Most Extreme Curvature and its Application to Seismic Structural Interpretation

Abstract

Curvature, as a newly developing structural attribute, closely related to the bending of geologic body and received extensive attention of the researchers in recent years. Most positive curvature and most negative curvature in particular are widely used in fault detection and fracture prediction. In this paper, most extreme curvature was introduced into structural interpretation. Compared with the conventional curvature attributes, the advantage of most extreme curvature in fault detection was highlighted in this study. It not only clearly shown the property of fault, but also precisely indicated the location of fault plane and its variation along the strike by the dramatic change in curvature values. These findings contribute to better structural interpretation of 3D seismic data and are of great significance to hydrocarbon exploration.