Before

A tutorial
on the effect
of seismic
noise.
(Requires lots
of toggling to
really see how
noise interacts
with signal).

I start with two sets of before

& after gathers to emphasize
the fairly amazing success of
the noise removal algorithm.
after showing some results I
take you on to a discussion of
the noise itself, using more of
the examples as prompts.

Toggle guide

After
A tutorial
on the effect
of seismic
noise.
(Requires lots
of toggling to
really see how
noise interacts
with signal).
The noise has
been removed
by Paiges non
linear logic.
I start with two sets of before
& after gathers to emphasize
the fairly amazing success of
the noise removal algorithm.
after showing some results I
take you on to a discussion of
the noise itself, using more of
the examples as prompts.

So toggle back
and forth.
Toggle guide

Before
I am putting these
2 before and afters
up front to get you
used to toggling. Ill
then show some of
my inverted and
integrated results
before continuing
with a long series
of
further
examples.

Toggle guide

After
Some results

I am putting these
2 before and afters
up front to get you
used to toggling. Ill
then show some of
my inverted and
integrated results
before continuing
with a long series
of
further
examples.
Whie you can see
the logic got rid of a
lot of multiples and
refractions,
the
data is still noisy,
so be kind in
judging the results.
And remember you
are lookiing at the
simulation of sonic
logs.
Toggle guide

Introducing my
inversion/integration
module
Its purpose is to simulate sonic logs from
seismic data. Since reflections are primarily
caused by abrupt changes in velocity, this is
our best hope to actually model lithology. The
ability to do this is vital to long range seismic
correlations.
At the left is an in-line with a superimposed
sonic log. Because the stratigraphy is quite
regular in this study zone, the sonic log is
almost generic, and no great care was taken
to place it exactly (although the location is
close). The purpose was to make sure my
logic knew what it was doing when it indicated
the presence of thick beds. As you can see,
there is no problem with the well match here.
The thrust of this show is noise removal
Hopefully you will spend a good bit of time
toggling between the input and the de-noised
output. However, to prove to myself that the
logic was stable for the entire volume, I ran
every 20 in-lines, and two cross lines. After
showing the latter, I take you back to the main
toggling theme. At the end of that series I will
show the in-line results.
One finger on the left arrow and one on the
right leads to easy toggling keep them
there and it gets to be fun.

Cross line 1450, running from in-line 1222 at left, to end.

This is not a normal section.
Youre looking at a set of simulated
sonic logs rather than at sinusoidal
traces. Here, low frequencies are
desired, and the approximations to
lithology are of great help in long
range correlations.
Im playing with fault patterns,
but the use of pre-stack migration
has severely hurt our ability to spot
fault breaks, as well as doing
untold harm to the noise patterns
(limiting the systems ability to
detect them. The use of frequency
sensitive filtering to mistakenly
eliminate what they thought was
ground roll did not help either. Of
course we had to work with what
we could get.
In spite of that, these results do
not seem too bad.

Toggle with next cross line.

Cross line 1550, running from in-line 1222 at left, to end.

This is not a normal section.
Youre looking at a set of simulated
sonic logs rather than at sinusoidal
traces. Here, low frequencies are
desired, and the approximations to
lithology are of great help in long
range correlations.
Im playing with fault patterns,
but the use of pre-stack migration
has severely hurt our ability to spot
fault breaks, as well as doing
untold harm to the noise patterns
(limiting the systems ability to
detect them. The use of frequency
sensitive filtering to mistakenly
eliminate what they thought was
ground roll did not help either. Of
course we had to work with what
we could get.
In spite of that, these results do
not seem too bad.

Toggle with last cross line.

Next, before ending with a
series of before and after
gathers, we look at a set of
in-lines.

Before

Back to the meat!

Reader involvement is key to
understanding complexities.
Toggling is the key to that
end..

At the lower left

are
a series of factoids. That
form the basis of the noise
removal logic.They are all
either self evident, or at least
easily provable. Most have
been
ignored
by
the
processors

Dont let them halt

your toggling, but please pay
attention since I think each is
important.

Noise removal
To begin let us
look at basic gather
principles. Each gather trace
is made up of a complex overlap
of primary reflections coming
from individual reflectors, each traveling
independently . The mix does not occur
until the receiver forces it. The final spacing
between these primaries is dependent on the
horizontal travel path component. Thus its likely
that the resulting mixtures from successive offsets
will display different character.
Continuity within the gather will depend on
the separation between the involved primaries.

is not
100% but I think you will
agree it is a big step in the
right direction.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Back to the meat!

Reader involvement is key to
understanding complexities.
Toggling is the key to that
end..

At the lower left

are
a series of factoids. That
form the basis of the noise
removal logic.They are all
either self evident, or at least
easily provable. Most have
been
ignored
by
the
processors

Dont let them halt

your toggling, but please pay
attention since I think each is
important.

