R5000 3D

3D Seismic Data Formats

in Software Version 5000.0.0.1
2008 Landmark Graphics Corporation

Software Version 5000.0.0.1 June 2008

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

3D Seismic Data Formats

3D

Overview

Landmarks Release 1998.5 introduced two new 3D seismic data

formats, bricked and compressed, to supplement the time-series (.3dv)
and time-slice (.3dh) formats. Advantages of these formats include
improved overall performance for some workflows, access to both
vertical and horizontal views in a single volume, and the option for
better preservation of the fidelity of 32-bit floating point data than 8-bit
.3dv files. An additional advantage of the compressed data format is a
significant reduction in file size relative to .3dv files.

Applications that read seismic files, including SeisWorks software,

SeisCube software, and StratWorks software, were upgraded to
read all of the new formats. Other applications and utilities that were
enhanced to read and/or write the new data formats include 3D Batch
Control Monitor, ZAP! software, Batch ZAP!, and PostStack
software. The .3dv (3D vertical time-series) and .3dh (horizontal time-
slice) formats are still supported by all of Landmarks interpretation
applications.

Whats in this Help Document

This document describes Landmarks seismic data formats, possible

conversions between formats, and tools to evaluate and manipulate the
resulting files

.3dv/.3dh Seismic Data Formats on page 2

Bricked Seismic Data Format on page 4

Compressed Seismic Data Format on page 11

Selecting the Appropriate 3D Seismic Data Format on page 13

Summary of Landmarks 3D Seismic Data Formats on page 16

Converting Seismic Formats on page 17

Seismic Format Tools on page 18

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

.3dv/.3dh Seismic Data Formats .3dv/.3dh

Prior to Landmarks Interpret2000 release, SeisWorks software only

read .3dv seismic data files for vertical displays and .3dh files horizontal
displays (timeslices or depthslices). For these seismic volumes, all of the
data for the seismic traces is contiguous in a file. The location of each
trace is maintained in an index.

Seismic data loaded into .3dv/.3dh files use one of the four formats
listed below.

Format Range of Values

32-bit floating point 5.4E-79 to 7.2E+75

32-bit integer -2,147,483,648 to +2,147,483,647

8-bit integer -128 to +127

16-bit integer -32,768 to +32,768

8-bit data requires about 1/4 of the disk space required by 32-bit data.
16-bit data requires about 1/2 of the disk space required by 32-bit data.

File Naming Conventions

Starting with Release 5000.0.0, you no longer have control over the
actual name of the seismic dataset on disk. You now identify seismic
datasets via the dataset and version name that is stored in the
OpenWorks database.

Extent Files

The physical 3D vertical (.3dv) and timeslice (.3dh) files on disk have at
least two parts, called extents.

The 01 extent contains the header information for the seismic file. This
includes reference information as to the total number of extents in the
file, their sizes, and revision status.

The 02 extent contains trace data. If the seismic data exceeds the space
available for the 02 extent, additional disk files are created as required.
All of the filenames for these additional extent files are the same,
except that the number of the extent increases by one for each new file.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

For example:

mig32b01.3dv - trace header information

mig32b02.3dv - trace data
mig32b03.3dv - trace data
When you archive or restore your files, you must save and restore all of
the extents together.

Seismic File Size Limits

In Release 5000.0.0., each SeisWorks .3dv or .3dh extent can store more
than 2 GB per extent. You can have up to 32 extents for each file. The
total theoretical (not tested) storage capacity for a .3dv/.3dh file (all
extents) is therefore greater than 64 GB.

Calculating .3dv and .3dh File Size .3dv.3dh

To get an approximate estimate of how much space will be required for

a .3dv file, use the formula:

(# lines) x (# traces) x (# samples/trace) x N

where N is the storage factor. N

Data Format Storage Factor (N)

Floating Point 4

32-bit Integer 4

16-bit Integer 2

8-bit Integer 1

To calculate the space required for a .3dh file, use the formula:

(# lines in input .3dv) x (# traces in input .3dv) x

[(total time to be sliced, in ms)/ (time slice sampling interval)] x N

(# .3dv) x (.3dv) x [(ms

)/()] x N

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Bricked Seismic Data Format

In the bricked format file, seismic data is grouped into three-

dimensional bricks of data that allows users to optimize performance
along any single dimension or to normalize performance across several
dimensions.

