INTERPRETERS
Seismic attribute technology for reservoir
forecasting and monitoring
QUINCY CHEN and STEVE SIDNEY, Western Atlas International Inc., Houston, Texas
D uring the 1970s and 1980s, the
seismic attributes most used in
petroleum exploration were ampli-
tude-based instantaneous attributes.
However, in the 1990s, seismic
attribute technology has dramatical-
ly advanced in several directions;
techniques now range from single-
trace instantaneous event attribute
computations to more complex mul-
titrace windowed seismic event
attribute extractions to the genera-
tion of seismic attribute volumes.
Applications run from simple ampli-
tude anomaly detection to monitor-
ing fluid front movement over time.
Seismic attribute technology can
extract information from seismic
data that is otherwise hidden in the
data and which will enhance the use
and value of geophysics in an area
that is now a prime focus of the
petroleum industry: predicting, char-
acterizing, and monitoring hydro-
carbon reservoirs.
What is a seismic attribute? Seismic
attributes are specific measurements
of geometric, kinematic, dynamic, or
statistical features derived from seis-
mic data. Some are more sensitive
than others to specific reservoir envi-
ronments; some are better at reveal-
ing subsurface anomalies not easily
detectable; and some have been used
as direct hydrocarbon indicators.
What seismic attribute to use? The
more seismic attributes available, the
more confusion geoscientists may
have in selecting the appropriate
ones. Improved documentation and
greater understanding of the under-
lying rock physics that give rise to an
anomaly, the role that seismic pro-
cessing plays in enhancing or
destroying attribute anomalies, and
the value of seismic attributes in the
absence of good well control are
areas where assistance is needed.
Guidance should be available to the
interpreter to help with the choice of
the seismic attributes that will pro-
vide the greatest insight into the cur-
rent problem under investigation.
Figure 1 illustrates some of the
dozens of seismic attributes now
available and the selection of appro-
priate attributes can be made based
EDGENET
Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
on either wave kinematic/dynamic
categories or geologic reservoir fea-
ture categories. The Appendix goes
into greater detail by describing the
nature of particular attributes and
circumstances where they are most
useful. Figure 2 shows a classifica-
tion scheme for seismic attribute
objects.
Section-based attributes are not
discussed in this article. These are
usually of an instantaneous type or
are a result of special processing such
as velocity or impedance. This paper
does refer to instantaneous seismic
attributes in the context of event
attributes and volume attributes.
Event-based attributes. Seismic
event attributes attributes extract-
ed from the seismic data and associ-
ated with a surface provide infor-
mation about how attributes vary at
or between geologic boundaries.
Three methods to extract event
attributes are termed instantaneous,
single-trace windowed, and multi-
trace windowed extraction methods.
Instantaneous seismic event
attributes are derived from the com-
plex trace analysis of seismic trace
data at the event location. They have
been used widely in the past two
decades.
Single-trace windowed seismic
event attributes are extracted for
varying windows (i.e., a window
that either changes its length or posi-
tion on the seismic trace as we move
from trace-to-trace). The upper
and/or lower bounds of this varying
window are defined by interpreted
seismic events. As a special case, a
time slice can be thought of as a flat
event without conventional seismic
interpretation.
Figure 3a illustrates six different
boundaries that can be formed by
defining Ea, a, Eb, and b. The var-
ious combinations of these bound-
aries allow nine different varying
windows that change in position and
length. Figure 3b illustrates how
three additional varying windows
that change in position but not in
length may be defined by specifying
E, , and L. In situations where win-
dow length varies from trace-to-
trace, averaging techniques may
have to be applied to the seismic
HTTP://WWW.EDGE-ONLINE.ORG
May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE
attribute to ensure that meaningful
comparisons can be made between
many trace locations.
Multitrace windowed seismic
event attributes are also for varying
windows as in the single-trace case
discussed earlier. Such attributes
require an upper and lower bound to
define the extraction window, and
also require a bound on the number
of traces and the pattern of traces
over which the extraction takes
place. The resultant seismic attribute
is assigned to the event location at
the central trace location of the spec-
ified pattern. The process is repeated
for each new central trace to yield a
new surface as illustrated in Figure 4.
One great advantage of 3-D seis-
mic over 2-D seismic is the ability to
produce three-dimensional multitrace
seismic event attribute extraction
along defined events using different
spatial pattern configurations. Figure
5 presents the available patterns.
Tests indicate that multitrace seismic
attribute extractions with different
trace patterns can reveal the
anisotropic features of reservoir frac-
ture and/or fault patterns.
We have further advanced the
multitrace attribute extraction tech-
niques in two aspects. First, because
multiple cross correlation values are
obtained at each trace, principal
component analysis is applied to the
correlation matrix. It yields a better
image of seismic continuity/discon-
tinuity compared with the average
correlation attribute. Second, tests
indicate that the selection of the sur-
rounding trace pattern for cross cor-
relation analysis helps reveal the
reservoir structure and anisotropy.
Volume-based attributes. Seismic
volume attributes complete vol-
umes of attributes derived from a 3-
D seismic volume can have sig-
nificant value. For example, an
instantaneous phase volume avail-
able as an alternate version to the
seismic data can help when tracking
data through noisy areas. Another
great advantage of 3-D seismic
attribute volumes is the ability to
generate correlation type cubes. Such
volumes, principally because of cross
correlations between traces (as well
as their frequency-domain counter-
MAY 1997
 Figure 1. Categories of seismic attribute based on (a) wave kinematics/dynamics and (b) reservoir features to aid in the attrib-
ute selection process. Attributes assigned in category (b) may vary depending on user choice and reservoir characteristics.
EDGENET HTTP://WWW. EDGE-ONLINE.ORG M AY 1997

