouse over the “X coor” columns in the
lower window. Do the same for Y Coord, Time and Vel_RMS.

Do NOT select CDP. If this data came from another system would you
trust that the CDP numbering system is identical to the numbering for
this system? In general it is X and Y coordinates that can be shared and
trusted when exchanging data. In Line and X Line are not in this file.
How confident would you be that they match your numbering scheme in
X-Y space? If done with care, you may be able to use inline and
crossline numbers, but ONLY if you ensure the X-Y coordinates match
the inline-crossline numbers correctly.

9. The example below shows the completed selections. After you have
defined the data to import, click File > Continue.

10. You will get a pop-up message confirming the number of rows
imported. Click OK to dismiss the message.

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11. Now you will have the values loaded in the table as shown below.
Notice that the CDP column is automatically filled to match the
project numbering scheme.

NOTE:

This ASCII input file contains velocity functions with CDP numbers and
XY coordinates as reference. ProMAX 3D parameter tables rely upon valid
X and Y coordinates that are consistent with the LIN order of the database.
The LIN contains the relationship of XY space and inline-crossline-CDP
numbering for the project.

When you import data from another vendor or source, be very careful in
choosing the information to import. You will probably need to “resolve”
other fields of the table based on what you know to be valid information for
your project. XY coordinates are the prefered reference because they are a
common reference for virtually everyone. Inline, crossline and CDP number
systems may change when a project is reprocessed.

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12. Use the File > Resolve pull down menu to compute the Inline and
Crossline values from coordinates.

All columns should now be complete.

13. Click on File > Save and File > Close All to save the parameter
table and exit from the editor.

14. Check the table for correctness by going back to the list of tables in
the Navigator and select to Edit the table with MB3.

Notice that the table does not contain the Inline and Crossline values
that we resolved for previously. This is NORMAL behavior. The
Inline and Crossline numbers are not stored with the table because
those values can be resolved for viewing whenever you choose. The
table is smaller on disk by not storing duplicated information.

15. Click on File > Close All to exit from the editor.

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3D Parameter Table Interpolation

ProMAX 2D tables are interpolated based directly on the primary key

values, which is copied into (pseudo) X-coord, and (pseudo) Y-coord is
set to 0.0. In the case of 2D velocity tables the primary key is CDP
number. The subroutines interpolate on the X and Y column values.

2D Velocity Parameter Table

ProMAX 3D parameter table values are spatially interpolated using the

real X and Y coordinates of the primary key values. This applies to
Velocities, Mutes, Horizons and any other type of parameter table. In
the case of 3D velocity tables, the primary key is CDP number and we
use the real X and Y coordinates of each CDP to do the interpolation.

3D Velocity Parameter Table

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ProMAX 2D vs. 3D Parameter Tables

Velocity Table interpolation is a two step operation. A value at each of

three velocity nodes is found at the desired time and then the velocity is
interpolated using the Delaunay Triangle approach.

y x

t
b

a p
c

Known x, y, v, t point
Interpolated x, y, v, t point

3D Parameter Table Interpolation - Velocity Functions in 3D

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Creating a JavaSeis Sortmap - CDP Gathers

In this exercise you will generate a Sortmap to allow CDP gathers to be

accessed from the decon shot organized dataset. The JavaSeis Sortmap
Create v2* module interrogates the headers and adds meta-data to the
existing dataset to define a 4D framework to understand the Inline-
Crossline-Trace addressing of the data.

1. Add a flow 09 - Sortmap for inline-xline and include only the

module JavaSeis Sortmap Create v2* and parameterize it as

shown in the example menu. Notice the option for sorting the traces
within the Frame. We cannot use Floating Point attributes for the
Framework, but we can sort the traces by AOFFSET and then let
them be indexed by SEQNO, which is a sequential counter.

2. Submit the job and on completion, review the job log to confirm
the sorted range of inlines, crosslines and the maximum fold. You
should find values in the log as follows:

• Volumes = 308
• FramePerVolume = 390
• TracesPerFrame = 41

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• TraceInSort = 1699444
• Min logical volume = 1
• Max logical volume = 308
• Logical volume increment = 1
• Min logical frame = 1
• Max logical frame = 390
• Logical frame increment = 1
• Min logical trace = 1
• Max logical trace = 41
• Logical trace increment = 1
• Label4 = ILINE_NO
• Label3 = XLINE_NO
• Label2= SEQNO

The details above describe the data context for the sort map.

The purpose of the sort map is to allow access to the traces needed to
resolve a new ensemble organization from the dataset. There are two
distinct ways in which you can use a sort map:

1) direct the reading of required traces in JavaSeis Data Input, or

2) direct the reading of required traces via the Fold Map for the 2D
Viewer.

The sort map can be utilized in JavaSeis Data Input such that the
required traces for each Frame (CDP gather in this example) can be read
directly from disk. For a batch job this can be a very inefficient method
because the job has to “seek and read” randomly from the disk to get the
required traces. The preferred method for sorting data in a production
job is to use the module Inline Merge Sort which allows JDI to stream
data directly from disk into memory, and then perform the sorting
operation in memory by using as many nodes as needed to hold the
dataset.

NOTE: The terms Fold Map and sort map identify very distinct things.

• The Fold Map is a graphical tool that shows the dataset

organization and allows access to any Frame within the dataset.

• A sort map is a part of the dataset, and it provides the location for
the system to access the traces that form ensembles of a different
sort order. You can open the Fold Map for a sort map.

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The more common use of the sort map is to access data through the Fold
Map of a dataset for display and analysis purposes.

1. Open the Fold Map for the 08 Shots preprocessed dataset.

2. Click on <NONE> in the upper right of the Fold Map to access a

pulldown menu of available sort maps. Choose the ILINE-XLINE-
SEQNO sort map, which should be the only one available. This
action opens the selected Fold Map.

3. You now have a second Fold Map open for this dataset, one
showing shot organization and one showing CDP (ILINE-XLINE)
organization. You can open the 2D Viewer and navigate around the
dataset viewing CDP gathers.
Launch 2D Viewer

Random access response is very fast for display purposes (fast enough
for a human to look at various Frames), but may be quite slow as a batch
process due to random seek-and-read from disk.

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Picking a Post-NMO Mute on a Supergather

Low fold and poor signal to noise data may require some special options
in order to optimize parameter selection. The following exercise
demonstrates a method to combine multiple CDP gathers into a single
ensemble (a supergather) in order to increase fold and offset
distribution. The resulting ensemble can then be used to pick a post
normal moveout mute.

1. Build the following flow, 10 - Pick post-NMO mute:

2. Parameterize the JDI menu as shown below. The three key points
are to 1) use the ILINE-XLINE-SEQNO sort map, 2) indicate the
range of inline and crossline values to use, and 3) indicate that
supergathers are wanted. We will create supergathers comprised of
3 inlines and 3 crosslines at the selected locations. In this case, we
have chosen inlines 100 and 200 at crosslines 100, 200 and 300.

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Notice that the bottom part of the menu is not shown, as the default
values are appropriate for this flow.

3. Each ensemble coming down the flow is a complete supergather,

and we use Ensemble Stack/Combine to average the X and Y
header values to the center CDP position. If the coordinates are
different within the (supergather) CDP, the mute will not apply
correctly. Maximum fold of 500 is larger than necessary. For this

project we know the maximum CDP fold is 41. Multiply 41 times 3

inlines times 3 crosslines and we know that no supergather will
exceed 369, so we round up to 500 for simplicity.

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4. Apply NMO using your best velocities available, which is the

imported from ASCII table. Remember to set the stretch mute to
0.0, so that no mute is applied within this module.

5. Apply a Bandpass Filter and AGC for data enhancement.

The default parameters will be adequate.

6. In the (green SeisSpace) Trace Display menu, enter 6 for Backup

screen count. This will allow you to use the “back” arrow/icon to
step back to previous locations. The data are held in memory, so be
careful of using a very large number.

7. Execute the flow. When the display comes up, select the Pick
Editor icon and choose Top Mute and add a new table name. We
recommend a very descriptive name like “top mute - post-NMO”.

8. Select AOFFSET as the interpolation key, click OK, then pick your
top mute.

Pick Editor icon

9. We recommend saving your picks occasionally. If you have not

saved your picks, you will be prompted to save when you exit the
display. Pick and save a mute table for the next exercise.

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Ensemble Stack (CDP Stack)

We will create our initial stack with the following flow.

Run Ensemble Stack

1. Build the following flow, 11 - Initial Stack:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input, input the pre-processed shots dataset. It is

faster to use Inline Merge Sort compared to a Sort Map. IMS sorts
traces after reading them into memory. A sort map directs the
reading of traces from disk in the required sort order, and this can
be very inefficient because it is a random seek from disk.
Performance may depend on dataset size, read and seek speed from
disk, network bandwidth and other factors.

3. In Inline Merge Sort, use a 4D sort of Inline, Crossline and

Sequence number (SEQNO). You can think of SEQNO as a simple

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trace counter within an ensemble or frame. In this case, it is will be

fold of the CDP, and we know the maximum fold is 41.

Notice the option

to sort traces
within each
Frame

In general you can

default all
parameters
down here.

4. The first JavaSeis Data Output will write a CDP gather (inline by
crossline) organized dataset. Add a new dataset named 11 IL-XL
gathers preprocessed, then click the Create button in the JDO
menu and verify the framework that appears at the bottom of the
menu. The data context created by Inline Merge Sort is used to
define this Framework. We must sort the data to perform stacking,

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so it makes sense to save the sorted prestack dataset. This way we

only need to sort the prestack data once in this processing sequence.

5. In Normal Moveout select the velocity table that was imported

previously and set the stretch mute to 0.0 percent to disable it
(allow maximum stretch, no muting applied here).

6. Select the post-NMO mute picked previously in the Trace Muting

flow.

7. Use the SeisSpace (green) module Ensemble Stack and use the
default menu values. The stacking process reduces the data from a
4D context to a 3D context, and automatically passes this new
context to be used in creating the Framework of the output dataset
via the JDO menu.

NOTE: The data coming down the flow is organized as frames of CDPs
with various traces in each frame, but it is more precise to say they are
frames of crosslines within volumes of inlines. We stack the traces
within each gather (or Frame or ensemble), reducing each frame to have
a single trace. The Ensemble Stack module automatically resets the

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Crossline range from the Frame axis down to the Trace axis, and resets
the Inline range from the Volume axis to the Frame axis. This produces
a 3D context that is used for our 3D stack dataset framework.

8. Optionally, add a Trace Display Label and indicate this as an

Initial Stack.

9. Add a new dataset named 11 Stack - initial via the JDO menu, then
click the Create button and check the framework. Notice that it
automatically defines a 3D framework of Inline, Crossline and
Time.

10. Click on the Intelligent Parameterization icon (top of the

Navigator), then fix any problems that might be indicated. Check
the parameterization until you get the message “Successful Init
Phase!” in the bottom of the Flow Editor.

NOTE: If problems are found, your output dataset framework might not
be correct. Be careful.

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11. Select the middle icon of the three job submit icon to open the Job
Submit dialog. Select Hosts and localhost and 1 Exec per
node.When the job finishes, submit it a second time using 2 Execs
per node and compare run times. If you have time and access to
multiple nodes, submit the job using various combinations of nodes
and execs per node to learn a bit about performance.

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Inline Displays of 3D Stack Volume

In this exercise we will use various display tools to display inlines from
the stack volume.

Fold Map Displays

There are some interesting things to notice about the Fold Map for a 3D
stack dataset.

1. Open the Fold Map for the initial stack dataset. Notice that the
Volume axis (annotated at the bottom of the display) indicates that
this dataset consists of only one Volume (1-1,1). This should make
sense because it is stack data for a 3D project and has a 3D
framework, so naturally it is a simple “volume” of seismic data.

Inline numbers are annotated along the vertical axis. Each inline is a
“Frame” of traces within this single volume.

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Notice that the number of traces varies among the inlines. The “fold”
varies from one inline to the next because there are different numbers of
“live” crosslines on each inline; the zero-fold crosslines do not have a
trace. The shape of the project is irregular, which we already know from
looking CDP fold with DBTools back in the geometry chapter.

2. Open the 2D Viewer from the Fold Map and get familiar with the
stack volume. Change display parameters to suit your own
preferences.

3. As you move through the inlines, notice that the number of traces
may vary from inline to inline but the data are always displayed in
the same amount of space in the tool. This may be distracting for
some people, especially if you use the movie animation option. An
option for solving this problem will be shown later.

Seismic Compare
In the exercise where you used SeismicCompare for the first time in this
Line/Subproject, a new flow named _seiscomp_prepro was
automatically added to your list of flows. Look in the Folders view
under your list of Flows. If you do not see _seiscomp_prepro, use the
refresh option.

This specially named flow can be used by SeismicCompare to apply any

processing that want to be applied to ALL data that is brought into the
tool This feature is especially useful for comparing stack data with
filtering and scaling, so you do not have to create extra datasets or
continuously “add processing” to every new dataset.

NOTE: The Seismic Compare tool automatically pads/fills the display

space with the crossline traces consistently placed so you can make
movie-style animations with all data properly registered. You do not
need to pad the volume.