Crossline
In l
ine

Time/Depth
/

Each brick contains data for a user-specified number of crosslines by

inlines. Time or depth makes up the third dimension.

Advantages of Bricked Seismic Format

Improved Interpretive Workflow Performance

Interpretive workflows that step randomly through a series of inline,

crossline, or arbitrary line views will benefit with the new bricked file
format. In the traditional SeisWorks environment, trace data is written
in a .3dv file that optimized display speeds only for the inline direction.
As a result, users have often constructed crossline-oriented files for use
in their crossline views. Neither file could produce fast arbitrary line
views.

Bricked files can be designed to optimize performance for a particular

display orientation similar to .3dv files. However, bricks can also be
created such that they normalize display performance for a variety of
views. Although the performance of the inline and crossline displays
will not be as good as if they had come from separate inline-optimized
or crossline-optimized volumes respectively (although still quite
acceptable), users will notice substantial improvements in crossline and
arbitrary line displays as compared to a .3dv file.

The improvements in display performance with the bricked file format

are achieved by creating a file that reduces the number of disk seeks and
reads necessary to obtain the requested data. The file is indexed so that

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

only the data necessary to construct the desired view is delivered. This
also tends to minimize the amount of network traffic necessary to
deliver the data to the end-users workstation. Crossline and arbitrary line
display performance have been improved with minimal impact on
primary display orientation performance.

Greater Flexibility from a Single Volume

Creating bricks with dimensions designed to normalize the display time

of any vertical seismic view demonstrates best how bricks can help. The
same bricked volume can be used as a source for inline, crossline, and
arbitrary line access. In the past, some users have chosen to create two
volumes (inline-optimized and crossline-optimized) to get both
acceptable inline and crossline display performance.

Another distinct advantage of the bricked file format is that any bricked
file can be used to construct timeslice views; separate .3dh files are no

longer required. Display performance for timeslice views from bricked

Landmark
volumes optimized for inline or crossline or normalized any vertical
.3dh view is sufficient for occasional timeslice interpretation (if doing a lot
of timeslice interpretation, Landmark recommends creating a timeslice-
optimized brick file or a .3dh file).

Better Preservation of Amplitude Values

The float8 and float16 sample formats preserve the amplitude range of
the original data far more accurately than the current method of clipping
and scaling to an 8- or 16-bit integer value. As these files maintain the
original range of values, you do not set the scaling and clipping values
when constructing the seismic volumes. Since these values are set for
each seismic view in SeisWorks software, you are not locked into a
single clipping or scaling value. Another advantage is that original
amplitudes rather than the 8-bit value used to construct the color display
can be reported in the Seismic View status area while tracking with the
cursor.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Brick Dimensions

Landmarks PostStack seismic data loaders and the 3D Batch Control

Monitor and Seismic Converter utilities allow users to create bricked
data volumes whose individual brick dimensions can be designed to
suit the end users environment and workflow needs. The brick
dimension selected, along with the order that the bricks are written to
the file, determine the direction of best display performance.

For example, if you work primarily with inlines during interpretation,

you can create a bricked volume that optimizes inline display by
designating a small dimension in the inline direction. On the other hand,
if you work equally with inlines, crosslines, and arbitrary lines, you can
create a bricked volume where display times for all vertical sections is
normalized. This type of volume would have equal dimensions in the
inline and crossline directions and would be larger in the time/depth
dimension.

Landmark provides four standard choices for creating bricked volumes

(also see the diagram on the next page):

Inline - optimized for inline displays

Crossline - optimized for crossline displays
Horizontal - optimized for timeslice displays
Any Vertical - display performance is normalized for any vertical
view (good performance for retrieval of lines (inlines), traces
(crosslines), and arbitrary lines).

