Curvature attribute applications to 3D surface seismic data

Identifying subtle faults at or below the limits of seismic resolution and predicting fractures associated with folds and flexures is one of the major objectives of careful seismic interpretation. With the advent of common use of 3D seismic in the late 1980s, first-derivative-based horizon dip magnitude and dip azimuth were found to enhance faults that were otherwise difficult to see. More recently, second-derivative-based curvature maps have carried this process a step further. Horizon-based curvature computation is now available in the commercial workstation environment, putting these tools in the hands of geoscientists who do not have access to processing software and do not have time or inclination to program.