Knowledge-assisted visualization of seismic data

We present novel techniques for knowledge-assisted annotation and computer-assisted interpretation of seismic data for oil and gas exploration. We describe the existing procedure for oil and gas search which consists of manually extracting information from seismic data and then aggregating it into knowledge in a detail-oriented bottom-up approach. We then point out the weaknesses of this approach and propose how to improve on it by introducing a holistic computer-assisted top-down approach intended as a preparation step enabling a quicker, more focused and accurate bottom-up interpretation. The top-down approach also enables early representations of hypotheses and knowledge using domainspecific textures for annotating the data. Finally we discuss how these annotations can be extended to 3D for volumetric annotations. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.