Each of these choices maps to a set of predefined brick dimensions,

listed below, used to create the appropriate bricked volume

Dimensions for Default Brick Sizes

Line Trace Time/Depth

Volume Type
dimension dimension dimension

Inline optimized 1 32 32

Crossline optimized 32 1 32

Horizontal optimized 32 32 1

Vertical access normalized 8 8 16

For horizontal optimized files, Landmark recommends using the

command line utility Brickreorder to improve display performance. See
Bricked Seismic Format Reordering Utility on page 19.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Schematic Diagram Showing Standard Brick Types

Optimized for Inlines Optimized for Crosslines

Crossline Crossline
In In
lin lin
e e

Time/Depth

Time/Depth

Optimized for Timeslices Normalized for Any Vertical View

Crossline Crossline
In In
l in lin
e e
Time/Depth

Time/Depth

In addition to these 4 choices, an expert option (User Defined) allows

users to create volumes with any brick dimension. Advanced brick
dimensions are three integer values describing the following:

number of samples in the crossline dimension

number of samples in the inline dimension
time/depth dimension

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Bricked Filenames

Starting in Release 5000.0.0, users no longer have control over the

actual name of the seismic dataset on disk. Users will identify datasets
via the dataset and version name that is stored in the OpenWorks
database.

The bricked file on disk may be made up of more than one physical file
(called extents). If an additional extent is needed, a five-digit number
is appended to the basename of the original file. For example, the
second extent of a file with a system-supplied name of
S_FLOUNDER.bri will be S_FLOUNDER00001.bri.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Bricked File Output Sample Formats

Bricked seismic data can be created using one of five different sample
formats:

Float32 maintains original input sample values using a 32-bit

floating point format.

Float16 input samples are converted to 16-bit integers (-32768

to 32767) on a brick-by-brick basis. The values for the group of
samples within each brick are biased such that the range is
arranged equally about a zero value. Next, each sample is scaled
and stored. Since the bias and scale factors are stored for each
brick as 32-point floating point numbers, shifting and scaling
are reversible to within the precision of 32-bit floating point
arithmetic. Essentially the full range of the original 32-bit source
data is maintained for use within SeisWorks software.

Float8 input samples are converted to 8-bit integers (-128 to

127) on a brick-by-brick basis. The values for the group of samples
within each brick are biased such that the range is arranged equally
about a zero value. Next, each sample is scaled and stored. Since
the bias and scale factors are stored for each brick as 32-point
floating point numbers, shifting and scaling are reversible to
within the precision of 32-bit floating point arithmetic. Much of
the full range of the original 32-bit source data is maintained for
use within SeisWorks software.

Int16 equivalent to the 16-bit .3dv file format. Input samples

are converted to 16-bit integers by clipping the data to a user-
defined range and then scaling these values to the range -32768 to
32767. Data stored in this way cannot be restored to the original
32-bit floating point values.

Int8 equivalent to the 8-bit .3dv file format. Input samples are
converted to 8-bit integers by clipping the data to a user-defined
range and then scaling these values to the range -128 to 127. Data
stored in this way cannot be restored to the original 32-bit floating
point values.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Bricked Volume Cache

The SeisWorks software environment provides a bricked volume

cache for use during the reading and writing of bricked data. When data
is requested by the application, SeisWorks software first examines the
bricked cache. If the data is not there, it will retrieve for the necessary
data from the source file on disk. This process takes place on a brick-by-
brick basis.

For some applications, such as PostStack software and bcm3d, the

most appropriate cache size can easily be calculated. Thus, the
application sets the cache size; there is no user option for these
applications.

For a detailed description of how SeisWorks software handles cache

memory for bricked volumes, refer to the manual titled Data Display in
SeisWorks Software Version 5000.0.0.1.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Compressed Seismic Data Format

By providing amplitude-range-preserving compression ratios of 20-to-1

or greater, the compressed seismic file makes storage and management
of large original and attribute volumes practical.