Noise removal
To begin let us
look at basic gather
principles. Each gather trace
is made up of a complex overlap
of primary reflections coming
from individual reflectors, each traveling
independently . The mix does not occur
until the receiver forces it. The final spacing
between these primaries is dependent on the
horizontal travel path component. Thus its likely
that the resulting mixtures from successive offsets
will display different character.
Continuity within the gather will depend on
the separation between the involved primaries.

is not
100% but I think you will
agree it is a big step in the
right direction.

Toggle guide

Before

When noise & signal

are heavily mixed, nothing
is clear to the eye on the
gathers . At first glance it
appeared there was
a
serious velocity error that
affected the Morrow target
at around one second. I
built velocity correction into
the system to counter that.
While it seemed to work
nicely on individual gathers,
the overall results were hurt
badly. This satisfied me we
were dealing with heavy
noise problems.

Since

As we move through
these comparison sets youll
see dozens of individual events
on both sides of the tuning question.
After liftoff, some continue with just a
broadening, and some completely break
up. This illustration of seismic geometry is
worth a lot of study. I try to help by pointing
to some of the better examples.

the

gathers

have not been manipulated

in any other way, the mere
presence of this remarkable
improvement in continuity
stands on its own, both as
proof of both the noise
assumptions and proof of
the removal logic.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

When noise & signal

are heavily mixed, nothing
is clear to the eye on the
gathers . At first glance it
appeared there was
a
serious velocity error that
affected the Morrow target
at around one second. I
built velocity correction into
the system to counter that.
While it seemed to work
nicely on individual gathers,
the overall results were hurt
badly. This satisfied me we
were dealing with heavy
noise problems.

Since

As we move through
these comparison sets youll
see dozens of individual events
on both sides of the tuning question.
After liftoff, some continue with just a
broadening, and some completely break
up. This illustration of seismic geometry is
worth a lot of study. I try to help by pointing
to some of the better examples.

This is a good example and you

should be toggling back and forth
4 or 5 times to get the full import.

the

gathers

have not been manipulated

in any other way, the mere
presence of this remarkable
improvement in continuity
stands on its own, both as
proof of both the noise
assumptions and proof of
the removal logic.

Toggle guide

Before

Watch
the
arrows

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Watch
the
arrows

Toggle guide

Before

So, now you know

what to look for,
just toggle on the
next pairs.
Hopefully you will
become convinced
we are on the right
track.
After a while I will t
discuss the noise
itself, & bad things
that were done in
preprocessing.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

So, now you know

what to look for,
just toggle on the
next pairs.
Hopefully you will
become convinced
we are on the right
track.
After a while I will t
discuss the noise
itself, & bad things
that were done in
preprocessing.

Toggle guide

Before

Consistency
is a logical
test, so keep
on toggling.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Consistency
is a logical
test, so keep
on toggling.

Toggle guide

Before
Noise intro
The system is seeing two
types. The first are strong
inter-bed multiples and the
second are equally strong
refractions (discussed later).
The best mode for attacking
both is via essentially raw
data, where the curvature
patterns of the two are more
distinct from the reflections.
Here we have to deal with
velocity error, and that is not
so easy.

On
the
slides, I ask

input

you to pay
attention to the zone starting
at 800 ms.. You should be
able to see a multiple pattern
that begins to encroach on
the the target zone around
one second. As I mentioned,
you have to get used to the
fact that when two strong
patterns mix, you only see
smatterings of each. This is
problem the system faces.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Noise intro
The system is seeing two
types. The first are strong
inter-bed multiples and the
second are equally strong
refractions (discussed later).
The best mode for attacking
both is via essentially raw
data, where the curvature
patterns of the two are more
distinct from the reflections.
Here we have to deal with
velocity error, and that is not
so easy.

On
the
slides, I ask

Obviously, at least here,

the system saw the multiple
problem and went a long way
towards solving it.
As good as this result was, we have
to face the fact that the stack already
sees through the noise to a degree,
so our final results are not always as
startling as we might hope.

input

you to pay
attention to the zone starting
at 800 ms.. You should be
able to see a multiple pattern
that begins to encroach on
the the target zone around
one second. As I mentioned,
you have to get used to the
fact that when two strong
patterns mix, uou only see
smatterings of each. This is
problem the system faces.

Toggle guide

Before

When you are looking

at a mixture, you rarely see
the full noise curvature. (the
system sees it better of course).

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

When you are looking

at a mixture, you rarely see
the full noise curvature. (the
system sees it better of course).

Toggle guide

Before

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Toggle guide

Before

Worth a
good look.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Worth a
good look.

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Before

When you leave, I would hope

you will at least be convinced I
have proven the noise is here, and
that it is clobbering our target.
Whether the results are good enough
to warrant more work is still the
question.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

When you leave, I would hope

you will at least be convinced I
have proven the noise is here, and
that it is clobbering our target.
Whether the results are good enough
to warrant more work is still the
question.

Toggle guide

Before

This could easily have been

analyzed as velocity error.
However, when you see what is
left after carefully detecting and
lifting off the multiples, the point
should be made.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

This could easily have been

analyzed as velocity error.
However, when you see what is
left after carefully detecting and
lifting off the multiples, the point
should be made.