1. Open the flow _seiscomp_prepro and add Bandpass Filter and

AGC. Select reasonable parameter values, such as 4-8-40-50 for the
band pass and 500 msec for the AGC.

2. SAVE the flow _seiscomp_prepro, otherwise your changes cannot

not be used.

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3. Click MB3 on the 11 Initial stack dataset and move the cursor onto
SeismicCompare on the pulldown menu. Let the cursor sit for a
second or two until the “tool tip” pops up. Notice the option to use
Cntl-MB1 to open the SeismicCompare Launcher menu.

4. Choose Yes to apply preprocessing, then click OK to open the tool.

Any other datasets that you “drag” onto the display will have this same
preprocessing applied. Also, if you select multiple datasets (using MB1,
Shft-MB1 or Cntl-MB1 in the Datasets list, not in the Folders view), all
data will have this preprocessing applied.

IMPORTANT -- IMPORTANT -- IMPORTANT

After selecting Yes to apply preprocessing, Yes will be “remembered”

for any new use of SeismicCompare, and preprocessing will be applied.
If you forget to open the launcher menu and say No to preprocessing,
you can select the Actions button on the tool bar of SeismicCompare
and choose Preprocessing where you can “Remove from all existing
views”, which “turns off” the preprocessing for that session.

Notice the range of options on the Actions menu for turning the
preprocessing on or off.

Keep in mind that there is only a single flow - _seiscomp_prepro - in

your Line/Subproject for applying preprocessing in SeismicCompare.
You may need to keep a variety of tool menus in the flow, remembering
to turn selected ones on or off according the to data you are viewing.

You may prefer to keep things simple and return to the SeismicCompare
Launcher menu and choose No for preprocessing. Then, you can use
launch SeismicCompare directly (bypassing the launcher menu), and
not have to worry about what preprocessing might be unintentionally
applied.

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Pad the 3D Stack Dataset

The following exercise produces a filtered, gained and padded (a trace
at every location) 3D stack volume. A number of ProMAX (blue) tools
require that a stack volume be fully padded, such as the poststack
migrations.

1. Build the following flow, 12 Inline display prep:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input, select the initial stack data volume.

Default the other parameters.

3. Include Bandpass Filter and AGC. The default parameters are

fine, but feel free to change them to your liking.

4. Include Pad 3D Stack Volume to fill out the edges of the stack
volume with dead traces. The menu default values will pad each
inline to have 390 traces (full range of crossline values), which will
allow the animation mode of the 2D Viewer to show spatially
meaningful comparisons.

5. The output dataset name of 12 Initial stack - BP-AGC padded IL

was chosen so that it indicates the dataset is a stack, “BP-AGC”
indicates a bandpass filter and AGC are applied, and “padded IL”
indicates it has inline frames that are padded. You can develop your
own naming conventions or your company may have standards for
naming datasets.

6. Execute the flow and let the job finish.

7. Open the Fold Map for this dataset and notice that the entire map is
blue, indicating the same fold for every Frame, confirming the
inlines have been padded to contain a trace for each crossline.

8. Open the 2D Viewer and compare this dataset with the unpadded
stack. Experiment with display options you have not used earlier.

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3D Viewer Introduction

This section introduces the basic functionality of the 3D Viewer. The

3D Viewer can be used for any JavaSeis dataset (prestack, 5D, etc.), but
we will use it for viewing our initial stack dataset.

1. Go to the datasets list and click MB3 on dataset 12 Initial stack -

BP-AGC padded IL and choose 3D Data Viewer > 3D Data
Viewer.

2. The following menu will appear. Change the menu items from the

default values as shown above by the arrows, then click OK to start

the 3D Viewer.

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The following window should appear showing the status of the caching
procedure. When it reaches 100% the 3D Viewer will appear with the
data in view.

NOTE: The time to load the data and open the display will vary
according to the size of the dataset and your machine’s speed.

In the initial menu you may choose Cache off. The 3D Viewer will open
very quickly, and the response of the tool will be very fast moving along
the INLINE (Frame or “fast”) axis. However, the response may be very
slow for probes on the CROSSLINE (Trace) axis or for TIME slices.

Data “caching” for the 3D Viewer reformats the data for much faster
loading and access when in the 3D Viewer tool, notably for crossline
(Trace axis) and time slice (Sample axis) probes.

3. The 3D Viewer has a huge number of options. The two main

behaviors for manipulating the cube are:

• Click and drag MB1 on the data to tilt and rotate the volume,

• Click MB1 on a probe (a data slice) to select it. The selected probe
has a thin white border around the edge. Hold Cntl-MB1 to

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change data along the axis of the highlighted probe. (hold Cntl key
and MB1 simultaneously and drag the cursor along the data axis)

Green indicates data is cached (fast access all directions)

Red indicates cache is not used (slow in some directions)

4. Experiment with the 3D Viewer. Reading the help file is always a

good idea. Explore the various icons and options that you find.
Your instructor will answer questions.

NOTE: When “cache” is being used, the icon bar of the viewer will have
a green background. When “cache” is NOT being used, the icon bar will
have a red background.

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F-XY Decon and the Distributed Array

The following exercise applies F-XY Decon to the initial stack. In this
situation we simply want another volume that looks different from the
original. These two stack volumes will then be used to demonstrate the
some additional capabilities in Seismic Compare.

The F-XY Decon tool belongs to a group of tools that use the
Distributed Array. Distributed Array tools operate on volumes of data
which allows use of true 3D algorithms. The size of data volumes may
be quite large, requiring the memory of many nodes of a cluster. Even if
a data volume could fit in the memory of a single node, it is simpler to
design and maintain these 3D tools to always use the Distributed Array.

As you will see, the distributed array tool is “sandwiched” between the
Load Distributed Array and Unload Distributed Array tools. These
tools handle the data management associated with having a logical data
volume distributed across many individual nodes.

Apply F-XY Decon to the Initial Stack

1. Build the following flow, 13 F-XY Decon on initial stack:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input select the initial stack.

IMPORTANT: Near the bottom of the JDI menu select ILINE_NO for
the Parallel distribution axis. (The default is VOLUME.) The
distributed array should be loaded “by Frame” for this process.

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3. Use the default parameters for Load Distributed Array - v2 and

Unload Distributed Array - v2. Access the help files for more
information on distributed array tools and their use.

4. Be sure to select the “green” SeisSpace tool F-XY Decon. Set the
menu item Length of operator time window (ms) to a value of 500.
The default value of 200 Length and 100 for window taper are not
suitable for the 8 msec sampling of this dataset. The warning you
may see is related to 100 not being evenly divisible by 8.

5. In Trace Display Label set the label as “F-XY initial stack”.

6. In JavaSeis Data Output add a new dataset and Create the

framework. This is generally a good practice, along with using the
Intelligent Parameterization option.

7. Select the middle Job Submit icon to open the Submit Job dialog
shown below. Select Hosts, localhost and 2 Execs per node.

By using 2 Execs, the job will run considerably faster. There are
additional implications in memory use (Xmx setting) and how the
distributed array is utilized, but this is beyond the course level.

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Seismic Compare - Data differencing

It will be interesting to check the quality of the F-XY Decon process. It
is common to produce “difference” sections to confirm whether
reflection energy has been removed by a noise attenuation process. We
can use the Seismic Compare to produce differences interactively.

1. After the F-XY Decon job finishes, select Datasets in the Folders
view to show the list of datasets in the Tab view of the Navigator.
Select dataset 11 - Initial stack with MB1 and select 13 F-XY
decon on initial stack with Cntl-MB1, then click MB3 and choose
Seismic Compare.

2. The tool opens with the left panel selected -- that is, it has a red
border around it. Click on the Math Operation icon (third from the
bottom) on the Seismic Compare tool to bring up the following
menu.

3. Click on Set in the upper right of the Data Math menu to assign the
selected panel’s dataset as View 1 for the math operation.

4. Click MB1 on the data of the right panel to make it the selected
panel. It will now have the red border.

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5. Click on Set for View 2 in the Data Math menu. The default math
operation is “subtraction”.

<-- Unstack the views

<--- Math Operation

6. Click OK to produce the difference section. You now have three

data panels in view.

7. Because we are comparing differences, we need to ensure that the

data are shown with proper relative amplitudes. Open the Display
Parameters dialog (via icon or click on Edit > Display Parameters)
and select No Normalization on the Normalization tab. For some
other datasets you may need to adjust the Scale value on the
Sample Scaling tab.

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8. Use MB1 to drag the F-XY data (middle panel) to the left so that it
is on top of the Initial Stack data. These two datasets now share the
same space. Use the up or down arrow keys to swap between the
these two views. The difference section is still on the right panel.
Notice at the bottom of the panel that it shows [ 1 / 2 ] or [ 2 / 2 ] in
front of the dataset name, confirming that there are two datasets in
that panel.

9. Click on the Unstack Views icon (double plus sign) to put the
datasets into separate panels. You should now be back to three data
panels.

10. Drag the Initial Stack the right so it is on top of the F-XY panel,
then drag the Difference panel toward the left so that all three
datasets are in the same panel. Use the up and down arrow keys to
swap between the datasets.

11. You can still utilize the frequency spectrum feature, the processing
feature, etc., according to what you want to see and do with the
datasets.

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Crossline Display Options

JavaSeis data are handled on a “frame-by-frame” basis. Everything we

have been displaying in this chapter are frames of Inline data. So far, all
the stack volumes are organized as Frames of Inlines.

There are several options for displaying crosslines. The method you
choose depends on how you want to view and interact with the crossline
data. The main options are:

• Transpose option in SeismicCompare. Use CNTL+MB1 on the

pulldown menu selecting SeismicCompare to open a dialog for
SeismicCompare options.

• Run a flow to create a Crossline-Inline sortmap for the stack

dataset, then access that sortmap via the dataset Fold Map.

• Use the Crossline-Inline sortmap to read the dataset and write a

new crossline organized dataset.

• Read the dataset (get all) and sort with Inline Merge Sort and
write a crossline organized dataset.

• Use the General 3D Transpose Macro tool to swap the Trace

(crossline) and Frame (inline) axes, and write a crossline organized
dataset.

The advantages and disadvantages of each option will be noted.

One further option exists. You could build a flow with JDI using the
sortmap and Trace Display. This “batch job” approach is the least
flexible. A main advantage of JavaSeis datasets is the ability to display
directly from the data rather than displaying via an executed flow.

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Seismic Compare - Transpose option

After opening the pulldown menu using MB3 on a dataset name, use
Cntl+MB1 (hold Cntl key as you click MB1) on the SeismicCompare
option to open the following dialog:

In the pulldown menu, choose T132 - Trace and Frame, which

indicates to transpose the data coming in on axis 2 and axis 3. This
swaps the organization from Frames of Inlines to Frames of Crosslines.

Notice the default allowance of 1024 megabytes for the Java Heap
Memory. This is an allowance, not a reservation/allocation. From the
dataset Properties, you can see that this stack dataset is about 150
megabytes at 16-bit on disk, so it will be roughly 300 megabytes at 32-
bit samples in memory. The transpose operation requires double this, so
the total memory that is used for this operation on this dataset is about
600 megabytes.

You can check the memory usage for a process with the “top” command
in an Xterm or Konsole window.

It will take a few seconds for the transpose operation to happen for this
dataset, perhaps 5-20 seconds, depending on system speed and activity.

You will need to decide for your own datasets whether the
SeismicCompare transpose option is adequate for your datasets. This
will depend on the size of dataset and memory available on the node
where your Navigator is running. You may prefer to produce a new
dataset in the preferred orientation. Options for this are explained below.

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Create a Sortmap to allow Crossline display

1. Build the following flow using the name 14 Sortmap for XL-IL
stack and include only the module JavaSeis Sortmap Create v2*.
Parameterize the menu as shown below.

2. Execute the flow and let it complete.

3. Open the Fold Map for the 11 Stack - initial dataset. On the upper
right of the Fold Map, click on <NONE> for the pulldown menu
and select your XLINE_NO-ILINE_NO sortmap. This opens
another Fold Map that accesses the Frames of crosslines.

4. On the new Fold Map, open the 2D Viewer to look at the

crosslines.

The advantages of this method are that it is quite fast to create a sortmap
for stack data and you do not write another copy of the dataset, so you
save some disk space.

The disadvantage is that you cannot use Seismic Compare via a sortmap
and performance may be slower than you want.

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Use the Sortmap to produce a Crossline dataset

1. Add a new flow with the name 14-a Crosslines via Sortmap.
Include only the modules JDI and JDO. Parameterize the JDI menu
as shown below. Use the defaults for parameters not shown (further
down in the menu).

2. Add a new dataset name (choose a name you like) via the JDO
menu, click on the Create button. Confirm that the Framework
makes sense, then execute the job.

3. When the job finishes, use the Fold Map > 2D Viewer, or use
Seismic Compare to display the crossline dataset.

The advantage of this approach is that you can use Seismic Compare as
well as the 2D Viewer (which allows you to choose an alternate
Sortmap).

The disadvantage is that you have another copy of the dataset using disk
space.