May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE

Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
 Figure 3. (a) Defining a varying window using events Ea
and Eb and offsets a and b from those events. (b) Defining
a varying window for a single event labeled E, offset ,
and fixed window length L.

Figure 2. Classification of seismic attribute objects.

Figure 4. Schematic illustrating multitrace attribute compu-
tation and generation of a new event grid.
parts), provide good information on
seismic signal similarity and conti-
nuity from trace-to-trace.
Instantaneous seismic attributes
available for the generation of seis-
mic attribute volumes are the same as
those for event attribute extractions.
Single-trace windowed seismic
attribute volumes can only be gen-
erated for a fixed window a
method which uses a timeslice as the
upper and lower bound for the win-
dow over which the extraction will
Figure 5. The eight pattern options available when
performing multitrace seismic attribute extractions.
take place. Thus the window is fixed stacking the resultant slices to form
in both length and location. The a new volume.
attribute extraction will then be Multitrace windowed seismic
made using the trace values between attribute volumes also can only be
the two time slices and the results generated for a fixed window. In
over all traces will yield another addition to the upper and lower
slice as in Figure 6. This slice is then timeslice bound, a bound on the
assigned to the central location with- number of traces and the pattern of
in the fixed window. A complete traces over which the extraction
seismic attribute volume can be takes place is also defined.
generated by repeating the fixed Figure 7 shows how a multitrace
window seismic attribute extrac- seismic attribute volume is generated
tions for different time ranges and using a number of traces and trace

