Neural networks for geophysicists and their application to seismic data interpretation

Abstract

There has been a surge of interest in neural networks for the interpretation of seismic images over the last few years. Network-based learning methods can provide fast and accurate automatic interpretation, provided that there are many training labels. We provide an introduction to the field for geophysicists who are familiar with the framework of forward modeling and inversion. We explain the similarities and differences between deep networks and other geophysical inverse problems and show their utility in solving problems such as lithology interpolation between wells, horizon tracking, and segmentation of seismic images. The benefits of our approach are demonstrated on field data from the Sea of Ireland and the North Sea.