Dense volumetric observation for 3D high resolution tomographic model building

Abstract

As survey sizes are steadily increasing, 3D tomography as the key component of today?s velocity model building workflows has to be performed on large data volumes within acceptable turnaround times. To provide high- resolution velocity models, dense volumetric picking is required. This leads to even larger data volumes. It is therefore paramount to automate as many processing steps as possible to free the time of the geophysicist for the necessary QC. In this paper we present a modified workflow for high-resolution 3D tomography addressing the need for process automation. We are putting the emphasis of this paper on data preparation and the quality control of the inversion phase. The presented workflow allows performance of high-resolution tomography work on large data volumes over a significantly reduced cycle time.