Creating a crossline ordered dataset by reading via a Sortmap means

you are doing a seek on disk to locate and read the traces of each
crossline. This may not perform efficiently, but it requires very little
memory. This is the least efficient way of getting to a crossline display,
both from the user’s time and effort as well as overall computer resource
usage.

Use Inline Merge Sort to produce a Crossline dataset

Inline Merge Sort performs optimally if there is enough memory to
hold the entire dataset, but it may produce the output dataset faster

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because data are streamed serially from disk. Performance depends on

the hardware and system configuration and dataset size.

In this exercise be sure to input the F-XY Decon dataset. This way you
will have two crossline organized datasets to work with in the Seismic
Compare tool.

1. Build the following flow using the name 14-b Crosslines via IMS.

2. In Inline Merge Sort set the parameters as follows:

3. The output dataset name 14b F-XY Decon - XL sort in the JDO
menu is similar to the input dataset name. We simply added “XL
sort” to the name to indicate that the dataset is organized in frames
of crosslines.

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4. Execute the flow. When finished, you can open the Fold Map and
use the 2D Viewer or use Seismic Compare along with the crossline
stack volume from the previous exercise.

The advantage of using Inline Merge Sort is that you do not have to
create a sortmap -- you simply build and run this flow. Inline Merge Sort
should run much faster than doing a sorted read via a sortmap.

The disadvantages are that it might take multiple nodes for a very big
stack volume to run quickly, plus you end up with an extra copy of the
dataset on disk.

Use General 3D Transpose Macro to produce a Crossline dataset

1. Add a new flow with the name 14c - Crosslines via Transpose.

2. Select the input dataset in the JDI menu.

3. Add the tool General 3D Transpose Macro and select the T132 -
Trace and Frame option. This tool is a “macro” composed of
LDA-v2, Transpose-v2 and UDA-v2. The purpose is to simplify the
procedure for doing a transpose operation on a 3D dataset.

4. Add a new dataset name (choose a name you like) via the JDO
menu, click on the Create button. Confirm that the Framework
makes sense.

5. Look at any other menu parameters to see what is there. However,

you can use the default values for all other parameters. You only
need to select the input and output dataset names.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 10-39

Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

6. Execute the job. When it finishes, use the Fold Map > 2D Viewer,
or use Seismic Compare to display the crossline dataset.

In the General 3D Transpose Macro menu, click on the transpose

parameter so all options are shown. Hold the cursor over each option to
get a pop-up explaining in detail what that option does. A couple of the
options have no meaningful value when looking at a conventional
seismic stack volume, but we provide all geometric orientations
anyway.

The simple transpose identifier of T123, T132, etc. is a shorthand way

of indicating how the framework axes were interchanged. The input
dataset has the orientation of “123” and order of the digits for the
transpose indicates where each input axis ends up. Transpose 132
indicates that input axes 2 and 3 get swapped.

The disadvantage of the Transpose process is that it requires more

memory than simply sorting because it is manipulating additional arrays
of data, whereas the Inline Merge Sort is simply shuffling traces around
with little additional memory requirement beyond the size of the input
dataset.

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 Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

Time Slice Displays

Producing time slices requires a transpose of the axes of the dataset. We

cannot simply sort the trace data to produce time slices. A transpose
swaps or rotates the axes of the data volume to a new framework.

There are two options for performing the transpose to time (or depth)
slices. You can use the transpose option in SeismicCompare in the same
manner as shown previously for displaying crosslines. Alternatively,
you can run a batch job to perform the transpose and output the
transposed time slices as a dataset.

The transposed data that is written to disk can be viewed using

SeismicCompare or with the 2D Viewer from the FoldMap of the
dataset.

Seismic Compare - Transpose option

After opening the pulldown menu with MB3 on a dataset name, use
Cntl+MB1 (hold Cntl key as you click MB1) on the SeismicCompare
option to open the following dialog:

In the pulldown menu, choose T321 - Sample and Frame, which

indicates to transpose the data coming in on axis 1 and axis 3. This

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Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

swaps the organization from Frames of Inlines to be Frames of Time

Slices.

As with the Crossline transpose, this will take a few seconds to happen
for this dataset, perhaps 5-20 seconds, depending on system speed and
activity.

NOTE: Be careful of the behavior of SeismicCompare. It “remembers”

what you selected the last time you used the tool. If you had Preprocess
the data? set to YES, then that is the default that you will get. You may
need to open the SeismicCompare Launcher menu (Cntl+MB1) so you
can change the selection. Be wary of doing any preprocessing with time
slice data because typical trace processes make no sense geophysically
on such data.

You will need to decide for your own datasets whether the
SeismicCompare transpose option is adequate for your needs. This will
depend on the size of dataset and memory available on the node where
your Navigator is running. You may prefer to produce a new dataset in
the preferred orientation. Options for this are explained below.

Time Slice Transpose batch job

1. Build the following flow using the name 15 Transpose to Time
Slices.

2. Choose T321 - Sample and Frame as the transpose option in

General 3D Transpose Macro.

3. Add a meaningful output dataset name for JDO, then execute the
flow.

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 Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

NOTE: If you want filtering, scaling, etc., applied to the data, you
should include these processes before performing the transpose. You
cannot apply such processes in a meaningful way to data that is already
converted to time slices.

4. Open the Properties for the time slice dataset and see what the
Framework looks like. It should look like this:

5. Open the Initial Stack SLICES in the Seismic Compare tool.

6. Modify the Time Slice Transpose flow to input the FXY Decon
dataset and create a new output dataset. Run the flow.

7. ANOTHER FEATURE to use in Seismic Compare --- Use MB1

on the F-XY SLICES dataset and drag it to the Seismic Compare
tool. “Drop” it onto the data area to put the datasets on the same

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Chapter 10: 3D Stack and Display

panel, or “drop” it at the bottom (in the title area) to put the dataset
in its own panel. See the example below.

Drag-and-drop
here to put data on
the same panel

Drag-and-drop
here to put data in
its own panel

Drop to the left of

the name to put the
new panel to the left.

8. Play with the display options. Exit when you are comfortable with
the features discussed above.

10-44 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 11
3D Residual Statics
SeisSpace offers a variety of residual statics routines. In this chapter we will use the tool named
Parallel Residual Statics. This tool allows an external (stack) model for doing the correlation and
time picks, or it can use the prestack data to generate an internal model. NMO can be applied in
this tool or you can input NMO corrected data. The main advantage of this tool is that it can be
run in parallel across multiple nodes.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Picking a Horizon table

o Calculate Residual Statics
o Statics Application and Stack Comparison

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

Picking a Horizon table

In this exercise you will pick a horizon (HOR) table to use in the residual
statics calculation. If importing an existing horizon, be sure you
understand the datum reference of the horizon and parameterize any tool
that uses the horizon so that the data and horizon have the same
reference. Typically, an interpretation horizon will be at the final datum
while the horizon used for residual statics will be at the floating datum
(N_DATUM).

1. Edit the earlier flow 12 Inline display prep. Comment out the
JavaSeis Data Output and add a Trace Display (blue ProMAX tool).

ProMAX Trace Display

must be used for picking
horizons.

2. In the JDI menu select Arbitrary Subset for the Trace read option,
and enter 1,25-300(25),308 for the ILINE_NO arbitrary selection
list.

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 Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

3. In Trace Display change the following menu parameters so the

data presentation will be more effective for this exercise:

• Specify display END time --- 2000

• Trace Display MODE --- Grayscale
• Primary trace Labeling header entry --- Inline
• Secondary trace Labeling header entry --- Crossline.
• Number of display panels --- 2

4. Execute the flow.

5. In the Trace Display tool select Picking > Other Horizons... at the
top of the display.

6. Type in a name for the horizon, such as “about 1000 msec”, and
click OK. In this exercise, start picking the horizon on any event

that is at a time at or slightly deeper than 1000 milliseconds.

NOTE ABOUT THIS HORIZON: You do not have to pick the event
perfectly. Your picked horizon should follow the structural trend, and
does not have follow any particular peak or trough. The horizon will be
the center of the window of data that will be correlated to find
differential time picks for each prestack trace. The time picks are then
decomposed to generate shot and receiver statics. There are many
calculations that happen in getting to the resulting statics. The precision
of the horizon is inconsequential in getting to this end result.

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

7. Pick a horizon at about 1000 ms. Keep in mind that this is a shallow

gate when considering the post-NMO top mute. Only about half to
two-thirds of the offsets will contribute to the statics estimate for
this dataset. You can see this easily on Inline 1 above where the data
comes from only a single shot. Refer to the gather where you
picked the top mute in Chapter 10, at about page 16.

8. Continue picking the horizon on each of the chosen inlines 1, 25 to

300 by 25, and 308.

Picking the horizon may be difficult on some lines due to low signal
to noise. Use your best judgement to approximate the structure in
these areas. Picking exact peaks or troughs is not important. The
horizon simply defines window where correlations are calculated
and what structure will be removed prior to correlating the prestack
data. In general you want this horizon to be relatively smooth.

9. Save your picks occasionally. Select File > Exit/Stop Flow after
picking the horizon on all of the displayed lines.

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 Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

Calculate Residual Statics

1. Build the following flow, 16 - Residual Statics:

2. The input dataset was created in the flow 11 - Initial stack. It

contains CDP (inline by crossline) gathers with only the
preprocessing applied. We will apply NMO inside the Parallel
Residual Statics tool.

NOTE FOR THE CLASS: On a 1.2 GHz Linux machine, this

process runs about 3 minutes for each iteration on this dataset. In the
Parallel Residual Statics menu below, we show the Maximum static
to estimate set to 16 msec, which is too small for many datasets. The
residual statics in this dataset are generally quite small, and this is a
training exercise. No one is going to drill a well based on your
results.

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

3. Change the parameters based on the menu below. The arrows

indicate where parameter values need to be changed from the

defaults.

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 Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

4. Your instructor will explain the various parameter options. The key
choices made for this exercise are:

• default is build internal model from the input gathers; this exercise
uses an external model (stack dataset) for computing correlations
• default is write statics to trace headers; this exercise writes statics to
the database
• default is 3 iterations of static estimation; this exercise uses 1
iteration to save time in the class -- we don’t need a great result
• default is maximum static to estimate is 50 msec; this exercise uses
maximum static of 16 to run the job faster
• default for maximum offset is 20000; this exercise uses 10000
because the gate is shallow and long offsets have no live data
because of the top mute applied (this is normal for seismic data)
• default is to use HOR (horizon) table, so select the HOR table that
you picked.
• the correlation will be done on a window 500 msec wide centered
on the horizon times.
• NMO must be applied to the trace data and the default is Yes to
apply block NMO internally in the program. Select the best
available velocity table.

5. Execute the flow. It may take a little while for the job to finish.

6. When the job finishes, review the summary information in the job
log.

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

QC the Statics in the Database

1. Open DBTools and make a 2D Matrix display the from the SIN
domain attributes X_COORD: Y_COORD: SPSS0001:
SPSS0001.

Notice that most of the static values are near 0 ms, and only a small
range of outliers. If your data showed large outlier static values, you
may want to view these particular shots in trace display to determine if
they if there is something wrong with these shots, or if the static value
seems to be legitimate.

NOTE: The menu parameter Maximum static standard deviation

defaults to a value of 3. For this dataset we allowed static estimation up
to +-16 msec. Notice that the maximum static output is about -4 and +2
for the shots. For normal distributions, 99% of the values are within
three standard deviations of the mean. The outlying 1% of values are

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 Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

reset to the value at three standard deviations. If you believe extreme

static values are valid for your data, set this parameter value to 5 or 6.

The range of static values that your job produces may differ from these
results.

Display the Receiver Statics

1. Make a similar Database display for the receivers statics.

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

Statics Application and Stack Comparison

In this exercise you will apply residual statics, create stacks, and
compare them with the brute stack.

1. Add a new flow 17 Residual statics stack, and include the modules
as shown below:

2. The input dataset is the CDP (IL-XL sorted) gather file.

3. In the menu for Apply Residual Statics, select the residual shot
and receiver statics from the database as shown here. This indicates
which database attributes to read and apply to the data:

4. Add Normal Moveout Correction and select the table we have

been using.

NOTE: We chose to Apply Residual Statics BEFORE applying NMO.

These residual statics were calculated on data that already had NMO
applied, so you might expect that we would apply those statics AFTER
NMO in this flow. Technically, that would be the correct thing to do.
However, our reason for applying residuals before NMO is for
efficiency. When the system applies a static shift to prestack data, it
applies a shift equal to the nearest multiple of the sample interval and

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 Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

saves the fractional remainder in the header NA_STAT. When NMO is

applied, the NA_STAT value is applied as well. This way we only apply
one interpolation filter to the data.

As long as the residual statics are small (which they typically are), there
is negligible distortion of the NMO curve and we are safe in our choice
of computational efficiency and application of only one interpolation
filter.

If you choose to apply residual statics AFTER you have applied NMO,
then you must include the tool Apply Fractional Statics to ensure the
entire static shift is fully applied.