Toggle guide

Before

Non-linear coding
gives us the ability to
direct the scanning
logic to places it can
detect noise patterns.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Non-linear coding
gives us the ability to
direct the scanning
logic to places it can
detect noise patterns.

Toggle guide

Before

Keep
toggling!

Frequency sensitive
filtering is destructive in its
nature. It discriminates against
slopes it does not like. It is far
better to predict noise patterns then
gently lift them off, bringing out the
energy which lies below. The success
of this noise removal algorithm depends
on this virtue. Unfortunately this data had
been subjected to traditional band pass
filtering before stack.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Keep
toggling!

Frequency sensitive
filtering is destructive in its
nature. It discriminates against
slopes it does not like. It is far
better to predict noise patterns then
gently lift them off, bringing out the
energy which lies below. The success
of this noise removal algorithm depends
on this virtue. Unfortunately this data had
been subjected to traditional band pass
filtering before stack.

Toggle guide

Before

Once more, note the

encroachment of the
strong multiples on
the target. Difficulty
here was previously
blamed on sudden
polarity reversal (as
explained by the AVO
advocates). I do not
say such phenomena
never occur, but that
explanation does not
apply here.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Once more, note the

encroachment of the
strong multiples on
the target. Difficulty
here was previously
blamed on sudden
polarity reversal (as
explained by the AVO
advocates). I do not
say such phenomena
never occur, but that
explanation does not
apply here.

Toggle guide

Before

While you will see here

that the system lifted off a
good bit of the noise, it is not
perfect, and the final output
still leaves a lot to be desired. I
do believe we could do a better
job working with raw data.
Keep toggling!

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

While you will see here

that the system lifted off a
good bit of the noise, it is not
perfect, and the final output
still leaves a lot to be desired. I
do believe we could do a better
job working with raw data.
Keep toggling!

Toggle guide

Before

Watch what happens

to this noise.

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

Watch what happens

to this noise.

The resolution now

shows the blurring was
caused by overlap. Not perfect,
but certainly better.

Toggle guide

Before

Toggle guide

After
Next toggle pair

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Before

Last before some

preliminary results
(but worth some
serious toggling).

Shown on the next series

are the straight stacks of
every 20 de-noised in-lines
coupled with their inverted and
integrated partners.

Toggle guide

After

Last before some

preliminary results
(but worth some
serious toggling).

Shown on the next series

are the straight stacks of
every 20 de-noised in-lines
coupled with their inverted and
integrated partners.

Toggle guide

Repeating the well log match

to explain the reasons behind integration.
The normal seismic section is made up of a
series of primary reflections, from both the top
and the bottom of every lithologic unit. The
polarities of each pair are opposite, of course.
When the two overlap, what we see on the
section is the composite, and the final polarity
and signal strength depends on the phase
relationship of the two. This makes stratigraphic
interpretation difficult.
The ADAPS inversion effectively solves for the
individual interfaces. Integration of these spikes
ideally represents lithology (in a sonic log
sense). Of course the presence of serious
seismic noise effects the quality of this
integration, and we have to apply low frequency
corrections to keep the results from going wild.
After the fact well matches tell us whether we
have been successful, and this is why the
comparison you see here was important.
In a study of a known reservoir, stratigraphic
knowledge is crucial. The fact that much of the
hydrocarbon content has been extracted affects
the standout of the target. Since integration
makes amplitudes meaningful, this in itself is of
interest.
When my system detects an interface, it puts
the spike at the onset of the waveform. This
means our timings will be less than you see on
a normal section, but they are more accurate.

13 in-line comparisons follow.

The section on the left is a stack of the de-noised gathers. The one on the right is the inverted and integrated version.

The pre-processors seem to have done everything they could to make our task more difficult. As we move through this series
I will point out a few of these bad processing steps, I hasten to add that what they did was pretty much industry standard.

I start with the use of pre-stack migration. Obviously there are no strong dips here to warrant such logic. The fact is that the
heavy mixing inherent in the process improves the appearance. Howeve it also muddles fault breaks and wrecks havoc with noise.

Continuing the pre-stack migration objection If you study these in-lines carefully, you should see indications of faulting. I point
out one or them here. Muddling by the mixing action completely obliterates much of these clues. On the integrated side, breaks in
character are often our best clues., In any case this is one of the areas calling for intense visual study.

From the noise removal point of view, the most serious damage done by the pre-stack migration was the garbage it produced
as a result of not being able to handle multiples and refractions in its data re-arrangement.

The noise removal logic uses pattern recognition to search out events having non-reflection lineups. Because we were not
able to get raw data with no NMO correction, we had to work with velocity error, which is not so good when looking for refractions.

Another fault hint again the pre-stack migtation has pulled data across what should be breaks.

Getting a little raunchy again the noise removal is pretty good but far from perfect.

We begin to see increase amplitude on what I have tentitavely identified as the Morrow. Remember that integration has
made the amplitudes more meaningful, so this could be of interest.

Again, even though there is still a lot of noise, the detail could be important.

Excuse me!

Again the amplitude factor.

This is the Of course we might pay attention to the rest of the section, but end.

Click on green to repeat

Or on red for router