Compressed volumes are also bricked; however, the dimensions are not
specifiable. All bricks in compressed volumes have the dimensions of
8 x 8 x 8 samples. Landmarks 3D Batch Control Monitor and Seismic
Converter utilities allow users to convert .3dv and bricked files to
compressed volumes. Landmarks PostStack/PAL and PostStack
Data Loader applications allow users to output to compressed volumes.

Advantages of Compressed Data Format

Using Landmarks fully integrated compression tools, users can achieve

higher fidelity files by compressing 32-bit data than by scaling and
clipping that same data to 8-bits integers while saving disk space. In
many cases, it may be unnecessary to access the original 32-bit floating
point data in order to perform detailed amplitude and attribute analysis
workflows.

The compression algorithm compresses small blocks of the volume

independently. This enables SeisWorks software to selectively
decompress the data rather than requiring that the entire volume be
decompressed before any data can be accessed. The algorithm also uses
overlapping blocks. During compression, each sample contributes up to
8 blocks, minimizing blocking artifacts.

Compressed data can be accessed along inline (line), crossline (trace),

arbitrary lines, and timeslice views as needed. Alternatively, subsets of
these compressed volumes can be loaded into such 3D applications as
OpenVision for high-performance visualization and interpretation.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Controlling Compression

Compression ratios are not specified directly. Instead, a fidelity factor

is specified by the user when the compressed volume is created.

The fidelity factor controls the amount of compression by specifying

how closely, on average, the compressed data must match the original
data. The equation for fidelity is

Fidelity = (1 - (RMS Error)/(RMS Signal)) x 100

By specifying fidelity, the RMS (root mean square) is indirectly

indicated. The higher the fidelity, the lower the RMS Error. The actual
fidelity is typically higher (and the RMS Error is lower) than the
specified value. In general, higher fidelity values (from 1 to 99, where
99 is the highest amount of fidelity) correspond to lower compression
ratios.

Compressed Volume Cache

The compression toolkit manages two caches during the reading and
writing of compressed data: an uncompressed cache and a compressed
cache.

For some applications, such as PostStack and bcm3d, the most

appropriate cache size can easily be calculated. Thus, the application
sets the cache size; there is no user option for these applications.

For specific guidelines pertaining to cache control in SeisWorks

software, please refer to the Data Display in SeisWorks Software
Version 5000.0.0.1, which is available from the SeisWorks Help menu.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Selecting the Appropriate 3D Seismic Data Format

3D
The best format(s) for a given dataset is a function of many factors
including the size of the volume, data quality, type of work to be done
with the volume, interpreters workflow preferences, system
configuration, available hardware, plus those factors that are site-
specific. In general, there is a need to balance disk space needs, display
performance in SeisWorks software, and data quality when
determining the best seismic data format.

Since there will be differences in the factors listed above from site to
site, along with differences in how these factors are prioritized, it is not
possible to give a set of rules for choosing seismic data formats. Rather,
a listing of observations for each of the seismic data formats is listed
below to help in the decision-making process.

Please note that any observations regarding display times are

conservative generalizations. Since display times are a function of
variety of factors, actual results vary.

For this discussion, very small datasets are defined as those less than
1 Gigabyte in size, small datasets are from 1 to 5 Gigabytes in size,
medium datasets are from 5 to 15 Gigabytes, and large datasets are those
over 20 Gigabytes in size. Datasets in the 15 to 20 Gigabyte size range
may behave more similarly to medium-sized datasets in some settings,
whereas in other settings they may have characteristics more in common
with large datasets.