EDGEN ET HTTP://WWW.EDGE-ONLINE. ORG MAY 1997

May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE

Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/

Figure 6. Generation of single-
trace attribute volumes.
patterns around a central trace in the
3-D volume.
Using volume and event attributes
together. Figure 8, a display of mean-
dering channels, was generated by
the following process:
1) A volume of the instantaneous
attribute reflection strength was
generated. While scanning every
fifth time slice, peculiar arcuate
and sinuous reflection trends
were noticed. An interesting
anomaly was located and a finer
time-slice interval used to exam-
ine the extent of this trend. The
instantaneous reflection strength
Figure 8. Illustration of a single-trace windowed event attribute extracted
from an instantaneous attribute volume of reflection strength.
EDGENET
Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
Figure 7. Generation of multitrace
volume attributes.
revealed these trends better than
the normal amplitude.
2) The anomaly was then tracked
using a time-slice picker and the
amplitude threshold value set
high enough to keep the pick
from running away.
3) The vertical sections (inlines) were
then investigated to determine
where the channel was in time
and identify the nearest continu-
ous reflection to the channel. This
continuous event was picked
every 20th inline, and then space
tracked. Holes in the interpreta-
tion were filled using the interpo-
lation option. This new event pro-
vided the structural control for the
event attribute extraction.
HTTP://WWW. EDGE-ONLINE.ORG
May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE
4) A single trace windowed event
attribute extraction then followed.
Average reflection strength (RS)
was chosen as the attribute and
the continuous horizon used as
the control. A 50 ms window
bracketing this continuous event
was used.
5) The resultant attribute map
revealed channel positions. The
values at the edges of the color
spectrum were adjusted to make
the channels stand out.
Future development. Most applica-
tions involve one seismic attribute at
a time. Searching and identifying
seismic attribute anomalies requires
considerable interpretation expertise
and is often very time consuming. A
software module for multiattribute
anomaly automatic detection can
help considerably. Such a module can
be designed for interpreters to ana-
lyze and compare multiple attribute
variation along the zone of interest,
so as to distinguish hydrocarbon-
caused and non-hydrocarbon-caused
attribute anomalies and focus on nar-
rowing-down anomaly spots.
Spectral analysis of time-based
seismic data has provided many seis-
mic attributes useful in reservoir
predicting, characterizing, and mon-
itoring. Modern spectrum analysis
methods such as maximum entropy
spectrum analysis, parametric spec-
trum analysis, and wavelet trans-
form are being investigated. Joint
time-frequency analysis by wavelet
transform could provide another
dimension to existing 2-D or 3-D
seismic interpretation.
The extension of instantaneous
attributes to the time-frequency
domain. SWFT (short window Fouri-
er transform) and WT (wavelet trans-
form) can yield many more new
instantaneous attributes of the time-
frequency type. Thus, SWFT-based
and WT-based instantaneous attrib-
utes need to be further investigated.
One significant application of such
new instantaneous attributes is to
add another dimension to AVO
analysis, that is, several energy and
spectrum attributes can be visualized
in the three-dimension cube (time
axis, offset axis, and frequency axis).
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Western
Atlas, Inc., for permission to publish this article,
and Joe Wimmer for producing the process that
provided the example illustrated in Figure 8.
Corresponding author: Steve Sidney, 10205
We s t h e i m e r, H o u s t o n , TX 77042; email
steve.sidney@waii.com;
M AY 1997
 Appendix: Seismic attribute technology tables
Name
Instantaneous real amplitude
f(t)
Instantaneous quadrature
amplitude q(t)
Instantaneous phase (t)
Cosine of instantaneous
phase cos ((t))
Product of inst. real
amplitude and cosine of inst.
phase f(t)cos ((t))
Instantaneous frequency
()
Amplitude weighted
instantaneous frequency
Energy weighted
instantaneous frequency
Slope of instantaneous
frequency
Reflection strength A(t)
dB-based reflection strength
Med-filtered energy of
reflection strength
dB-based energy of
reflection strength
Slope of reflection strength
Product of filtered reflection
strength & cosine of inst.
phase
Apparent polarity
Response phase
Response frequency
EDGEN ET
Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
Table 1: Summary of Instantaneous attributes
Description
The time-domain vibration amplitude of traces
at the selected sample. It is the default
expression of most seismic t race data.
Stemmed from the complex seismic trace
analysis,being the time-domain vibration
amplitude whose phase delay is 90 from the
instantaneous real amplitude.
Defined as the ang le whose tangent is
(q(t)/f(t)),the phase (modulation) of traces at
the selected sample, in degrees or radians.
An attribute derived from instantaneous
phase.
This composite attribute is designed to
enhance peak/trough amplitudes, especially
for zero-phase seismic data.
Defined as the derivative of instantaneous
phase with time,d (t)/dt,in degrees/ms or
radians/ms.
Instantaneous frequency weighted by
instantaneous amplitude formulated as
(f(t)2d(t)/dt)/(f(t) 2).
Instantaneous frequency weighted by
theinstantaneous energy A(t) as
(A(t)2d(t)/dt)/(A(t)2).
Defined as the rate of inst. frequency change,
d(d(t)/dt)/dt.
Defined as (f(t) 2 + q(t)2)1/2. Alternative names
are Instantaneous amplitude, Amplitude
envelope.
Decibel scale of reflection strength, or 20
times the common logarithm of reflection
strength.
Defined as the time-domain median-filtered
energy of reflection strength.
Decibel scale of time-domain energy of
reflection strength.
The rate of reflection strength change over
time.
Filtered reflection strength or perigram is
obtained by subtracting the dc/average
component from the reflection strength.
Defined as the polarity of reflection strength.
Derived from the instantaneous phase around
the lobes of reflection strength.
Derived from the instantaneous frequency
around the lobes of reflection strength.
HTTP://WWW.EDGE-ONLINE. ORG
May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE
Applicability
Traditionally widely used in structural and stratigraphic interpretations.
Often used as the base w ith other amplitude attributes to isolate high
or low amplitude areas such as bright spots and dim spots.
The phase-delay feature is useful in quality control of the vertical
variation of instantaneous phase, also useful in identifying someAVO
anomalies from thin-layer reservoirs since they may only be observable
at specific phases.
Tends to enhance weak intra-reservoir events,but also enhance noise.
Color scale on final map should take into account circular nature of results
(i.e. -180 =180) .S i nce hydrocarbons often cause local phasing,this attribute
is often used with others as one of the hydrocarbon indicators.
Since its fixed bounds (-1 to +1) are easi er to understand, it is often
used with instantaneous phase for better displaying its variation.
This attribute enhances peak and trough amplitudes and turns all
trough amplitudes as pseudo peak amplitudes for better structural
interpretation.
Often used to estimate seismic attenuation. Oil and gas reservoirs usually
cause drop-off of high frequency components.It helps to measure cyclic-
ity of geological intervals.Tends to be unstable in the presence of noise.
Provides a more robust/smoothed estimate of instantaneous frequency
and is less prone to noise.
Provides the most robust estimate of instantaneous frequency.But
such a smoothing can also suppress anomaly information in the trace.
Often used to indicate rate of attenuation and absorption.Since gas,
oil,and water/brine saturation cause different attenuations, this
attribute,for high-resolution data, can indicate those fluid boundaries,
useful in time lapse 3-D.
Useful in identifying bright/dim/flat spots. Often used to determine lateral
fluid,lithologic,and stratigraphic variations in reservoirs.As the absolute
value of the complex trace magnitude,it loses some vertical resolution.
The decibel scale is often used in frequency domain to display the power
spectrum. Here this attribute is used to examine the variation or anomaly of
reflection strength in decibel scale.Fractal analysis of this attribute,that is,a
model-based description of seismic waveforms can yield some fractal
index to stratigraphic sequence and possible hydrocarbon anomaly.
This median-filtered energy attribute enhances the peak anomalies of
reflection strength,similar to the role played by another attribute
perigram,a filtered reflection strength.
Often used with dB-based reflection strength to examine the time
domain energy anomaly in decibel scale.
Very useful in characterizing vertical stratigraphic sequences and
vertical variation in reservoir fluid content such as in time lapse 3-D.
Useful in analysis of amplitude anomalies by mapping enhanced high-
amplitude and continuous events.
Useful for checking the lateral variation of polarity along a reflection
layer.Often used in conjunction with reflection strength.
An alternative way to track the time and spatial-variant phase change
of the seismic wavelet.
An alternative way to track the time and sp atial variant dominant
frequency change of the seismic wavelet.
MAY 1997