The system is aware of whether trace data are flagged as prestack or

poststack. When statics are applied to prestack data, the systems applies
a static equal to the nearest sample time and stores the difference in the
NA_STAT header. When statics are applied to poststack data, the entire
static is applied and an interpolation filter is used, and NA_STAT is not
used.

5. Add Trace Display Label and provide a name or description of the

dataset. This is optional, but can be useful to distinguish datasets
when displaying them.

6. Add a new dataset name in JavaSeis Data Output. It would also be

a good idea, as always, to hit the Create button and check the
framework, and run the Intelligent Parameterization.

7. Execute the job.

8. Use the Seismic Compare tool to compare the residual statics stack
with the initial stack. Consider using the option in the initial menu
for Seismic Compare to perform a transpose in order to view
crosslines or time slices.

9. The Seismic Compare transpose option may not be fast enough or

may require more memory than you have available. Also if you
intend to review the datasets multiple times, it may be easier if you
run flows as needed to save XL-IL or time slice oriented datasets.

Use earlier flows as examples for creating a crossline sortmap or sorting

to a new dataset that is crossline organized. Edit or copy the existing
time slice transpose flow to make a time slice dataset.

Use any of the display tools and methods that you want more practice in
using.

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Chapter 11: 3D Residual Statics

11-12 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 12
Velocity Analysis and the Volume
Viewer
In this chapter, we will look at two ProMAX velocity tools: Velocity Analysis and the Volume
Viewer/Editor. These tools can interact with one another via the Pointing Dispatcher. In the next
exercises, we will look at this interaction.

Velocity Analysis is the most notable part of a conventional processing sequence that still has
more functionality with ProMAX format datasets than with JavaSeis. This is related to the inter-
process communication between the Volume Viewer/Editor tool and the Velocity Analysis tool
with its interactive data access feature tied to ProMAX Disk Data Input.

The JavaSeis Data Input tool accommodates parameterization for forming supergathers that are
the typical input for velocity analysis. The data used in the velocity analysis workflow is typically
a much smaller subset of the total project, and this data is used only for this analysis step.
Therefore, using ProMAX format datasets works well and allows continued use of several
existing ProMAX tools.

Prior to analyzing the velocities, we will precompute data for input to Velocity Analysis.
Precomputing improves the interactive performance of Velocity Analysis.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Velocity Analysis Introduction

o 3D Supergather Generation and QC
o Precomputed Velocity Analysis
o Volume Viewer/Editor Interaction with Velocity Analysis

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Velocity Analysis Introduction

Velocity Analysis provides comprehensive interactive velocity

analysis, velocity quality control, and velocity field modification
capabilities.

Velocity Analysis is a “socket tool”; therefore, preprocessing of data

can be performed in the same flow before passing the data on to analysis.
Velocity Analysis can use the IDA (interactive data access) feature of
Disk Data Input (using ProMAX format datasets). With this feature, you
can go back to the previously processed ensemble, rewind the data to the
first CDP specified in the sort order for the dataset, or go to any CDP in
the dataset by specifying a new sort order.

Velocity Analysis provides a variety of data display options, and allows

picking in the semblance panel or the stack data panel. Picks made in
either panel are automatically shown in the other panel. The user can
choose which components to display via menu options prior to
execution, and most settings can be changed interactively in the analysis
tool.

Analysis locations commonly are chosen on a 1 kilometer grid for initial

velocities and on 0.5 km grid for final velocities. For JavaSeis Datasets,
the supergathers corresponding to these locations can be created in the
JavaSeis Data Input menu.

NOTE: If you choose to process with ProMAX datasets and not use
JavaSeis, then you should use the 3D Supergather Select module to
select the traces for supergathers. Optionally, supergathers can be
generated using the 2D or 3D Supergather Formation* modules, but
these modules use considerable amounts of memory and their
performance may be less than desirable. Refer to the respective module
documentation for further details.

Velocity Analysis tool displays a single analysis location at a time. Each

input supergather is processed to create several types of data that can be
used in the interactive tool. These include a velocity semblance panel, a
CDP gather with regularized offset sampling, and a set of stack panels
using a range of velocity functions. This specialized ensemble of data
can be generated directly in the Velocity Analysis module, or they can
be generated by the Velocity Analysis Precompute module and saved to
disk, then input to Velocity Analysis.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Precomputing these data before input to Velocity Analysis provides the

advantage of faster response when moving to a new location because it
does not have to calculate the semblance and stack data. This is only
noticeable for very high fold data or slow machines.

Using raw supergathers as input can allow great flexibility, including

options to change parameters and recalculate the semblance, gather and
stack panels. Additionally, when picking mutes on the gather panel, you
can recalculate all panels in order to optimize the velocity function and
top mute simultaneously.

In the first exercise we will concentrate on the Offset Distribution

analysis to ensure good supergathers. This procedure is useful of low
fold noisy (land) data. Then we will proceed with the velocity analysis.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

3D Supergather Generation and QC

Supergathers are generated so that the data used for picking velocity
functions is well sampled in offset and provides sufficient signal-to-
noise ratio. Commonly, we gather traces from a span of adjacent inlines
and crosslines into one supergather for each velocity analysis location.
The “span” may be a value of 1 or larger in either inline or crossline.

The illustration below shows 3-by-3 and 5-by-1 supergathers.

50

Inline
Number

100

50 100
Crossline Number

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Supergather Generation and Offset Distribution QC

Many land shooting geometries give irregular offset distributions,
especially when shots are moved from their preferred locations.

The Javaseis Data Input menu has an option to directly deliver

supergathers into the flow. We will compare offset distributions for a
3x3 spatial supergather, a 5x5 spatial supergather and a 9x1 inline
supergather.

This procedure is not particularly valuable for marine data which

typically has very consistent offset distribution. If you only intend to
process marine data, you may choose to skip the next few pages and
proceed to the section titled Precomputed Velocity Analysis.

1. Build the following flow, 18 - Velocity Analysis. Use drag-and-drop

or cut-and-paste to copy the Apply Residual Statics menu from the
previous flow.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

2. Parameterize the JDI menu as follows. Select the CDP gather

dataset 11 IL-XL gathers preprocessed:

Select Trace read option of Arbitrary Subset, which means we will

type-in the set of values we want. Choose Inlines 50-250(50) and
Crosslines 50-350(100) for supergather locations. Notice the
semicolon separating the ranges.

Select Absolute value of offset for secondary sort within frames.

The data in the frames have no particular sort order, but we want to
be sure they are sorted by offset for our display.

Choose Yes to Create supergathers and start with 3 inlines by 3

crosslines. This will initially define a 3 by 3 “box” around the center
CDP. We will also try 5x5 and 1x9.

Each supergather location is assigned a value of the center CDP for

the new header word SG_CDP.

Include a band pass filter and an AGC. The defaults for both
modules are acceptable, but you may change them if you like.

You may use either blue ProMAX Trace Display or the green
SeisSpace Trace Display tool for this exercise. These two tools have

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

very similar general capabilities, but each has unique features that
you may prefer for particular situations.

3. Execute the flow to display the supergathers for QC.

Use the Header plot option to plot the trace offsets above the
supergathers. You should look for linearity of the offset distribution.

4. Experiment with different supergather parameters to see which

provides the most consistent offset distributions. The situation will
vary depending on the collection geometry for any project.

Try using 5 inlines by 5 crosslines, and 1 inline and 9 crosslines at

each location. You can keep the various displays open at the same
time to compare them.

For our velocity analysis exercise we will use 5 by 5 supergathers.

This will work well for our purposes.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Precomputed Velocity Analysis

Preparing supergathers and performing Velocity Analysis interactively

on a large 3D survey may require a lot of time. Therefore, you may elect
to use Velocity Analysis Precompute to calculate the semblance and
stack data at the supergather locations. This can speed up the interactive
Velocity Analysis session, especially when a large number of CDPs are
used to create the supergathers.

Another advantage of using Velocity Analysis Precompute is that

precomputed data provides faster response of the random access
capability available in Velocity Analysis.

The Volume Viewer/Editor provides map (time slice) and vertical

cross section views of the velocity volume. Through the use of a
“pointing dispatcher” or PD, the Volume Viewer/Editor will
automatically update the velocity volume display with the picks made in
Velocity Analysis.

Run the Precompute

1. Edit the Velocity Analysis flow. Disable or remove Trace Display
from the flow.

2. In JDI set the supergather values to 5 inlines by 5 crosslines.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

3. Add the modules Velocity Analysis Precompute and Disk Data

Output. The output dataset will be ProMAX format not JavaSeis
format.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

4. Parameterize the Velocity Analysis Precompute menu.

NOTE: The stack strip will be composed of “real” CDP stacks, and
if the supergather contains more than one inline, you may see
discontinuities in the stack “structure” if there is significant geologic
dip in the data. When there is significant crossline dip, you should
consider using only one inline for the supergathers, otherwise you
may see “stair steps” that are visually distracting.

Use 82.5 for the offset of the first bin center and 165 for the offset
bin size. This controls the re-binning and sub-stacking of the gather
traces that are used for the semblance calculations and the reference
gather that is seen in the interactive analysis tool.

Choose a velocity range from 4000 to 14000 ft/sec. for the

semblance.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

The number of stack panels to create is typically in the range of 7 to

25. More stack panels may allow sharper discrimination of the
optimum stack.

Use “Top/base range” and 1000 to 3000 to control the reference

functions that are used for the stacks. This range is applied to both
sides of the guide functions, which gives a span of 2000 fps at time
0.0 and 6000 fps at the maximum time.

The default stretch percentage of 30.0 is rather conservative.

Increase it to 75.0 to retain more data.

5. Enter a new data set name in Disk Data Output such as 18 -

velocity precompute.

6. Execute this flow.

Velocity Analysis
1. You may begin editing the flow while the job is running. Toggle all
modules “off” and add Disk Data Input and Velocity Analysis
modules.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

2. In Disk Data Input, select the dataset from the Velocity Analysis
Precompute execution of the flow. Select Sort for Trace read
option. This opens the option to say Yes to Interactive data access
(IDA). IDA provides the communication between the Velocity
Analysis tool and the Volume Viewer/Editor tool.

3. Set the Velocity Analysis parameters.

This is the
“new”
table that
this job
writes into.

This is
your
existing
velocity
table.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Be sure to add a table to store velocity picks such as Final velocity

field and select the imported from ASCII table as the Velocity
guide function table name.

The default menu for Velocity Analysis shows only the major or
most commonly changed parameters. There are a large number of
parameters that are exposed by selecting Yes for Set semblance
scaling and autosnap parameters. These parameters can be
changed after the display appears by selecting the View pulldown
menu on the Velocity Analysis display. These parameters are all
used by the tool, even if they are hidden. The default settings will
work fine for this exercise.

Select Yes to the parameter Set which items are visible works to
show a large number of additional options for the display. The
defaults are fine for the exercise, but you can change any of these
parameters via View pulldown on the VA tool.

Depending on your preference, you may want to set your own

default values for Velocity Analysis using the method shown in an
earlier chapter. The key button clicks are Edit > Administration >
Edit Parameter Defaults > User Defaults.

4. One item many people wish to see is the interval velocity in the
semblance panel. Select Yes to Set which items are visible and then
select Yes to Display interval velocity functions (the fourth item
down the list).

5. After the precompute flow has completed, execute the edited flow
and begin picking velocities in the Velocity Analysis display.

Add a pick with MB1, and delete the nearest pick with MB2. As
you pick velocities on the semblance plot, the picks are also
displayed on the variable velocity stack strips and the interval
velocity plot is modified. You may also pick velocities on the stack
strips.

6. On the VA tool, select Gather > Apply NMO to see the current
velocity picks applied to the gather. You may also choose Gather >
Animate NMO, then animate the gather by dragging MB3 left and
right on a pick in the semblance panel.

Note the CDP, ILN, and XLN values that appear in the upper left
hand corner of the display. These provide the center CDP value and
the inline and crossline numbers of the current velocity analysis
location.

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Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

Velocity Analysis Icons

• Next ensemble: Proceed to and process the next ensemble in the
dataset. If you are currently processing the last ensemble in the
dataset, this button will rewind the data and bring up the first
ensemble.

• Previous ensemble: Step backward one ensemble and process the

ensemble before the current ensemble. If you are currently
processing the first ensemble of the dataset, this button is “grayed
out” and does not do anything.

• Rewind: Rewind the dataset and go back to the first ensemble as

specified in the sort order.

• Point Dispatcher(PD) save and send the velocity picks in the

current ensemble to the Velocity Viewer/Editor.

7. After you pick the first location and move to the second location,
you may want to overlay the function that you just picked as a an
additional guide or reference. You can do this by clicking on View
> Object Visibility, then select Previous CDPs (orange). This will
display the function from the nearest CDP less than the current
CDP. There are several options to overlay functions that may be
useful.

Your velocity picks are automatically saved to the output RMS

velocity table when you move from one location to another location.
When you Exit the program, you will be prompted to “save picks”
if any changes have been made since the last save operation. You
also have the option to save picks using File > Save Picks.

People who have worked in seismic processing for a long time

typically like to “save early, save often” when doing any picking.

