ARK CLS release version 2.0 of SCI and SSB

In July 2003 ARK CLS announced the release of Seismic Coloured Inversion (SCI) V2.0 and Seismic Spectral Blueing (SSB) V2.0. This is a major update to our coloured inversion and spectral blueing software and will provide our clients with powerful new features without compromising the ease of use of earlier releases. Below are the release notes for the SCI V2.0 and SSB V2.0 update.

Seismic Coloured Inversion V2.0 release notes

Normalisation
When Fourier Transforms are performed on time series, the output spectral amplitude levels are dictated by the input amplitudes, and in particular by the total energy. So for example, two different length gates from the same stationary time series will have different levels of amplitude spectra. For conventional relative amplitude coloured inversion, this is not a problem as it just amounts to a scaling of the output amplitudes, but for absolute work (4D) where the amplitudes need to have some physical meaning then normalisation of the spectra is important.

De-trending and ramping input AI log data
Removal of the background linear trend from AI logs prior to Fourier Transform to the frequency domain is considered to be a best practice task, because the hard step introduced between live AI values and padded zeros distorts the true spectrum. This removes the overprint from the gate-induced step function. Also applying a ramp (window function) to the ends of the logs helps reduce truncation effects.

SEGY 3D seismic select
If neither a OpenWorks/SeisWorks or GeoFrame environment exists, then the software will automatically assume that the seismic input is SEGY and will configure the seismic select module to pop up SEGY seismic select dialog. Only 3D SEGY files are currently supported.
Time gate selection relative to time horizon
This release provides the capability to select a time gate for both the Seismic Analysis and Well Analysis modules relative to a seismic time horizon. This update should provide an enhanced global spectrum response, which is more consistent with the geology of a given area. Instead of the user supplying an absolute start and end time to define the time gate, the user needs to supply relative start and end times.

Processing the data
This release provides the capability to generate a coloured inversion volume from the SCI operator designed using the SCI software. This provides a much more efficient way of convolving the coloured inversion operator to the input seismic data and streamlines the work flow. Prior to the release of SCI V2.0, it was necessary to use external software to convolve the SCI operator with the seismic amplitude data to generate the coloured inversion volume.

Upgrade of parameter report
A number of modifications have been made to the "Parameter Report" dialog. In particular, the dialog does not reflect the setting of a given data item until an action event has occurred. For example, in earlier version of SCI if we were to adjust the "Low Cut (Hz)" sliders in the "Design Operator" module then the parameter report would update immediately. The report would have then been inconsistent with the coloured inversion operator because the [Adjust Bandwidth] push button (action) had not been clicked at that time. In SCI V2.0 the parameter report only updates after an action push button has been clicked. Additionally, the parameter report now indicates if the save operator is not consistent with the parameters.

Enhanced capability to edit curve fit coefficients
This enhancement enables the curve fitting coefficients for the principle, low and high frequency ranges to be edited fully from within the "Design Operator". This is achieved using the "Edit Coefficients" dialog. In previous versions of SCI this could be achieved from within the "Well Analysis" module. However, with the introduction of multi-component curves-fit mechanisms, the original editing mechanism was no longer practical. This editor also allows you to supply these coefficients without having to perform "Well Analysis" beforehand. This can be useful when no well data is available but you have coefficients that describe the Earth’s global spectral response, stored in your company database. Such coefficients may have been obtained from other basins, which have a similar depositional environment. This editor can also be used to input the same coefficients in a new SCI session when you wish to perform coloured inversion on a different seismic volume for the same project.

Multiple curve fitting
Multiple curve fit functionality has now been added to the SCI Well Analysis module. The primary controls are via two slider controls to the right of the [Fit Curves] push button. These controls specify the minimum and maximum frequencies to fit for the Principal curve. Additional controls are provided within the Advanced Settings (Frequency Domain) dialog which determine whether the low and high frequency curve fitting is included and whether to force horizontal linear fit.

Seismic Spectral Blueing V2.0 release notes

Normalisation
When Fourier Transforms are performed on time series, the output spectral amplitude levels are dictated by the input amplitudes, and in particular by the total energy. So for example, two different length gates from the same stationary time series will have different levels of amplitude spectra. For conventional relative amplitude spectral blueing, this is not a problem as it just amounts to a scaling of the output amplitudes, but for absolute work (4D) where the amplitudes need to have some physical meaning then normalisation of the spectra is important.

SEGY 3D seismic select
If neither a OpenWorks/SeisWorks or GeoFrame environment exists, then the software will automatically assume that the seismic input is SEGY and will configure the seismic select module to pop up SEGY seismic select dialog. Only 3D SEGY files are currently supported.
Time gate selection relative to time horizon. This release provides the capability to select a time gate for both the Seismic Analysis and Well Analysis modules relative to a seismic time horizon. This update should provide an enhanced global spectrum response, which is more consistent with the geology of a given area. Instead of the user supplying an absolute start and end time to define the time gate, the user needs to supply relative start and end times.

Processing the data
This release provides the capability to generate a spectral blueing volume from the SSB operator designed using the SSB software. This provides a much more efficient way of convolving the spectral blueing operator to the input seismic data and streamlines the work flow. Prior to the release of SSB V2.0, it was necessary to use external software to convolve the SSB operator with the seismic amplitude data to generate the spectral blueing volume.

Upgrade of parameter report
A number of modifications have been made to the "Parameter Report" dialog. In particular, the dialog does not reflect the setting of a given data item until an action event has occurred. For example, in earlier version of SSB if we were to adjust the "Low Cut (Hz)" sliders in the "Design Operator" module then the parameter report would update immediately. The report would have then been inconsistent with the spectral blueing operator because the [Adjust Bandwidth] push button (action) had not been clicked at that time. In SSB V2.0 the parameter report only updates after an action push button has been clicked. Additionally, the parameter report now indicates if the save operator is not consistent with the parameters.

Enhanced capability to edit curve fit coefficients
This enhancement enables the curve fitting coefficients for the principle, low and high frequency ranges to be edited fully from within the "Design Operator". This is achieved using the "Edit Coefficients" dialog. In previous versions of SSB this could be achieved from within the "Well Analysis" module. However, with the introduction of multi-component curves-fit mechanisms, the original editing mechanism was no longer practical. This editor also allows you to supply these coefficients without having to perform "Well Analysis" beforehand. This can be useful when no well data is available but you have coefficients that describe the Earth’s global spectral response, stored in your company database. Such coefficients may have been obtained from other basins, which have a similar depositional environment. This editor can also be used to input the same coefficients in a new SSB session when you wish to perform spectral blueing on a different seismic volume for the same project.