Software Version 5000.0.0.1 Selecting the Appropriate 3D Seismic Data Format 13

Landmark
Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Format
.3dv/.3dh format
Fastest inline display times for
inline-optimized .3dv files for
Advantages
very small to medium-sized
seismic volumes.
Fastest crossline display times
for crossline-optimized .3dv files
for very small to medium-sized
seismic volumes.
File size can be reduced by 2:1
(16-bit integer format) or 4:1 (8-
bit integer format).
Software Version 5000.0.0.1
3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1
Bricked format
Can access any seismic view from
a single volume.
Can get a 2:1 reduction in file size
with minimal data loss when
loaded as float16 format.
Can get a 4:1 reduction in file size
with little data loss when loaded as
float8 format.
Float16 and Float8 are displayed as
32-bit floating point data in
SeisWorks software.
For medium or larger-sized
datasets, a volume with a
normalized brick size (e.g.,
8x8x16) can result in an overall
faster workflow, particularly when
changing among displaying
inlines, crosslines, and arbitrary
lines frequently.
For large datasets, optimized
bricked file performance equals or
exceeds the performance of
similarly optimized .3dv/.3dh files.
Selecting the Appropriate 3D Seismic Data Format
Compressed format
Datasets can be significantly
reduced in size.
No clipping or scaling is used
when data is loaded.
Only one volume is required to
access all seismic views.
Data displays in SeisWorks
software as 32-bit floating point
values.
For 20 Gigabyte or larger datasets,
display times are generally better
for compressed data than for the
other data formats. The larger the
dataset, the better the performance
of compressed data relative to
bricked and .3dv/.3dh files.
Fidelity level is specified when
data is loaded.
14
Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Need two volumes to see both Display times for optimized Random errors are introduced into
vertical and horizontal views of bricked files for medium or smaller the data during compression.
the seismic data. datasets are slower then similarly
Disadvantages

optimized .3dv files. Display performance in

Crossline and arbitrary line
display times are slow for inline-
optimized medium-sized or
larger .3dv files. Similarly, inline
and arbitrary line displays are
slow for cross-line optimized
.3dv files.
There is a permanent loss of
amplitude data due to scaling and
clipping when data is loaded in
16-bit integer and 8-bit integer
formats.
With a normalized bricked file for
medium or smaller datasets, the
display time for an inline can be
significantly slower than for an
inline-optimized .3dv file (the
crosslines and arbitrary lines will
typically display faster with the
bricked file, however).
SeisWorks software for very
small to medium-sized datasets is
commonly slower than for
.3dv/.3dh files and some bricked
files.
Decompression is CPU-intensive.
Enough RAM is required to enable
effective cache utilization.

16- and 8-bit integer data are

displayed as 16-bit and 8-bit data
respectively in SeisWorks
software.

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Summary of Landmarks 3D Seismic Data Formats

Landmark 3D
The diagram below summarizes Landmarks seismic data formats.

Old Formats New Formats
Data not bricked Data bricked
Specific views accessible All views accessible

.3dv .3dh Bricked Compressed

Only vertical views Only horizontal views User controls brick size All bricks 8 x 8 x 8

compressed
8-bita 8-bita 8-bit (int8)a
formatc
16-bita 16-bita 16-bit (int16)a
32-bita 32-bita float8b
float32c float32c float16b
float32c

a. data may require scaling and clipping before loading to this format;
data displayed at same scale as stored
b. scale and bias factor determined automatically and stored with data;
data displayed as float32
c. data displayed as float32

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Landmark 3D Seismic Data Formats in Software Version 5000.0.0.1

Converting Seismic Formats

Bricked, .3dv, and .3dh formats are bidirectionally convertible to one

another. Compressed formats can also be converted bidirectionally to
any of the other formats. Conversions between various seismic formats
can be performed using the Seismic Converter utility or bcm3d.

Not all conversions are supported. The available output formats are
dependent on the input seismic data set. Supported conversions are
listed below.

Although supported, Landmark does not recommend compressing 8-bit

.3dv or .3dh files. Overall, compression of 8-bit data introduces a lot of
error with little savings in disk space.

File Type Format Supported Conversions

3dv 3dv 8bit Bricked int8
Compressed

3dv 16bit Bricked int16

Compressed

3dv 32bit int Bricked float32, bricked float16, bricked float8

Compressed

3dv 32bit float Bricked float32, bricked float16, bricked float8

Compressed

Bricked Bricked float32 All 3dv & 3dh formats

Bricked float16, bricked float8
Compressed

Bricked float16 All 3dv & 3dh 32-bit formats

Bricked float8
Compressed

Bricked float8 All 3dv & 3dh formats

Bricked float16 clipped 3dv 8-bit, 3dv 16-bit

3dh 8-bit, 3dh 16-bit
Compressed

Bricked float8 clipped 3dv 8-bit

3dh 8-bit
Compressed

Compressed Compressed All 3dv & 3dh formats

Bricked float32, bricked float16, bricked float8

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Seismic Format Tools

Conversions Between Formats

Two utilities perform conversions between the seismic data formats:

Seismic Converter, which is described in detail in the Seismic

Utilities manual. Information is also available from the Help menu
in the Seismic Converter toolbar.