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Volume Viewer/Editor Interaction with Velocity

Analysis

As you pick velocities along a line using the Velocity Analysis tool, you
may want to QC your new velocity field. This can be accomplished by
simultaneously viewing a color isovelocity display of the entire velocity
volume. The tool used for this is a standalone process called the Volume
Viewer/Editor, and should be executed while you are running Velocity
Analysis, as outlined below.

In addition to letting you see the velocity field as you are updating it with
new picks and functions, the Volume Viewer/Editor tool can
communicate with the Velocity Analysis tool by telling it what location
you want to see and edit. The easiest way to do this is by selecting a
location in the Map view of the Volume Viewer/Editor display. You will
see how this is done further in the exercise.

1. Pick and save at least one velocity function in the Velocity

Analysis tool that should already be up and running. This ensures the
velocity table has meaningful values for the Volume Viewer/ Editor
tool to initialize its velocity and color ranges.

2. Return to the Flow Editor for 18 - Velocity Analysis. Turn off or

disable Disk Data Input and Velocity Analysis in the current flow.
Add the Volume Viewer/Editor*.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 12-15

Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

3. Set the parameters for Volume Viewer/Editor.

Make sure you input the same velocity volume (table) that you are
currently using in Velocity Analysis.

Also, make sure you select Yes to Interact with other processes
using PD? This will enable the PD (pointing dispatcher) to
communicate with the Velocity Analysis tool that is already running.

4. Execute the flow, and return to the Velocity Analysis display.

Two Volume Viewer/Editor windows will appear: ProMAX/

Volume Viewer: Map and ProMAX/Volume Viewer: Cross
Section. You will want to try different ways of arranging the
windows on the screen until you have made an arrangement that is
workable, depending on whether you have one or two monitors.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

The following image shows one possible way to arrange the

windows on the screen if you only have one monitor to work with:

If you have not yet saved any velocities in Velocity Analysis, the
table has no values and therefore the Volume Viewer/Editor
windows will be all blue and the velocity range is 0.0 (meaningless).
It will be easier to exit VVE, pick and save a function in VA, then
execute the flow again to start VVE with a meaningful velocity and
color range.

The Map window displays a time slice through the current velocity
volume at the position of the heavy, gray line that appears across the
Cross Section window. You can change the time slice by activating
the “Select a horizontal slice” icon in the Cross Section window and
clicking MB1 at the desired time in the Cross Section window. The
Map window shows the full inline and crossline range of your 3D
survey.

The Cross Section window displays a vertical cross section through

the current velocity volume at the position of the heavy, gray line
that appears in the Map window. You can quickly change to a
vertical cross section oriented 90 degrees to the current Cross
Section display by clicking on the “Select the perpendicular slice”
icon. Clicking MB1 will alternately display perpendicular vertical
cross sections at the position of your cursor.

5. From the Cross Section window, click View > Volume Display.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 12-17

Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

The Volume Controls window will appear. Click the Cross-section

Nodes and Map Nodes, then Ok. This will display symbols in the
Map window and vertical lines in the Cross Section window
indicating the positions of the Velocity Analysis centers already
saved to the velocity table. The locations of these symbols and lines
are referred to as nodes.

You should also set the Maximum node projection distance to

about 5 (inlines or crosslines). This will ensure that the vertical
display only shows picked velocity locations that are within 5 inlines
(or crosslines) of the vertical slice.

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 Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

6. In the Velocity Analysis tool, pick or modify the velocity function

for the current location. Click on the bow-and-arrow icon to send
the updated function to the Volume Viewer/Editor.

Locations with picks

are shown as a small
blue circle.

Locations available to
the Velocity Analysis
tool that are not yet
picked are a
green plus sign.

Select PD Icon, then

click on a location to
bring that data to the
Velocity Analysis tool

7. In the Velocity Analysis tool, click on the “Process next ensemble”

icon, and pick the next analysis location.

When you are finished picking this new analysis location, click on
the “Process next ensemble” icon again. This will not only move you
to the next analysis location, but will automatically send the velocity
picks just made to the Volume Viewer/Editor displays.

Velocity Analysis PD Tool:

By activating this icon, you can select a CDP location in either VVE
window and make the corresponding data appear in the Velocity
Analysis tool. This icon does not appear if you selected No for Interact
with Velocity Analysis? in the Velocity Viewer/Editor menu.

8. In either the Map window or the Cross Section window, click on the
PD icon to activate the function.

Click MB1 in either VVE window to make the nearest available data
appear in the Velocity Analysis tool. You can move around
anywhere in the VVE displays to select a location to pick or edit in
the VA tool.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 12-19

Chapter 12: Velocity Analysis and the Volume Viewer

NOTE: Clicking MB2 in either VVE window deletes the function

at the nearest analysis location. If you delete a function in this
manner, and wish to pick a new function there, you must first move
to a different location and then return to that deleted location in order
to refresh the data.

9. Continue picking velocities in Velocity Analysis until you finish all

of the locations for this project.

Remember, you may either use the bow-and-arrow icon to send the
picks from Velocity Analysis to the Volume Viewer/Editor* displays
for QC before moving to the next analysis location, or you may
move directly to the next location and your previous picks will be
automatically sent to the Volume Viewer/Editor* displays.

10. To finish picking in Velocity Analysis, click on the File > Exit/Stop
Flow pull down menu in the Velocity Analysis and the File > Exit
pull down in the Volume Viewer/Editor*.

12-20 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 13
CDP Taper on Stack Data
CDP Taper is a post stack, pre-migration amplitude tapering tool that, as well as modifying the
seismic data amplitudes, stores the scalar values in the CDP GEOMETRY Ordered Parameter
Files as the TOPTAPER and BOTTAPER parameters. The top and bottom taper numbers define
an amplitude ramp that is applied to each trace in the flow.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Stack with Final Velocity

o CDP Taper Overview
o Execution of CDP Taper
o Generating QC Plots of the Taper Values

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 13-1

Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

Stack with Final Velocity

In this exercise, we will build a CDP Taper flow and apply the tapers to
the stack data and QC the results on the traces and in the database.

Copy flow 17 - Residual statics stack to a new flow 19 - Final stack.

1. Input the dataset 11 IL-XL gathers preprocessed.

2. Apply Residual Statics exactly as before.

3. Change the NMO velocity table to final velocity.

4. Output the dataset 19 Stack - final.

5. Run the flow.

Use Seismic Compare to compare your initial stack with your final
stack.

13-2 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

CDP Taper Overview

In most cases you will want to apply some amplitude tapering to the
edge traces of a 3D stack volume prior to 3D migration. Tapering
options exist in most of the migration programs, but they are based on
length of inline and crossline numbers, and do not comprehend the often
irregular shape of live data in a stack dataset. In cases where the live data
line length varies, you may still end up with amplitude discontinuities
from line to line or crossline to crossline. The CDP Taper program
computes amplitude scalars that following the shape of live data (in a
map view sense) based on user specified number of inlines and
crosslines.

For 3D, this tool scans the CDP fold over a moving rectangular array of
user defined size, computing top and bottom taper numbers for the
center CDP in the array.

live in the corner

on the edge

one line in from the edge

dead in the
corner

first live, but

not on the edge

CDP Taper Example Locations

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Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

The actual value used at a trace is the taper value * the amplitude.

If there are no zero fold CDPs in the array, the taper value is 1.

If there are zero fold CDPs in the array and the center CDP has non-zero
fold, the taper number is calculated as:

Using Equation INT(array area/2) - number of zero fold CDPs

INT(array area/2).
Center CDP is on the edge
(first/last line or first/last xline)
Taper value = 0
If CDP not on the edge then
Total number of CDP’s in window = 25
Total number of zero fold CDP’s = 10
Taper value = (12-10)/12 = 0.17

Center CDP has fold >0

Total number of CDP’s in window = 25
Total number of zero fold CDP’s = 5
Taper value = (12-5)/12 = 0.58

Center CDP has fold = 0

Taper Value = 0

Center CDP has fold > 0

Total number of CDP’s in window = 25
Total number of zero fold CDP’s = 6
Taper Value = (12-6)/12 = 0.50

If the center CDP is on a dataset edge, the fold of the center CDP is zero,
or the number of zero fold CDPs is greater than half the array area, the
taper number is 0.

The computed taper values are written to the CDP database and applied
to the dataset. Optionally, you may select only to apply existing taper
values already saved in the database.

13-4 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

Execution of CDP Taper

In this exercise, we calculate and apply the tapers to the stack data and
QC the results on the traces and in the database.

1. Add a new flow 20 Apply CDP taper and include three modules:

2. Select the Final Stack as input to JDI and default all other menu
parameters. The CDP Taper module will be writing to the database
so the flow cannot be run in parallel.

3. Set the CDP Taper menu parameters as follows. The CDP bin size
is square, so we will use the same number of crosslines and inlines
in the operators to keep the scaling shape symmetric in space. The
scaling will cover a larger area at deeper times.

4. Add a new dataset for output in JavaSeis Data Output. We

recommend using the Create button to make the framework.

5. Execute the flow.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 13-5

Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

6. Compare the input and output datasets using Seismic Compare. The
differencing feature may be interesting.

NOTE:

Notice that the first and last lines are completely dead after the CDP Taper. This is
the expected behavior. For this reason you may elect to pad the CDP grid by one
CDP in all directions since CDP Taper will kill any trace on the first and last inline
and cross line of the project.

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 Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

Generating QC Plots of the Taper Values

The CDP Taper process writes two sets of numbers to the CDP database.
A value is output for the top taper for each CDP and another value for
the bottom taper. We can use the database display tools to visualize how
the taper varies in space.

QC Plots from DBTools

1. Open DBTools.

2. Select View > Predefined > CDP fold map as a reference display.
In the histogram click Cntl-MB1 on the leftmost bin to turn off the
zero fold locations. This is the outline area used in the taper
calculations.

3. Select the CDP tab and then View > 2D Matrix. Select CDP_X,
CDP_Y, TOPTAPER, TOPTAPER respectively for the horizontal,
vertical, color and histogram.

4. Make a similar 2D Matrix view for the BOTTAPER attribute.

5. Use Cntl-MB1 to turn off the zero value scalars for both plots.

Here you can clearly see the original zero fold CDPs in the fold plot
and you can see the traces which have been assigned a taper scaler
of zero.

Try other values for TOPTAPER and BOTTAPER

Rerun the flow using values of 15 and 51 for the top and bottom tapers
and regenerate the QC plots. These values may seem a bit large, but that
is a judgement you would need to make for the data of each project. You
must open a new instance of DBTools in order to view the newly created
attributes.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 13-7

Chapter 13: CDP Taper on Stack Data

13-8 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 14
3D Velocity Viewer/Editor
This stand-alone tool enables you to scan through a 3D velocity field, identify and edit velocity
control points, and analyze the interpolation between the control points. This tool also lets you
smooth the velocity field and convert stacking velocities to interval velocities.

A typical use of this tool is to analyze velocities for anomalous points that you may want to edit.
In particular, bad velocities are frequently created when converting stacking velocities to interval
velocities. This tool ensures that a reasonable velocity field is being passed to migration.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Overview

o 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Execution
o Change Datum of Velocity Field

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-1

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Overview

The following figures are included to help guide you through the
tool.

Inline view of velocity field

Pulldown menus Last crossline location
Locations of velocity functions
near the viewing plane

Last time slice location

Icon Bar
• Zoom: Enables zooming of the velocity field.

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 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

• Move: Move view forward and back or up and down. Also used to
flip to an inline view when in a crossline view and visa-versa.

• Rotate: Rotate to an inline, crossline, or time slice view.

• Edit vel function: Popup another screen to display and edit a

selected velocity function.

• Display Vel Scale: Display a simple velocity scale.

Time Slice View

Circles represent location of the velocity functions. Black lines indicates

triangulation for spatial interpolation of velocity functions. Solid white
lines mark last displayed inline and crossline views. Dashed white lines

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-3

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

mark width of zone used to mark nearby velocity functions on the axis
of an inline or crossline view.

3D Table Triangulation
The above time slice view shows the triangulation used for spatial
interpolation by ProMAX tables. After values in a table are interpolated
vertically in time or depth, they are interpolated spatially using the 3
vertexes of the triangle that encloses the location to interpolate. The
triangulation of the function locations is defined via the Delaunay
approach that produces the most equilateral triangles possible.

14-4 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor Execution

This exercise instructs you on parameter selection and execution of the

3D Velocity Viewer/Editor. We will input one of the RMS stacking
fields that we have and output two new velocity tables: one for FK
migration and another Interval Velocity field for Phase Shift migration.

Select the 3D Velocity Viewer Parameters

1. Build the following flow, 21 Vel conditioning for mig:

2. Input one of the RMS velocity fields that are available.

If you did not complete the velocity field picking you may use the
original field that we imported from the ASCII file.

3. Specify an output name for the edited RMS field.

4. Enter an alternative name for the output interval velocity table.

We will output two tables from this program. The smoothed RMS
field will be used to make a smoothed interval velocity in time field
in preparation for FK Migration and Phase Shift 3D Migration.

