The process of reconstructing digital seismic data from black
and white paper displays has been used for a couple of decades. Usually, the
data is scanned and the trace reconstructed from the scanned image. True amplitude But what if the original was a color representation of preserved
amplitude data? A new process offered by SeiScan GeoData is capable of extracting
the original true amplitude information from a color plot, and converting this
into standard SEG-Y data. Dynamic range and seismic character are maintained
and these data are then available for reprocessing or integration into existing
workstation projects. Hue chart Following vectorizing, an automated process checks the pixel
coloration at and around a particular trace and compares this within a user-defined
color-hue chart. This allows for conversion of the vectorized data into amplitude
equivalents. Patch Finally, a QC process compares the vector digital file with
the analogue image, usually as a series of “patch” trials, where a number of
conversion parameters are tested for the best reconstruction in several areas
of the section. Once the vector file has been output, data may be plotted in
the desired format. More from www.seiscan.com. This article originally appeared in Oil IT Journal 2001 Issue # 4. For more information or to comment on this topic email here.