The effectiveness of Seismic Attributes depends on the ability to determine which of a chosen set of attributes is most indicative of the

subsurface. As is the case in many mathematical problems, some attributes may be necessary; a few may be sufficient, but what combinations develop logical patterns that are signatures for specific features? Explorationists and interpreters need to be able to compute Seismic Attributes, but value begins to grow exponentially when it is classified and calibrated to hard data. LithAnn provides the classification component. LithAnn is an application developed to establish the valid attribute combinations to accurately classify seismic lithology in a supervised or unsupervised manner.

With computing attributes computed by Attrib3D, LithAnn then will allows the user to choose the attributes to be used as features in clustering and classification, and various cross plots are displayed to indicate their importance in classification. After a satisfactory combination is found, Kohonen's SelfOrganizing Map or Artificial Neural Network is generated to classify the data. Both of these features will internally check the convergence and pause at given intervals, allowing the user to monitor the conditions. The user may then elect to continue or conclude the computation if the convergence is acceptable and then classify the remainder of the data set. For more detailed discussion on these issues, refer to the following papers by Dr. Turhan Taner: Neural networks and computation of neural network weights and biases by the generalized delta rule and back-propagation of errors [pdf 82kb] Kohonen's Self Organizing Networks with Conscience [pdf 67kb] Seismic Attributes Revisited

Method

Features

One or two dimensional mapping will be available. The results of mapping will be displayed for inspection to see which attributes contribute most for a particular classification.

LithAnn allows the user to quickly classify and view the lithologies utilizing either LithAnn default color maps or a personally customized one. Users have the option to save the computed lithologies in SEGY 32-bit floating point format (to be used in GeoProbe or another visualization application) to named files as well as any of the customized color maps for future use. Along with lithologies the weights and scales used to classify the data are also stored. Therefore, the user can classify another section of the same data by calling upon the stored weights from a previous run. Users familiar with Attrib3D will find many similarities in LithAnn, especially when viewing the attributes. The use of this program provides the user with experience in selecting the combination of attributes that will be best for classification of a particular geological and lithological setting (for more information see the Attribute Learning Center).

Examples

Initial map of attribute clusters:

Attribute cluster map after training:

Classified Section using attribute clustering utilizing Kohonen's self organizing maps:

LithAnn is currently only available as a beta release to members of the Seismic Attributes Consortium.; A commercial version (stand alone and GeoProbe versions) is planned for 2001