5. Execute the flow.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-5

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

Edit and Smooth the RMS Velocity for PS/FK Migration

1. Click on the Edit Icon and move the cursor into the display area.

The screen will adjust to have two windows. On the left is the
velocity contour and on the right is the velocity function edit
window.

Edit velocity function window

Edit Icon

Location of Location of Velocity function Additional

velocity function additional being edited function
being edited velocity (circles mark used as
function used control points) reference
as reference
for plot on
right side.
Conversion of velocity
being edited to interval velocity
(two different conversion
methods are being used)

Icon Bar

• Zoom: Enables zooming of the velocity field.

14-6 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

• Picking Tool: Edit velocity points.

Editing velocities

The Edit velocity function window will contain the function nearest
to your mouse location, The right hand window shows the location
of the selected functions control points with red circles. The mouse
pointing help at the bottom of the screen guides your mouse
motions.

MB1: Selects the nearest velocity function for editing. This function
will appear in the right window in red. As you move your mouse, the
blue function will still reflect the function nearest to your mouse
location. In this way, you can compare two functions. To freeze a
blue function you can use MB2. Move your mouse to the right
window and activate the Edit Function Icon. This lets you add/move/
delete the red function locations marked by the circles. Use the
mouse button helps at the bottom of the screen as a guide.

MB3: Delete all points at a function location, and hence delete the
function.

Shift MB1: Adds a new function at that location.

Another way to think of this is to Freeze the blue curve on a function

that you like with MB2 and edit the questionable function with
MB1.

When you press UPDATE with your new velocity function, you will
see its effect on the entire velocity field. If you don’t like your
changes, use the Modify/Undo button to remove the old function.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-7

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

2. Select a function to edit with MB1, and then activate the “Picking”
icon.

3
1

3. Use MB1 to add a bogus value to the velocity function and then
press update. Note the anomaly around 1300 msec below.

4. Select Modify Undo last change to remove the bad edit.

14-8 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

5. Use the Rotate icon along with the mouse button helps to move
from line to line and change the display from inlines, crosslines and
time slices.

Hand edit the major discontinuities.

Velocity Field Gridding and Smoothing

1. Select the Modify > Smooth Velocity field pull down menu to
smooth the RMS velocity field.

The first two entries ask about the sampling of the new smoothed
field. We can enter values that are the same as our input field.

• Crossline Sampling Interval = 50

• Inline Sampling Interval = 50

The time sampling is up to the user and how complex the velocity field
is as a function of time. Our field is fairly well behaved with no
inversions and a relatively linear increase as a function of time. We can
resample our field at 200 msec intervals without any problems.

• Time Sampling Interval = 200 ms

The smoothing parameters are also up for interpretation. Normally, you

would measure the anomaly size (in CDPs) that you want to smooth
through on the inline or crossline displays and input these values.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-9

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

• Crossline smoothing Operator Length = 50

• Inline Smoothing Operator Length = 50
• Time Smoothing Operator Length = 250

2. Click OK.

3. Review the smoothing operation by looking at inlines, crosslines

and time slices.

4. If the smoother was too harsh you can use the Modify > Undo last
change pull down, reset the parameters and repeat the process until
satisfied.

5. Save this velocity field to disk using the File > Save table to disk
pull down menu.

Convert to Interval Velocity

1. Select the Modify > Convert RMS to Interval Velocity pull down
menu.

There are two choices, Constant Velocity Dix or a Smoothed

Gradient Dix conversion. For our purposes in making and interval
velocity vs. time function we will choose the Smoothed Gradient
method.

2. Review some inlines, crosslines and time slices after the conversion
and see if any additional smoothing or editing is required. You may
want to smooth the volume again using the same parameters as
before, but increasing the time smoother to 500 msec.

3. Use the File > Save table to disk and exit pull down menu to save
this table to disk and exit the program.

We now have two velocity fields:

• A smoothed RMS field

• A smoothed Interval Velocity field for FK/Phase Shift 3D

migration.

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 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

Change Datum of Velocity Field

Most migrations in SeisSpace want the velocity field referenced to the

final datum. The velocity field that was created in this exercise is based
on the NMO velocity functions (Vrms) picked on data referenced to the
“processing datum”, which is a smooth version of surface topography.
To honor the standard assumption of most of the migration routines, you
need to adjust the times of your velocity functions from processing
datum to final datum.

Datum correction can be accomplished very easily using the Velocity

Manipulation* process. This process operates only on velocity tables,
but it reads the C_STATIC attribute in the CDP database to get the time
value to apply.

Later exercises include a Kirchhoff prestack time migration which

requires Vrms velocities (VEL table type), and a Phase Shift poststack
migration that requires interval velocities in time (VIT table type). This
section explains how to datum-correct both of these table types.

Re-datum the Interval Velocities

Interval velocity functions are easily time shifted. If the final datum is
below processing datum, we “remove time” by shifting the time-knees
to smaller values by the time difference between processing and final
datum. Where the final datum is above processing datum, we add time
to the time-knees of each function.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-11

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

1. Build the following flow 22 Re-datum velocity tables. The input

and output table type is Interval velocity in time (VIT). Enter the
existing table that is referenced to processing datum, and add a new
table name that will be the table at final datum. And choose Yes to
Adjust velocities to the final datum. Be sure to use a descriptive
name for the output table so you know it is the table at Final Datum.

2. You may elect to view the input and output fields using the 3D
Velocity Viewer/ Editor* or the Volume Viewer/Editor. The
elevations are quite flat across this project, so there is very little
change evident in the output velocities. The velocities are shifted by
a maximum of about 5 milliseconds, which is virtually impossible
to see in the display.

Re-datum the Vrms or NMO Velocities

Kirchhoff migrations use Vrms and commonly expect the velocities to
be referenced to final (flat) datum. However, NMO or RMS velocity
functions are not trivial to datum adjust. The NMO equation can be
found in any basic seismic processing text book, so we won’t explain
here. Fundamentally, NMO or RMS velocities represent the velocity for
a given time that will flatten a hyperbolic curve (as a function of offset).
If we change the time associated with a velocity, we must change the
velocity such that it will still flatten that same hyperbola at its new time.
This is a very non-linear effect. This non-linearity is why NMO

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 Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

velocities are picked and applied at the processing datum, and then the
traces are static shifted to the final datum.

Even for small datum shifts, the velocities may change significantly, and
the effect is most significant at shallow times. On this project the
processing datum to final datum shift is only about 5 milliseconds, but
this changes the velocities at 1000 from about 5000 to about 5125 ft/sec.
This is about a 2.5% change, which can be quite significant for
migration. Bigger datum shifts cause much more dramatic velocity
changes.

Therefore, the recommended method for re-datuming Vrms tables is to

convert from Vrms to interval velocity, re-datum the interval velocity,
then convert back to Vrms.

3. Turn off the first Velocity Manipulation and add a new of Velocity
Manipulation menu to your flow and parameterize it as shown
here:

4. The input will be your Vrms table which you smoothed with the 3D
Velocity Viewer/ Editor* tool. The output will be a temporary VIT
interval velocity table. You are urged to use the Smoothed
gradients option for the Dix conversion. We use the default of
sampling the output function every 30 milliseconds.

5. Execute the flow to create the temporary VIT table.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 14-13

Chapter 14: 3D Velocity Viewer/Editor

6. Turn off the previous Velocity Manipulation and add a new of

Velocity Manipulation menu to your flow and parameterize it as
shown here:

7. The input is the temporary VIT table. Select Yes to Adjust

velocities to the final datum. This correction is applied to the
interval velocity data, and then the functions are converted to Vrms
and output. Be sure to use a descriptive name for the output table
so you know it is the table at Final Datum.

8. You may elect to view the input and output fields using the 3D
Velocity Viewer/ Editor* or the Volume Viewer/Editor. The
elevations are quite flat across this project, so there is very little
change evident in the output velocities.

You now have velocity tables properly prepared for use in the migration
exercises that follow.

14-14 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 15
3D Prestack Time Migration
In this chapter we will discuss the various modules available in SeisSpace that will preform 3D
Prestack Time migration. 3D prestack time migration gives a much better image compared to
post stack time migration, since the data is moved much closer to its correct location before
stacking. The accuracy of the migration is dependent upon the accuracy of the migration velocity
field and the complexity of the geology.

There is not time in this course to provide instruction on rigorous velocity model building or
velocity updating.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o Offset Binning Parameter QC

o 3D Prestack Time Migrations in SeisSpace
o 3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Stack
o 3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Image Gathers

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 15-1

Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

Offset Binning Parameter QC

3D prestack time migration outputs migrated traces into offset binned

data. This offset binning is declared in the migration menu. The binning
parameters should be double-checked before running the migration.

Ideally, input data has perfect offset distribution that allows each offset
bin to be single fold with no gaps or holes in coverage. The number of
offset bins would be equal to the CDP fold. Conventional data collection
methods do not accommodate this “perfect world”, especially for land
data.

In this exercise, you will examine offset distributions using the 3D

display capabilities in the database and choose optimal offset
parameterization for the output 3D PSTM gathers.

Examine the Offset Binning Problem

This exercise will use a database display to examine offset distribution
for our CDP gathers.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

1. Open DBTools, and generate the following 2D matrix from the TRC
domain:

2D Matrix (TRC): CDP_X, CDP_Y, OFFSET, OFFSET

For 3D PSTM, it is preferable that each CDP have a relatively

uniform distribution of offsets. Alternatively, you can think of this
as having at least one “live” trace at every CDP within a given offset
range. Most surveys will need some form of offset binning to ensure
an adequate distribution of offsets in the CDP gathers. The following
steps examine this problem on the Salt3D dataset.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 15-3

Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

2. Select one offset range near 1000 ft. from the histogram.

Notice that this particular offset range is present in many of the

CDPs, but there are many holes in the coverage for this small offset
range. Zoom in to see how sparse the coverage really is.

15-4 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

3. Select a single offset range near 12,000 ft. from the histogram.

Notice that this offset range is missing from many of the CDPs.

4. Experiment by selecting various offset ranges from the histogram

by dragging MB1 across several values on the histogram to show
varying ranges of offset and how thorough or sparse the coverage
is.

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 15-5

Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

3D Prestack Time Migrations in SeisSpace

This is a brief description of the PreStack Time Migration modules that

are available in SeisSpace.

The basic 3D system includes a PreStack Depth Migration module

which is an extension of the KTMIG module described below. The use
of PSDM is beyond the scope of this training class.

NOTE: If you search the Processes list, you may find a very old module
with the name Prestack Time Migration. This is a 2D “poor man’s”
method that includes NMO, DMO and poststack migration of common-
offset stack sections. This is NOT considered an acceptable method by
most interpreters, and we suggest not using this module.

This section does not include the depth migration tools in the Landmark
Depth Imaging product, which are “add-on” licenses after a ProMAX/
SeisSpace 3D license. LDI includes a common azimuth migration, one-
way shot profile migration, and a two-way reverse time shot migration.

Prestack Kirchhoff 3D Time Mig.

This is the prestack migration we will use in the next section. It accepts
data in any sort order, allows the user to choose to output gathers, stacks
or both. There are many parameters available to set/change in the
migration menu. The choices are normally a trade off between speed
and accuracy. The parameters are categorized by Resource Usage,
Geophysical Quality and parameters that affect both.

The documentation contains a lot of useful information about the

parameters. We will spend most of our time in this chapter looking at
the documentation for this module.

The ProMAX (blue) version of this algorithm has the exact name
“Prestack Kirchhoff 3D Time Mig.”. The identical geophysical
algorithm is used in the SeisSpace (green) tool with the exact name
“3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Mig.” This SeisSpace tool can be run in
parallel with JavaSeis Data Input and Output.

Prestack Curved Ray Kirchhoff 3D Time Mig.

This is the same migration above, except that it uses a curved ray
method that will account for vertical anisotropy.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

KTMIG (Kirchhoff Time MIGration)

This program was developed by Conoco-Phillips. There is also a depth
migration based on the same program code.

The documentation provides a full explanation of parameters, so they

will not be covered in detail here.

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Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Stack

This section introduces the basic parameterization of the module 3D

Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration to output stack data.

1. Build the following flow 23 3DPSTM to Stack - Kirchhoff:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input, input all your shot organized data with pre-
processing applied. The 3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration
tool will accept data in any sort order, although there are
performance considerations that we won’t address here because we
are going to run rather smalls jobs.

3. Apply the residual statics that were generated by the Residual

Statics program. You could copy the menu from the final stack job.

4. The 3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration program expects the

traces and the velocity field to be at the final flat datum. Very early
in this project we set the datum at 50 feet above sea level, and most
of the shot and receiver elevations are within a few feet of the
datum. There would be no noticeable difference between migrating
at floating datum or final datum in this case, but we will use the
modules necessary to adjust the data to final datum. The tool

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

Header Statics moves the traces from floating to final datum using
header word FNL_STAT.

5. Apply Fractional Statics is needed to apply the remaining

fractional static value in NA_STAT header.

6. The 3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration program expects the

data to be input with no amplitude correction, so include a True
Amplitude Recovery that removes 6 dB/sec.

