Seismic Processing Steps

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rocess Purpose When Applied Pitfalls Cost (flops)

Data Reduction
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Demultiplex Put data in trace sequential (SEG-
Y,D) format, from multiplexed
(SEG-A,B) field tapes. Label
headers with geometry informa-
tion.
First. Do in field if possible, as Incorrect geometry, observer’s 109
most engineering seismographs reports, time breaks, sample rate,
do. record length, etc.

Gain Recovery Multiply data by binary gain codes Second, if needed. Locating correct gain trace. 109
from gain ranging.

Editing Remove bad records, misfired Third, and at other times during Must scrutinize plots of all of raw 109
shots, open channels, noisy traces. processing if needed. Best done data.
in field during acquisition.

Summing (Vertical Reduce source and random noise
Stack) by adding multiple impacts, shots,
or sweeps at same location.
After editing. Often done dur-
ing acquisition, irreversible.
Noisy or unbalanced shots. False 109
triggers. Strong 60 Hz noise will
sum to harmonics. Large moveup
arrays attenuate steep dips and blur
statics.

Correlation Compress vibrator sweeps into After summing to save computer Incorrect sweeps, harmonics, spikes 1011
small wavelets. time. Best after despiking and produce ghosts. Acts as a bandpass
editing. Often done during filter. Very expensive.
acquisition, irreversible.

Gain Function Remove effect of geometric Last step in data reduction Can destroy true amplitude informa- 107
spreading, amplifying deep events above. tion. Use a reversible function or
relative to shallow. save unequalized dataset.

Geometric Corrections
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CMP Sort Arrange traces by common mid- After data reduction but before Incorrect stacking diagram, crooked 107
point. velocity analysis or NMO seismic lines. Uses little CPU time
correction. but very expensive in terms of
storage media. Gathers no longer
correspond to physical experiments.

Elevation (Datum) Time correction for elevation Correct to at least a CMP- Assumed velocities above datum, 104
Static differences. variable datum before NMO or long offsets.
velocity analysis. May correct
to final datum after stack.

Uphole Static Time correction for lateral velocity Before NMO or velocity Assumed depth of weathered layer; 104
variation in weathering layer. analysis. long offsets.

Velocity Analysis Estimate VNMO, Vinterval After determined time correc-
tions and sorting, before final
NMO and stacking or any
migration.
Assumes zero dip, slow lateral velo- 109
city changes, strong reflectors at
velocity changes, no multiples.
Requires time-consuming human
interaction.

NMO Correction Correct time on offset traces to After sorting and statics, before Assumes zero dip, slow lateral velo- 108
zero-offset time. stacking, part of velocity city changes, no multiples, short
analysis. offsets.

Residual Static Correct any remaining time shifts After NMO, before stacking. Eliminates delay information useful 105
to straighten out NMO-corrected for transmission tomography.
events. Assumes only slow lateral velocity
changes. Needs human interaction.

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Process Purpose When Applied
Data Enhancement
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Mute Zero out arrivals that are not pri-
mary P-wave reflections.
Bandpass Filter Attenuate noise outside of
reflection frequency band
Notch Filter Attenuate noise in narrow fre-
quency band, such as 60 Hz AC
power
Deconvolve Compress source wavelet shape
and duration, improve resolution,
attenuate reverberations.
2-D (F-K) Filter Spatial bandpass filter, attenuates
or enhances arrivals based on dip,
moveout, or apparent velocity.
Stack Mimic zero-offset section, attenu-
ate random and much coherent
noise.
Trace Equalize Amplify weak events or traces
(AGC) relative to strong. Often best used
just for display purposes.
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Post-Stack Migrate Correctly position dipping events
horizontally.
Depth Conversion Correctly position events verti-
cally.
Pre-Stack Migrate Correctly position steeply-dipping
and crossing reflectors. Invert for
earth properties. NMO correction
and stacking are a simplified
migration that assumes zero dip.
Database Formation Organize 3-d seismic depth section
to be interactively viewed by inter-
preter and related to geology, well
measurements, other geophysical
data, etc. in on-line environment.
-2-
Pitfalls
Before stacking and/or migra-
tion.
Best before stack, NMO, or
velocity analysis; can be after
stack.
Best before stack, NMO, or
velocity analysis; can be after
stack.
Best before stack, NMO, or
velocity analysis, can be after
stack
Anytime after data reduction,
depending on type of events.
After sorting, velocity analysis,
muting.
Anytime, usually just before or
after stack.
Imaging
After stacking and usually
equalization.
After stack and usually migra-
tion.
Partial migration (dip moveout
or DMO) can be done before
NMO and stack. Full prestack
migration done after data reduc-
tion and often after filtering,
equalization, and deconvolution;
no stacking. Usually applied
only to good data from well-
characterized areas.
Final result of processing. Inter-
preter should be able to change
velocities based on supplemental
data and see result on entire
sequence of seismic processing
interactively.
Cost (flops) i
Arrival variations with midpoint 107
must be catalogued through human
interaction. Overly sharp clips cause
artifacts in further processing.
Often much noise in signal fre- 108
quency band, or weak signals are
filtered out. Alters true and relative
amplitudes
Too narrow a notch will cause 108
artifacts. Destroys true amplitude
and phase.
Can unwittingly remove evidence of 108
real reflectors; will change true
amplitude and phase.
Alters amplitudes. A good way to 107−11
make data look like anything you
might want, biasing interpretations.
Attenuates dipping structures, accen- 108
tuates lateral coherence. Depends on
inferred velocities. Mislocates dip-
ping structures.
Lose amplitude information. Can 105−7
end up enhancing noise.
Depends on average and/or interval 107
velocities. Cannot improve on steep
or crossed dipping events that do not
stack well.
Depth error proportional to average 104
velocity error.
Heavily dependent on velocity esti- 1014
mates and susceptible to gross errors
when lateral velocity variations are
not correctly accounted for.
Extremely expensive.
Interpreter could force data to meet 105−14
his prejudices. Mis-ties and incon-
sistencies between seismic and other
data must be accounted for.