BACON, M., SIMM, R. & REDSHAW, T. 2003. 3-D Seismic Interpretation. x + 212 pp. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Price £80.00 (hard covers). ISBN 0 521 79203 7

Abstract

3D seismic data have been referred to as the earth scientists’ ‘Hubble telescope’. The huge advances made by industry in imaging the subsurface using seismic waves in the last 15 years has meant that we are able to explore the subsurface in unparalleled detail. At one time it was the role of the geologist to take 2D cross-sections constructed from 2D seismic surveys and/or field observations and interpolate between these imperfect interpretations to bring the subsurface to life. Now it is possible to image whole river systems, rift valleys and parts of mountain ranges in three dimensions. The resolution of the data is such that the migration of ancient meandering rivers, the intermittent movement of faults, giant submarine landslides and the topography of ancient landscapes can be accurately mapped through geological time. More recently repeat surveys measuring physical properties over the same location (so-called ‘4D surveying’) have been used to map the migration of fluids in the subsurface. One of the fundamental paradigms of geology established by Lyell, ‘The present is the key to the past’, is now verifiable through the application of 3D data. The …