7. Select Specify CDP Bin Grid. The SeisSpace (green) version of

3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration does not use the geometry
information in the database. This module will read the information
from the database and load what is needed into the trace headers.
Make sure you click on Yes to Initialize the grid with the default
ProMAX geometry?. This loads the existing project’s parameters
into the menu. The menu stays at No even after you press Yes.

Click Yes
to populate
coordinates
below

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 15-9

Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

8. Edit 3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration. Add the velocity

table, then click on Show to open the sub-menu. The menu window
may need to be stretched wider in order to see the sub-menu
parameters.

Click here
to show the
sub-menu
parameters.

9. Below is the full menu after populating the sub-menu (the Image
Set). We show all parameters for the sub-menu further down and
explain a bit about them.

Number
of CPUs
hardware
dependent

See full
parameter
details of
Image Set
sub-menu
below.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

10. The first main menu item Number of CPUs refers to the number of
threads (migration sub-processes) to spawn on the machine where
you will run the program. On a 4-processor machine, you should
use three threads for the migration, because the main job exec will
keep one processor busy. If you submit the job to run on multiple
nodes, this value is the number of threads on each node.

NOTE: The most common failure encountered is due to the default of

Normal (safe) for the Run type. The second time you submit the job,
you may very likely need to change this value to Normal (overwrite) to
allow you to delete old scratch files.

11. Here is the complete Image Set sub-menu.

We set this job to image inline 100 and inline 200 with crosslines 1
to 390. All input traces that contribute to those image locations will
be migrated onto the image, so this will be a true 3D migration
because we have chosen No restriction for the Migration
Direction.

The Image Gather Type is set to Full Offset Image Traces. This
choice produces a stacked dataset using the full range of input
offsets.

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Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

The aperture size has a very significant affect on the runtime

performance. There are different ways to limit the aperture. The
default is to use a 30 degree stretch mute. We will use a 15 degree
stretch mute instead, mostly to shorten the run time of the job.
Fifteen degrees is a good choice for data that is relatively flat. You
can see the effects of the aperture setting in the help file for this
module.

NOTE: The stretch mute in PSTM is not nearly as simple a concept

as the stretch mute for NMO. Please review the help file for more
information.

12. Click on Yes to Show Advanced Features near the bottom of the
menu.

Increase the trace buffer size parameters as indicated above. This

will improve job performance by nearly an order of magnitude.

13. Add a description for your data in Trace Display Label.

14. Add a dataset name for JavaSeis Data Output, then click on the
Create button and check the Framework.

15. Execute the flow. The job should run in about three to four minutes
on reasonable 4-processor machine.

16. Compare the 3D Prestack Kirchhoff Time Mig output with previous
stacks using Seismic Compare tool.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

NOTE: This job reads all the prestack traces, but it only outputs the
imaged data of Inlines 100 and 200. Depending on the aperture and
geometry of the data, any input trace may contribute to the output image.

The Framework of this PSTM Stack dataset is the same as your previous
stack datasets. This allows you to easily compare these datasets with
SeismicCompare. Be aware the if you display any inlines except 100
and 200, there is no data in the migrated dataset, so SeismicCompare
may show all zeroes (no data) for that panel.

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Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

3D Kirchhoff PSTM - Output to Image Gathers

This section introduces the basic parameterization of the module 3D

Prestack Kirchhoff Time Migration to output prestack imaged data.
Most of the parameterization is the same as for producing stack data.

1. Copy the flow 23 to 24 PSTM to Gathers - Kirchhoff.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

2. On the left side of the menu (near the middle) click on Add to add a
new image set. Comment out the first image set with MB3:

MB1 to “add” a new image set

MB3 to turn the first image set “off”

MB1 to access the menu parameters of this image set

NOTE: You can scroll down in the sub-menu and enter a more
descriptive name in Replace Set Name. This will help you remember the
primary parameterization choices for the different Image Sets.

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Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

3. Edit the sub-menu as shown below:

All sub-menu parameters are the same as for the stack output except
for the Image Gather Type which is set to Sou-Rec Offset Limited
Gathers. This choice is the familiar “offset gather” at each CDP as
as the output. We chose a range of offsets for output that seems
reasonable of the project.

4. Be sure to say Yes to Show Advanced Features near the bottom of

the menu and set the trace buffering parameters as you did for the
previous PSTM job.

5. Make sure you change the name of the output dataset and click
the Create button.

6. Execute the flow. The job should run in about five to eight minutes
elapsed time, depending on machine type.

7. The migration will output image gathers at the requested locations.

This is where the offset binning information is used to decide what
the binning interval should be and how many bins to migrate.

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 Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

8. The advantage of outputting gathers is that you can remute, filter,

edit and pick residual moveout (if your migration velocity field is
not quite right). This can greatly improve the stack response of the
migrated gather traces.

9. You can see from the relatively flat events that the migration
velocity was accurate.

10. Build a new flow, 24a - Stack of PSTM gathers, that will stack the
migrated gathers using Ensemble Stack. You should have all the
examples needed from previous flows.

11. Compare the stacked output directly from the migration to the stack
of the migrated gather traces.

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Chapter 15: 3D Prestack Time Migration

15-18 SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis Landmark

 Chapter 16
Poststack Migration
ProMAX/SeisSpace suite of poststack time and depth migration tools includes 12 modules
providing five migration methods. This course is not designed to cover these in detail. A brief
description of the modules is included here, and the student may review the online help files for
the various modules.

The objective of this chapter is to make the student aware of the variety of modules available, and
to produce a migrated volume as the end product of the processing sequence of this class.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o 3D Poststack Migration Summary

o 3D Poststack Migration Exercise

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Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

3D Poststack Migration Summary

The choice of poststack migration process can be difficult. You must

weigh CPU time, accuracy of the velocity model, steepness of dip to be
imaged, and other factors in choosing the most appropriate process.
Often, a number of different migrations must be run in order to compare
results. To help you decide on the optimal migration for a given
situation, the migrations are summarized.

Rel.
Migration Name Type Domain Velocity V(x,y) V(t/z) Dip
Time

Stolt or PS 3D F-K Time VRMS(x,y,t) Poor Poor Poor 0.9

Stolt or PS 3D Phase Shift Time VINT(x,y,t) None Good Good 1
PSPC 3D Time Phase Shift Time VINT(x,y,z) Fair Good Good 5
Plus
Correction
PSPC 3D Depth Phase Shift Depth VINT(x,y,z) Fair Good Good 5
Plus
Correction
Explicit FD 3D Time F-D Time VINT(x,y,t) Fair Good Good 13
Explicit FD 3D Depth F-D Depth VINT(x,y,z) Good Good Good 18
Poststack 3D Kirchhoff Time VRMS(x,y,z) Good Good Good
Kirchhoff Time Mig
Kirchhoff Time Kirchhoff Time VRMS(x,y,z) Good Good Good
MIGration
Kirchhoff Depth Kirchhoff Depth VINT(x,y,z) Good Good Good
MIGration

Some of the 3D migrations provide two important restart options. The

first option is activated by choosing to checkpoint the process, which
will regularly save migration workfiles to disk. In case your migration
process is abnormally terminated, the migration can be restarted from
the last checkpoint. The second option is activated by choosing to save
data at a specific depth for restart. In this case, data may be migrated
down through the current, reliable velocity information and then
subsequently be continued with new velocity information below.

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 Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

Data input to these migrations must be corrected to a flat datum. If your

data is referenced to a floating datum, you will need to complete the
application of datum statics to move your data to a flat datum. If your
velocity field is referenced to a floating datum, you can modify the
velocity field with Velocity Manipulation.

Also, the stacked data must be sorted with the primary sort of inline and
the secondary sort of crossline. Use the Pad 3d Stack Volume process to
pad the stacked data using ILINE_NO as the primary sort. The padded
traces should be sorted with the primary sort of inline and the secondary
sort of crossline.

With all 3D Migrations, you should be aware of the potential need for
extended scratch space. How much scratch space a particular migration
will use may be determined in the View file. When running 3D
Migrations in parallel, certain conventions should be followed for
naming scratch space on these machines. Refer to the Extended Scratch
Space section in the System Administration online help for a complete
description of the extended scratch space setup and requirements.

Stolt FK Migration
Stolt migration is computationally efficient, but has difficulty imaging
steep dips in areas where there are large horizontal and vertical velocity
variations. This algorithm uses Stolt’s (1978) stretching technique to
account for horizontal and vertical velocity variations. The F-K process
requires RMS velocities as input and migrates common offset or stacked
data. It is the fastest migration algorithm in ProMAX. Velocity
variations are compensated for via the Stolt stretch. This algorithm does
not accurately handle strong vertical or horizontal velocity variations.

Phase Shift Migration

The Phase Shift migration process uses an interval velocity vs. time
field. It can migrate dips greater than 90 degrees (turning rays) and,
unlike the 2D equivalent, this 3D migration can handle lateral velocity
variations to a limited extent utilizing a modified stretching technique.
The primary advantages of this approach are speed and accurate
handling of high dips.

PSPC 3D Time Migration

The PSPC Time migration process uses a spatially-variant interval
velocity function in time, VINT(x,y,t). Vertical velocity variations are

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Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

handled very well by this algorithm. Spatial velocity variations are

accommodated with a first-order phase correction, applied to phase-
shift migrated data. A phase-shift interpolation option is included for
increased accuracy. With this option, the first-order phase correction is
applied to the migrated data corresponding to the closest approximation
to the required velocity value. The primary advantages of this approach
are relative speed, accurate handling of high dips, and good
compensation for spatial velocity variations.

PSPC 3D Depth Migration

The PSPC Depth migration process uses a spatially-variant interval
velocity function in time, VINT(x,y,t). Vertical velocity variations are
handled very well by this algorithm. Spatial velocity variations are
accommodated with a first-order phase correction, applied to phase-
shift migrated data. A phase-shift interpolation option is included for
increased accuracy. With this option, the first-order phase correction is
applied to the migrated data corresponding to the closest approximation
to the required velocity value. The primary advantages of this approach
are relative speed, accurate handling of high dips, and good
compensation for spatial velocity variations.

Explicit FD 3D Time Migration

This algorithm uses explicit F-XY spatially-variant extrapolators to
perform time migration. This migration is designed to be accurate up to
approximately 70 degrees of dip. This migration uses a vertical and
spatially-variant interval velocity field in time, VINT(x,y,t), for input.

To reduce run times for this algorithm you may specify a maximum dip
of either 30 or 50 degrees, rather than the default of 70 degrees. Run
times are dependent upon the maximum frequency for migration, so
choose this value accordingly. A further option to enhance performance
is to select the Split option, for two-pass migration, instead of the Full
3D option, for one-pass migration.

Explicit FD 3D Depth Migration

This is an algorithm which uses explicit F-XY spatially-variant
extrapolators to perform 3D depth migration. This migration is designed
to be accurate up to approximately 70 degrees of dip. This migration
uses a vertical and spatially-variant interval velocity field in depth,
VINT(x,y,z), for input.

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 Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

You can choose from 30, 50, and 70 degree options of which the higher
maximum dip angles have longer run times. A further option to enhance
performance is to select the Split option, for two-pass migration, over
the Full 3D option, for one-pass migration. The primary advantages of
this approach are efficiency and good handling of vertically-variant
velocities and moderate dips, and fair handling of spatial velocity
variations. Trace padding should be specified to reduce wrap-around
effects in the frequency domain. Values in the range of 30 to 50 percent
are generally adequate for normal amplitude-balanced datasets.

Explicit FD 3D migration requires the trace spacing of the input data to

be equal in the inline and crossline directions. If this is not the case in
your 3D survey, use one of the trace interpolation techniques available
in ProMAX. Create a new line and run 3D Poststack Geometry on the
interpolated dataset to create a CDP database and have the appropriate
trace spacings entered in the LIN database.

Poststack Kirchhoff 3D Time Mig

Poststack Kirchhoff 3D Time Mig performs a time migration,
including curved-ray adjustments, of poststack seismic data acquired
over an area. Especially in areas of irregular bin fold coverage, it an
alternative to DMO plus common-offset F-K migration with an optional
stack and F-K demigration.

Generally, time migration is used for smoothly varying velocity fields

and moderately complex structure. For typical Gulf of Mexico
compactional gradients of up to 0.5 sec1, this provides a very good
approximation for dips up to 55o and preserves more steeply-dipping
energy for subsequent residual moveout and anisotropic stacking
analysis.

In migration, each subsurface image location of interest is treated as a

diffracting point of unknown amplitude. With an assumption of small
perturbations, reflections behave linearly and a continuous reflector is
well approximated as a tightly spaced sequence of point diffractors.
Kirchhoff migration estimates these diffracting amplitudes by
correlating (with some appropriate scaling and filtering) the input data
with an analytically-calculated estimate of the diffraction that would
appear if that particular subsurface image point contained a diffractor of
unit strength. Such estimates are good when most of the reflected or
diffracted energy for a given image point is captured on a well-sampled
grid back at the surface. When these assumptions break down, imaging
can significantly degrade by both aliasing (coarse sampling) and
acquisition footprint (missing and/or irregular sampling) artifacts.

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Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

Additionally, too small of a migration aperture (used to reduce noise

and improve turnaround) can discard needed reflected energy and
further degrade image quality.