Name
Average vibration energy
Average vibration path
length
Maximum peak amplitude
Maximum trough amplitude
Integrated absolute
amplitude
Composite absolute
amplitude
Root mean square (RMS)
amplitude
Composite envelope
difference
Average zero crossing
Bandwidth rating
Dominant frequency rating
Central frequency rating
Centroid frequency rating
1/2/3rd peakspectrum freq.
Dominant power spectrum
Concentration of dominant
power spectrum
Finite frequency-bandwidth
energy
Specific frequency-band-
width energy
EDGEN ET
Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
Table 2: Summary of single-trace windowed attributes
Description
The time-domain average energy (square of
amplitude) of all samples in the window interval.
Defined as the average trace wiggle length.It
is a composite attribute to combine amplitude
and frequency features.
Maximum trace peak amplitude within the
window interval.
Maximum trace trough amplitude within the
window interval.
The sum of all absolute trace amplitudes
within the window interval.
The sum of absolute maximum peak
amplitude and absolute maximum trough
amplitude within the window interval.
The square root of the sum of time-domain
energy (square of amplitude) within the
window interval.
The difference in amplitude envelopes
(reflection strength) between the top and base
events which are calculated in the upper half
window and lower half window,respectively.
The average number of zero crossings within
the window interval.
Statistical measure of frequency range in the
windowed data,Such a measure includes the
effect of the seismic source wavelet and the
reflectivity of rock layers.
Uses autocorrelation FFT and window
smoothing functions to measure the dom-
inant frequency in the windowed samples.For
this and other spectral attributes, a t least 8 to
10 samples are preferred in order to get stable
frequency spectrum.
A statistical measure of the peak f requency of
the windowed data. Sensitive to the reflectivity
within the window interval.
Defined as the frequency corresponding to the
center of power spectrum area.It may deviate
from central or dominant freq. rating. At least 8
to 10 samples are preferred in order to get a
stable frequency spectrum.
Often used together to characterize the
frequency- domain amplitude spectrum.
The power spectrum value corresponding to
the dominant frequency rating .
Another measure of power spectrum to
quantify the energy distribution around the
dominant frequency.
Energy contained within low-cut and high-cut
frequency bounds specified by the user.
Energy contained within low-cut and specific
frequency bounds specified by the user.
HTTP://WWW.EDGE-ONLINE. ORG
May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE
Applicability
Used to analyze the amplitude anomaly of interest zone/layer.Serv es
as a key attribute for bright and dim spot d etecting.
Used to differentiate between high amplitude/high frequency and high
amplitude/low frequency and low amplitude/high frequency and low
amplitude/low frequency particularly when combined with other
amplitude and frequency attributes.
Used to identify amplitude anomalies due to changing lithology or
hydrocarbon accumulation.
Used to identify amplitude anomalies due to changing lithology or
hydrocarbon accumulation.
To characterize sequences and indicate amplitude anomalies due to
changing lithology or hydrocarbon accumulation.
Used mostly for the zone of interest to characterize lateral variation
due to lithology or hydrocarbon accumulation.
Indicates isolated or extreme amplitude anomalies. Used to track
lithologic changes such as deltaic channel and gas sand.
Used mostly for the zone of interest to examine seismic attenuation
from the top to the bottom events such as with different fluid
saturations. Its lateral variation also indicates lithologic and fluid
changes. Good for time lapse 3-D.
Another way to measure the f requency content of seismic data.
Since frequency bandwidth of the seismic wavelet is more stable
spatially compared with that of various noises, this attribute indicates
areas of high/low multiple/reverberation.Low reverberation leads to
small bandwidth rating.
Since the dominant frequency of the seismic wavelet is quite stable
spatially,the change of this attribute is mostly caused by local lithology
and fluid.Hydrocarbons usually cause the a ttenuation of high-freq
component and so the dominant frequency drop may indicate gas
sand, etc. It is often used to characterize the lateral variation in the
zone of interest.
Unless poor data,this attribute should be close to,or track the
dominant frequency rating. So it can indicate frequency-absorbed
anomalies such as gas sand. Dont be surprised that its value may b e
much higher or lower that expected from the wavelet.
Often used with dominant and central frequency ratings for quality
control.
These three peak-spectrum frequencies are often used to detect
frequency absorption due to overlaying anomalies such as gas
saturation and fractures.
The lateral change of this attribute along the zone of interest indicating
reflector heterogeneity due to lithology and fluid.Good for time lapse 3-D.
The lateral change of this a ttribute along the zone of interest indicates
reflector heterogeneity due to lith ology and fluid.Good for time lapse
