Structural interpretation in color; a new RGB processing application for seismic data

Structure-sharpened continuous red-green-blue (SRGB) color processing allows the interpreter to explore seismic data more thoroughly for geologic features, facilitates the extraction of structures or geobodies along horizons for them, and provides a visualization environment for the interpretation of geologic objects in their spatial context. SRGB-textured horizons and geobodies offer an intuitive interpretation similar to the way satellite images provide visual information about the surface of the earth. A case study that I conducted from the Green Canyon area in the Gulf of Mexico, which is located across the escarpment from the salt canopy to the abyssal plain, illustrated that the SRGB method delivers subtle structures from geologic and flow processes at the seafloor, helps delineate and understand salt sutures and impurities, and provides details about individual stages in deepwater mass transport systems. With all geologic aspects combined, the SRGB method assists in the mapping and assessment of shallow drilling hazards such as gas hydrates and seafloor instabilities.