KTMIG (Kirchhoff Time MIGration)

KTMIG is a general 2D or 3D Kirchhoff Time migration tool. It can be
applied to prestack common-offset gathers or poststack data. The
migration can be isotropic or anisotropic.

The original development of this code was done by Conoco-Phillips and

has been exercised extensively for a number of years.

KDMIG (Kirchhoff Depth MIGration)

KDMIG is a general 2D or 3D Kirchhoff Depth migration tool. It can
be applied to prestack common-offset gathers or poststack data. The
migration can be isotropic or anisotropic.Travel time tables can be
calculated using either Eikonal or raytracing methods. KDMIG also has
an anisotropic raytracing option.

The original development of this code was done by Conoco-Phillips and

has been exercised extensively for a number of years.

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 Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

3D Poststack Migration Exercise

This exercise uses the module Stolt or Phase Shift 3D Mig, and as the
name implies, you may choose in the menu which algorithm to use. The
runtime is about the same for either method. The example
parameterization shown is for the Phase Shift method, but you may run
the Stolt option if you like. There may be time to run both for
comparison purposes.

1. Build the following flow, 25 Poststack migration:

2. In JavaSeis Data Input, input the final stack dataset with CDP
taper. You can use the default values for all other menu parameters.

3. The input dataset must be organized as with Inlines on the Frame

axis, and many of the poststack migrations expect the input volume
to be fully padded. Therefore, we include Pad 3D Stack Volume.

4. Parameterize the migration menu as shown below. Select the

Interval Velocity in Time (VIT) table that was shifted to final
datum. Set the frequency range to start at 5 and go to 50 Hz. This is

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Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

a reasonable range for this dataset. The job will run faster with a
smaller range of frequencies.

5. Leave the pad parameters at 0 traces.

Normally you would want to compute the migration aperture and

“pad” enough traces to prevent the energy from wrapping from one
side of the stack to the other. In this case, we are just interested in
getting the flow to run quickly. So you can expect to see some spatial
wrap on the output section. The CDP Taper that was applied in an
earlier flow will help as well.

6. Set the top taper to 100 ms and the bottom taper to 100 ms.

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 Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

Our dataset is fairly well modulated in amplitude, so you do not

require long tapers.

7. Select Yes to Reapply trace mutes so that the original mute times
are applied/retained and any trace that was dead on input is dead on
output.

8. In Trace Display Label, label your dataset.

9. In JavaSeis Data Output, add a new dataset and click on the

Create button. The output framework is the same as the input
dataset. This time migration does not change the context of the
data.

10. Execute the flow.

11. When complete, you have a new stack volume. You can compare
this volume to previous volumes using Seismic Compare.

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Chapter 16: Poststack Migration

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 Chapter 17
3D Geometry from SPS
Geometry Assignment is designed to create the standard Ordered Parameter File directories,
OPFs, and load standard ProMAX geometry information into the trace headers. The sequence of
steps depends upon available information. This chapter serves as an introduction to how to build a
ProMAX database given SPS survey data.

Many of the steps in this sequence are the same as what was done in the earlier “Geometry from
Extraction” exercise.

Topics covered in this chapter:

o 3D Land Geometry from SPS Data - Project Overview

o Import SPS Files
o Import FFID from SPS Relational File
o Automatic Calculation of CDP Binning Grid
o Batch Method for CDP Binning and Database Finalization

Landmark SeisSpace Seismic Processing and Analysis 17-1

Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

3D Land Geometry from SPS Data - Project

Overview

In this exercise you will import three SPS files that normally accompany
modern recording systems. The files contain:

• coordinates for each shot

• coordinates for each receiver

• relationships between shots and receivers

You will load these files to fill the SIN and SRF and PAT (Patterns)
spreadsheets, and continue with interactive binning.

Project Specifications:
• This project has a rolling multiple cable swath shooting geometry.

• Shot spacing is variable, with a total of 2094 shots.

• Group interval is 165 ft, with a total of 13199 receiver locations.

• Cable spacing is 330 ft, with a total of 78 receiver lines.

• The source and receiver spacing yields a natural CDP binning of

82.5 ft parallel to the cables and 82.5 ft perpendicular to the cables.

• This project was collected with surface sources.

• The number of traces/shot varies, with a majority of shots with 844

traces/shot and one shot with the maximum of 887 traces.

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 Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

Land 3D from SPS Description

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Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

Import SPS Files

Begin be adding a new project. Make sure you do not work in an existing
project, which could ruin your previous work.

1. Make a new Subproject in your Project called “Salt3d SPS

example”.

NOTE: If you do this work in your earlier Line/Subproject, you will

wipe out that geometry database.

2. Add a flow called 01 - Spreadsheet. Add the module Land 3D

Geometry Spreadsheet. There are no menu parameters.

3. Execute the flow.

4. From the global File command, select File UKOOA import.

Enter the directory name as described by your instructor and click on

OK.

5. Choose the “salt3d_sps.r” file from the list.

6. From the Format pulldown menu, open a list of saved formats and
choose STANDARD SHELL SPS Land 3D.

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 Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

Separate the windows.

7. Check the column definitions by clicking on the words in the

Parameter column.

Notice that there are two column definition windows:

• One for the “S” and “R” cards

• One for the” X” cards

Also note that, if desired, the coordinates can be altered using the
Math OP and Op Value columns.

8. Choose to Apply the format and Overwrite all the data.

While the import is running, you will see a variety of Status windows.
Eventually you will see a “Successfully Completed” window.

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Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

There are still two more files to read. We have read the “R” file but still
need to read the “S” and “X” files.

9. Use the File Open pull down menu from the UKOOA File
Import window to access the “salt3d_sps.s” file.

10. Choose to Apply the format and Overwrite all the data.

11. Use the File Open pull down menu from the UKOOA File
Import window to access the “salt3d_sps.x” file.

12. Choose to Apply the format and Overwrite all the data.

13. Quit from each of the column definition windows and select
File Exit from the main import window.

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Import FFID from SPS Relational File

FFID values are specific to shot locations and the FFID attribute is held
in the SIN Order of the database. However, SPS format maintains FFID
in the relational file, and these data are imported to the PAT order of the
database.

If you want to import FFID from SPS, you must follow these steps to
read specific parts of the SPS relational file into the SIN spreadsheet.
This is not required to complete the geometry assignment correctly,
many people rely on the FFID attribute as a necessary addressing
mechanism for their data.

1. Open the SIN spreadsheet.

2. Select File Import.

3. Find and select the “salt3d_sps.x” file.

4. Select Format. Create a new format name like “sps - ffid import”,
click OK.

5. Fill in the column formats for LINE to 15-29, Station to 30-37 and
FFID to 8-11. Click on Save if you will need this format again.

6. Click Apply.

7. You MUST select “Merge existing station values with matching

station data”. If you miss this step and do “Overwrite”, File
Abort from the spreadsheet and try again. If you do the Merge
correctly you can File Exit the spreadsheet. The FFID column
should be filled in.

Setting Project Constants

1. From the main menu click Setup and input the following
information:

• Choose to “assign midpoints by matching line and station numbers

in the SIN and PAT spreadsheets”. This will match the receivers
and shots together based on the patterns that were imported from
the salt3d_sps.x file.

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Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

• 165 ft receiver station interval

• Leave the source station interval set to zero, as the spacing is

variable.

• 330 ft crossline separation

• Leave the azimuth at the default value for now, you will enter the
correct value later.

• The source station coordinates are NOT based upon a match

between source and receiver station numbers. In nearly all 3D
projects, source and receiver station numbering systems are
independent of each other, and explicit coordinates are provided for
every shot and receiver station.

• This data were recorded using a surface source and the

measurement system is English (feet).

We will measure the azimuths on a basemap generated from the

receivers spread sheet.

Note:

Note that the Assignment mode is set to the third option of Matching line and station
numbers in the SIN and PAT spreadsheet

This mode is generally reserved for SPS input where every shot gets a separate
pattern defined for it.

2. Leave the Setup window open and generate a basemap of the

project by opening the Receivers Spreadsheet and selecting
View View All Basemap.

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 Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

Determine Primary Azimuth for Binning

3. Activate the “Double Fold” icon. Measure the azimuth of the
receiver lines (use the mouse button help for assistance if necessary.

You should measure a value of approximately 87.5 degrees East of

North

NOTE: The cross domain plots (MB1 and MB2) only work after the
first binning step (assign midpoints) is completed.

4. Go back the Setup window and enter 87.5o as the nominal survey
azimuth.

5. Exit from the Setup window by clicking OK.

6. Exit from the Receivers Spreadsheet by selecting File Exit.

7. Exit from the XYgraph using File Exit Confirm.

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Chapter 17: 3D Geometry from SPS

Automatic Calculation of CDP Binning Grid

This section takes you through the steps needed to automatically

calculate a CDP binning grid that fits exactly over the project midpoint
locations.

1. In the main menu, click Bin.

A submenu appears with options for Assigning the traces to

midpoints, defining the bin grid, binning the data, quality controlling
the binning, and finalizing the database.

2. Be sure that Assign midpoints method is set to use “Matching line

and station numbers in the SIN and PAT spreadsheets”, and click
OK.

In this case the Assignment step is performing the following

calculations:

• Computes the SIN and SRF for each trace and populates the
TRC OPF.

• Computes the Shot to Receiver Offset (Distance).

• Computes the Midpoint coordinate between the shot and

receiver.

• Computes the Shot to Receiver Azimuth.

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An Assignment Warning window will pop up warning that some or

all of the data in the Trace spreadsheet will be overwritten. Click
Proceed.

A number of progress windows will flash on the screen as this step

runs. A final Status window should notify you that you Successfully
completed geometry assignment. Click OK.

If you get an “Error Encountered” message, you should check the

job log by selecting the job name in the Job Viewer window and
pressing the View job output icon (leftmost icon), or simply double-
click on the job name.

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Shot Spread QC
1. Open the Receiver Spreadsheet and generate a basemap using
the.View View All Basemap pull down menu.

2. Use the Cross Domain Contribution (Double Fold) icon MB1 and
MB2 functions to view which receivers have been defined to be
live for each shot and also to see which shots contribute to each
receiver. You should observe a split spread of eight cables that rolls
on and off the spread at the ends of the survey.

3. Exit from the XYgraph and the Spreadsheet using the

File Exit Confirm and File Abort pull down menus
respectively.

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Automatic Calculation of CDP Binning Grid

We continue working with the 3D Land Geometry Spreadsheet and use
the option to calculate a CDP binning grid to exactly covers the CMP
locations of the project.

1. Select to “Bin midpoints” and click OK. You should get the
following window:

2. Set the Azimuth=87.5, Grid Size in X = 82.5, Grid size in Y=82.5,

Bin Space Name, Min offset bin center = 82.5,Offset Bin
Increment=165 and select to set the Inlines to be parallel to grid Y

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axis, which is parallel to the defined azimuth. In our case, this is

parallel to the cable.

3. Click Calc Dim, which computes the origin of the grid and the
Maximum X and Y dimensions.

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4. Save the grid definition by clicking Save.

5. Click Cancel to Exit this window.

QC the Calculated Grid

1. Select “Define binning grid” from the main binning window and
click on OK.

This will bring up a small map window.

2. Select Display Midpoint Control Points Black

(depending on the color of the background).

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You should get the following plot:

Mid-point Scattergram for CDP Binning

3. Click on Grid Open and select the grid name that you saved
from the Calc Dim operation.

This step overlays the bin grid on your subsurface data.

Because of the density of the display a zoom will help show and QC
the results.

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You may elect to alter the grid by using any of the interactive grid
editing icons if desired. (There should be no need to alter the grid).

4. Exit from the XYGraph using File Exit Confirm

5. Close the 3D Binning and QC window by clicking Cancel.

6.Select File Exit from the main spreadsheet menu to exit the
Geometry Spreadsheet.

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Batch Method for CDP Binning and Database

Finalization

We exited the Geometry Spreadsheet before applying the binning grid

that assigns each midpoint to a CDP-Inline-Crossline location. In this
exercise we use a batch tool called CDP Binning to complete the last two
steps that finish the geometry database workflow.

This tool is optional, as the same steps can be completed using the
Geometry Spreadsheet. The value of the CDP Binning tool is primarily
for very large projects where it is more convenient to perform the work
as a batch job that can run on a compute node.

This exercise completes the CDP binning and database finalization

steps.

1. Build and execute the following flow, 02 - CDP binning:

The only module needed is CDP Binning*, and the only menu
parameter is the selection of the binning grid name that you saved
in the previous section.

This process will perform the CDP binning and Finalization steps in
a batch job instead of interactively using the spreadsheet.

2. Once the Binning is complete you can generate the QC plots using
the Database. Some example plots are listed below:

• View Predefined CDP fold map

Check for even distribution of fold

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• View 2D Matrix
SIN:X_COORD:Y_COORD:NCHANS:NCHANS
Check for shots with an unusually high or low number or receivers
(channels)

• View 3D Crossplot
SRF:X_COORD:Y_COORD:ELEV:ELEV:ELEV
QC elevations assigned to receivers. You can generate a similar
display for shots.

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