3-D.
Usually used with low-freq bandwidth energy to detect gas sand and
fractures, in particular for thin-layer reservoirs.
Usually used to generate low-freq bandwidth energy to detect gas
sand and fractures, in particular for thin-layer reservoirs.
MAY 1997
 Table 2: Summary of single-trace windowed attributes
Name Description
Ratio of specific to finite The ratio of specific freq-bandwidth energy to
energy finite freq-bandwidth energy.
Attenuation sensitive Sometimes called hydrocarbon-sensitive
bandwidth bandwidth, defined as the value of the finite
frequency-bandwidth energy divided by the
dominant frequency spectrum value.
Power spectrum symmetry It describes the spectrum distribution and shape
symmetry relative to the central frequency.
Power spectrum slope Describes the spectrum distribution and
frequency absorption.
Ratio of adjacent peak Within the window interval,the maximum peak
amplitudes amplitude and the adjacent peak amplitude
below are found and compared.
Ratio of autocorrelation Determine the maximum correlation peak
peak amplitudes amplitude and the adjacent peak amplitude
and compare them.
Zone top-bottom amplitude Subdivide the window interval into two
ratio portions and get the ratio of their absolute
maximum amplitudes.
Zone top-bottom spectrum Subdivide the window interval into two
ratio portions and get the ratio of their dominant
spectrum values.
Arithmetic mean of the The mean of all sample amplitudes within the
samples window interval.
Amplitude slope The average rate of change of trace amplitude
value over time within the window interval.
Window length The length of selected window interval in each
trace in milliseconds.
Fractional halftime The fraction of selected window interval
required for the energy to build up to half its
final value.
Amplitude kurtosis Sum of the fourth power of the amplitudes in
the window interval. It is a statistical measure
indicating the relative amount of fluctuation in
amplitude values.
Ratio of positive to negative The ratio of positive amplitude area to
vibrations negative amplitude area.
Fraction of samples less The fraction of samples in the window interval
than a threshold whose value is less than a specified threshold
value.
Fraction of samples greater The fraction of samples in the window interval
than a threshold whose value is greater than a specified
Table 3: Summary of multitrace-windowed attributes
Correlation KLPC1 The first principal component of multitrace and
zero-lag cross correlation matrix. KLPC repre-
sents the principal analysis method or K-L trans-
form which stemmed from Karhunen and Loev.
There are eight options of trace patterns avail-
able for all these multi-trace attribute extraction.
Correlation KLPC2 The second principal component of multi-
trace and zero-lag cross correlation matrix.
E DGEN ET HTTP://WWW.EDGE-ONLINE. ORG
May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE
Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/
Applicability
This is an important indicator of gas-deduced low-freq effect on spectrum
energy.Its lateral change may indicate fluid contact and variation.
Gas and oil accumulation usually cause high-frequency attenuation,
and yield the variation of this bandwidth.Good for time lapse 3-D.
Useful in indicating gas anomalies since the high-freq attenuation causes
asymmetric spectrum shape compared with that in surrounding area.
Usually focused on or below the zone of interest to detect gas-
deduced frequency shadows.
To estimate seismic wave attenuation.Generally used for the zone of
interest.
To estimate of seismic wave attenuation.Generally used for the zone of
interest.
Time-domain estimate of seismic wave attenuation for the zone of
interest.
Estimates seismic wave attenuation for the zone of interest in the
frequency domain.
A statistical attribute used to debias the traces.
Measures the general trend in trace energy and can be used to identify
trends over small intervals.
Used as the thickness of window interval,an input for other attribute
calculations.
Indicate balance of energy in the window interval.May be used to
identify uneven reservoir features along the zone of interest.
Useful in identifying parts of trace data dominated by a relatively small
number of events.
Used to identify the balance of events in the window interval (e.g.to
identify thickening of an interreservoir event with good acoustic contrast).
Used to analyze intrareservoir events such as amplitude anomaly by
focusing on data with extremely high or low values.
Used to analyze intrareservoir events such as amplitude anomaly by
focusing on data with extremely high or low values.
Used as a measure of linear coherence of events in the multitrace
window.The standard value is 1,and lower values indicate degrees of
discontinuity or incoherence such as geological events with steeper
dips or more random noise. Useful in detecting seismic discontinuity
like faults and unconformities.
While the seismic data are primarily characterized by correlation KLPC1,
correlation KLPC2 gives a secondary indication of residual features in the
data,usually the displayed feature is similar to KLPC1 feature but the
value range is different.
MAY 1997
 Table 3: Summary of multitrace-windowed attributes
Name Description Applicability

