Pushing coal seismic to its limits through computer aided interpretation and 3D seismics

The detection of small structures by reflection seismic surveying is largely dependent on seismic resolution. Based mainly on our visual capabilities, the widely accepted limits for both vertical and horizontal resolution are usually expressed in terms of a quarter of the dominant wavelength criterion. However with 3D seismic surveying and computer aided seismic interpretation it is possible to interpret small structures below these conventional limits. Interactive computer aided interpretation enables us to view our data with different attributes and at scales which facilitate identification of small structures. Accurately picked reflection times (sub millisecond) from a computer can reveal subtle changes in reflection times associated with small faults. 3D seismic surveying allows us to track subtle features from line to line, thus increasing confidence in an interpretation. In this paper, we demonstrate these aspects by using both synthetic data and field data from 2D and 3D seismic surveys from Australian coal mines in the Sydney and Bowen Basins.