3D Batch Control Monitor, which is described in detail in the

3D Batch Control Monitor manual

Evaluate Formats

Two easy-to-use utilities help users evaluate seismic formats. seisMath

adds, subtracts, multiplies, or divides two input data sets of any format,
creating an output .3dv file with 32-bit floating point samples.
seisRMS computes the actual fidelity preserved during volume
generation, using the original and new volumes as input.

Input and output files must have the same time or depth range.

When running both seisMath and seisRMS, the input and output files must have
the same time or depth range. If you specify files that do not have the same range,
the programs issue an error and exit.

seisMath

seisMath allows you to compare two volumes mathematically. You can

compare the entire volume or only a part of the volume. Subtraction of
a compressed volume from the original volume is a useful way to
assess the effects of compression.

There are a variety of ways that seisMath can be used to evaluate the
seismic formats. Here are a few suggestions based on early testing of
the effect of compression on seismic data files:

Subtract the compressed volume from the original volume.

For a more normalized evaluation, take the resultant volume from

the first suggestion (original - compressed) and divide it by the
original volume.

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seisRMS

seisRMS allows you to calculate the actual fidelity level of a newly

generated seismic trace file by comparing the new file to the file from
which it originated.

There are a variety of ways that seisRMS can be used to evaluate the
seismic formats. Here are a few suggestions based on early testing of the
new seismic data format files:

When a compressed volume is being generated, a statistical

analysis is first performed on the data to estimate the degree of
error that can be introduced to keep the fidelity level above the
designated value. Since this calculation is conservative, the actual
fidelity level in the compressed seismic data file generally will be
greater than that set by the user. seisRMS allows calculation of the
actual fidelity.

To get an estimate of the fidelity that is preserved when 32-bit data

is converted to 8-bit integer data (either .3dv or bricked). This can
be compared with the fidelity preserved when the same 32-bit data
set is compressed.

Bricked Seismic Format Reordering Utility

The bricked format for 3D seismic data provides the flexibility to create
volumes with different performance properties by allowing the
dimensions of the bricks to be defined in a variety of ways. As an
example, tall and thin brick along the line direction provide best access
performance along a line. Flat and wide bricks would provide best
access for a horizontal slice.

However, brick dimensions are not the only determining factor in the
performance of a bricked file along a given dimension. How the bricks
are distributed in the file also affects performance. Bricked files are
read most efficiently when all of the bricks needed for a given request
are consecutive in the file. That way the data can be read very quickly.

When creating bricked files optimized for inline or crossline display,

Landmarks seismic data loaders, PostStack and the 3D Batch Control
Monitor (bcm3d), write bricks such that all of the bricks needed for a
display along a particular dimension are together in the file.

However, when PostStack and bcm3d generate a brick volume

optimized for horizontal slice displays, all of the bricks for a horizontal
slice are not grouped together in the file. Although the brick

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dimensions are optimally defined, the order that the bricks have been
written to the file is not optimal. In order to maximize display
performance, brick files generated for optimal horizontal slice display
performance should have their bricks reordered in the file.

The Brickreorder utility should be run on horizontally optimized brick

files generated by PostStack and/or bcm3d (including those generated
by the Seismic Converter). Brickreorder will generate a new brick file
with the bricks reordered to provide the best performance possible for
horizontal access. After Brickreorder has been run, the original brick
file produced by PostStack or bcm3d can be deleted manually;
Brickreorder does not delete any files.

Brickreorder allows users to reorder bricks along any dimension;

however, it should only be necessary to use it to reorder along the z
dimension for horizontally optimized brick files.

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