Correlation KLPC3
Correlation KLPC ratio
Correlation length
Average correlation
Concentrative correlation
Correlation kurtosis
Minimum correlation
Maximum correlation
Semblance coefficient
The third principal component of multi-trace
and zero-lag cross correlation matrix.
The ratio of differences in those principal
components, (PC1-PC3)/(PC1-PC2).
Average distance (in traces) for cross correla-
tion of all traces to drop to a value of 0.5.If
correlation is still above 0.5 at the edge of the
trace window, the distance is given as half the
interval length.
Average of the cross correlations within the
trace window (excluding the autocorrelation of
central trace).
More weight is given to traces adjacent to the
central trace in summing the cross correlations.
Fourth power of average correlation in the
trace.
The minimum of the cross c orrelation within
the trace window.
The maximum of the cross correlation within
the trace window.
The energy of the stack normalized by the
mean energy of the components of the stack.
It gives a third indication of residual features in the data.
A comprehension of the correlation KLPC1,KLPC2,and KLPC3,
usually resulting in the feature characterization close to that of
correlation KLPC1.
An indicator of lateral continuity. Useful in determining the persistence
of facies (especially shales) within the window interval.
Useful in detecting seismic discontinuities;different trace patterns may
indicate anisotropy of the discontinuities.
Useful in detecting seismic discontinuities. This allows traces closer to
the central trace to influence the result,thus improving the image
where more than three traces are used.
Useful in enhancing seismic disc ontinuities, often for enhancing low
correlation spots or lineaments.
Useful in detecting seismic discontinuities and indicates the dominant
seismic discontinuity around each trace.
Often used with minimum correlation, and their difference helps with
seismic discontinuity interpretation.
The deviation from the unity value indicates the degree of difference
between traces and can indicate geologic and/or stratigraphic

EDGENET HTTP://WWW. EDGE-ONLINE.ORG MAY 1997

May 1997 THE LEADING EDGE

Downloaded 13 Aug 2009 to 148.223.132.106. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://segdl.org/